Emotion and storytelling are powerful tools to brand your business, product, or service. They can help you connect with your audience, communicate your value proposition, and differentiate yourself from the competition. In this article, you will learn how to use emotion and storytelling to brand effectively and authentically.
Emotion is the feeling that your brand evokes in your audience. It is influenced by your visual identity, your tone of voice, your values, and your customer experience. Emotion is important because it can influence your audience's decision-making, loyalty, and advocacy. To use emotion in branding, you need to understand your target audience's needs, desires, and pain points, and craft a brand message that resonates with them.
An example I have seen is Apple's "Hello Yellow" campaign, promoting its late-released yellow iPhone 14. It was a perfect example of emotion usage. The color yellow represents youth, mental well being, visibility, and novelty. "Hello Yellow" was such a fine execution because it's short, memorable, and has a the perfect emotional appeal. The big bright yellow sun. The Yellow Pages (from older days), all of them might bring some degree of subconscious relatability to you. Hence, "Hello" did not only rhyme phonetically with "yellow", but also contextually. Believe it or not, emotions are not only emotional, but also have some logic to them.
The brand is nothing but a feeling in its sense, this feeling can be fleeting or lasting. The most important sensory factor in the brand is the confrontation of the audience with risks or an inner need of that person. One of the campaigns that evoked this brand feeling for me was none other than the Monster Energy campaign, which expressed nothing but the feeling of vitality and the theme of endurance, and emphasized the fact that Monster Energy changes your mood.
Usually, people tend to connect to a good story that evokes some kind of emotion in them. A clear example in Pakistan is KFC's recent reposition campaign "Feel Good, Real Good". They managed to create a strong narrative amongst the youth that a happy moment is not complete unless you're having their fried chicken. Not only the tagline rhymed well but also cleverly evokes a joyous feeling.
Emotion in branding goes beyond just the features and functions of a product or service. It's about building a deep and enduring emotional connection. When customers feel this connection, they become more than just buyers – they become enthusiastic advocates, eager to spread their positive experiences with others. This process involves more than surface-level marketing. It's about truly comprehending a brand's fundamental values and weaving them into the fabric of customers' needs and desires. By doing so, a brand can address pain points, exceed expectations, and provide genuine value. This comprehensive strategy forges a bond that stands the test of time, fostering a relationship that extends far beyond transactional interactions.
The emotion in branding comes from storytelling - weaving a tapestry of insights, authenticity and knowledge, which allows your target audience to get to know you and trust you. People want to know you care about them and their journey. As a brand, we have to remember this when pushing our content out there to grow our brand. What problem do we solve, and how do we communicate this in a way that isn't pitchy or salesly but shows genuine interest in being part of the solution. We have to remember that people often do not buy using logic, they buy something because of the way the brand makes them feel.
Storytelling is the art of using narratives to convey your brand message. It is a way of engaging your audience's attention, imagination, and emotions. Storytelling can help you establish trust, credibility, and relevance with your audience. To use storytelling in branding, you need to have a clear brand purpose, a compelling brand story, and a consistent brand voice.
When it comes to storytelling in the brand, it immediately reminds us of a series of content with the same concepts, but the fact is that the brand story is the message of the brand and the main existence of the brand, from the beginning until now. When you want to tell the story of your brand, pay attention to the issue of who are the main audiences of this story and with what character and ups and downs they are going to imagine you.
Storytelling in branding starts with understanding our clients/customers' pain points and being able to eloquently and articulately communicate that through our content. Storytelling in branding is a mix of content - articles, awards, social posts, podcasts, thought leadership pieces...anything that shares how you solve the problems for your people. Storytelling allows us to reach out and touch more people in a way that is not selling but telling.
Brand messages must be included tactfully within all materials. The brand manager must be able to deliver all messages in the most effective ways and could encourage brand loyalty.
