1.
STORYTELLING
A BRANDING TOOL
C O M M U N I C A T I O N
Narration is as much a
part of human nature
as breath and the
circulation of blood.
—A.S.Byatt (writer)
”

2.
The good story
STORY AND BRANDING (B) 3
The good story moves us, makes us think and feel.
We can recognize our fears, our hopes and dreams.
C O M M U N I C A T I O N

3.
Storytelling:
The Basics
S T O R Y T E L L I N G

4.
The four
elements of
storytelling
Let’s start out by looking at what we need to make good story.
In Storytelling Klaus Fog (et al) identifies four core elements:
When we are dealing with
storytelling, we need to identify
the different aspects of our
story. What is the message,
how to communicate it (media
and medium code), what do we
want to achieve and by what
channels (technology).
In short:
How are we staging the story?
You can define these as follows
(next slides) …
C O M M U N I C A T I O N
S T O R Y T E L L I N G

5.
Message
Conflict
Characters
Plot
The moral of the story. The focused theme.
The cause,the challanges. How to solve it.
Who is who (roles)? How do we percieve of a
person first time (exposition)? Values? Goals?
How to stage the plot‐key events?
Substance
Drive and
mechanisms
C O M M U N I C A T I O N
The four
elements of
storytelling
“(Maybe I’m not) that far away from civilisation,
perhaps … If I can manage it over that hill … But?!”
“But, yes! I can see lights in the distance … the
lights from a small village! I might not freeze to
death after all …”
Franquin: IDÉES NOIRES
S T O R Y T E L L I N G

6.
Part of: the substance.
The message, or the core‐message,
is the single message you aim to communicate.
There may be nuances in the different levels of
conflicts, plot structure and character traits, but
along the way (or in the end) there must be a
core‐message.
Message
C O M M U N I C A T I O N
E X T E R M I N A T E !
S T O R Y T E L L I N G

7.
Conflict
C O M M U N I C A T I O N
Part of: the drive and the
mechanisms of the story.
The conflict must be important enough to
make people engaged.
And it must be possible to solve.
The story can refer to a typical consumer’s
conflict (how often have you not tried to …
etc.)
Or the conflict can be a part of the theme
when referring to how you solved a
company crisis (internal communication).
S T O R Y T E L L I N G

8.
2
Characters
C O M M U N I C A T I O N
Part of: the drive and the mechanisms
of the story.
There are character driven stories, plot
driven stories or a mix of both.
Character driven stories focuses on the
characters and, secondary, on the story’s
plot. It may be a very typical plot in which
the character is the driving force.
The plot can also be the driving force,
perhaps even to the extent where the
characters are victims of the plot and are
not able to avoid the events.
S T O R Y T E L L I N G

9.
The Fairy‐tale Model
C O M M U N I C A T I O N
S T O R Y T E L L I N G

10.
An example (NASA)
C O M M U N I C A T I O N
S T O R Y T E L L I N G

11.
Another example: Apple
S T O R Y T E L L I N G

12.
Plot (The Story Model)
Hero/company‐employees
and leaders
Goal/
winning/passion
Adversary/lack of confidence/bad
times/competitors
Support/courage to
break down barriers/an
opportunity/innovation
Beneficiary/
the customers and the brand
Benefactor /company‐brand
(often also a hero)
C O M M U N I C A T I O N
POINT OF NO RETURN
S T O R Y T E L L I N G

13.
The Company’s
Core Story
S T O R Y T E L L I N G

14.
The Core Story
C O M M U N I C A T I O N
S T O R Y T E L L I N G

15.
3
The Core Story
C O M M U N I C A T I O N
S T O R Y T E L L I N G

16.
The Core Story
and Digital
Storytelling
Sharing the stories
in social media
C O M M U N I C A T I O N
Digital storytelling is the interactive dialogue, that enables the core
story to be developed and shared.
Digital storytelling can be developed through dialogue in
Internal digital media such as intranet, closed projectforums and
relatively closed linkedin groups
External and relatively open social networks like Facebook,
websites with interactive gameplay etc.
S T O R Y T E L L I N G

