Remember that book you refused to close? That movie you didn’t want to end? Or that Great Uncle you could listen to all night? Good storytelling is an undeniable art. It’s how we relate to each other as human beings. It colors our experiences. It grabs us, moves us, stays with us. We’ve been telling stories to each other since the days of cave drawings. Who doesn’t love a good story?
I asked a few of my co-workers “what makes up a good story?”
“It’s relatable.”
“It transports me to another world.”
“It’s engaging.”
“I love how a story can teach me about myself.”
Stories evoke emotion, expand awareness, and leave lasting impressions. And—believe it or not—a good story can do all of that for your brand. Distill it down, a brand is nothing more than a collection of perceptions. Your perceptions as well as your customer’s perceptions. This may sound esoteric, but the truth is nobody really owns a brand, they can only influence it.
Tell your story or somebody else will.
You may have a perception of Jed’s Lawn Service. But what does your buddy Fred think? How about his wife Mary? And those grouchy Hanerhans across the street? Everybody has a perception about Jed’s Lawn Service. Even Jed has his own perceptions.
And all of these perceptions about Jed’s Lawn Service are true! The good, the bad, the indifferent. So if Jed isn’t taking responsibility in telling an accurate, compelling, authentic story, somebody else will do it for him. All it takes is a couple of tweets, mix in a Facebook update or two, and a casual blog post and you have an influencing wave of chatter about your brand that can steer the message away from your intentions. Do you really want your brand in the hands of those Hanerhan grumps?
How to tell your story. Beautifully.
Often, clients come to me saying, “I wanna logo. I wanna website. I wanna brochure.” If you’ve heard yourself making these statements, you’ve already told me one of two things: 1. The story you want to tell isn’t being told. 2. The story you’re telling is now old.
Logos, websites, brochures, newsletters, social media campaigns—any kind of communication—are storytelling tools. They are extensions of a larger brand picture. The challenge I’m bringing up is that many people just don’t have the time, patience, and skill to get their story straight before they start telling it. They just want to launch into the task at hand, get the deliverable done before they consider what will move and compel their customers.
The compromise? The story will usually lacks identity, drama, beauty, humanity.
Before you move forward, let’s take a step back.
Create a solid brand story and you’ll create communications that are unique, compelling, single-minded and consistent. Until you have your story defined, you’ll have a very hard time keeping your communications aligned, and you’ll be re-inventing with every new project.
Here’s our process on story-building. Perhaps it’ll help.
Step One, Strategic Alignment: Information gathering. Understanding. Digging. Sleuthing. We examine goals, target audience, We dive deep into your vision for the company. We garner available market research, knowledge within your group, target audience information and create unique market positions for your company. We narrow this to one core statement that becomes the strategic foundation for all future communications.
Step Two, Creative Alignment: Now you know what to say. But how do you say it? In this step you create the space to have dialogues on what your tastes are. We have developed proprietary, interactive exercises designed to help you articulate your unique vision. But you can make up some of your own. Create a vision board by tearing pictures out of magazines. Pick out key words, images, colors and textures that have the right “feel.” This will get you closer to expressing your story in the most authentic way possible.
Step Three, Brand Storybook: We create a brand “story” that will inform the design and copy direction for all your communications. The storybook starts with a written declaration that defines your company’s uniqueness. Within the book, we bring forth the ideas that will become common throughout every piece of advertising and marketing communication. We literally lay out your story through words, images, colors, and type. At the end of the storybooking process your company will not only be differentiated, but you will feel like that differentiation has always been part of the company’s DNA.
Step Four/Style Standards: Consistency over time is an advertising mantra. Every brand needs documentation to keep ideas aligned. A style standards guide outlines the dos and don’ts for the brand. Many people will be creating work for you, and you need to make sure the work they create is reinforcing your story.
Here’s where the story begins.
Put forth a concerted branding effort centered around storytelling and you can help influence perceptions instantly. You want to not only leave lasting impressions, but the correct lasting impressions. I encourage you to pay attention to the story you're telling to the world. Is it authentic to who you are as a company? Is it something that is relatable and compelling to your target audience? If you say yes to both, you're onto something.
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