Brand Storytelling

Thousands of years ago, our ancestors gathered around a fire in the evening to listen to stories. These stories entertained them, passed on knowledge, and helped them understand the world around them.

In the 21^st century, stories are still an important part of our lives, we’ve just changed the way they’re told. But they still help build connections, which is why they’re an important part of any brand.

Adding a Story to Your Marketing

You may not have noticed it explicitly, but all the best brands tell a story with their marketing.

In 2024, Nike went “Beyond Barriers” with a campaign celebrating athletes who overcame hurdles of race, gender or ability. It used documentary-style content to showcase the brand’s commitment to empowerment by spotlighting authenticity and impact.

If you’re a bit older, you may remember Apple’s iconic “1984” campaign, which was about bucking a boring system and creating your own vision. This established the now-giant computer company as a company designed for mavericks and renegades.

While your organization likely doesn’t have the pockets or the reach to fund campaigns on the same scale as these giants, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be using storytelling to your advantage.

Why Your Brand Needs Storytelling

Some people have a head for statistics, but many don’t. By utilizing storytelling in your marketing and brand building, you take otherwise unmemorable facts and use them to weave a narrative that generates an impact.

More than that, the use of stories in brand building establishes an emotional connection with your targets, helping distinguish you from the competition while increasing brand awareness. Ultimately, this leads to greater loyalty from your customers.

The Key Aspects of Storytelling in Marketing

Not every story is a good fit for every brand. Even if you had the Hemingway estate’s permission to use “The Old Man and the Sea,” how would that help if you need to sell popcorn?

Your story needs to be well thought out to fit your product and brand. An effective marketing story will do the following:

Build Awareness – People remember good stories. Using compelling narratives around your brand will help people remember it.

Create Emotional Connection – You’re trying to make your targets feel a certain way about your brand. The goal is to make them feel personally invested in your company, your brand and its values.

Communicate Brand Identity – Establishing a story around your brand helps you effectively explain your personality, mission and core values.

Differentiate Your Brand – Storytelling in marketing helps you stand out from the competition and explains why your targets should choose you, rather than them.

Build Trust – Telling your story in an authentic manner will help customers understand your origins and motivations, which in turn builds trust.

Humanize You – Storytelling makes your brand more relatable and approachable, which encourages people to interact with you.

How to Use Storytelling in Your Marketing

Now that you know how storytelling works for your business, it’s time for the tricky part: putting it to work for you.

Here are some ways you can implement a narrative into your marketing.

Tell Your Origin Story – Whether it’s Superman being sent to Earth from an exploding Krypton or Ray Kroc building McDonald’s into the global icon it is today, everyone loves a good origin story.

Share the story of how your brand was founded and the inspiration behind it to help your targets better understand you.

Develop a Brand Narrative – Warby Parker burst onto the eyewear scene in the second decade of the 21^st century. Part of that success was built of a brand identity that made boring old eyeglasses fun and unique.

Give people a look behind the scenes and tell the story of your people, product and/or culture.

Highlight Customer Stories – Every marketer knows the power of reviews, so why not amplify that and use it to spread the word about your brand?

Share positive experiences from real people who have used your brand to demonstrate the impact your offering had on them.

Go Multi-Channel – Your brand’s story should be used across all your marketing channels, including website content, social media, advertisements and video.

Maintaining a consistent narrative across media channels amplifies the power of each.

Be Authentic – People can smell inauthenticity a mile away. Don’t try to be something you’re not with your brand story. Instead, celebrate who you really are and what you really stand for.

Gragg Builds Stories People Remember

Gragg Advertising understands the vital role storytelling plays in successful marketing, and we can put that knowledge to work for you. Whether you’re looking to refine the narrative around your brand or start something completely new, we have the expertise.

Let’s talk about how we can build the story around your company. Call 816-931-0050 today!