How to Use Stories to Elevate Your Brand
Summary
TLDRThe video discusses the importance of storytelling in marketing and branding, highlighting that strong emotions and stories make memories stick. It emphasizes that storytelling is more engaging than plain facts and bullet points. The speaker explains how successful branding turns products into memorable experiences, using stories to create a stronger emotional connection. The video explores the Hero's Journey framework, character wants, and obstacles in storytelling, showing how these elements apply to brand strategy. Ultimately, it underscores that mastering storytelling can significantly enhance marketing efforts and differentiate brands in a competitive market.
Takeaways
- 📖 Storytelling is essential in both marketing and brand strategy.
- 💡 Memory is strongly tied to two key elements: emotion and story.
- 🧠 We tend to remember events that trigger strong emotions, while routine or mundane moments fade from memory.
- 👶 Children are naturally great at storytelling, but as adults, we lose some of that ability by focusing more on facts and bullet points.
- 🎭 Storytelling connects deeply with audiences, making content more memorable and engaging.
- 📚 Fables and childhood stories, such as Aesop’s, stay with us due to their emotional and narrative structure, unlike dry facts.
- 🏷 A product without a story is a commodity, while a product with a story builds a brand and commands a premium.
- 🦸 The hero’s journey is a powerful storytelling framework commonly used in movies, including Star Wars.
- 🎯 The key components of a story are character, want, and obstacle, which create tension and engagement.
- 💼 Successful branding is about helping customers transform, by understanding who they are, what they want, and what obstacles they face.
Q & A
What is the significance of storytelling in marketing and branding according to the transcript?
-Storytelling is crucial in marketing and branding as it taps into the human mind's natural propensity for remembering and connecting with stories that are emotionally charged. It helps differentiate a product from a mere commodity to a brand with a narrative that resonates with consumers.
How does emotion play a role in memory and storytelling as discussed in the transcript?
-Emotion is a core component of memory because it frames stories, making them memorable. The transcript explains that people tend to remember events that evoked strong emotions, which is why storytelling, being emotionally engaging, is more effective than simply listing facts.
What is the 'Hero's Journey' and how is it relevant to branding and marketing?
-The 'Hero's Journey' is a narrative framework that outlines the stages a hero goes through in a story, from the Ordinary World to facing challenges and returning transformed. It's relevant to branding and marketing because it provides a structure for creating compelling brand stories that resonate with audiences.
Why is it beneficial to create a character, a want, and an obstacle in storytelling for branding?
-Creating a character, a want, and an obstacle helps in crafting a relatable and engaging story that audiences can connect with. In branding, this approach humanizes the brand, gives it a purpose, and creates a narrative that consumers can emotionally invest in, thus strengthening the brand's appeal.
What is the relationship between Joseph Campbell and George Lucas as mentioned in the transcript?
-Joseph Campbell was a mentor to George Lucas, and his teachings on the 'Hero's Journey' significantly influenced Lucas's work, particularly in the creation of the Star Wars saga, which follows the hero's journey narrative structure.
How does the concept of 'character, want, and obstacle' apply to marketing strategies?
-In marketing strategies, identifying the character (target audience), their wants (needs and desires), and the obstacles (challenges they face) helps create targeted messaging and offers that address these specific elements, making the marketing more effective and resonant with the audience.
What is the importance of understanding the ideal customer's journey in branding?
-Understanding the ideal customer's journey is vital in branding because it allows for the creation of a strategic narrative that aligns with the customer's experiences and aspirations. This helps in designing marketing campaigns and brand interactions that resonate with the customer at each stage of their relationship with the brand.
Why is it necessary to create a specific character profile in branding?
-Creating a specific character profile in branding is necessary to precisely target and understand the needs, desires, and challenges of the ideal customer. This focus enables the brand to tailor its messaging, products, and services to resonate more effectively with that audience.
How can storytelling help a brand stand out in a crowded market?
