Branding Stories

Every brand has a story. Many marketing professionals, including yours truly, believe that communicating this story will lead to a brands success. But, where does the story come from and what exactly is the story?

Here are my quick thoughts on to identify your brand story:

1. History. Your brands history is a story in itself; how did your brand begin, what changes were made along the way, how did your brand evolve - these are all questions you can answer to form the history of your brand and if the history is compelling, can differentiate your brand from others. Brands with good history stories that come to mind are: Nike, Goodyear, Safeway, Ford, Ikea, 3M, Ferrari, Hewlett-Packard, Zippo, Harley Davidson, and Coca Cola. There are many with great brand histories - these companies do a good job of communicating their past as a cornerstone to their brand offering. Even if you are relatively new, documenting acheivements and turning points in your brand, demonstrates history.

2. Beliefs. Your brands beliefs are a story; what is important to your brand, what drives your brand forward, what does your brand strive for - these are questions you can answer to form the beliefs of your brand and lets consumers know what you stand for. Brands with strong beliefs are: Apple, Hewlet-Packard and Sony (Innovation), The Body Shoppe (Natural), Trader Joe's (Fun), Ferrari and Nike (Performance), Rolex (Quality), Bentley (Craftsmanship), Walmart (Cheap). No matter what your belief is, you need to communicate it and be known by it. Consistency in communicating this story helps to solidify what your brand stands for with consumers. A brands beliefs are typically tied to a genuine passion of the company founder or leader.

3. Personality. Your brands personality is an evolving story; how does your brand dress, what mood is your brand, is your brand friendly, is your brand assertive, is your brand trusting, is your brand open to dialogue, is your brand unique - these are all questions that you can answer in the look and feel of your brands marketing materials. Brands that have unquestionable personality are: Apple, Ikea, Google, Hasbro, Disney, Swatch, Kraft, Kellogg's, Yamaha. The personality of your brand should instantly instill feeling and emotion towards your brand. The look and feel or personality of your brand should support and act as conduit for your brands beliefs and history. The colours, fonts, style, copy, imagery, sound and wordmark should all work together to communicate your brand personality. The personality doesn't happen by chance, it should be carefully and strategically designed by a professional.

Communicating these stories can be done several different ways - I can cover that another day though... for now, start thinking about your history, beliefs and personality. These three brand story points will also help to define your brand motto, and vice versa.

There are several ways to approach your brand story, these, in my opinion are the three most important ones and are the base for all others.

What Works?

Everyone wants to know what advertising or marketing works, and rightly so, they want to invest some money in their brand so they can reap the rewards that extra sales and profits bring.

So, what's the answer? What does work?

When it comes to advertising and marketing... everything works. And, it's not the size, it's how you use it.

You've probably seen big campaigns that front line staff don't get behind and they never seem to take off. That's because advertising on it's own can be ineffective - your advertising sets the expectation - when the customer makes contact the brand, you better be what they expect (or better) - otherwise you are throwing away your money.

I always stress continuity, with my staff and with my customers. Having continuity is important for the story of the brand to be told and for expectations to be met.

It's like this:

Advertising and marketing set the expectation. This is done through a brand promise which is set forth in ads, signage, identity, decor etc. Consumers see this promise and decide whether or not to engage with your brand. This decision is based on fact and emotion - your advertising needs to prey and deliver on both.

Staff and product deliver the expectation. This is done through interaction with employees (or other peoples employees) and hands on experience with your product and/or brand. When the consumer decides to engage with your brand, they become a customer. If what you've promised in your brand promise is not delivered then you have lost a repeat customer. The ability for your brand to grow past a single transaction is difficult and requires more advertising to get single transaction business.

So advertising works. If you have a good brand strategy, you can milk every ad for more than a single transaction. But that takes continuity and good marketing sense.

Learn why your customer uses and trusts your brand and you will better understand their expectation... even though you have been setting it, you may find the results differ from even your own expectations.

So, when it comes to your advertising and marketing - make sure the carpet matches the drapes.