Stories About Creating Brand Stories Vol. 1
To the business and brand owners out there – I love that you are so into what you do and how you do it. I get it, you spent so much time creating and selling your offering that many of you have forgotten why you created it in the first place. Maybe even lost sight of the customer problem you were trying to solve.
Since opening my consulting practice, I Like Storytelling, five years ago, I’ve spent a lot of time obsessing over the process I created to build brand stories. And way too much time telling clients about it because I was so passionate about it. So, I feel you.
But we need to get back to the heart of the matter. Brand stories need to speak to the heart – why you do what you do. Why your brand does what it does, why you created it.
I often borrow Simon Sinek’s short little 2-minute YouTube video that demonstrates the difference between what you do, how you do it, and why you do it, using Apple’s marketing messages. You can watch it here, but in short, Apple’s marketing messages go something like this:
“Everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo, we believe in thinking differently (why). The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly (how). We just happen to make great computers, wanna buy one?” (what)
The why, is why you buy.
When I play this at the beginning of my brand story workshops, I see the light bulbs go on and everyone’s eyes light up. Which is great, because it means we are embarking on a journey towards an emotive brand message.
So, if you’re feeling like it’s time to redefine your brand story, a great place to begin is to start thinking about all the ways you can describe what your brand offers, how it delivers it, and why it exists. The why should reflect its reason for being i.e. How it benefits the customer or solves a problem for them.
And if you’d like to take it a step further and uncover a brand story that your customers really care about and speaks to your brand’s why, reach out to me at annabelle@ilikestorytelling.com
Stories About Creating Brand Stories
This is the first story about interesting things I’ve uncovered on the journeys I’ve taken to create brand stories, from the pitfalls and red herrings to the ah-ha moments. Check back regularly for more.