How To Create A Brand Story

What Is Storytelling?

A compelling story not only piques our interest in a subject, but it also establishes our relationship with it. Remember the good old days of our childhood? Every night  we would all sit together and our grandparents would narrate an old folklore— the monsters and witches in their stories would make us curl deeper into our blankets. Equally enthralling were the stories our teachers used to tell us. Remember Little Red Riding Hood?

Oh, and the classic, Pinocchio! Would these compelling storytellers ever leave us? I guess not. The way they weave these stories and immaculately narrate them has made a permanent imprint on our lives.

What Is Brand Storytelling?

In simple words, brand storytelling is exactly what it sounds like — brands telling a story. Just like compelling storytelling could form a deep and long lasting relationship with a subject, a brand story, if told in a gripping manner, could help with the branding of a product. In today's times, branding is the most important part of running a successful socially and economically conscious business.

Well, what do you need to establish trust and brand loyalty with your customers? For that to happen, you have to put in some effort into properly branding your company, especially if you’re new to the market.

This could be done by ensuring that your brand has a relatable and purpose-driven story to tell. This is vital in creating a successful business.

Just like every story has a purpose or a message that it gives out towards the end, a powerful brand should also have a compelling brand story and a purpose. This means that you should always have a compelling reason for starting a business. What is your true intention and motivation?

A brand story is not something that you just whip up in one night.  It requires diligent effort to come up with a communication strategy for your brand. It could come naturally from your own life experiences and your passion for your brand.

Here Are Some Great Example Of Brand Storytelling

Fashion brands have set some great examples of storytelling. Fashion designers are honing their art of telling immersive stories to up their marketing results. Their stories have delivered such strong messages that not only have they become household names but they have also triggered a great emotional response.

• ASOS

Asos has successfully managed to hook people in through its creative storytelling. Recently the brand launched its ‘Made In Kenya’ collection in a collaboration with the brand SOKO Kenya, an ethical clothing manufacturer. The floral pieces, asymmetric patterns and earthy designs not only attracted audiences out of its fanbase but also built its brand ethos as a sustainable and responsible fashion brand — uplifting local artists and diversity.

Credits: ASOS

• Gucci

Gucci began as a fashion brand mostly known for its equestrian clothing and accessories. However, in the past decades, it has become an inspiration for youngsters who aren’t afraid to experiment with styles and quirky patterns.

Thanks to its impeccable storytelling through collaborations with local designers, poets, illustrators and even small artists who contributed to the creation of some distinct collections for the brand. A peek into the brand’s Instagram will show you how these local artists are significantly contributing to its storytelling and enhancing its cultural diversity.

Credits: Gucci

• H&M

H&M has been continuously associated with the term “fast fashion” — which simply means that the brand was responsible for mass production of clothes. However, the brand successfully managed to reinvent its image through its ‘Close The Loop’ campaign that not only embraced sustainable fashion but also talked about issues like gender equality and body diversity — looping in many artists in the campaign.

Well, that’s how you use storytelling to go from fast fashion to conscious fashion.

Credits: H&M

Why Is A Brand Storytelling Important?

In today’s day and age, a customer has thousands of options in the world to buy a product of their choice. Therefore, just having a good product at a fair price point isn’t going to cut it. Consumers these days don't just see the product and the service they’re buying, they also care about who is selling the product and what their ideologies are, which is why the company’s brand story is so important.

A brand story is more than just a narrative. In fact, it’s the personality of the brand. It goes way beyond just the copy of your slogans or how your website looks. Your brand story isn’t confined to what you tell people, instead, it’s more about how they perceive you based on the messages that your brand sends.

Therefore, smart storytelling for your brand is important to set your foot in the industry and establish an extremely emotional and resonating brand identity.

How To Tell A Brand Story?

Tell your story in such a way that it tells your customers "we relate to you, we understand you, we are like you." Case in point: Coca-Cola’s "Open Happiness" slogan is so successful that the brand has become synonymous with good times.

Another example is a brand like North Face that resonates with adventure-loving people. The brand’s identity is also sturdy, fun and thrilling. The brand’s aim is to inspire people who love to take on new adventures and let’s just say that the brand has been successful in its storytelling as travel enthusiasts and adventure-lovers consume their products and relate to the brand’s ideologies.

What Does A Successful Brand Story Do?

A brand story should stand out in the crowded market space. It needs to trigger an emotional reaction to the brand, which in turn will ensure return customers.

1 Increasing awareness of the Brand

Through a successful brand story, you’re not only letting people know your brand but also you as a person. Your values reflect in your storytelling and that attracts people who resonate with you. It builds a tribe – of people with similar interests, connected by a brand. This creates a snowball effect and that’s how your brand reaches a newer set of audience — through word of mouth, social media, advertisement. There’s nothing that could stop a good brand story from getting loved by the people.

2  Increase your audience

As a consumer, you would want to purchase products from a brand that understands your lifestyle and beliefs. For instance, if you believe in an all-natural way of living and a brand's ideology matches yours, you will inevitably buy their product. Therefore, while advertising their products, brands should understand their potential customers and stick with their business plan throughout their run in the market.  This way they increase their customers.

3  Increases the effectiveness of your advertising

Simply catching up on a trend is not the real formula to finding success for your brand. If an owner starts a company based on his real core values in life, it’s more likely to stay around for a lot longer than companies that capitalise on other brands’ ideas. This later reflects in the performance of the brand and boosts its strategy.

4. Builds customer trust.

Today’s digitalized world offers consumers the opportunity to not only find your brand in a store, but they can also look you up on the Internet—Google, Facebook, Instagram, and, in fact, even on LinkedIn and Youtube. If you want to build a trustworthy relationship with your customers, make sure you answer all their queries in an interactive way through this medium.

Always remember that a successful brand storytelling is just a simple exercise in showing what a great narrative can do — something that forms a deep emotional connection with your audience. It takes time to develop your story and as time goes on, you may need to adjust or create a new story to fit your brand’s needs.

Well, now that you are armed with all the tropes of creating a brand story, it’s time to share it, promote it, scream it from the rooftops — okay, maybe not a scream, but you get the gist, right?