-Storytelling helps a brand stand out by providing a unique narrative that differentiates it from competitors. It allows the brand to connect with consumers on an emotional level, creating a memorable and engaging experience that sets the brand apart from others that may only focus on features and facts.
What is the financial implication of having a strong brand story as discussed in the transcript?
-A strong brand story can lead to higher brand equity, which means the brand can command a premium over cheaper alternatives. Consumers are willing to pay more for a product with a compelling story because of the emotional connection and perceived value it offers.
Outlines
📚 The Power of Storytelling in Marketing
The paragraph emphasizes the integral role of storytelling in marketing and branding. It starts by prompting the audience to recall a memory, highlighting that memorable moments are linked with strong emotions and stories. The speaker explains that emotions and stories are the core components of our memories, and storytelling comes naturally to humans, especially as children. As we grow older, we tend to focus on facts and lose the art of storytelling, which is a detriment in social media engagement. The paragraph also discusses the importance of storytelling in education, comparing memorable stories from childhood to easily forgotten academic facts. The speaker then connects storytelling to branding, stating that a product with a story is more valuable than one without, using the concept of brand equity as an example. The narrative structure of 'The Hero's Journey' is introduced as a framework for creating compelling stories that resonate with audiences.
🎭 Crafting a Compelling Brand Story
This paragraph delves into the practical application of storytelling for branding. It simplifies the narrative structure to three core elements: character, want, and obstacle. The speaker explains that a well-defined character with a clear desire and a believable obstacle creates a compelling story. Examples from popular culture, such as movies and literature, are used to illustrate these points. The paragraph also touches on the importance of understanding the target audience's desires and challenges. It suggests that by creating content that speaks to these desires and obstacles, businesses can better connect with their audience. The concept of 'no conflict, no story' is introduced, emphasizing the need for conflict or obstacles in storytelling to create tension and interest. The speaker also discusses the relevance of these storytelling principles to marketing and brand strategy, suggesting that understanding the customer's journey and creating content that addresses their needs can lead to more effective marketing.
🏡 Transforming Lives Through Storytelling
The final paragraph focuses on how storytelling can transform lives and businesses. It discusses the process of creating detailed customer avatars or user profiles to deeply understand the target audience. The speaker explains that by knowing the character's wants, needs, and motivations, businesses can craft stories that resonate and build trust. The paragraph provides an example of how a commercial developer might rethink their marketing strategy by focusing on the specific needs of a small group of high-powered real estate brokers. The speaker suggests innovative approaches, such as using a web app on an iPad for a more personalized and exclusive experience, instead of a traditional website. The paragraph concludes by encouraging the audience to apply these storytelling techniques to create more impactful marketing and branding strategies.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Storytelling
💡Emotion
💡Brand Strategy
💡Hero’s Journey
💡Character
💡Conflict
💡Commodity
💡Brand Equity
💡Customer Avatar
💡Transformation
Highlights
Storytelling is a core component of both memory and marketing. Strong emotions and stories help us recall important moments.
Storytelling is the operating system of the human mind, making it easier to remember than mere facts or lectures.
Teachers who incorporate storytelling into their lessons create memorable narratives, whereas fact-based teaching is easily forgotten.
A product without a story is a commodity, but a product with a story becomes a brand, building financial value and goodwill.
Storytelling in branding enables a company to command a premium price, as it creates emotional value and brand equity.
The Hero's Journey structure, widely recognized in modern storytelling, has its roots in Joseph Campbell's teachings and was applied by George Lucas in Star Wars.
Character, want, and obstacle are the three essential elements of a compelling story. Without conflict, there is no story.
Effective storytelling in marketing involves defining a specific character with a clear want and obstacles that hinder their goals.
Branding involves understanding your customer's character profile, their desires, and obstacles that get in their way.
Using customer avatars or profiles in brand strategy helps create targeted and relevant marketing approaches.
A good brand strategy transforms strangers into friends and friends into loyal customers by aligning with their personal narratives.
Segmenting your audience into clear profiles allows marketers to design effective communication that resonates emotionally.
