Brand storytelling: the key to crafting compelling brand stories.
Summary/Overview
Humans crave connections. And brand storytelling builds exactly that. Having a relevant yet relatable story around your brand can help to build a community of customers that resonate with your business.
A strong brand narrative is essential to appeal to customers in a crowded and digitally dominated market. Businesses need to emotionally connect to their audience at a deeper level than ever before. John Lewis, and their annual Christmas advert, sets the precedent for this. Each year, the country eagerly awaits the TV ad – it’s become a hallmark of the festive season in the UK.
Find out how you can capitalise on storytelling in marketing with Adobe Express and build a long-lasting community of customers.
What is brand storytelling?
Brand storytelling is the art of creating a cohesive narrative to build an emotional connection with your target audience. It’s used in marketing to convey an engaging message and resonate with your customers. This in turn can lead to a better brand reputation and subsequent sales conversion.
Your brand story is an accumulation of your company values, brand purpose, mission and history. It answers why your company exists and why it matters. It acts as a differentiator for your brand, which can help to make your company stand out amongst a sea of similar products or services.
Why is storytelling in marketing important?
Telling a story is essential to marketing. Building a brand story allows you to connect with your audience and build a rapport with them. That way, they’re more likely to follow your brand and buy into your offering.
Here are a few key benefits of brand storytelling:
Emotionally connects you with your customers.
Successful examples of brand storytelling evoke empathy, create experiences, and encourage action from your target customer. The stronger the emotional connection with your audience, the better, as it encourages brand loyalty and can do wonders for your brand awareness.
Helps inspire change, action or interaction.
An authentic brand narrative can inspire your customers to take action. From interacting with social media posts and showing love on an Instagram reel, to buying your products or services and becoming a brand advocate. As a brand, you can also use your narrative for good and encourage responsible consumer behaviour too.
Builds a community.
Think about what message you want your customers to walk away with after interacting with your brand. What does your brand mean to them? What do they associate with your brand? Once your audience knows you and trusts you, they’re more likely to come back to you. A loyal community is powerful for brand reputation.
Editable templates for brand storytelling.
Four British brand storytelling examples.
A cohesive brand story can work wonders for consumer perception. Here are four examples of British brands that have harnessed the power of storytelling through their digital campaigns, TV advertisements and wider business strategy.
John Lewis.
John Lewis is a prime example of brand storytelling and is ahead of the curve when it comes to creating compelling stories. Since 2007, the annual Christmas advert stirs up a buzz every year and always gets people talking. The emotive TV advertisement pulls at the audience’s heartstrings and builds hype around the John Lewis brand.
Rather than a focus on products, the brand expertly weaves a narrative around the act of gift-giving and crafts a story often about love and generosity. This simple message is easy for their audience to relate to and captures their imagination. The adverts are then discussed online as viewers form their own connections to the brand.
Gymshark.
Gymshark have placed their own spin on brand storytelling by focusing on building an online community through social media engagement and influencer marketing. The brand has taken the industry by storm, from humble beginnings in 2012 when Ben Francis designed gym clothing he wanted to wear, to a multi-billion dollar fitness empire.
Their strategy involved inviting influencers into their story by creating Gymshark Athletes who advocate for their clothes. Gymshark also makes their customers part of the story by posting user-generated content from followers that recreate their workouts.
Compare the Market.
Compare the Market created a comedic character to breathe some life into the world of price comparison. The cute meerkat character resonates with their audience and helps to make the brand more memorable.
Customers followed Aleksandr Orlov and Sergei on several adventures though TV advertisements over the years, where he would encourage viewers to visit the website: comparethemeerkat.com. This website was designed to take customers to a page detailing the history of the meerkat’s back story with the brand. This example of brand storytelling is so powerful, it’s inspired a spin off book and cuddly toys of the characters.
Burberry.
Burberry’s compelling brand storytelling stands out in the luxury fashion sector. It develops its narrative using long-from videos, like The Tale of Thomas Burberry, released in 2016. The video gave viewers a glimpse into Burberry’s 160-year-long history and its founder’s pioneering discoveries.
More recent campaigns have continued this vein of storytelling, but in a whole new reality. Burberry has taken its story to the metaverse and collaborated with Minecraft for its in-game adventure – Burberry: Freedom to Go Beyond. Players encounter recognisable features like an Equestrian Knight and the Thomas Burberry Monogram maze for an interactive brand experience.
Build your own brand story with templates from Adobe Express.
How to build your own brand story.
Crafting your brand story will help to lay the foundations of any future marketing strategies. Here’s everything to bear in mind when it comes to building a brand story.
1. Define your target audience.
Firstly, it’s important to have a clear understanding of who your target audience is, what they like and dislike, and what they value. That way, you’ll be able to create content that they’ll enjoy and find engaging.
2. Set out the purpose of your story.
What are you hoping that your brand storytelling will achieve? Is it to raise brand awareness or build brand credibility? Or perhaps you’re curating your brand story around a historic business logo. Once you know the challenge, you can start getting creative with your advertisement.
3. Create a strong narrative.
A clear narrative is essential. Stick to the main elements of a good story – characters, setting, conflict, climax, and resolution. These key elements will help you to curate an emotional connection with your audience, improve brand recall and ultimately convert them into loyal customers.
4. Welcome collaboration.
To really bring your brand storytelling to life, invite your customers into the tale. Take inspiration from successful brands like Gymshark, who capitalise on user-generated content. Remember, in order to tell stories that really strike a chord with your audience, you need to get their perspective.
5. Stay consistent.
To stay connected to your audience, you need to stay consistent with your brand narrative. Your customers should know what to expect from you. Keep your storytelling coherent across each part of the customer journey, from ads on social media to your in-store experience.
Useful things to know.
What makes a good brand story?
A good brand story resonates with its target market and promotes the brand’s history, values and beliefs. A strong narrative is key in order to keep your audience engaged. Brand storytelling should take your customers on a journey and include characters, setting, conflict, climax and resolution.
Why is storytelling so powerful in marketing?
People love to build connections, and brand storytelling invites your target audience into the magic of your brand. It makes your brand more relatable and trustworthy. By creating a compelling story, you’re able to drive awareness, curate loyalty and increase the number of advocates for your brand.
Is brand storytelling a marketing strategy?
Brand storytelling is a strategic marketing tool when used effectively. It offers customers an insight into your brand and creates a strong connection between your brand and your customers. This helps to build engagement, create a community and inspire action.