Elevating a Brand Story: How to Make Your Brand Matter
Author: Astha Verma
Published On: 18-05-21
Last Updated on: 11-05-23
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
The market is saturated with brands. The competition is as fierce as it gets.
In these times, brands face a dire need to elevate. They don’t just need to promote; they need to sell.
And well, to sell, brands need to emote. So, how exactly does that happen? How do brands market their vision and elevate their products into value that their customers can resonate with?
The key here is to converse.
However, words alone cannot create change. Brands need to invest, ideate and act.
So, if you’re wondering how you can make your brand story stand out, here’s a guide that will help elevate your brand story (and more)!
Why do you need a brand story?
Your brand is more than just your logo that helps identify your service. It is what enables customers to interact with you.
Have you thought about why people instantly notice a Nike swoosh or a Starbucks tumbler? It is because these brands have market authority like no other.
While it is quite easy to sell or promote services and products if they promise high quality, it is tough to remain a crowd favorite.
Here’s where a brand story comes into play. It lets you communicate with your customers as you take actions to give meaning to your campaigns and ideas.
“Brands are built around stories. And stories of identity – who we are, where we’ve come from – are the most effective stories of all. This storytelling is a powerful way to bring brands to life.”
– Bill Dauphinais, Lucha Capital Management
People engage with brands that they know, and buy from brands that they trust.
— The Voice of Marketing (@LeboLion_SA) May 13, 2021
Storytelling works because there’s a physiological connection between head and heart.
🧠——💛 Wherever you see a successful product, business, or brand, look for the powerful story behind it. You probably won’t have a hard time finding it. — Carlos Silva 🇺🇦 (@cesilvam) May 11, 2021
What comprises a stellar brand story strategy?
Creating a brand story strategy is undoubtedly an art. However, there are a few ways you can master it by remembering its key components.
- Let your service or product show that it can help improve one’s life.
- Allow your story to emote. Consumers tend to make purchases that have an emotional impact on them.
- Connect your story to your target audience.
- A compelling story must never be far-fetched or unrealistic.
Now that you know what forms a great brand story, here’s how you can elevate it further!
1. Be consistent with the impression you set
A good first impression is commendable. However, you must back it up with concrete action. When you have your brand story ready, you must make an effort to engage well with your audience.
Let your story bear your true personality along with what makes you unique. Help the audience understand why your brand deserves their loyalty.
2. Study your audience well
When you elevate a brand story, you must ensure that it reaches the right audience. Here’s where you must conduct thorough research into understanding who your target audience is. Think of the challenges and pain points that this audience faces and then address them.
Pro Tip: While selling your product or service, also make it a point to provide value. You can offer value by educating your customers, providing tips and tricks, introducing new trends, etc. Once you become consistent on this front, your customers will automatically seek you out.
3. Craft an impactful core idea
Problem-solving works best when you identify the core issue. When building your brand story, you should think of what your audience will be most attracted to and impacted by. Whether your core idea speaks of a pain point or an advantage, it must be distinct.
Your core idea should be so strong that no customer can ignore it. This way, your brand image is elevated and your message reaches potential and existing customers.
Brands that Nailed Their Brand Story
If we give you a minute to think, you can come up with plenty of popular brands around the globe. However, there are some that have knocked it out of the park while establishing their brand authority.
Here’s an insight into our favorites.
Zomato
Zomato has been in the limelight with utmost poise and consistency with their top-notch campaigns designed to aid people during the Covid-19 global pandemic. From their Feeding India campaign to the Assam Floods Initiative, their brand identifies with helping the helpless.
After a sudden surge in Covid-19 cases in India, Zomato launched a priority feature on its food delivery app. This feature simply allowed customers to flag a delivery as an emergency.
This would alert restaurants as to the urgency of the order as it may be for a covid patient or an isolated family. Ultimately, this feature would make ordering food a breeze for people who are unable to cook or source food due to their health.
Touching, isn’t it?
This simple feature not only enhanced Zomato’s brand image but also gave meaning to its brand story that portrays its riders as saviors for the ordinary citizen.
Procter & Gamble
P&G’s Widen The Screen initiative is one that raises awareness about the black-owned media. It tells a captivating story of stereotypes that exist in the advertising industry.
This initiative combines professionally curated content that blends purpose and creativity to showcase the Black community’s talents.
What’s more, P&G has collaborated with Queen Latifah, Tribeca Studios, and Flavor Unit Entertainment to form the Queen Collective program that provides black female filmmakers a platform to tell their stories.
So, these initiatives not only provide the P&G brand with credibility but also elevate its image to show that the brand cares about people.
Nike
Nike has always used its brand to speak up for various causes that resonate with its brand value. Its EQUALITY initiative is one such stellar move at encouraging people to translate the respect and fairness seen on-field to off-field activities.
This initiative uses sports to motivate people to create change in local communities, while Nike leads by example through its global partnerships.
To give further meaning to this initiative, Nike partnered with MENTOR to ensure youth mentoring programs connect volunteers to different opportunities within their communities.
In 2017, the brand donated $5 million to different organizations, including PeacePlayers, the Ever Higher Fund, and MENTOR. Moreover, Nike also set up mentoring.org to encourage people from local communities to register as mentors.
Today, PeacePlayers has aided over 75,000 kids globally and has set up partnerships with 260 schools, non-profits, and programs. Thus, Nike, through this initiative, has undoubtedly outdone its brand storytelling.
To Wrap It Up
Never wait too long to elevate your brand story! More often than not, brands hesitate to invest and ideate because they feel that it would take too much time and energy. However, if you choose the right experts to help you, you won’t have to bother at all!
At WrittenlyHub, you can collaborate with professional writers and marketing experts who will craft the perfect brand story for you! So, what are you waiting for? Hit us up today!
Stories are the best way to connect with your audience. It entices them into your brand. Lovely blog!