Storytelling for brand builders

A story brings facts to life

Of course, our primeval fathers could have passed on the art of hunting and fishing in handy checklists to the generations after them. But it remains to be seen whether they would have survived. People simply do not remember facts. Or at least they have difficulty with that. So those old and experienced hunters and fishermen, in all their wisdom, chose to transfer their accumulated knowledge and skills into exciting myths, legends and stories. With protagonists for heroes, the role examples for the upcoming youth. This is how these facts suddenly became inspiring and motivating, this is how they came to life. That's right, the campfires of those days have been exchanged for social media. But the effect is no less important.

Stories give experience

Many brand promises in advertisements and commercials are perceived by consumers as unbelievable. Why is this the case? Because people have experienced that the promises were not kept. This has everything to do with the fact that making a promise and experiencing a positive experience are not always in line with each other. In fact, a promise and an experience can be diametrically opposed. An explicit promise can easily be misinterpreted. Then it is almost impossible to fulfil it.

What can you do then? Better than promising is to let people experience it. A good story can do that. A good story focuses on our feelings. A good story appeals to our imagination, appeals to our imagination. It allows us to fulfil our own relevant brand promise. Each in his or her own way. Still great examples of this are the Christmas commercials of the British department store John Lewis. Why? Just type in the search term 'John Lewis Christmas' and judge for yourself.

Stories create fans

Every brand builder will agree, the ultimate goal will only be achieved when consumers identify with their brand. A story can have that effect. Certainly if that story is built around Simon Sinek's Why question. Does the latter sound unfamiliar to you? Very briefly, Simon Sinek states that too many companies only focus on what they produce and how they do it. The result is often an 'average' brand experience that, at best, encourages a buying intention. It's much more powerful - and tougher - for a company to tell why it's doing what it's doing. Then it's about deeper ideals, values and beliefs.

Consumers can identify themselves precisely with (brand) values and ideals. Because that also says something about their own ideals, values and convictions. That click ensures that a brand becomes a strong brand with real fans. And every brand builder knows: it is always better to have fans than buyers. Because fans 'live' the brand and share it. How, where and when they can!

Brand stories are about authenticity

Everyone loves heroes. Correction, everyone loves authentic heroes. And there are not thirteen of them in a dozen. Not hindered by anything or anyone, those heroes dare or perform something we might envy deep down in our hearts. Men like Richard Branson and Elon Musk, or closer to home, John de Mol, Atilay Uslu by Corendon or Pieter Zwart by Coolblue. Not only do they have that ultimate dream ambition, they also dared to risk their entire possessions and heels for it. In this way they became the authentic icons of our time. What we want to say: powerful and convincing stories are never about the greatest common denominator.

Stories make a brand mythical

Why are we waiting on the doorstep of an Apple store for the latest iPhone, but not for another smartphone? The answer is simple. If it's from Apple, then it's worth accepting the inconvenience of spending the night in a sleeping bag. So far, no one has ever come home from a cold carnival. Every new Apple is still the most logical sequel to the iconic product being replaced. But perhaps more importantly, every new innovation also perfectly matches the promise Apple makes in its corporate story. Namely to make the best, most user-friendly and best looking computers and smartphones ever. A promise that still tastes like more today! A story couldn't be better told.

(Don't you love Apple, or even hate it? That is perhaps the strongest point we want to make. Apple's story is selective, so it does not appeal to everyone. Because they dare to do so, they do not have the largest market share in smartphones worldwide. What they do have, therefore, is the largest share of the profits in this market. This applies both marginally and absolutely. Customers are aware of this, but remain loyal to the brand. Apple's use of storytelling is subject to a lot of haggling, but from a business point of view, it doesn't do any good).

Getting Started

Do you want to start storytelling right now? You can start by taking a look at our websites storytellingpeople.nl, storytellingpeople.com or corporatehistory.com.

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For more than 30 years Storytelling People has been recording corporate stories and bringing them to life with storytelling and community building.

Storytelling makes the abstract corporate story accessible in stories by and for people.

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