The power of branding starts with a good story

By Max Kringen

With the average person seeing 4,000 to 10,000 advertisements per day, brands have to work harder than ever to cut through the noise.

Creating a strong brand – complete with a memorable name, eye-catching logo, and a consistent visual identity – is essential to the success of any business or organization. But it’s not enough; if we really want to stand out, we need to dig a little deeper.

Now more than ever, we are all seeking connection with each other and with the brands we give our money to. In order to capture the attention of today’s consumers, we need to give them something to connect to. We need to show them who we are and what we stand for.

We need to tell a story.

At Tellwell, we believe story is the most powerful way to introduce your brand, educate and engage your customers, and remind them why they love you. A timeless logo and beautiful website get you views. A good story gets you loyal followers and repeat customers.

So, first things first: what makes a good story?

Great stories are universal. A story should take a piece of the human condition and insert it into a unique situation.

Great stories have a clear structure. They move along a defined path that is consistent and can be followed by an audience.

BUT, great stories are also surprising or unexpected. An audience loves a twist. Keep things interesting and put a spin on your story.

Great stories have a character to root for. We all want to root for someone who is battling the odds and facing adversity.

Now, you’re probably thinking, “Well that’s all fine and good, but how do I do it?”

At Tellwell, we use a framework called the Hero’s Journey to help our clients (and ourselves!) craft clear, concise, and engaging brand stories. The Hero’s Journey is a tool as old as storytelling itself. It originated in mythology, was popularized by Joseph Campell, and can be seen in just about every blockbuster movie and bestselling novel on the market. Now, thanks in large part to the work of marketing legend Donald Miller, it’s being used to help brands share their stories.

The Hero’s Journey has helped nonprofits, individuals, and businesses of all sizes clarify their message and connect with their audiences. Walking through the Hero’s Journey can be an hourslong workshop by itself, but for the sake of time (and word limits), I’ll break it down into the basics.

First, we need to choose a character, or “hero”. Everybody wants to be the hero of their own story. In order to establish a connection with our customer and give them a reason to trust us, we must cast them as the hero in our story.

Next, our character encounters a challenge that they can’t overcome by themselves. Just when they are beginning to feel discouraged, they meet a guide – that’s us! – who understands their plight and has the knowledge and experience to help them overcome it.

When we reposition ourselves as the guide instead of the hero, it conveys to our customers we care, we know our role, and we’re so confident in what we do that we are certain we can help them reach their goals. Finally, the guide provides the hero with a plan and inspires them to action so they can achieve success and avoid failure and doom.

The Hero’s Journey framework allows us to incorporate all of those components of a good story – a universal truth, a clear structure, an unexpected twist, and a lovable character–into a narrative that can inform the way we write web copy, social media content, emails, press releases, video scripts, and more.

But first, it forces us to do some intro spection. When was the last time you sat down to think–really think – about why your business or organization exists? What problem were you creat ed to solve? What makes you unique ly capable of solving that problem? Trust me–your customers, donors, and stakeholders want to know the answers to those questions.

From the cautionary tales our ancestors shared around camp fires to the fairytales we read as children, humans are hard-wired to remember stories. With a well-told story (and some help from the Hero’s Journey), you can cut through the noise and create connections your audience won’t forget.

MAX KRINGEN IS FOUNDER AND CHIEF STORYTELLER AT TELLWELL, A MULTIDISCIPLINARY COMPANY BASED IN FARGO, N.D.