What is Brand Storytelling?
Brand storytelling is the strategic use of narrative to connect a brand with its audience. It involves crafting a cohesive and compelling story that integrates the brand’s identity, values, and mission into a relatable and engaging narrative.
Unlike traditional marketing, which often focuses on product features, brand storytelling puts customers at the heart of the story to create an emotional connection with them by presenting the brand as a character in a broader narrative.
Successful brand storytelling typically includes an identifiable character, relevant plot, conflict, and resolution. Characters drive the plot and elicit empathy, while conflict presents the biggest challenge and shows its climax. Eventually, the resolution delivers the story’s moral or message, humanizing the brand-consumer relationship.
Why Does Brand Storytelling Matter?
Brand storytelling is important because it transforms abstract brand messages into impactful narratives that resonate with audiences on a deeper level. Research in cognitive psychology reveals that a good story can enhance empathy and arouse emotions since it allows the audience to immerse themselves in the narrative and experience the simulated world evoked by the story.
This immersive experience is also defined as narrative transportation in which we step outside our comfort zones, try living in the narrative, and become more receptive to the key messages by understanding the conflict that the character has to face.
In other words, brand storytelling simulates the customer experience of product ownership or interaction with the brand, thereby fostering stronger emotional connections.
Storytelling also helps consumers form emotional bonds with the brand, driving behavior changes such as buying decisions and word-of-mouth intent. Effective storytelling that not only entertains but educates consumers aids in memory retention and makes the brand message more compelling and less likely to trigger reactance, ultimately enhancing customer engagement and brand loyalty.
Read More: Brand Advocacy Unleashed – Turning Customers Into Brand Lovers
6 key elements of successful brand storytelling
1. The well-chosen plot – Craft compelling brand narratives
A plot is the chronological sequence of events that make up a story. Emplotment, or the assembly of events into a plot, gives meaning to a story by aligning separate events with a central theme.
According to research on brand storytelling and master plots, having a clear plot not only conveys the contextual meaning of the story but also determines the valued linkages between events, their sequence, and the story’s endpoints. Overall, it facilitates fluent information processing and helps the audience more effectively form and retain brand schemas in their memory.
Yet, different plots may evoke different emotions and reactions, making the choice of plot vital for the storytelling’s success. The 20 master plots identified by Tobias (1993) provide a comprehensive framework for brand storytelling. These plots include: Quest, Adventure, Pursuit, Rescue, Escape, Revenge, Riddle/Mystery, Rivalry, Underdog, Temptation, Metamorphosis, Transformation, Maturation, Love, Forbidden Love, Sacrifice, Discovery, Wretched Excess, and Rise & Fall.
In summary, choosing the right plot ensures that the brand story not only captures the audience’s attention but also resonates deeply, creating a memorable and impactful narrative.
2. Conflict & Resolution
A story needs conflicts to propel it forward and maintain the audience’s interest. They serve as challenges and obstacles that represent customers’ pain points, creating a sense of familiarity and empathy. The reason why brand storytelling must depict conflicts is that it mirrors real-life experiences and prompts the audience to proactively think about possible solutions and outcomes.
The resolution, on the other hand, brings the story back to a state of harmony. This is when the brand appears as a hero and a benefactor to help the character or consumers themselves finish the conflict and restore happiness. Briefly, resolution resolves the tension built up by the conflict and delivers a sense of competence.
Let’s take the example of Dove – Real Beauty Sketches campaign to understand why conflict and resolution matter in storytelling. The ad campaign revolves around the internal struggle many women face regarding their self-perception. Only 4% of women consider themselves beautiful, while 54% remain unconfident about their appearance. This internal conflict is a significant pain point, as it mirrors a common real-life experience where individuals struggle with self-esteem and self-image.
The resolution in the campaign comes through the revelation of the sketches. After women describe themselves to a forensic sketch artist, the same artist creates another sketch based on a stranger’s description of the same woman. The two sketches are then compared side-by-side. The strangers’ descriptions represent how society evaluates women’s beauty, while the self-descriptions are often harsher and less true to reality.
Dove positions itself as the hero by showing this eye-opening experience, encouraging women to see their own beauty and challenge their negative self-perceptions. The campaign resolves the tension by delivering a powerful message of self-acceptance and positive self-image, restoring a sense of harmony and competence.
3. Brand-audience identification
Brand-audience identification refers to the process where consumers see aspects of their own identity, values, and aspirations reflected in a brand. According to the Social Identity theory, consumers identify with brands that align with their self-concept and personal values since they provide a sense of belonging and emotional connection.
Hence, brand storytelling should enhance this identification by providing a narrative that aligns with consumers’ values and beliefs, making the brand more relatable and engaging. A study on the impact of storytelling on consumer responses discovered that a narrative with a relevant plot and identifiable characters engages customers on both emotional and cognitive levels, contributing to higher purchase intent and brand advocacy.
3.1. Identifiable character
In brand storytelling, identifiable characters play a crucial role in engaging the audience and enhancing brand-audience identification. Identifiable characters are those with distinct roles, qualities, and goals that audiences can relate to and empathize with. Typically, these characters include heroes (the brand or protagonist), supporters (allies or brand advocates), and adversaries (challenges or barriers).
For example, Nike often positions athletes like Michael Jordan as the hero in its narrative, embodying qualities such as perseverance and excellence, while challenges like rigorous competition or underprivileged childhood serve as the adversary.