In marketing, offering a personalized experience based on the customer’s journey and obstacles increases engagement and loyalty.
Phil Jones' strategy of framing two types of people in sales pitches helps narrow down ideal clients and better target offers.
Innovative approaches, such as sending tailored web apps to exclusive clients instead of building generic websites, can deliver more personalized and effective marketing results.
Transcripts
okay in this episode I'm going to talk
about the role storytelling has in
marketing and in branding or brand
strategy I'm going to ask you this
question which is to think back on a
memory in your life and almost always
there are two things two core components
that always exist when it comes to
memory number one is a strong emotion
and number two is a story let's examine
this before we tie this into marketing
and brand strategy I think you'll figure
it out before we get there what about
emotion okay so if you were to reflect
back on what you did last week and try
to recall what it is that you've done
are the only things you remember are the
things that cause an emotional reaction
from you the things like driving on the
road or the things where you're kind of
in a vegetative state you're not going
to be able to recall it's because this
is how your memory works it's like
there's a strong emotion and emotion
frames a story and you're able to retell
that story this is why storytelling is
so easy and giving lectures is so
difficult because storytelling is the n
most natural thing it's how the human
mind works Eric meets it's stories of
the operating system of the human mind
and as children so good at telling
stories and somehow we lose that art
when we grow older you'll make up
stories you'll make up stories about how
the dog ate your homework you make up
stories about how that girl was really
into you when she really wasn't and
something happens to us I think when we
get older we start to follow very
specific rules about what facts are and
we don't tend to get as excited to tell
people like how our day went we just
tell them the highlights the bullet
points and we we lose that art and
that's to our detriment cuz now here you
are on social media saying oh my Social
account is dead no one's engaged
engaging with me how come well guess
what you're all facts and bullet points
at this point no one cares cuz it
Doesn't Remind them of anything and yes
we're hungry to learn the facts and the
bullet points but then a day we'll
forget it because I felt nothing and
there's no story for me let's test this
one more time before we get into
strategies and tactics which is do you
remember some of the fables that you you
were read to as a child like aso's
fables the story of The Tortoise and the
hair or the boy who cried wolf how is it
that we can remember these stories
decades later after having heard it and
that they've survived multiple
generations of storytellers isn't that
pretty wild but if I ask you what did
you learn in algebra and who's your
teacher and what did they look like you
probably can't remember a single thing
and that's the way it is because
teachers have yet to incorporate
storytelling into how they teach so the
ones that I remember fondly created a
story a narrative around history or
science and they they gave me a frame to
look at the world and so I can remember
those things and I carry them with me
today so now you are the educator you
just happen to be talking about the
things that you make the services that
you provide if you want to stand out
from all the noise you have to become a
master Storyteller it's not as hard as
you think and I'll tell you how to do it
in a second what Michael margolus said
was a product without a story is a
commodity a product with a story is a
brand so now we it's not just something
that we it's like this fluffy intangible
idea it's like it has Financial metrics
that can be used to measure this and I
want to talk about this okay I think
when a product or service has Goodwill
we call that brand or branding the
amount of money that you're willing to
pay over a cheaper alternative is the
amount of brand Equity that we have two
bottles of water one sells for a dollar
one sells for $5 the one that sells for
$5 has $4 of equity cuz you're willing
to pay that much more you're able to
command a premium over a cheaper
alternative and the one that sells for a
dollar it's just worth a dollar because
that's literally how much it costs to
bring that water to you package it sell
it to you with a small profit margin and
most of us do not want to think of what
we do as a commodity and a commodity is
something that is easily replaced and
usually is sold at the lowest price so
how do you incorporate storytelling what
you do now you can follow Joseph
Campbell's story The her with a thousand
faes and it's a little bit complicated
but I want to tell you where this comes
from where most modern stories come from
the hero's journey it goes something
like this the hero lives in the Ordinary
World is approached by a Herald who has
a call to Adventure and then there's the
refusal the call where the hero doesn't
want to go on adventure and if you're
thinking does this sound like a lot like
Star Wars yes it's Star Wars okay and
there's a little fun fact later I'll
