Brand storytelling doesn’t follow a linear path. It never has. A linear model doesn’t allow for the chaos that comes with dealing with real, living, breathing humans and constantly changing markets. It certainly doesn’t take social media into consideration.
If you’re not careful, you could fall into the trap with some narrative arc models that, though they account for some issues with the brand, often do so with the issues in the rearview. As if the challenges the brand has faced in the past will somehow predict what the brand will face in the future.
Instead, look at brand storytelling as a narrative chain made up of many stories in “S” curves.
In turbulent times, companies must discover what kind of adjustments are right for them to stay relevant. It can seem overwhelming. But there are a few ways to think about resourcefulness to help companies of any size manage through stressful environments.
Dandelions put out a taproot from the very beginning to give themselves every advantage possible in journey ahead—because they don’t know if that journey will be easy or tough.
Unfortunately, too many companies don’t operate with the basic principles of dandelions and as a result, start with weak foundations, don’t plan for adversity ahead, and falter when the economic winds change. If we’ve learned anything from history it should be that change is inevitable. It can be sudden and unpredictable or like a slow-moving glacier.
We love to talk about what we’ve done, who we’ve seen, the hurdles we’ve crossed and triumphs we’ve realized. If we’re not careful, we can talk about how amazing we are and leave our guest completely out of the discussion.
Brands do this all the time. Agencies do this all the time. All this chest thumping and self promoting leaves consumers and customers on the outside looking in … if they even stay around long enough to keep looking.
Brands can be fun, free willed, playful, studious, a work horse, etc. But those attributes don't drive much energy into the brand. Worse, your interpretation of "fun" may be decidedly different than mine. So we could work on the same brand using "fun" as the brand personality and end up in vastly different areas.
Consumers have been trained to perceive three tiers in most retail environments: cheap stuff, expensive stuff and everything else. However, owned brands can fall prey to presenting too many layers. Some retailers have difficulty killing off weak products or collections that no longer match the brand and instead create sub-tiers and super-tiers. When consumers can’t distinguish the nuances, they apply the three-tier rule for simplicity.
I work with a wide range of companies each year, from small mom and pops to Fortune 50s. A common thread, whether working on organizational health or brand strategy, is authenticity and humanity. Everybody wants it. Everybody talks about it. So why then do so few companies truly deliver in this area?
