Let me tell you a story. There are three characters in this tale – The Brand, The Product and The Consumer. One balmy summer’s evening, The Brand and The Consumer had a one-night stand. Their dalliance was fun, intriguing and left The Consumer hoping for a second date. Upon parting ways, The Brand gave The Consumer a gift – let’s call it The Product. And it was good.
Next day, The Brand texted The Consumer, but the text was full of emoticons, acronyms and badly typed promises. Unsure whether The Brand was interested in a second date, The Consumer replied with a message of hope. Over the next few weeks, The Brand’s communication with The Consumer was woeful – rambling texts, phone calls and missed opportunities led The Consumer to feel misunderstood and confused, so The Product was thrown in the bin. The Consumer told everyone about the experience, and The Brand lost everything and moved to Mexico. End of story.
Sadly, this tale is all too common on the (marketing) dating scene. We could put it down to our noisy, multi-channel digital mash-up of a marketing landscape we find ourselves in. Or, we could realise that effective storytelling is a core part of good marketing, whether the landscape be the mayhem of social media platforms or the old-school trio of TV, radio and print media.
So, how do we create meaningful relationships between The Brand and The Consumer in our brave new world of hyperconnectivity. Guess what? It’s all about the story. Stories matter in life and in marketing. Great stories make people feel something, and those emotions create powerful connections between The Consumer, The Brand and The Product, resulting in The Brand’s power growing exponentially.
Unlike the antiquated sales-focused messages of advertising copywriting, brand storytelling shouldn’t be self-promotional. Instead, brand stories should subliminally sell your brand. With the explosive growth of social media and content marketing, the opportunities to tell stories as part of direct and indirect brand marketing have become a strategic priority.
Brand storytelling tips
The art of writing those brand stories as effective pieces of online content is a challenge that few are trained to do. That’s because the best brand storytellers understand the critical elements of professional creative writing, skills in which few marketers have been formally trained.
Today’s strongest marketing team will have room for new roles like the content marketer, writer or director. These roles focus on increasing consumer emotional involvement in the brand through social media and content marketing stories, as well as on weaving the brand storyline into offline brand experiences and marketing initiatives.
While big agencies and brands are hiring their own content directors to make the strategy come to life, not all brands can afford that luxury. Mastermind helps its clients tell brand stories all the time. Small consultancies like ours can work with you from simple training sessions, audits and guidance, right through to email marketing, big picture planning and the creation of the content itself. Together, we can craft compelling stories for your brand that keep your consumers happy and engaged, and in turn compel consumers to start spreading the word about how good your brand is in the long term – not just for a one-night stand! Here are a few brand storytelling tips we use to intrigue, engage and connect emotionally with consumers.
1. Be consistent with brand promise
Does your brand make promises? Does it keep them? The answer to both those questions should be “yes”. The problem with many brands is that they simply don’t commit to a position. So step one is to figure out what your brand stands for. Step two is to inject some personality into the brand persona. Who wants a relationship with a boring brand? Be charismatic! And most importantly, make sure your brand doesn’t develop a personality disorder. Keep your brand promise and persona consistent across all communications.
Just like in failed relationships, confusion caused by mixed messages is the number one brand killer. If your target audience doesn’t understand how your story relates to their perceptions of your brand, they’ll ditch your brand in favour of another that does consistently meet their expectations.
Red Bull provides a great example of consistency in its brand storytelling. The Red Bull brand image is one of adventure, extreme sports and freedom. All of its marketing campaigns focus on a variety of characters living the Red Bull brand lifestyle. From its World of Red Bull commercial series to Felix Baumgartner’s 128,100-foot space jump, Red Bull stimulates emotions in consumers through brand stories, drives emotional connections between the consumer and the brand, and reinforces the relationship with its target market in every interaction.
One of Mastermind’s clients, Mr. Riggs Wine Co, is a fine example of a brand creating a persona and sticking with it in all its brand storytelling. Winemaker Ben Riggs is a curious fella whose articulation of his wine philosophy is expressed in a distinctively dry tongue-in-cheek tone. The website copy has Ben Riggs’ punchy tone stamped all over it, from his witty observations to tasting notes and blogs. Check it out here
Ben Riggs’ same tone of voice is consistently delivered throughout all communications, from enewsletters and back label copy to philanthropic initiatives and wine club collateral.
2. Show, don’t tell
When I’m not wearing my Content director cap for Mastermind Consulting, I lecture future journalists at university. These students are learning how to convey emotional truth through writing, both fiction and non-fiction. Ask my students which phrase I drop into every lecture and scribble on every assignment, and they’ll answer “show, don’t tell”. I can’t emphasise enough how important this skill is to the successful writer. The importance of showing the audience what’s happening in the story, rather than telling them, is paramount. And the same rings true for marketers’ efforts when reaching out to consumers.
A fine example of showing, not telling is the brand storytelling of nonprofit organisations. Think the RSPCA, Salvation Army, World Vision. Rather than simply telling consumers there are people or animals in need, nonprofit organisations show them by using emotionally charged images and descriptive language.
If your brand is incredibly passionate about producing sustainable wines, show your consumers how you do this – videos of the daring viticulturist hand-weeding on hands and knees in the vines. If your consumers love the low content of alcohol in your wine, post their feedback on your website or include their reviews in your email communications. Instagram is a great platform to create visual content that shows consumers what your brand stands for, with no telling in sight.
And avoid empty words like “passionate”, “dedicated” and “creative” – all these adjectives are overused, so their emotional relevance is practically non-existent. Instead, consider using strong action verbs like “discover”, “explore”, “uncover” and “learn”, and use adjectives that relate specifically to your brand.
3. Create expectation
Don’t give everything away at every interaction with your consumer. Keep something for later by focusing on the use of “perpetual marketing”, where one piece of content feeds off the next. For example, if you publish a piece on top places to eat in the Hunter Valley, end that post with, “Look out for our post on top places to stay in the Hunter Valley next week”. Consider using phrases such as “Watch This Space” on Facebook posts, and release teaser posts on Facebook, email or Instagram.
Scarborough Wine Co is a well-loved Hunter brand that Mastermind has helped develop a considerable group of loyal followers over the years. Yes, its wines are superb expressions of classic Hunter varietals but its marketing endeavours have displayed best practice “thinking outside the box”, especially when it comes to attracting fresh consumers outside the wine enthusiast market. Scarborough’s wines make perfect food matches – so its newsletter members now receive a recipe card with slick shots of the ingredients for recipes specially matched to each of the wines. Every new release across Scarborough’s range of wine comes with a new recipe card. Just bought the new release Vermentino? Take home the recipe for Braised & Chargrilled Octopus with Tomatoes.
4. Multiple encounters
As with all brand-building efforts, the goal is to surround consumers with brand experiences (including stories), so they can decide how they want to interact with your brand. Is it through weekly blog posts? The brand’s Instagram account? Monthly competitions or enewsletters? Give the consumer multiple ways to enjoy your brand story, and you’ll have a slew of long-term partnerships on the horizon. Now that’s another story.
Stay tuned for Mastermind’s next blog post – Good Content is Sharable Content.
Written by Sophie Knox.