tell you about that so initially the
hero refuses because there has to be
some tension behind this and then the
hero meets a mentor and the mentor helps
the hero to cross the threshold to leave
the Ordinary World and go into the new
world then a bunch of things happen
there and I'll skip over all the boring
Parts but there's usually a relapse and
a resurrection they fall back on that
Journey Only to realize the true lesson
and instead of getting what they want
they get what they need and they're
successful at and having transformed
they bring this lesson back to their
tribe their community and they share
that lesson with them that's a lot to
remember and unpack but before we do
that I'll tell you the fun fact about
George Lucas so you know you're like
wait a minute Joseph Campbell George
Lucas what's their relationship you know
the funny thing is Joseph Campbell
mentored George Lucas and he said he's
one of his best students isn't that
incredible one of the most enduring
pieces of fiction in the modern era in
cinema and has lived Beyond multiple
generations of geeky fathers and
children I think have survived because
George was such a great student he
understood the hero's journey and when
you try to tell a story without the
structure of what we've already learned
that works it usually becomes very
forgettable it it winds up becoming
experimental art experimental film or
literature it becomes more poetry than
than something that we can grab on to
okay let's make this a lot simpler cuz I
just want to condense this down we'll
boil down the idea so that you can walk
away being able to remember it you just
need to remember three words and I'll
tell you where this is relevant to you
in branding okay there's character want
and obstacle you need these three things
there's a character a very specific kind
of person the more specific the better
cuz when we look at movies that have
cardboard characters they're very empty
it's just surfacey things and they feel
very generic there's no personality
there there's that that we're we're
looking for a soul inside that character
and we don't see it cuz it's poorly
designed the character has to have a
want a desire cuz if they have no want
they're totally at peace with themselves
there's nothing left for them to acquire
or to do so there's no tension so they
have a want and we have to invent an
obstacle something that gets in the way
of their want so the classic version is
poor boy wants to date rich girl that's
classic right and what does the
character want well he wants that girl
to love him what's the obstacle the
obstacles well you're poor you come from
the wrong side of the train tracks you
can flip the genders too like Maid in
Manhattan with Jennifer Lopez she's a
Maid in Manhattan Who falls in love with
Ray fines Sleepless in Seattle or you
got mail it's a same story arc over and
over again you got mail is about two
entrepreneurs Two Bookstore owners one
from a very small Bookshop around the
corner quite literally of it's what it's
called in the movie and one who owns
like a Barnes & Noble chain and they
want to love each other but they can't
because they're on diametrically
opposing sides of this whole bookstore
idea one's about Commerce one's about
community and so we have character we
have a want and we have an obstacle
Robert mcke the king of story who wrote
the book book story says no conflict no
story and so what we do as storytellers
is we find where the conflict exists and
we generate that like in a world of
fiction we can generate that boy loves
girl they can't get together why because
uh girls parents hate boy okay boy loves
girl can't get girl why because girls
gay or boys gay you know it's a lot of
weird things so we can we can explore
the obstacles and that's where the
invention comes in when you learn the
Frameworks now you're sitting there
thinking Chris what's this goty to do
with branding and marketing and I'm
going to tell you right now you exist to
help transform the lives of your
customers in one way or the other let's
say you're like my Buddy Rich he helps
influencers authors experts thought
leaders be able to tell their story
across the podcasting format so that's
how he's going to help them transform
their lives he needs to understand who
am I speaking to if he said people
that's too broad that goes back into
this kind of generic profile so the more
tightly he can design his ideal client
Avatar the better he can understand what
their wants needs hopes and fears are
who who they aspire to be when they grow
up right so he's going to zero in on
people who are entrepreneurial who are
thought leaders authors people who care
about sharing their ideas because that
now will lead him to a want cuz not
everybody wants to do a podcast only
specific type of people want to do a
podcast want to do it professionally and
care enough to pay for it so he's
zeroing in on this audience this core
core demographic so they want to be able
to create content so what's the oppos
that they have well the obstacle is well
they're valuable their time is valuable
and they don't understand the technical
components they don't want to deal with
editing they don't want to deal with
publishing they're not sure what's
happening with algorithms or what they