17.
The Core Story
and Digital
Storytelling
UX* stories
*User Experience
C O M M U N I C A T I O N
Prescriptive structures (linear stories) are recognizable user experience
story structures, that allows you to fill in the blanks.
This first example is the Behaviour‐Driven Development structure:
Title (sets the theme) Given (context) And (some more context)
When (event) Then (outcome) And (another outcome)
Example (inspired by Quesenbery & Brooks, 2010):
(Title:) smartphone application saves lives. (given:) We are many who usually tell ourselves, that
we ought to learn first aid techniques if someone someday might need critical help. (when:) This
was exactly what flashed through Peter’s head, when he suddenly became the witness of a
traffic accident. The driver had hit the tree, and when Peter arrived at the car, the man inside the
car was unconscious. (Then/outcome:) Then Peter remembered, that he recently downloaded
the First Aid App. He quickly opened the app, tapped for instructions, and by the aid of visual and
aiditive instructions he managed to make the person safe and call for help. (And/another
outcome:) Had it been more serious, Peter would have needed better skills. So now he has
joined a first aid course. But without this app, he says, he would have panicked.
Quesenbery & Brooks (2010): Storytelling for User Experience. Rosenfeld
S T O R Y T E L L I N G

18.
The Core Story
and Digital
Storytelling
UX Stories
C O M M U N I C A T I O N
Prescriptive structures (linear stories) are recognizable user experience
story structures, that allows you to fill in the blanks.
This second example is the Me‐Them‐Me structure*:
Example (inspired by Quesenbery & Brooks, 2010):
(Me:) I love going to fitness workout in teams, but sometimes the training is cancelled due to
illness or the lack of a substitute instructor. (Them:) The fitness company really need a service
system, that could provide the clients with messages about cancelled training, news and other
good and practical stuff. (me:) I told them about company X and their great interactive system
combined with an app soultion, and now I always get their messages before going to the training.
*It’s a bit similar to the Now‐Then‐Now structure, only told in a more personal way.
Quesenbery & Brooks (2010): Storytelling for User Experience. Rosenfeld
S T O R Y T E L L I N G

19.
The Core Story
and Digital
Storytelling
UX Stories
C O M M U N I C A T I O N
Prescriptive structures (linear stories) are recognizable user experience
story structures, that allows you to fill in the blanks.
This third example is the Hero’s journey methapor:
Quesenbery & Brooks (2010): Storytelling for User Experience. Rosenfeld
Everyday World
The Call to
adventure
The return
to this world
The threshold
Between worlds
World of the Quest
Initiation
and trials
Achieving
the goal
Quick assignment (Two‐by‐two:)
Tell each other about a movie you’ve seen that follows this
structure. For example Lord of the Rings (Frodo’s journey)?
S T O R Y T E L L I N G

20.
The Core Story
and Digital
Storytelling
UX Stories
C O M M U N I C A T I O N
Some good advice when working with digital storytelling
(Qesenbery & Brooks, 2010):
Listening and talking
• If you don’t know your audience well, try listening to them.
• Let them tell stories. Analyze these stories. Then respond (talk).
• In talking to your audience, use the right voice and language.
• Prescriptive structures can be implemented, but be open for critics.
and alternative structures made in response to your story.
Context
• Make room for imagination (don’t be too detailed in your stories).
• Use representative characters and situations (context and persona).
• Keep the story short and on track (plot).
Quesenbery & Brooks (2010): Storytelling for User Experience. Rosenfeld
S T O R Y T E L L I N G

21.
Literature Quesenbery & Brooks (2010):
Storytelling for User Experience.
Rosenfeld
Fog, Klaus (2004, 2009):
Storytelling. Branding in practice.
Samfundslitteratur / Sigma / Springer Verlag.
C O M M U N I C A T I O N
S T O R Y T E L L I N G