Is your brand story as compelling as The Hunger Games? (source of image)
Struggling to grab the attention of your prospect? Finding it a challenge to attract customers to your business?
Perhaps you’ve been telling the wrong story – if at all.
Thanks to a recent episode of the terrific Perpetual Traffic podcast, I learned how we can craft a compelling story to capture the hearts – and wallets – of our audiences.
Courtesy of Imagination.com
Driven and ambitious, you were one of the stars in your company. You excelled in whatever you do, and are well liked by your boss, colleagues and subordinates.
But one day, dark clouds rumbled. Your company was acquired by a global MNC.
Due to “surplus headcount”, many of your colleagues were made redundant. Rumour even has it that your job is next on the line!
Courtesy of Listening books blog
When was the last time you read, heard or viewed a compelling brand story?
Every single day, we are inundated with hundreds and thousands of itsy bitsy stories. Served in bite-sizes, these seemingly endless anecdotes reach us through our ubiquitous digital devices.
The heroes of this age are no longer as pristine, well-groomed and polished as the ones before. Sometimes, they may even be tormented and tortured souls.
Or even a super-villain like the Joker (above).
(As I write this update, Todd Williams’ DC Comics origin story of the most iconic Batman villain could hit US$1 billion in box office performance.)
How can your company or brand create a good story – one that will attract and enchant your audience?
What can you do to improve how you write, produce or shoot your content such that you can hit both the intellectual and emotional nerve centres of your audiences?
TOMS shoes has one of the most best brand stories ever (source of image)
Logos. Taglines. Company names. Mastheads. Mascots. Jingles. More logos.
Every single day, we’re exposed to hundreds of different brands. These cover the entire spectrum of the consumption experience – from F&B to fashion, tuition services to toiletries.
Written by writer and brand consultant John Simmons, Innocent narrates the brand story of how Cambridge graduates Jon Wright, Adam Balon and Richard Reed built a “tasty little juice company” with a unique culture founded on strong values. Embodying the informal, casual wit of the company, the founding of Innocent is summarised on their website in the form of a charming story as follows:
“We started innocent in 1999 after selling our smoothies at a music festival. We put up a big sign asking people if they thought we should give up our jobs to make smoothies, and put a bin saying ‘Yes’ and a bin saying ‘No” in front of the stall. Then we got people to vote with their empties. At the end of the weekend, the ‘Yes’ bin was full, so we resigned from our jobs the next day and got cracking.”
What was the greatest company or brand story you’ve ever heard? Why were you enchanted by it?
Since time immemorial, mankind has always relied on stories to transmit information, values and ideas from generation to generation.