what the best practices are for the
industry so that's their obstacle so
when Rich creates an offer when he does
marketing when he does storytelling it
would behoove him to speak to the
obstacles standing in their way there's
something I learned from Reading Phil
Jones book exactly what to say and he
has a book of magical phrases that
unlock this subconscious and he says use
this phrase there are two types of
people and what you want to do is design
one type of person and the other type
the second type is the type of person
you ideally want to work with you're
saying well what if they identify as the
first type well you won't have them as a
client and the good news is they don't
want you as a as a as a partner either
so it works out beautifully so in a
situation like this rich rich could say
something like in my experience
potential client there are two types of
people the people who dream and Aspire
about being influential but are so
worried about other creating their
content for them that they have to have
absolute control over it that they don't
wind up getting stuff done or the second
type which is the person who knows what
they're talking about knows how to
deliver that to camera or to microphone
but doesn't want to deal with anything
because they trust other people to do
that for them because they have better
things to do with their lives which type
of person are you so you see how we
design those two scenarios and they're
like well I'm definitely type A you're
like fantastic good luck friend you're
not for me allow me to refer someone
else to you and so he needs to
understand the character what their
wants are and their wants their needs
and desires can have multiple layers
something emotional something Financial
something business related something
that's much bigger than this cuz for
some people the reason why they do
something is just to be a firm that one
of the parents who never gave them any
credit that they can prove them wrong
and that's a motivation that you have to
surface in your content and your
communication such that they feel seen
and heard when you can use language that
they use themselves they know you know
them so well and they're going to start
to trust you to handle their content so
that's what we're talking about when we
say learn how to tell a story and how
you can use this in brand and marketing
I'll give you one more example when I
teach brand strategy which is us trying
to design the ideal customer Journey
such that strangers become friends and
Friends become customers we really have
to think about who this character is we
create these things called user profiles
or customer avatars for basically the
same thing we're almost like in Central
Casting to say if we had the ideal
client who would they be is is a man is
it a woman are they married are they
single are they old are they young are
they educated are they self-taught where
do they live what is your job to how
much income so we really designed these
character profiles and we're we're
really casting a very narrow net here
cuz as soon as we can see them in our
mind as soon as we can feel like I know
someone just like that we can then make
some assumptions about what they want
when we can understand that then we can
figure out products and services that
will deliver the kind of transformation
they're looking for in the way that they
want it a give you an example sometimes
our clients will come to us and say well
we want to work with really high-powered
real estate brokers because we're a
commercial developer and we want you to
build a website for us well before we
accept that as truth we'll ask the
clients how many such powerful Brokers
exist in the world that would be
considering one of your spaces and they
said probably no more than 12 so does it
make sense for us to build a website
that's going to cost you tens of
thousands of dollars to reach 12 people
they well what alternative is there
Chris so well why don't we explore that
now we can open up the frame and say
instead of zeroing it on what the
website's going to look and sound like
we can open the frame and say well how
do we reach 12 high- powerered people to
get them to come to visit the building
or to consider the property for the next
project it's a whole different
conversation so in this instance what we
wind up doing was saying wouldn't it be
better if instead of us building a
website we built you a web app not a not
a real app but something that could be
used on an iPad where they can flip
through pages and look at things in in a
dynamic way wouldn't it be better if we
messengered each Prospect each broker
one of these iPads you can even give it
to them if you wanted to because it'll
cost you less money than to build a
website and you hand deliver that to
them and say we'd like to invite you to
a sneak peek at this new property how
exclusive would that make them feel like
this is topnotch development and so if
you can think like this you can come up
with more Innovative marketing and
branding Concepts that could transform
your client's business or your own
business if you're listening or watching
this please take a screenshot and tag me
on Instagram use the hash storytelling
[Music]
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