Your Brand Identity is Your Story

The best stories are memorable and exciting, so it’s no surprise the most successful brands are often the best storytellers. Those brands tell their stories consistently throughout their entire brand identity system. Examining why stories are so effective can tell us more about why some brands succeed while others do not.

You’re the Hero Here

We perhaps understand intrinsically that stories are central to our lives, but why? To find out, we need to go back to humanity’s earliest days. People lack the kinds of natural offensive and defensive traits many animals have, like claws, shells, and such. We make up for those deficiencies with intellect and our social nature, which were key to our survival.

When humanity wanted to tackle bigger problems to improve our lives, we needed a way to pass down knowledge and ideas, and also align many people toward a single goal. Ideas had to spread from person to person, and they had to stick. Remember, at this point, we didn’t have writing to assist. We had to rely only on memory.

Enter stories. We remember stories because the ideas within are personified through the characters, most of all the protagonist. Our ego connects to the protagonist, allowing us to experience all the emotions, experiences, and concepts personally, rather than abstractly.¹ The more concrete this connection between the listener and protagonist, the more likely it is to be remembered and leave an impression. Stories leverage our self-awareness and creativity so we can imagine ourselves within the story, thus turning us from mere listener into the hero.

Tell Your Story or Others Will Tell it for You

After 150,000 years of storytelling, our brains have evolved to think in terms of storytelling structure.² The general structure is as follows:

1. The protagonist is introduced with various traits we can identify with, which endear them to us. They have a goal, along with motives for wanting to achieve it.
2. The protagonist must overcome challenges, problems, or conflict with an antagonist.
3. These trials culminate in a climax, where a character (often, but not always the protagonist) decisively acts to achieve the goal.
4. There is resolution and a new normal is achieved.

So what happens when the storyteller doesn’t use this structure, or leaves out key information? In the absence of these key structural elements, our brains will actually fill in the info for us before the information even reaches our conscious mind.² Kendall Haven, an author and researcher on the science behind storytelling, gives a great example in his mediaX seminar at Stanford:

Person 1: “Where’s John?”
Person 2: “Well…I didn’t want to say anything. But I saw a green VW parked in front of Carol’s.”

What do we actually know? That there is a green VW parked in front of someone named Carol’s residence. But think about all the information you’re likely assuming: that this information is a secret, that the car is John’s, that John and Carol may be having an affair, which gives you a negative opinion of them. We’ve already formed an entire narrative automatically. If we get additional information like they are planning a surprise party for John’s significant other, the story changes entirely.

The lesson for brands is that if you don’t properly tell your story through your brand identity, your prospective customers will fill in the blanks for you, and they may be completely wrong. Numerous research studies have borne out that to make sense of an event where incomplete story information is available, we will:²

• Change or even reverse factual information
• Make assumptions
• Create new information
• Ignore parts of what someone is saying or presenting
• Infer connections and information
• Infer motive, intent, and significance
• Misinterpret

This is an enormous problem when you’re trying to get through to someone. But applying effective storytelling structure will help minimize the number of blanks the receiver has to fill in themselves, resulting in your brand’s messaging clearly communicating with your customers. While that’s beneficial for your business, the real impact of telling your brand’s story well is forging a true connection with your audience.

Your Brand Identity is Your Storyteller

Kendell Haven’s research revealed four key concepts that dictate the likelihood of a receiver (the person hearing the story) will actually participate, or truly connect, with a story.²

1. Engagement: Emotionally-laden attention. This means the information is personalized for the receiver.
2. Attention: Dedicated mental focus over time. Stories need to engage and hold attention over time.
3. Transportation: Voluntary and experiential insertion of the self into the settings, events, and characters of a story. This is a precursor to empathy and trust.
4. Influence: Changing attitudes, beliefs, values, knowledge, and behavior.

Powerful engagement, attention, and transportation don’t guarantee influence, but they make it possible. Influence is really what you’re after, as that can turn a potential customer into a paying one. Even better, it can transform a transactional situation into a true relationship with a customer, making them a brand advocate that sings your praises to their network.

Turning your brand into an potent storyteller begins with a strategic look at your brand identity. All of your written and audiovisual communications need to be considered and thoughtful in how they take the receiver through your story and encourage engagement, attention, and transportation. The goal isn’t manipulation, but to empathize with your customer. See things from their perspective, and clearly articulate how you are helping them overcome a challenge that prevents them from achieving their goals. This point of view is precisely what user experience design is focused around.

Once you’ve identified the broad strokes of your story, you implement them into your brand. It starts with your logo but extends throughout all elements of your brand identity. The feeling conveyed by your brand fonts isn’t often considered, but more than 75% of your brand is experienced through writing and thus your typefaces. The lighting style, mood, and subject matter in your photography set the stage for the people your brand is representing. Illustration can convey complex ideas, features, and ideas that bring customers into the story you tell and give you a unique and show-stopping way of holding attention. Sometimes animation and video are the best methods of telling your story and driving engagement.

The list goes on: your writing style, the layouts used in your assets, your website, app, your social media channels, etc. are all components of your brand identity that should be telling your story in harmony. That’s why it is important to give proper attention and develop these elements together. You can’t tell an great story if you leave out half the details, don’t set the scene properly, or convince your audience that the story is relevant to them. Research has shown that if you don’t establish relevance, it gives people permission to ignore your story entirely.² The investment in telling an compelling story pays off by building trust and empathy in your audience because they understand how you can solve their problems.

But remember: your brand story is not the content itself, but how you structure it.² This means you have the freedom to craft your brand identity to suit your business, your audience, and your mission. Telling an effective story isn’t a challenge; it’s an opportunity.

1. Harvard Business School: The Science Behind the Art of Storytelling
2. Kendell Haven: Your Brain on Story