Storytelling in branding is something that can not just create customer loyalty but also help you in changing a wrong perception about your brand. For example, Shaan Foods did a campaign around their biryani masala as part of increasing their brand visibility nationwide and internationally as well. They created the campaign based on two brothers who were living abroad and on a holy occasion, they both were missing their mom's biryani. Suddenly they think of an idea and video call their mom to create a perfect biryani with the help of Shaan Foods Biryani masala. It was executed really well and the product was placed in a beautiful way around a narrative of a mother and the bonding between her sons.
A very vital aspect of brand storytelling is accepting that our audience is the main character--not us or the client. We are their guide: Gandalf to Bilbo or Frodo Baggins. The purpose of our brand's story is to present how we understand their problem and can provide our high-quality, differentiated solution. It's an invitation.
A brand purpose is the reason why your brand exists beyond making money. It is the impact that you want to have on the world, the problem that you want to solve, or the change that you want to create. A brand purpose can help you define your vision, mission, and values, and inspire your audience to join your cause. To create a brand purpose, you need to ask yourself why you started your business, what you stand for, and what you want to achieve.
Imagine what is one of the reasons you are alive? I am sure you will answer water, air or nutrition. Now if I ask you what is the reason for vitality and cheerfulness in your life, what will you answer? Brand purpose is the main reason for your company's vitality, and if you ignore it, it can dilute or blur your brand. First, try to know the audience, secondly, understand the need, thirdly, write the goal using OKR, and finally, think about the perspective of the company, organization, and influential people, because they are the main foundation of your brand. Finally, don't neglect to understand the type of personality in the brand.
All brands start with an idea and all these ideas intrinsically have a purpose which could be problem-solving, swifter services, better quality etc. A brand purpose is extremely crucial so that a brand doesn't get lost or diluted upon its extension. A brand purpose always brings the stakeholders remember why they started what they started and how it's all worth it. It gives the brand clarity We can identify a brand purpose by identifying the target audience, user needs, the solution the brand is offering, the values of the brand and its business goals. All this collectively will point towards defining the brand purpose.
People will often say that they don't buy Nike shoes because of their Founders purpose...Yes. You. Do. Too many people think branding is all external. Yes the messages, logos and colours are the things you see or hear first but they are executed last. The most iconic brands we know and love today started with purpose and if fed through their mission, vision, values, target market, message, experience, identity and every single other thing in their business.
a Brand's Purpose is a Crucial thing in a Business platform because there can be a multiple personalities, innovations and technologies might come and go perpetually over years but the True Purpose and Ideologies are the one thing that gonna make that brand sustain in Market over a Long Term. Like Ratan Tata once said that there's a difference between a Businessmen and an Industrialist. #letThereBeChange
A brand story is the narrative that explains how your brand came to be, what it does, and how it helps your audience. It is the story that connects your brand purpose with your audience's needs and emotions. A brand story can help you showcase your personality, your history, and your benefits, and create a memorable impression on your audience. To craft a brand story, you need to follow a simple structure: a hero (your audience), a problem (their pain point), a solution (your product or service), and a transformation (the outcome or benefit).
First, your features The second type of statement is your position The third is your existence Fourth, the main character of your story Fifth, the problem that the hero needs to solve or solve Sixth, your solution based on the characteristics and content of the brand and product Seventh, how to fix it
There really is only one kind of brand story; a story that puts the end customer as the hero - but here's the devil in the detail - you actually have to communicate it that way too. Less 'I' and 'we' statement, more 'you' statements. This goes beyond semantics and is embedded in neuroscience that when we read a sentence that starts with 'I' or 'we', our brains are repelled. Our brains are attracted to clarity and by being invited into the story we're telling so by using 'you' sentences instead will tell the brain that the story is about them and they will be compelled to engage.
A great Brand story is crafted through a combination of strategies that make it compelling and emotionally resonant. 1. Authenticity - This is the paramount characteristic of every great brand story. It defines your brand values and identity. Authenticity builds trust. 2. Emotional Appeal - Great stories connect with their audience on a personal level by evoking emotions like humour, empathy, inspiration etc. 3. Consistency - Brand story should align with your Brand's visuals, messaging across all levels. A great example will be Durex. 4. Clarity combined with Visuals - All the visuals are easy to understand yet not mainstream. A clear narrative with strong supporting visuals is more likely to be remembered. 5. Storytelling Methods
A brand voice is the tone and style of your brand communication. It is the way you express your brand personality, values, and message. A brand voice can help you communicate consistently, authentically, and persuasively with your audience. To develop a brand voice, you need to choose a few adjectives that describe your brand, such as friendly, professional, or quirky, and use them as guidelines for your content creation.
