Let’s start with a story …even those little words sound a bell in our heads to listen up! Right back to our days as toddlers stories have been our comfort and have been used to teach us lots of things, and it’s still the same now. That’s why brands are using stories to deliver messages that we will listen to, identify with, and have an emotional reaction to.
Let’s face it we don’t really like adverts anymore. Over 70% of users looking for something they’ve searched for on Google will not click on the ad listings. It doesn’t cost them anything to click on the advert to see what’s behind it , but no, it’s an advert, therefore I can’t trust it.
Our savvy audiences like to do their own research and like to understand the experiences of others. And that’s where stories can help bring a brand to life and give its audience an understanding of the product or service and what other people’s experience of it has been like.
The secret to a great brand story is to deliver a message that creates an emotion in the person who reads or hears or sees it. Give them a feeling. Put your audience at the heart of your story so that they feel themselves become part of it.
One of the best brand stories we’ve come across recently is from Google Chrome. With Google you can search for information, send emails, find places, send and upload videos with YouTube, collect and share photos with Picassa… STOP! Here we are listing features and benefits in a data driven way, like an advert, which is boring and uninspiring. Cue a brand story…
Google created the Dear Hollie Story. Watch it here, and we defy you not to either want to do this for your children or want your dad to have done this for you!
