As humans, we thrive on storytelling. We are programmed to listen to stories and tell them. Why? Because people remember stories better than they remember most other things. Stories make you feel something. They invite you to emotionally invest. Every brand needs their own story that represents the essence of who they are, that they communicate to the world. A brand story is vital to the success of your product or service. It’s the DNA.
Successful brands recognise the importance of storytelling, creating their own unique narrative of how they got started and why they do what they do. When a brand shares and displays its unique proposition in an engaging way, it can draw customers in for the long run.
Here are some of the brand stories I love and why I love them.
Dove
While there are thousands of brands that proactively support social causes, Dove is one of my favourite examples. With wide-reaching, high-engagement campaigns like Real Beauty and the Self Esteem Project, it continuously pushes to promote its umbrella mission of promoting inner beauty and confidence for all.
One most recent campaign, ‘Cost of Beauty: A Dove Film’, part of the #DoveSelfEsteemProject, focusses on the stories of young girls and their mental health in a world of social media. Dove’s own Research for Kids Online Safety found that 8 out of 10 youth mental health specialists say social media is fuelling a mental health crisis. Serious stuff.
By sharing important messages like this, that resonate with the audience and with the times, promoting product comes second place. Dove’s continuous empowering campaigns help to spark a meaningful connection, drawing people in to discover the products for themselves.
Loyalty grows when you make customers feel connected with your brand’s values, and Dove shows us that purposeful commitment to brand story can be as important as showcasing the product you sell.
Airbnb
Airbnb is 100% about the customer. How could it not be? Without the customer, there is no product. In this case, the customer, both hosts and guests, are at the heart of the brand story. They are the product.
Imagery and short films play a big part in brand strategy here. With over 600,000 subscribed on YouTube, we see snapshots into the lives of Airbnb hosts and discover what a stay with them might be like. This visual tactic has moved the brand away from the business of bricks and mortar to the alluring draw of adventure, belonging, nurture and experience.
Airbnb started something and now brands are lining up to emulate.
Spotify
‘Spotify Wrapped’ is the streaming service’s personalised annual round-up of your listening habits. And it’s clever. Spotify capitalises on data storytelling through this campaign, allowing users to look back at their last year on the platform, and recall how often they listened to music, their top streamed artists, and the songs they loved and listened to most.
Users don’t just get served a delivery of data; it’s cleverly presented as your own listening ‘story’. A clever combination of nostalgia and personalisation pushes the message that Spotify cares about its users. It’s no surprise this has become a very popular feature and it certainly strengthens Spotify’s brand story overall.
Nostalgia is something most of us have experienced but Gen Z really love it (I can vouch for that) and research has already shown us the power of nostalgia in raising strong feelings of security and comfort. The outcome? We’re all more likely to keep on listening.
