So you want your brand to be successful. Tell me a story.
Recently there’s been much hype about certain brands and products wich we see as the leaders in technology, in education, in food, in furniture and many more (but not that many).
And only sometimes, we stop for a second or two and ask ourselves what is so grate about this products, what’s that so compelling that makes us go get them, go look for them and wait in line for them.
Perhaps we already notched on those product design lines, components quality/specs and the beautiful store were it’s been sold. And we think maybe it’s a combination of all the above. Well, I think we couldn’t be closer from the true. It’s the combination, alright.
Though not the way you’re thinking.
All this elements, all they do, besides building a kick ass product, is telling a story. People through all the times has been engaged in stories, it’s the number 1 thing you do in your free time, telling your roomie about that funny scene your co-worker was involved today, telling your boss about how grate you were giving that presentation to your biggest client, telling someone you just met how you proposed to your wife.
Story telling is in our blood like the love for Coca-Cola. What do we love more than a story? a story that doesn’t add up. A story complicated enough to understand it and yet with a twist. Take Apple for example.
There was the boy, the round peg in the square hole. He succeeds in a black and white world where eventually he’s defeated. What happens then? he learns, prepares and comes back. And dares to defy tens of big, scary, faceless industries (electronics and cellphone manufacturing, music, movies, series and books distribution). Did he win this time? nobody cares. All I know, is this resulting in millions of desperate people craving for the next episode where it’s CEO tells the next chapter of this story… and in the mean time buying his products.
When we listen a story, we feel. No matter what it is, the feeling of a sweet yet sour emotion can trigger an impulse within ourselves. That comes in handy when you finally get it and realize your consumer is not different from Apples consumer. Your consumer gets exited too, your consumer loves his children too, your consumer will love your stories too.
Story telling is a powerful marketing tool. You could make a consumer swear loyalty permanently to a certain brand with it. Ken Burns (the same who brought you the “Ken Burns Effect” in movies) has an interesting take on what makes a story grate. You need to listen to what he has to say next.
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