Stories: The Secret Behind Successful Brands
“Those who tell the stories rule the world.” — Hopi
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We live and work in Los Angeles, CA, a city famous for the stories that are created here. Hollywood is synonymous for storytelling that not only can bring magic to our lives, mesmerizes us, makes us laugh — it’s also big business.
But it’s not Hollywood alone that has discovered the magic of telling a good story. Let’s look at some of the greatest success stories of the past 20 years, not in the film industry, but in our economy:
Starbucks. Apple. Zappos… the new billion-dollar brands. What do they all have in common? It’s not that they offer the world’s best coffee or the latest sneakers, yet many of us love buying from these companies, including myself. Often, we even pay a premium price. Hey, venti latte no foam anybody?
But if they’re not the best, why do we love associating ourselves with some brands? And ignore others that may be almost identical. Ask an Android phone owner about iPhones, or vice versa. You will get interesting feedback and very likely comments that defy logic. The reason for this is: it’s their brand story.
Storytelling is a powerful technique for building relationships. It’s a concept as old as mankind that brings people together and keeps them engaged. Religions are built on stories, legendary brands like Harley Davidson or Levis wouldn’t exist without the myths they have created over time. Even fast-food brands often have a story “baked” into, like CocaCola’s secret formula or McDonalds’ magic sauce. Stories make brands interesting and relatable.
“The stories we tell literally make the world. If you want to change the world, you need to change your story. This truth applies both to individuals and institutions.” — Michael Margolis
Good stories also give big voices to small ventures. And it’s even an advantage for start-ups to show their banner with their purpose front and center. That’s why it’s mission-critical that companies take the time in the early stages to develop their approaches to storytelling, to invest in building an authentic, a transparent brand. It’s a down payment into a long term success.
The big paradigm shift
The continuing rise of social media and additional online platforms has triggered a big paradigm shift. Consumers are no longer buying from big corporations that have established a presence simply by having a large product portfolio and being in existence for decades. That’s how brands created trust in the 20th century. With limited media exposure, the brand that showed the most market or media presence was also perceived as the leader of the pack, as the better brand. With 24/7 media today and its abundance of online options, the consumer can pick whatever information outlet he or she wants. The playing field is wide open now, and smaller brands can find their target audiences too. Legacy is not a prime asset anymore, sometimes rather a liability. Big brands have a hard time to sell a human-centered, authentic story, to communicate purpose. In the last 30 years, only Procter & Gamble was able to create a mission story with real impact. It was shortly after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska in 1989 when they furnished the rescue teams with Dawn detergent to clean oil infested seabirds and saved thousands of animals. To this day, the story is attached to Dawn. But it’s rather an outlier.
Consumers want to know about your story
And they want to fall in love with that story. Like Dawn and the seabirds. They want to explore why your company does what you do, and how they can participate in the journey with you. Sometimes literally. Just look at Uber or AirBnB. Hanging out with those guys is considered hip. When was the last time you heard someone saying the same about a taxicab or a Sheraton Hotel?
Transparency is the new black
With the abundance of information available online, consumers have also become abundantly smart. What’s happening behind closed doors is suspicious. Transparency is the new black. This means if you’re not able to bring your customers inside what’s happening in your business — whether you’re a small shop owner or a 1,000 employee company — you’re already behind the trend.
More importantly, if your competitors are building transparency in the market, you’re already losing credibility with your customers. We now live in a world where we are only 140 characters away from destroying our carefully crafted reputation. Let’s not forget that. (Yes, you can tweet this)
So what does all this mean? What can you do in order to start building this authentic relationship with your audience? Let’s break it down into three simple components.
Put a face to your brand
Steve Jobs wasn’t just the founder and CEO of Apple. He was able to create a cult around his persona. His presentations made headlines all around the globe. He was the de facto face of the company that started from humble beginnings and turned into the most valuable brand on the planet.
Same with Tony Hsieh, the charismatic founder of Zappos. Tony’s management style and philosophy have created a Billion Dollar Brand that stands for a very human and respectful corporate culture and excellent customer service (Powered by Service). His lectures about business culture attract thousands of people around the globe. Here’s Zappos’ mission statement:
“Customer Service Isn’t Just A Department! We’ve been asked by a lot of people how we’ve grown so quickly, and the answer is actually really simple… We’ve aligned the entire organization around one mission: to provide the best customer service possible. Internally, we call this our WOW philosophy. “- Zappos
Features define the product, but stories define the brand
No one cares that your software loads a few seconds faster than your competitors, or that you have the lowest price. People buy on emotions. It’s why people pay $5 for a Starbucks coffee or wait in line in the rain outside the Apple store. Marty Neumeier, a design and branding guru likes to say:
“A brand is a person’s gut feeling about a product, service, or organization.” –Marty Neumeier
Rather than talking about what each of your features does better, expose your “why” and become bigger than the product and service you’re selling. What are your values? How can you resonate with your customer’s problems in order to serve them better? Most importantly, how are you providing a solution to a problem? How do you understand me as a customer?
The never-ending story
Be willing to put everything on the line to build your brand’s reputation and serve your customers with integrity. This can mean sacrificing some short-term gains, but it will pay off big time in the long run.
Moving forward, there will be two types of companies that exist. An honest brand with a compelling story and the potential to grow into a billion-dollar brand, and.. “what was their name again?”
Brands are created either by default or by design. Choose your story wisely, and it better be a good one. Final word by the great Joseph Campbell: “If you’re going to have a story, have a big story, or none at all.”
Marc Posch, Creative Director MPD/LA. Swiss-born, German-raised, LA-based.
Opus Brand Consult, Los Angeles/Munich/Paris. A team of creatives, thinkers, and developers. We are known for helping emerging tech and manufacturing companies to disrupt, stand out and grow. With our experience, deep industry expertise and all the collaborators to make it happen, we inspire success.
Contact: 213.446.7986. Or visit opusbrandconsult.com. Thank you.
