Brand Story: The Strongest Weapon Of Modern Advertising

In recent years, storytelling has been a very popular word in marketing circles.

Social networks have created a space to shift the focus to this storytelling form of communication, and agencies around the world have embraced it because competition in almost all areas is greater than ever, the advertising space is oversaturated, so articulating attitudes and goals is actually the surest way to loyalty users.

The Development Of Brand Storytelling

Every company’s marketing strategy is built on brand storytelling, which forges bonds with customers and encourages them to integrate the brand into their daily lives.

Based on a LinkedIn analysis of its own data, brand storytelling began to take off in earnest in 2012. The remainder of the marketing industry realized that using content marketing to convey a story to consumers was among the best ways to engage them when Coca-Cola announced Content 2020 that year.

Chipotle made its first foray into brand storytelling in February 2012 with a two-minute film about a farmer rediscovering his place using traditional farming methods amid the growth of industrialism. The “Cultivate a better world“-themed ad stirred up a lot of discussions and even brought the fast-casual business a prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

Marketers must think about what constitutes the most effective brand narrative in order to determine how to best tell a brand’s story.

How To Define Storytelling?

We can define storytelling, that is, we can paraphrase one definition we read: Storytelling is the use of narratives to connect with consumers, with a focus on attitudes and interests that the brand and those consumers have in common.

When this connection is made, the results can be magnificent. An extreme example of successful storytelling is Guarana, whose fans, in this example, this word is quite appropriate, ’tattooed’ the logo of the drink itself on their bodies. Many other brands have also flourished thanks to this type of marketing, so it is not surprising that several agencies have various variations of the sentence, “We tell brand stories“, as their slogan.

It is just that we think that those agencies are wrong in one thing…

Who Actually Tells The Brand Story?

A brand story is not cleverly written text in the “about“ section of a Facebook page, nor is it a slogan, logo, or website. It arises from communication and perception. Therefore, agencies are not the only ones who write the brand story but share the authorship with the audience.

In more traditional forms of advertising, communication was one-way, from the brand to consumers, it carried a message with a call to action. Today, it is necessary to add conversation to these elements.

If they like something, they will share it, talk about it, and leave positive comments. It will spread our brand story and at the same time become a part of it. In order for this to happen, it is necessary for our story to be attractive enough for someone to want to get involved in it. Because we can monitor how the public responds to every step of our new product, thread, or TV commercial.

What Should A Story Contain?

As in most literary genres, here too we have a protagonist – a brand. And just like in novels, it is necessary to identify with that protagonist. The brand story should give us the reasons why this identification will happen.

It will reveal to us the purpose, and in what way a certain product will make us better. It will convey to us the ideas and attitudes behind the company, which makes it special. It will make us want to become part of its ’tribe’. It will increase our connection and humanize the brand. It will direct our perceptions and experiences and create the personality of that brand in our subconscious.

Brand Personality

Many marketing theorists agree that brand personality is one of the most powerful means of differentiation in today’s oversaturated world. Creating a suitable personality leads to the establishment of a strong relationship, encourages purchases, and strengthens consumer loyalty to the brand.

It is clear that we cannot fully influence what kind of image consumers will create of us, but we can lead them to make that image as close as possible to our vision. First of all, by behaving and talking like the personality we want to resemble.

Tone Of Communication

Based on the jargon that a person uses, after only a few sentences we can conclude a lot about them; level of education, status, geographical origin…

Based on the tone of communication, we can conclude which target group the brand is addressing, what kind of character it is, and which market segment it belongs to…

The tone of the communication can be humorous, serious, professional, pretentious, boastful, or sarcastic… the only important thing is that it accurately reflects the brand.

For example, if it is a pharmacy, the tone of our communication will be precise, professional, and advisory because we want the applicants to see us that way. Whereas, in the case that sneakers are our product, we will communicate wittily, crudely, with a lot of anglicisms, because our story should be in trend.

When setting the tone of communication, it is important to know what we are talking about.

Topics You Cover

When we meet a new person, we will not just say that we are interesting and witty. We will already show that we are with our jumps and breadth of interest. The same goes for the brand. It is not enough just to say that a brand is fun, it needs to be. The topics that the brand chooses to talk about are an essential part of its personality, and therefore its story.

Let’s take for example that our product is coffee.

If you constantly post golden hour, lifestyle photos of our product on Instagram, the audience will perceive you as another ’hedonistic’ brand. If you follow the trend of popular mime cafes, fans will see you as someone who is a little more fun and bold in communication.

It is not necessary, especially not on social networks, for a brand to constantly talk about itself. It can also talk about football, fashion, food… if these things are part of its story.

A brand story is not a collection of predetermined elements, therefore it cannot be reduced to a formula. For a good story, you need the above-mentioned things, but they are not enough. You need commitment, honesty, creativity, and the desire to differentiate yourselves from the competition.

Components Of An Effective Brand Narrative

A few crucial components should be taken into account by marketers when creating a compelling brand narrative:

Storyline Construction

A fascinating storyline is a very first factor every brand narrative needs. The plot creates a context in which customers can learn about the origins, principles, and distinctive characteristics of a brand. Customers enjoy the underdog, and frequently a company’s history may highlight that tale.

One illustration is the 1996-founded sporting footwear and gear firm Under Armour. Despite competing with retail behemoths like Nike and Adidas, the company nonetheless managed to build up a sizable clientele.

Later on, Under Armour collaborated with additional underdog tales, including Steph Curry, who many NBA recruiters initially predicted would only be a bench player in the league, but later became a superstar. As marketers construct a narrative, developing a distinctive plot is a terrific method to capitalize on a brand’s values.