A brands tone or voice is a very key aspect of all the communication that a brand does across all possible mediums. It helps a brand connect with it's target audience well and relate with them. If you have a brand that is very upbeat, hip and youth focused and the tone of your brand is very formal and corporate, then you'll never be able to connect with your audience. It is more like to connect with a certain type of people, you'd need to speak the language that they'd like and prefer!
It is also very important to know your audience quite well. Why? Because if, for example, you sell toys and you want to capture the attention of children, you can't have a serious, formal tone or use fancy words. Perhaps the voice of your brand should be playful, cheerful and very friendly, with a childish language according to the audience you want to reach.
I believe in all of the above, and all of the below too. And in addition, consistently showcasing and reminding audiences WHY an organisation does what it does is important and engaging.
Key factors to keep in mind when developing a brand voice are 1. Your target audience - your brand needs to adapt the lingo that your TG is speaking. 2. Your brand personality/archetype - you cannot be the archetype of jester and speak in a hard to grasp, wisely manner. It needs to be cohesive. 3. Your values - Certain values will define the stand your brand is willing to take for environment/people etc. This will help you identify your topic of conversations and therefore will lead back to tone of voice. 4. Your product - Your tone of voice should match your product landscape. 5. Culture - The culture you want to create in and around your brand will identify your tone of voice.
Once you have defined your brand purpose, story, and voice, you can apply emotion and storytelling to brand across different channels and platforms. You can use emotion and storytelling to brand in your website, your social media, your blog, your email marketing, your video marketing, and more. The key is to use the right format, medium, and tone for each channel, and to align your emotion and storytelling with your audience's expectations, preferences, and feedback.
One way to apply emotion and storytelling to brand is by understanding not only the wants and aspirations of your customers but to understand their frustrations and fears too. We will sometimes buy something because we know it will make our lives better in some way, but communicating what we will lose by not buying makes us dramatically more likely to engage or buy.
A great way to apply emotion and storytelling is through video content compared to a photograph or text-only infographic. Video is the most sensory form of content: there's visual and audio components, as well as an actual human being communicating with you. It's clearly not sitting face-to-face, but there's a direct energetic link that makes a quicker emotional impact. People can hear how you stress certain words, or make certain gestures or subtle features when you're talking. There's nuance that creates a more engaged, immersive experience, increasing the arousal of emotions. That can leave a lasting impression if you're intentional about the feeling you want transmitted with your story.
I agree that story telling helps with building trust, credibility, and relevance as many multinational companies spend millions on protecting their slogan trademarks which is a type of story telling in sharp clever taglines such as: ??Just Do It??(Nike) ?? Because You’re Worth It?? (L’Oreal) ?? I'm Lovin It (McDonalds) The story telling in slogans are accompanied by advertising and marketing materials such as celebrity endorsement, packaging and consistent messaging reinforces the tagline storylines. Recently, I experienced the emotional story telling by L’Oreal as I was trying to decide if I needed another lipstick in my collection, and for no reason “Because you’re worth it” popped in my head and now I own another lipstick! ??
Do not focus on the stories of big brands and look at brands with smaller and more emotional content. All big brands were once small, so their current strategy won't work for you.
People are often looking for evidence of a return on investment (ROI) from branding, not realising that the real value of branding is in treating it as a living organism, not an exercise carried out every half-decade or so. Branding is like parenting; while your children are young you do everything you can, without guidance, rules or payback in a hope that they turn out to be good citizens by the time they are teenagers. Truth is, we're all 'winging it' but like branding, you can learn from millions before you who did it well (and not so well).
Come up with your signature way to display relevant stories. Show how you represent your brand mission with footage, photos and blog posts. Have your employees, team, vendors and customers share the value they've gained from working with you.