Brand Storytelling
“Storytelling” feels like a bit of a buzzword these days, but it’s for good reason — storytelling is a very powerful tool for engaging with others, capturing attention and influencing people. Storytelling is a uniquely human trait. It’s how we connect as a species and relate to each other, and it’s what moves history forward. If you think about the great leaders throughout history – Churchill, Napoleon, Julius Caesar, etc. – they built followings because they were great storytellers. In today’s world, where we are constantly bombarded by messages, have short attention spans, and can really only comprehend 3-5 concepts at a time, how does one communicate a complex message in a way that is both meaningful and memorable? Through storytelling.
Unfortunately, most people struggle with storytelling as a skill. Think about how many boring presentations you’ve attended where you’ve lost interest within the first 5 minutes. Some people argue this is because our attention spans are getting shorter. But I’d argue that our attention spans aren’t getting shorter, we’re just becoming more selective with what we pay attention to. We will sit through a 2.5 hour movie or a 10 hour binge-session of our favorite TV show. That’s because Hollywood is full of the best storytellers, who craft compelling stories that captivate and entertain us.
Applying this to business and brands, a strong story can mean the difference between someone buying your product, investing in you, or supporting your business plan vs. being forgotten or dismissed.
How can storytelling benefit CPG brands? There are many applications, but the 4 key stakeholders for which storytelling is most important are:
Consumers – Clearly articulated product benefits can help a consumer understand what your brand is, but a compelling story helps answer why they need it and helps build an emotional connection which is a strong driver of purchase-intent and loyalty.
Retailers – A well-crafted story for not only for why your brand is great/better/differentiated, but more importantly how it fits into that retailer’s vision for the category goes a long way to convincing them that you are the key to their success. What shopper are you bringing to their store or down your aisle? How are you helping trade them up? If you can paint a full category vision for them, then it becomes a forgone conclusion that you should be a part of it.
Investors – You must have a strong, easy-to-follow narrative for investors. Investors are so inundated with pitches that they spend no more than 30 seconds skimming each email/pitch deck they receive. If yours is too long, confusing, or unexciting, you have no chance for a meeting. And if you get a meeting, you’ll best be most successful if you have a clear story that creates an emotional connection with the audience.
Employees – A strong vision for a company attracts and retains talent, especially as more and more people are looking for purpose/mission-driven organizations that align with their personal values.
What are some common mistakes that founders make with storytelling?
Too detailed — Many times people overload presentations with a ton of supporting data, but instead of adding credibility this just confuses the point. It’s good for you to know all the detail, but don’t bury the lead. Be selective in what data you include.
Wrong audience — This can be particularly hard for purpose-driven brands or brands that target younger consumers, where a founder writes a pitch deck that speaks better to their core consumer than to the prospective investor. It can be tough to strike the right balance of being consistent with the brand tone of voice and sounding like a credible business investment.
Lack of focus — I call this “shiny object syndrome”, and I’ve seen it across large, established organizations as much as in start-ups. Often founders or leaders get so excited about their brand vision that they want to do everything at once. They want to launch tons of products, be in every region, break into new categories, and tackle different business models. But this not only confuses the message, it reduces credibility because these plans are unrealistic. As Michael Porter said, “The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.”
Too high-level & ambitious — I applaud ambition, but the challenge with super out-there visions is they are unbelievable. You want to colonize Mars? Sounds great, but I have no idea how you’d do that and I find it hard to believe that you can do that anytime soon.
No narrative — Sometimes people just throw out a laundry list of data, topics, or slides that don’t flow together at all. If you ever have a slide in a presentation and you start by saying “here’s a chart that shows…”, STOP. Think about why you are showing that chart, how does it relate to the prior page, and what should we expect to see after it. Where does it fit in the overall story?
Wrong design/creative — While visuals can be helpful additions to a story, if done wrong, they may distract from your message or even cause strong negative reactions.
Failing to make the desired emotional connection — Emotional stories are tricky. Some brands try to tap into consumer emotions but instead of connecting on a human level, they come off as inauthentic, out-of-touch, or just confusing.
What are some guidelines to consider when telling your brand story?
Know your core – What is your brand’s core reason for being? What is the core benefit? What is that one key message that you want people to know about your brand? Focus on this first and foremost, boil it down to one pithy sentence and make sure your entire narrative in all forms (pitch decks, elevator pitch, consumer marketing, product roadmap) speaks to this.
Create a tension – Every good story has conflict. What is that conflict or consumer tension that is the problem that you are solving for? How can you make this problem tangible, meaningful, relatable, and emotional for the audience?
Tailor your message to your audience – A pitch deck for an investor should look & feel very different from a social media post. Consider how you use tone, examples, and content for different audiences.
Bring your passion, in an authentic way – Passion is infectious. If you believe in your idea, others will follow.