Setting Up An Emotional Bond

The most effective brand storylines elicit a favorable emotional response from the audience.

The elevator manufacturer Otis created a promotional campaign that showed neighbors getting to know one another, which could result in friendships blossoming or even the chance of finding love. Not only might viewers observe that no two elevators are alike, but they may also develop an emotional bond with the company. The brand marketing plan attracted accolades and new followers.

Utilizing Data To Back Up The Story

Data from reliable sources enhances the messaging and narrative of a brand. For instance, human narratives that include statistics on wildlife numbers or climate change are frequently included in National Geographic’s social media graphics. This gives the reader the opportunity to learn further about preserving the environment. A company’s expansion over the past 12-month period of consumer interactions with the company is just two examples of how data can be used to make a story.

It is interesting to discover what other people have been googling for throughout the year by watching Google’s yearly “Year in Search“ video. Google’s 2016 video, for instance, showed how many of the same happy and terrible situations were searched for by millions of people. It received the third-highest score out of roughly 700 advertisements for technology, placing it in the top 1% of all evaluated advertisements.

Make It Prosper

Every story wants to be remembered by its audience and has an impact on them for days, if not years. With its Budweiser commercial during the 2014 Super Bowl, Anheuser-Busch successfully did just that.

An interaction between a puppy and a Clydesdale is depicted in the advertisement. A group of Clydesdales runs in front of the car to stop the adoption of the puppy and prevent it from being driven away in a car. A brilliant tagline, “best buds“, pops up on the screen, connecting the bond and the Budweiser company. In the end, the puppy is permitted to live on the ranch with the Clydesdales. According to a TIVO survey, it was the most-watched Super Bowl advertisement in the previous 50 years.

When these factors are combined, they can assist a business in producing effective, interesting branded content that could really foster a connection with customers. Once a compelling brand narrative has been established, marketers can publish that information on a variety of technology platforms to appeal to the largest or narrowest audience possible.

What Part Does Social Media Play?

Brands now have more ways than ever to reach consumers with their message because of the development of technology advancements, such as social media and other. Brands may now generate films and send post blogs, content, or messages directly to a consumer’s phone, as well as other content, on their own websites for a fraction of what it used to cost.

Businesses might use social media to advertise products or concepts that are not even sold in stores. A pair of basketball shoes that can order pizza was touted by Pizza Hut. Pizza can be supplied to the user’s house by pressing a button on the tongue of the shoe. Although only basketball influencers received the shoes, which were mostly a marketing gimmick, the campaign on social media created a lot of interest during the yearly NCAA men’s basketball tournaments.

Social media does more than mere aid in brand promotion. The brand itself may be to blame. Humans of New York (HONY) is among the best and most distinctive instances of a company that benefits from the expansion of social media.

The photojournalistic website that Brandon Stanton founded in 2010 has grown into a vast hub of intriguing, individual stories that contribute to the story of the human condition. On his blog, Stanton does not market any products. His photojournalistic narratives are what encourage user interaction on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. In 2018, over 18 million people liked HONY’s Facebook page, and 8.5 million people followed them on Instagram.

How To Tell Your Brand’s Story On Your Website?

A website is a crucial entry point for grabbing customers’ attention and convincing them to make purchases. But how can storytelling be included in web design?

Now that you understand how to write a compelling story to persuade website visitors to buy your goods, allow us to explain how to include storytelling on your webpage. For it, a variety of tools are accessible.

Web Design

Think of your visitor as a young child exploring a bookshop. How can you persuade the child to buy your book? It is the cover page, right? Similarly to this, your website’s landing page needs to be eye-catching, whether you created it using website builders or hiring a UX/UI designer.

The storybook’s back page summarizes the plot without going into great detail. It is intended to pique the child’s interest and convince them to purchase and read the book. Yes, your website’s home page combines the front and back pages of the storybook. The viewer must be persuaded to visit the product page.

Additionally, when a child opens a storybook, they can notice the table of contents, the attractive colors and typefaces used throughout, the well-structured content, and the text and illustrations on each page. Your website’s pages must all be organized, digestible, well-spaced, and compelling enough to encourage customers to make purchases. In other words, it must tell the tale of your brand and hold the audience’s attention from the start to the point of purchase.

Images

An image’s composition, text style and size, color scheme, and background all have an impact on how effectively a message is communicated to the viewer.

Videos

A website’s visitors instantly connect with its videos. Videos of product demos, product features, business introductions, and customer testimonials all serve to reassure website visitors about the reliability and excellence of the brand.

Videos make it possible to quickly deconstruct complex features and engage viewers with their explanations, just like Jean-Claude Van Damme demonstrated the Volvo trucks’ steering’s accuracy and directional steadiness in “The Epic Split“ ad.

Copy

Your website’s ranking on the SERP will increase traffic and visits. A website allows text-based narrative versatility. Through these types of web copy, such as blogs, product descriptions, guest blog posts, social media posts, comments, reviews, live chats, testimonials, discussion forums, and case studies, you may successfully communicate and share your story.

What Is The Direction Of Your Story?

The advertising’s present and future are in brand narrative, i.e., storytelling. According to research, 92% of customers prefer advertising that is presented as a narrative with captivating and eye-catching visuals. Being honest, creating an emotional connection, and crafting memorable stories are all lessons you have learned above and will continue to be crucial in the years to come. Companies will require marketing experts with the ability to tell their narrative in an engaging way as they seek to expand and grow their audiences.