Brand Storytelling Engaging consumers and customers through the power of stories

“ To connect to people at the deepest level, you need stories .” Rob McKee Stories are like viruses. They are ubiquitous – we all ‘get’ stories, no matter where we’re from They are contagious – tell a story to someone, and if it resonates it’ll spread; t he most powerful stories demand to be retold, again and again . They stick – through the re-telling, they embed themselves in our own and our shared memory.

Stories are fundamental to our lives Sociologists say that the telling of stories brings communities together Psychologists believe that our brains are hard-wired to tell stories - we innately know how to construct stories Evolutionists think we transfer knowledge and share understanding through stories generation to generation

“ We’ve moved from the age of interruption to engagement , from a passive consumer to an active consumer who doesn’t sit back and wait for things to be delivered but who c goes and seeks things out” c Sir John Hegarty, Chairman BBH

At April, we love stories, and we understand their power Marketing is essentially about telling stories about the products that we make. Although lots of brands talk about their ‘story’, we find it is often simply ‘sprayed on’ – scratch the surface, and it all feels fake, vapid and unconvincing; a weak attempt to create something that will truly stick. Great brands tell great stories, and you’re likely to remember the stories even if you don’t buy the product or service. They’re the ones that stick. Nike, Disney, Dove, Johnnie Walker. Great stories. Great brands. Great businesses.

What are stories about? Stories ask: “What would happen if?” They are about change – how and why things change in life They show human truths – weaknesses, strengths, hopes, fears, desires They show choices – and the consequences of those choices

Stories ask: “What would happen if?”

They are about change – how and why things change in life

They show human truths – weaknesses, strengths, hopes, fears, desires

They show choices – and the consequences of those choices

The elements of storytelling Conflict Plot Character

Conflict

Plot

Character

The drama inside a story comes from the conflict it shows. All good stories have conflict at their heart – they show people resolving challenges, both externally (putting the world to rights) and internally (facing up to and overcoming their weaknesses). It is when the hero is challenged the most – when things are the hardest – that we see the most change in him. 1) Stories are about conflict So What? Brands and businesses need to identify the conflict that they are here to solve. In working through your story with you, we’ll help you identify the tensions and paradoxes in your category, and what your brand can do to resolve these. “ At their most basic, stories are about CONFLICT and RESOLUTION – the basic tenets of life: man suffers difficulty and gets through it; we can all relate to this. We are attracted to the HUMAN STRENGTH TO OVERCOME.” Rob McKee, Story

The drama inside a story comes from the conflict it shows.

All good stories have conflict at their heart – they show people resolving challenges, both externally (putting the world to rights) and internally (facing up to and overcoming their weaknesses).

It is when the hero is challenged the most – when things are the hardest – that we see the most change in him.

3 Act Story Structure ACT 1 ACT 2 ACT 3 Inciting Incident - First major reversal Overcome Initial Challenges Second Major Reversal – things suddenly change Hero faces his greatest struggle Hero’s darkest moment Gradually faces up to fatal flaw Hero combats fatal flaw and completes final challenge.

Order, Chaos, Resolution Joseph Campbell studied myths around the world, and distilled to their most basic elements. He divided a story into 3 parts: Order, Chaos, Resolution Everything is fine in the world of the protagonist, then Something happens to throw things out of kilter, then After trials and tribulations, things get (relatively) back to normal again. So What? Think about this structure when thinking about your own brand story: What has put things out of balance? What dos the protagonist have to fix? Where is the lowest point? Where does your brand protagonist get challenged the most? What does your brand protagonist have to do to turn things around? A disruption of the status quo / an issue to sort A struggle / conflict Resolution / return to normality

Joseph Campbell studied myths around the world, and distilled to their most basic elements. He divided a story into 3 parts: Order, Chaos, Resolution

Everything is fine in the world of the protagonist, then

Something happens to throw things out of kilter, then

After trials and tribulations, things get (relatively) back to normal again.

2) There are seven archetypal plots A critical element of a story is the ‘plot’. The plot captures the activity within the story in a succession of actions and reactions. If stories are there to teach you, then each plot represents a different human value and analogously teaches us the consequences of different choices and decisions. There have been several books and articles published that explore ‘plot’, the premise of many of them being that there are only a limited number of plot types. So What? Knowing which type of story you are telling will help you make the story stronger and more archetypal. Understand what lesson your brand is out there to teach its consumers – what’s the value behind it? Which story is it trying to tell? Then embrace your plot type to make it resonate more deeply. “ How small a quantity of REAL FICTION there is in the world; and that the same images, with little variation, have served all the authors who have ever written.” Dr. Samuel Johnson

A critical element of a story is the ‘plot’. The plot captures the activity within the story in a succession of actions and reactions.

If stories are there to teach you, then each plot represents a different human value and analogously teaches us the consequences of different choices and decisions.

