Make no mistake. There is a whole new way of doing marketing. Marketers must now, going forward, abandon any attempt to communicate nothing but the facts, and must instead focus on what people believe and then work to tell them stories from their brand perspectives that add to their perspectives. It’s a fundamental shift in the paradigm of how ideas spread. Either you are going to tell stories that spread, or you will become irrelevant to them. It is significant to note here that the stories must highlight the key brand promise and uphold the brand personality to make it yield the desired result. For example, a story of a healthcare brand cannot be comic and that for a children’s brand cannot be too serious. They must also uphold the promises of the brands they are depicting.

Brand Stories

What's the story of your brand? Storytelling, or providing consistent and compelling content through a story to which the target audience can easily connect, to build a picture of a company or a brand, is becoming more important as people analyze brands and businesses. Every story needs to have content, characters and emotions. The brands that are really succeeding today are the ones that differentiate themselves through storytelling.

And While storytelling is a broad concept, research done recently in UK suggest that some brands are doing better than others with their stories and how they tell them. Given the central role that storytelling plays in developing a brand’s identity, it is perhaps not surprising that the ranking is dominated by some of the world’s biggest brands, with Apple topping the list and other brands such as Coca Cola and McDonald’s featuring in the top 10, and those who tell their brand stories effectively.

Stories Driven Brand Perceptions

The study also offers an interesting insight into perceptions towards different industries. For example, while retail, food and drink and FMCG brands fare particularly well in their rankings, brands in the utilities, financial services and automotive sectors are considered less intelligent at storytelling.

Present day consumers simply aren’t moved to action by the data or spreadsheets packed with figures. People are moved by emotions. The best way to emotionally connect these people to our agenda begins with “Once upon a time…”

However, it is significant to note here that the stories must highlight the key brand promise and uphold the brand personality to make it yield the desired result. For example, a story of a healthcare brand cannot be comic and that for a children’s brand cannot be too serious. They must also uphold the promises of the brands they are depicting.

Brand Story-telling in Nepal

With Nepalese cultures, storytelling is often associated with spiritual values and cultural practices. Our elders, parents, and grandparents would be involved in teaching the children the cultural aspects, along with history, community values and philosophy of the land. Storytelling also serves to deliver a particular message at spiritual and ceremonial functions. It helps to guide future generations to shape the foundation of the community.

It is such a creative marketing concept that really works because it gives audiences a reason to believe and trust your company. Stories are inspirational and convey your message in a manner that is compelling enough to elevate the urgency of purchase. They connect with your audience’s emotions and help them visualize a success in the midst of complexity.

Challenges of Story-telling

But at the same time, it can be very challenging to write a story. Your creative agency could be one such valuable partner who could help to blueprint an appealing story & ideas in line with your marketing objective. Your story could include underlying storytelling elements.

1. Opening: Start with a strong opening that establishes your theme, which is the meaning behind your story. It should have a direct correlation to your business purpose.

2. Characters and Setting: Your characters should include the customer as the hero, your product or service as the friend, and the situation as the villain or the challenge that the hero faces.

3. Plot: Explain the situation and the conflict that exists. This is the most important part of storytelling because it draws the audience into the story. Audiences can envision living the life of the main character and begin to devise action plans to beat the villain.

4. Transition: Bring an end to conflict by using the friend to assist the hero in the battle. The dynamic duo finds the path to success and villain begins to feel defeated.

Brand Story Basics

It is imperative to first brainstorm story ideas by thinking why your customer uses your product or service or what value proposition does your product promises to your customers. Be creative, but consistent, so your audiences know what to expect of you. For example, if you have a toothpaste brand which helps to deliver dental hygiene, then your story might be about a next door boy Raju, who starts smiling after using our product or it could be about Urmila who start speaking with confidence at a public function after using our product.

And most of all, great stories don’t teach people anything new. Instead, the best stories agree with what the audience already believes and make them feel smart and secure when reminded how right they were in the first place.

“The Real Thing.” This classic Coca-Cola campaign is one such great story that can work for any leader. The essential ingredient in securing the leadership position is getting into the consumer’s mind first. And the essential ingredient in keeping that position is reinforcing the original concept. The standard by which all others are judged. In contrast, everything else is an imitation of “The Real Thing”. This is not the same as saying “We are No.1”. But “the real thing”, like the first or maiden love in your life, will always occupy a special place in the prospect’s mind.