Do You Have a Story to Tell?

 

CHAPTER TWO

         

 We didn't lose the game; we just ran out of time. 

~Vince Lombardi

 

           How you can make stories work for your Brand on the conscious and unconscious level with your prospects and customers is by tapping into an archetypal theme.

 

          By touching on a familiar story, you get your customer to nod along with you, and engage with you on multiple levels.

 

          The most common archetypal themes are:

 

                   THE HERO’S JOURNEY

 

                   THE COMING OF AGE

 

                   THE ACQUIRING OF WISDOM

 

                   PACTS WITH THE DEVIL

 

                             &

 

                   TRICKING THE TRICKSTERS

 

          Some of the story motifs include the Achilles Heel from Greek mythology, where a seemingly invincible warrior has one small weakness that can bring about his downfall, and the Cinderella story, where a downtrodden hero defies expectation to achieve success.

 

          These common themes help your audience tap into primal emotions and create an instant sense of familiarity.  Each story has a moral, or a point that talks about your firm, your skills and credits.  And for a brand product, the story is never-ending.

 

          We use stories to build trust and credibility.  Brand building based on stories make a promise with the customer and the mission of all of the elements to the brand, like logo, website, brochure, even down to how you interact with customers and clients is to build on that trust.

 

          Some Brands use color, and placement to forge a bond with their customers, and create an instant impression.  Think about a hundred dollar bill.  Just the sight of it invokes an instant response:  MONEY.  The color of the green, the look of old Ben Franklin.  Some logos incorporate those elements, which tap into our association with that element.

 

          Complicated?

 

          It can be.  Or it can be simple.  Which is the point of using a familiar story to create recall, and have your customer think about that story while they think about your company.

 

          Some of the basic rules of visual branding are:

 

                   Keep it simple.

 

                   Keep it clean.

 

                   Keep it consistent.

 

Let’s look at the Cowboys for a moment, and I’m referring to the Dallas Cowboys of course, not the grungy, shower starved, range dwelling pokes from the West-

 

Wait!  Aren’t they the same thing?

 

No, I’m kidding.  The Dallas Cowboys of today have a clean simple look.  Their logo is a STAR!

         

What does that say about the team and conveying an instant message!

 

The colors are blue and silver, soothing, reliable.  Now what leather skinned cowboy in his right mind would wear silver?  Strike silver maybe, but then he would be a prospector and not a cowboy, and we all know the ‘49’er’s are Red and Gold!

 

The Dallas Cowboy’s logo serves to convey a story about their team:

 

They are stars.

 

Performance wise, they may not back up that claim, and some team members may not live up to the expectation created by their story, but their design reinforces the idea of their story.

 

          The key to a successful branding campaign is to know who you are and show who you are in your business.

         

One day of practice is like one day of clean living. 

 It doesn't do you any good.  ~Abe Lemmons

 

          A second key to successful branding is to focus on the emotional aspect of your brand in the hearts and minds of your consumer.

 

          Creating a compelling story to connect with your audience is paramount to achieving this goal.  When a customer feels an emotional pull toward your company, you’ve gained their trust and are rewarded with their loyalty.

 

          Numerous studies show that while people may use reason to reach a conclusion, they use emotion to justify their actions.  That’s why most salespeople are taught to focus on benefits, instead of features.

 

          A feature is what you have- a benefit is how what you have works for your customer.  How it makes them feel, and once you connect on that level, you have a real power with your brand.

 

          Think about NASCAR for just a moment.  NASCAR has built a huge loyal following of race car fans, they have a couple of hundred great stories to choose from when connecting with their audience, and they have entered into the cultural lexicon.

 

          Have you ever heard anyone say, “I’m going to go watch NASCAR,” when referring to how they will spend a Sunday afternoon?

 

          No one says, “I’m going to go watch NFL.” 

 

Or “Me and the guys are going to the MLB game.”

 

  They say “I’m watching football.”

         

Or “Let’s go to the game.”

         

But NASCAR has become a destination Brand for many fans.  Sure, you have people who watch the Brickhouse, or fans who visit the Daytona 500.  And as the sport has grown, and the fan base expanded, more varied definitions of the Brand have been referred to.  But the basics are there.

         

When people think about racing now, they think of NASCAR stock car racing, and often refer to the individual races by the NASCAR brand name.

 

          That’s a story and an emotional connection with their audience.  Any time you are considering the story to tell about your brand, you need to consider the emotional profile and let it play a key role in positioning your market.

 

Essential Tool for Telling Stories

Journal to capture thoughts

Write 10 ideas per day about any industry

Set Big Written Goals