Reading Time: 6 minutesEven the phrase “brand story” implies one thing. A single artefact. But the story of a brand comes together in more than just one piece of text. Telling your whole brand story is cumulative: a series of stories, told in different ways, to different audiences. In point of fact, the best brand stories are an […]
Tag: brand advice
What makes a great brand story?
Reading Time: 5 minutesStorytelling is of course very much an idea whose time has come. And brands are increasingly using story formats to express themselves and to explain their place in the market and the world. But, what gives a story “lean-in” value? What turns any brand story into a great brand story? In this TED talk, filmmaker […]
Great brand storytelling is all about structuring your storylines
Reading Time: 6 minutesBrand story has two distinct roles: it forms the basis for the different levels of narrative you unfurl over time to your audience; and it acts as the “brand in your head” reference point internally. The key to success is structuring your storylines so that they incorporate all the classic elements of good storytelling. Any […]
Take the time to make the most of your brand story
Reading Time: 3 minutesA brand story is pretty much useless if you don’t apply it. The reason many brands don’t do justice to their story is that they treat it as a background exercise. Something the brand keeps to itself. But the true and valuable purpose of your story is to guide and shape your market narrative, particularly […]
How to develop, lock in and apply powerful brand values
Reading Time: 3 minutesValues are one of the great ironies of brand. Everyone professes their importance, and some brands invest considerable time finalising them. Then they systematically ignore them, often because they don’t know how to practically apply them. In doing so, they underplay the importance and guidance that powerful brand values can provide. Not all brand values […]
Different ways to think about differentiation
Reading Time: 4 minutesIf you can truly find a difference for your brand, you should pursue it. But the difference needs to be meaningful to your audience. And you need to recognise it won’t last. Differentiation is an idea that has become controversial in recent years. Acknowledging that, here are some different ways to think about differentiation. The […]
Choosing your brand’s talking points
Reading Time: 5 minutesThere’s a discretion to being articulate that often gets missed. At a time when AI in particular means you could talk about anything, what will your brand’s talking points be? So many brands seem to get the balance between under-share and over-share wrong. They either make no effort to engage sincerely and effectively (preferring to […]
How to decide if you need a brand strategy
Reading Time: 3 minutesYou have a brand, whether you realise it or not. It may not be the brand you want, or even the one you thought you were – but it is a brand, nevertheless. It represents how you are understood by the market, buyers and your own people. To consciously change or build that understanding, you’ll […]
What does it take to be a brand storyteller?
Reading Time: 4 minutes“Storytelling” is the new panacea. But when every brand has a story, and many of the stories are interchangeable, none of those stories matter. It takes more than that to be a brand storyteller. Being articulate as a brand is actually an artful science. Say too little and you risk being talked-over and seen-past. But […]
Brand story myths
Reading Time: < 1 minuteGreat brands have great stories. But a great story doesn’t automatically create a great brand. For years we’ve told ourselves a story about what story is and how it works: develop a product; build a story around that product to give it value; sell that product at a greater degree of profit. We’ve allowed ourselves […]