There have been several books and articles published that explore ‘plot’, the premise of many of them being that there are only a limited number of plot types.

The seven different plot types The Quest Sometimes you have to put yourself in danger to make or find something of value. Endurance, Determination Voyage & Return Don’t be lured by false promises - appreciate what you’ve got now. Wisdom, Curiosity Overcoming the Monster To succeed, you will need to fight someone more powerful than you. Strength, Stamina, Bravery Rebirth If you lose everything, it isn’t always the end – everyone deserves a second chance. Zeal, Optimism Comedy Tragedy The punishment with suit the crime. Humility, Tenacity Be true to yourself, and you will be rewarded. Integrity, Purity Even complicated situations work out in the end. Friendship, Love Rags to Riches

Overcoming the Monster - Nike The Overcoming the Monster story teaches us that, sometimes to succeed, you will need to fight someone more powerful than you, which will require strength, stamina and bravery Nike has a strong story at its heart of challenging yourself, of striving for your best performance and being committed to the passion for that achievement. For Nike, the only thing to get in your way of achieving this is yourself – the limits of your condition, of your stamina and ultimately of your confidence in yourself. What Nike tries to teach us is that there will be times when it will be difficult, it will hurt, you’ll want to give up, but you have to fight through it to win the ultimate battle. Nike’s story is of ‘overcoming the monster’ (just like Jaws, like most Bond films, like Michael Clayton, who overcomes the corporate system…). The monster to overcome is the monster inside you.

The Overcoming the Monster story teaches us that, sometimes to succeed, you will need to fight someone more powerful than you, which will require strength, stamina and bravery

Nike has a strong story at its heart of challenging yourself, of striving for your best performance and being committed to the passion for that achievement.

For Nike, the only thing to get in your way of achieving this is yourself – the limits of your condition, of your stamina and ultimately of your confidence in yourself.

What Nike tries to teach us is that there will be times when it will be difficult, it will hurt, you’ll want to give up, but you have to fight through it to win the ultimate battle.

Nike’s story is of ‘overcoming the monster’ (just like Jaws, like most Bond films, like Michael Clayton, who overcomes the corporate system…). The monster to overcome is the monster inside you.

The Quest - Johnnie Walker The Quest narrative teaches us that sometimes you have to put yourself in danger to make or find something of value, which will require endurance & determination. It teaches us that we need to follow our dreams, even if they feel impossible at first. The Johnnie Walker brand captures this – it is all about following your dreams, and sticking by them, no matter how hard the journey, no matter the challenges you meet on the way, or the people who don’t understand. This is captured in the image of the ‘striding man’ and is seen clearly in some of their communications. This idea is now being recreated in a series of adverts in Asia about an Architect, who leaves his job in order to follow his dream of becoming a film-maker. There are 7 adverts that follow his journey – through the highs and lows. http://www. youtube .com/watch? v=6tZTojhZJ98

The Quest narrative teaches us that sometimes you have to put yourself in danger to make or find something of value, which will require endurance & determination. It teaches us that we need to follow our dreams, even if they feel impossible at first.

The Johnnie Walker brand captures this – it is all about following your dreams, and sticking by them, no matter how hard the journey, no matter the challenges you meet on the way, or the people who don’t understand. This is captured in the image of the ‘striding man’ and is seen clearly in some of their communications.

This idea is now being recreated in a series of adverts in Asia about an Architect, who leaves his job in order to follow his dream of becoming a film-maker. There are 7 adverts that follow his journey – through the highs and lows.

Voyage & Return - Dove The Voyage and Return story teaches us that sometimes life takes us to places that might seem amazing and perfect, but ultimately are ruled by false Gods. Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz is mesmerized by the colourful yellow brick road, but realizes that her life is really at home; Andy, the naïve girl in The Devil Wears Prada, ends up rejecting the false world of fashion that had so completely lured her and taken over how she saw the world. This is Dove’s brand story. From its Real Beauty platform, Dove tells us to be wary and distrustful of the beauty industry, and that true beauty is owned and defined by you. The same way that Andy had to look inside herself and judge whether she was being true to herself, so Dove persuades its consumers to be true to themselves. Make more women feel more beautiful every day, by widening today’s stereotypical view of beauty and inspiring them to take great care of themselves.” Dove Manifesto

The Voyage and Return story teaches us that sometimes life takes us to places that might seem amazing and perfect, but ultimately are ruled by false Gods.

Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz is mesmerized by the colourful yellow brick road, but realizes that her life is really at home; Andy, the naïve girl in The Devil Wears Prada, ends up rejecting the false world of fashion that had so completely lured her and taken over how she saw the world.

This is Dove’s brand story. From its Real Beauty platform, Dove tells us to be wary and distrustful of the beauty industry, and that true beauty is owned and defined by you. The same way that Andy had to look inside herself and judge whether she was being true to herself, so Dove persuades its consumers to be true to themselves.

