Creating Brand Stories

Story telling technique is not new. From way back, religions have used it. Today we still recall these stories and relate them to our children. They are simple, reflects values in an easy to understand sequence, emotional and visual – all of which make them memorable.

They are Human.

They are Timeless.

Now at this time and age with the telecom boom in the last 20 yrs, brand owners have both an opportunity and a threat.

The social mediums are a threat if you don’t have something to say – just more of the same or if you have no brand strategy. This is simply NOISE!

The opportunity lies in the integration of dynamic media at hand either paid and/or earned. There is a higher chance to engage with your consumers at different levels more than ever before. Secure market share as well as recruit for the future.

With exploding me-too brands , more mediums and channels, shrinking consumers’ span of attention, and a hidden consumer need to control what messages are pushed on them, this is where brand stories come in . They have the power to act as the epicenter of these inter-connected media channels.

The power of brand stories lie in a singular idea anchored in shared values between your brand and your target consumers. At this point you both ‘dialogue’ on the human level. You are creating a ‘Conversation’ .This is the level that has the ability to transcend geographies and time.

This is the ‘What’- a part and parcel of your brand strategy and why you set to be in business. This should be ironed out with business partners and stakeholders early on before launch.

Now for the’ How’ - Part of every briefing you make, should reflect one or more of these story telling dimensions across whichever mediums you are using to communicate. (details of which are in my Creating Brand stories TALK).

?      Keep it simple and easy to understand

?      Make it Emotional

?      Hands on experience

?      Tell your truth

?      Relatable

One last note to flag is that the mediums of communication are often wrongly limited to ALT /BLT/Social but in fact -even more today- they include packaging, suppliers, employees. They all tell your brand story.

Happy story telling.

Dahlia Zayed

Brand and Retail strategist with 18+ experience in corporate multinational. She can be reached on [email protected] or her fb and you tube channel FWD Consultancy.