Building a StoryBrand

One university we worked with defined their customer’s desire as “a hassle-free MBA you can complete after work.” A landscaping company humorously defined their customer’s ambition as “a yard that looks better than your neighbor’s.” A caterer we worked with in Los Angeles defined his customer’s desire as “a mobile fine-dining experience in the environment of your choice.”

When we identify something our customer wants and communicate it simply, the story we are inviting them into is given definition and direction.

Here are some more examples from companies we’ve worked with:

Financial Advisor: “A Plan for Your Retirement”

College Alumni Association: “Leave a Meaningful Legacy”

Fine-Dining Restaurant: “A Meal Everybody Will Remember”

Real Estate Agent: “The Home You’ve Dreamed About”

Bookstore: “A Story to Get Lost In”

Breakfast Bars: “A Healthy Start to Your Day”

­periencing an identity crisis. Their marketing collateral featured images of their restaurant, front desk, and staff. It all looked nice, but unless they were trying to sell their buildings, they weren’t exactly inviting customers into a story.

What their customers wanted most, actually, was a luxurious, restful experience. After StoryBranding their resort, they changed the text on their website from long stories about themselves (which positioned them as the hero) to images of a warm bath, plush towels and robes, someone getting a massage in the spa, and a looping clip of a back-porch rocking chair against the backdrop of trees blowing in the wind along a golf course.

They replaced the text on their main page with short and powerful copy: “Find the luxury and rest you’ve been looking for.”

As a brand it’s important to define something your customer wants, because as soon as we define something our customer wants, we posit a story question in the mind of the customer: Can this brand really help me get what I want?

must tell our customers how great their life can look if they buy our products and services. Ronald Reagan painted a picture of “a shining city on a hill.”2 Bill Clinton offered to help us “build a bridge to the twenty-first century.”3 During the dark and dreary Depression, Franklin Roosevelt used the song “Happy Days Are Here Again” as his official campaign song.4 Likewise, Apple provides tools that allow us to express ourselves and be heard, Weight Watchers helps us lose weight and feel great, and Men’s Wearhouse guarantees we will like the way we look.

Everybody wants to be taken somewhere. If we don’t tell people where we’re taking them, they’ll engage another brand.

STORYBRAND PRINCIPLE SEVEN: NEVER ASSUME PEOPLE UNDERSTAND HOW YOUR BRAND CAN CHANGE THEIR LIVES. TELL THEM

Simply put, we must show people the cost of not doing business with us.

If there is nothing at stake in a story, there is no story. Likewise, if there’s nothing at stake in whether or not I buy your product, I’m not going to buy your product. After all, why should I?

STORYBRAND PRINCIPLE SIX: EVERY HUMAN BEING IS TRYING TO AVOID A TRAGIC ENDING.

STORYBRAND PRINCIPLE FIVE: CUSTOMERS DO NOT TAKE ACTION UNLESS THEY ARE CHALLENGED TO TAKE ACTION

CUSTOMERS TRUST A GUIDE WHO HAS A PLAN.