Choosing an identifiable character matters in brand storytelling as it creates a narrative structure that mirrors classical tales and effectively guides customers to the narrative transportation. By seeing themselves in the hero’s journey and struggles, consumers form a deeper connection with the brand and start identifying themselves with brand attributes and values.
3.2. Brand persona – The concept of brand anthropomorphism
One essential goal of storytelling is making the brand persona or the brand’s human-like traits visible to customers. This relates to the concept of brand anthropomorphism in which companies attribute human characteristics to their non-human brands or products to help consumers identify themselves with them.
For example, Apple’s persona as innovative and creative is evident in its sleek product designs and forward-thinking marketing campaigns. Coca-Cola’s persona of tradition and belonging is reinforced through its nostalgic advertising that often features family and friends. McDonald’s uses a friendly and reliable persona, embodied by characters like Ronald McDonald, to convey its commitment to family and fun.
Overall, a clear persona helps set expectations, establish relationships, and foster attachment. This consistency in personality ensures that all brand communications align with the brand’s core values, enhancing credibility and trust.
3.3. Brand essence – Vision, mission, and values
Eventually, a compelling narrative needs to depict brand essence, including vision, mission, and values. Brand essence represents the fundamental value and identity of the brand and reflects what it truly is.
Vision represents the shared aspirations and purpose of both stakeholders and the firm, guiding them toward a unified objective. Mission defines the strategic path, outlining how the brand conveys its values to customers. Lastly, value forms the foundation of the company’s culture, providing stakeholders with principles for their business practices.
Research on brand storytelling techniques shows that a clear and consistent essence inspires both employees and customers, aligning them with the brand’s vision, mission, and values.
For example, Patagonia’s brand essence revolves around environmental responsibility and sustainability, which is evident in its stories of eco-friendly practices and conservation initiatives. Similarly, Red Bull’s essence of energy, adventure, and extreme sports is consistently highlighted in its marketing campaigns and sponsorships of high-adrenaline events.
4. The ‘edutaining’ quality of the story
Brand storytelling should be ‘edutaining’ by leveraging the powerful influence of entertaining content to educate the audience and reduce their reactance to the message. According to WARC, edutainment can significantly influence customer behavior.
For example, YouTube’s “how-to” videos draw the most attention, with seven out of ten viewers using the platform to solve problems and learn new skills. Similarly, TikTok’s #LearnOnTikTok has amassed over 254.7 billion views, proving the platform’s efficacy in capturing and retaining attention through entertaining and educational content.
Educational information blended in a brand story that focuses on emotions and entertainment can still foster emotional bonds and increase the likelihood of message retention. A study shows that substances like dopamine and serotonin elicited by entertaining content have positive effects on our memory and our willingness to learn. In other words, we absorb information better when we are in a good mood.
Stories with identifiable characters with clear causes and effects allow audiences to explore new concepts safely and empathetically, leading to a better understanding of the topic and long-term behavioral changes. Netflix’s “Sex Education,” for instance, has successfully educated viewers on complex sexual health topics, surpassing traditional educational methods in effectiveness.
5. Authenticity
Authenticity represents the genuine and consistent presentation of a brand’s story, values, and purpose. An authentic brand story is key to brand success as it increases consumers’ trust and commitment towards the brand. 86% of consumers say they emphasize the authenticity of the brands they like and support.
Brands can maintain authenticity by incorporating real people and their experiences, sharing truthful stories that reflect their journey and values, and practicing honesty and transparency. This includes openly discussing challenges and setbacks, which makes the brand more relatable and human-like.
For instance, Dove – Real Beauty has consistently showcased brand authenticity. The company focuses on the feelings of ordinary women in its narratives, telling truthful stories about how media advertising has destroyed women’s confidence in social expectations of beauty in today’s digital world. By doing all these, Dove has successfully built a brand that resonates with consumers on a deeper, more authentic level.
6. Persuasive data & statistics
Including persuasive data and statistical evidence in the narrative is essential as it adds credibility and strengthens the persuasiveness of the key message. According to WARC, data-driven stories resonate with both emotional and rational aspects of the audience, making the message more compelling.
However, brands must be aware of the use of data in their stories and they should select only relevant and well-chosen statistics that support the story without overwhelming the audience and triggering a sense of reactance.
Effective use of data requires understanding the audience’s perspective, avoiding information overload, and ensuring clarity and simplicity. By doing so, brands can craft engaging, believable stories that drive action and foster a deeper connection with their audience.
Read More: Redefine and Understand Brand Identity in the Digital Age
Academic sources:
Peho, C. (2020) Storytelling as a Means of Brand Building-Building Authenticity and Emotions through Brand Stories. Master’s thesis.
Fog, K., Budtz, C., Munch, P., and Blanchette, S. (2010) Storytelling Branding in Practice. 2nd ed. Heidelberg: Springer Berlin.
Kent, M.L. (2015) The power of storytelling in public relations: Introducing the 20 master plots. Public Relations Review. 41(4), pp.480-489.
Herskovitz, S., and Malcolm, C. (2010) The essential brand persona: storytelling and branding. Journal of Business Strategy. 31(3), pp. 21-28.
Sy Chu
As an analytical and creative marketing enthusiast skilled in customer analysis, content research and brand management, my passion is help businesses gain insights into their brand and marketing strategies to drive impactful outcome to their success.