Those in the process of selecting or earning a marketing or communications degree today may very well come across the increasingly common business subject of brand storytelling. What is it, and what purpose does it serve? Here’s the scoop on this rather important business and marketing component today.
The Brand Story: The Basics
Before understanding the storytelling side, it’s invaluable to understand what a company brand is. The company brand is essentially the entirety of its image. The general feeling and attitude held by the masses about the brand, its imagery, symbols, products, jingles, culture, and other defining characteristics are what make up that company’s brand.
Understanding the critical role played by brand, its likability, and its familiarity, many businesses, at some point, began to build and maintain stories, sometimes even quite extensive ones, in order to endearingly relate their brand and its makeup to the customer base. It was learned that the more relatable and ingrained a story becomes in the psyche of the customer, the more believable and relatable the ultimate brand image could then become in the public’s collective conscious. If a story is crafted well enough, it can even become a sort of cultural phenomenon thus further cementing the brand image.
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Key Components
So, what are some characteristics to brand storytelling that truly make it either successful or a failure? Above all are relatability and likeability. If these two requirements are met within the public realm, brand storytelling success is almost certain. Beyond these simple, common-sense parameters, some other characteristics that can decide the fate of the storytelling campaign include:
– the embracing of emerging cultural norms
– the use of modern and accepted cultural symbols, song, dress, dance, etc
– a catchy or intriguing image
– a story that relates to the widest possible audience demographics
– a story and theme that counters competition or otherwise cannot be duplicated
– a deeply entertaining or emotionally charged story
Real-Life Examples
Sometimes, the easiest way to learn about a subject is through simple observation. In that spirit, let’s look to some modern examples of brand storytelling seen at work in business right now. The following are three telling and highly recognizable examples.
Wendy’s, the popular fast food restaurant, has, for decades, successfully utilized a brand story involving the company’s founder Dave Thomas. This story essentially relates his passion for good food as just a regular guy who then goes on to create the restaurant. Trustworthiness, likability, and relatability have always held this storytelling campaign up. More of the company’s storytelling endeavors can be found at their website.
Geico, the insurance company, has taken on the story of a likable, computer-animated gecko that simply wants to help people save money on their car insurance. As the likable character is found in advertisements and other media in all sorts of funny and relatable situations, all he ever really wants to do is help the customer save. This ongoing gecko adventure story is also one of relatability, trustworthiness, and sheer likeability. The New York Times reported on this phenomenon close to the time of its emergence in 2012.
Yet another great example of modern brand storytelling can be seen with Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream brand. The story here is also of the company’s two founders, two earthy guys portrayed as fun-loving ice cream entrepreneurs who just happened upon grand success. In fact, many of this company’s products continue to specifically be built and modeled around this brand message and story. More on the brand imagery, story, and company structure of Ben and Jerry’s can be found on their website.
A well-crafted story truly can create a bond, a feeling, and a drive. Driving customers toward a love affair for one’s products and services is also the ultimate business goal. For those earning or considering a marketing or communications degree, this area of special interest, brand storytelling, will likely be an important degree component.