What is a Brand Narrative?
A brand narrative is a concise story that acts as the platform for an organization’s marketing and communications.
Ketchup+Mustard, Inc uses strategic brand narratives to help us create a collection of aesthetic (design) elements that can be used for future marketing strategies. We can also help craft a brand narrative for your products, organization or services.
How Do I Establish a Solid Brand Narrative?
Hero’s Journey
Using a common story telling device is a great way to start establishing the general outline of your brand narrative. One that is used most often is the hero’s journey, which identifies a crisis through an adventure/experience and provides the hero with a solution/epiphany. Learn more (wiki)
Use your Target Audience as a Focal Point.
Because we’re discussing storytelling from a commerce point of view, it’s very important to consider your target audience when developing your brand narrative. The hero’s journey can identify how your organization operates from a holistic POV but doesn’t always take your audience into consideration. When you identify the solution you’re providing to your customer, you can add that element to your brand narrative as a “you need us” motivator.
Create and Follow a Brand Credo
Graham Robertson from Beloved Brands suggests creating a unique brand credo document as an internal version of your brand story. In Robertson’s words, he advises you can make a brand credo by following the steps below:
- Start with your brand idea and turn it into an inspiring promise statement, which explains to your people how they can positively impact your customers.
- Use your brand’s core point of difference to outline the expectations of how everyone can support and deliver the point of difference. A great exercise is to get every department to articulate its role in delivering the brand idea.
- Connect with your people by tapping into the personal motivation for what they can do to support your brand purpose, brand values, and core beliefs. Make it very personal.
Present a Larger Story
When developing your brand narrative, especially when describing the organization in its entirety, it’s important to present a larger story than the current products or services you provide. If you plan on expanding your product line down the road, not being tied specifically to the future of white asparagus will likely be helpful.
Can I Have Multiple Brand Narratives?
The short answer is… sorta. Once you start assigning separate brand narratives for the products you provide to your customers, your organizational brand message will likely have to change. This is because that while the personalities of each product don’t have to be the same, the customer should know that they can trust your business despite the fact that you provide both energy drinks and sleeping aids.
What is a Good Brand Narrative?
Everybody has a different story.
Tom’s Shoes has taken an altruistic approach to their brand narrative, giving 1/3 of their earnings to grants and partnerships that provide mental health services to those who need them.
Heart Attack Grille encourages guests to get on a scale before they dine and will provide unlimited menu items to anyone who clocks in at over 350lbs.
Can AI Help Me?
Yes. But with consequences.
See the brand narrative created by AI using the phrase (Create a brand narrative for a design agency named “Ketchup+Mustard, Inc”)
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