Rebirth - Smirnoff The Rebirth story shows us that, even if you lose everything, it isn’t always the end, and that everyone deserves a second chance. It shows people living through the hardest of times to transform their lives with underlying zeal and optimism. The story behind Smirnoff is of the rebirth of Pierre Smirnoff, who was loved and adored by the Russian elite, but then turned on and imprisoned during the 1917 October Revolution. He fled Russia to Europe and then to the US, with nothing except his memories of his past. In the US, he rebuilt his life, and reminiscing about his old homeland, realised that he could bring back a taste of Russia through vodka. Thus the Smirnoff vodka brand was launched. This sense of entrepreneurial spirit is captured in the essence of Smirnoff: Being Unique. Purity is at the heart of the brand, and all its communications show different expressions of transformation and rebirth. http://www. youtube .com/watch? v=ZZrReRZPjD8

The Rebirth story shows us that, even if you lose everything, it isn’t always the end, and that everyone deserves a second chance. It shows people living through the hardest of times to transform their lives with underlying zeal and optimism.

The story behind Smirnoff is of the rebirth of Pierre Smirnoff, who was loved and adored by the Russian elite, but then turned on and imprisoned during the 1917 October Revolution. He fled Russia to Europe and then to the US, with nothing except his memories of his past.

In the US, he rebuilt his life, and reminiscing about his old homeland, realised that he could bring back a taste of Russia through vodka. Thus the Smirnoff vodka brand was launched.

This sense of entrepreneurial spirit is captured in the essence of Smirnoff: Being Unique. Purity is at the heart of the brand, and all its communications show different expressions of transformation and rebirth.

Jung created Archetypal theory Carl Jung studies dreams. He found the some themes recurring in the dreams of people everywhere – they were universal themes and characters that are found in myth and legend. He believed that this inward experience was essentially the same in all human beings, sharing the same instincts, the same impulses, the same conflicts, the same fears. An archetype, therefore, is a universally familiar character or situation that transcends time, place, culture, gender and age. Archetypes are short-cuts to eternal truths – and we instinctively understand what they tell us. Archetypes recur throughout stories that we tell – we recognise them intuitively, and they travel globally. If stories use archetypal characters, brands should align themselves with archetypal personalities. You can use ‘Archetypal Theory’ to help your brand protagonist resonate more deeply with your consumers “ There are forms or images of a collective nature which occur practically all over the earth as constituents of myths and at the same time as individual products of unconscious. These are imprinted and hardwired into our psyches.”

Carl Jung studies dreams. He found the some themes recurring in the dreams of people everywhere – they were universal themes and characters that are found in myth and legend.

He believed that this inward experience was essentially the same in all human beings, sharing the same instincts, the same impulses, the same conflicts, the same fears.

An archetype, therefore, is a universally familiar character or situation that transcends time, place, culture, gender and age.

Archetypes are short-cuts to eternal truths – and we instinctively understand what they tell us.

Archetypes recur throughout stories that we tell – we recognise them intuitively, and they travel globally.

If stories use archetypal characters, brands should align themselves with archetypal personalities.

Jung’s Archetypes So What? Do your brand values and personalities ‘fit’ with the archetypal values outlined? Is there any disparity in communication? What’s your archetype’s vice? What does this say about your brand? What are the other archetypes within the category? Group Belonging Change Order Self- knowledge Hero Magician Everyman Jester Lover Caregiver Ruler Creator Innocent Sage Explorer Outlaw

So What?

Do your brand values and personalities ‘fit’ with the archetypal values outlined? Is there any disparity in communication? What’s your archetype’s vice? What does this say about your brand? What are the other archetypes within the category?

How we use Stories Brand Development: Building brands that consumers will love, remember and buy into Insight : Understanding the sources of conflict and tension that could be the source of your brand story. Strategy Development: Defining the vision and the challenges along the way Culture Change: Identifying your corporate story and engaging across the business

Brand Development: Building brands that consumers will love, remember and buy into

Insight : Understanding the sources of conflict and tension that could be the source of your brand story.

Strategy Development: Defining the vision and the challenges along the way

Culture Change: Identifying your corporate story and engaging across the business

If you can write a compelling story about your brand, if you can describe where your brand is going, what it stands for and why it will be what it will be… … you will build a brand people will connect with, remember & share

Contact Bianca Cawthorne April Strategy LLP Medius House LG 2 Sheraton St London W1F 8BH UK M: +44 (0) 7866 806 367 [email_address] © Copyright This document was created by april strategy LLP and is for exclusive use of our client. It will remain property of april strategy LLP until the copyright has been expressely transferred. The adaptation, utilisation, duplication and/or commercial circulation of this document must be approved in writing by april strategy LLP.