With alignment out of the way, it’s time to get into the functional aspects of brand positioning and messaging. It’s also one of the more fun aspects because we get to stretch all of our creative muscles. However, you can still add a lot of structure to the system, so we’ll start there before we get too crazy.
Please reference our syllabus here. You can find the brand audit template here.
If you have ever worked in product marketing, you’ve likely worked with some messaging framework, which is exactly what you need for the brand. There tends to be some overlap between your brand framework and product/solution framework, so this is a good time to include your PMM folks as a stakeholder.
In the video I provide an example from a past org I used for a product marketing framework, which is overkill for our purposes today. You can grab and adjust this template here, though.
It covers A-Z of what you need to know for each product, solution, or service you offer. More than anything, a framework like this provides structure. However, we need something more suitable to how the brand tactically gets put into play, which ranges from brand campaigns to more core elements like your homepage and profile presence on social media.
Frameworks aside, you now understand the value of putting your critical brand messaging elements down on paper. It will make your life much easier down the road.
Now, on to the fun part: storytelling.
Earlier, we discussed the split between taglines and brand themes, and that is where we pick up the conversation about developing brand stories. Rather than starting with what a brand story is, let’s cover what it isn’t: It’s not content marketing.
Content marketing is typically designed for full marketing funnel coverage. The output is educational resources, new research that positions you as a thought leader, offers persuasive arguments about why your approach is better, and it is designed to drive leads, pipeline, revenue, and retention.
A brand story can do this, and content marketing can take advantage of the brand stories, but they differ in approach and outcome.
Your brand story is designed to invoke a specific emotional connection. It’s the personification of the why you exist, your values, and your mission. It’s also your opportunity to fully embrace the brand elements previously discussed, such as your personality, voice, and tone. You intertwine your core company elements with your brand elements into a story that ultimately reflects your audience.
For example, you create a brand video that discusses all the aforementioned things. Should the video focus on your specific products and services and have people or figures represent your team?
OR
Should the video focus on your audience, in most cases your customers, their daily struggles, their motivation for showing up to work (besides money), and how you want them to FEEL when they see your branding specifically?
It also doesn’t need to ignore what you offer, which I feel doesn’t need to be said, but let’s just put that out there to be on the safe side.
Before we move on, let’s take a look at an iconic brand ad that kicked off one of the most iconic taglines in history:
It was funny, inspiring, and most of all it showed someone who you would not immediately look at and say: athlete.
Now let’s take a look at a clip from another brand campaign series that I love:
Dove helped pioneer the beauty concept that you are perfect the way you are, and their products are made for exactly that. They went against the grain of beauty brands that create negative and false perspectives of who people are and that products like that are the only way to achieve it.
These two very well-known brand campaigns are a layer deeper than what we are specifically talking about. The reason I highlight them, though, is that your brand story is the foundation you build from. For Nike, it’s about motivation. For Dove, it’s about beauty as you are. These simple statements are elements we’ve already discussed in the course so far, and both brands have used them to craft compelling stories that allow their audience to see themself in the story. To have an emotional connection. To see on one side a better version of themself, and another saying they always have been the best version of themself.
And that is the art of brand storytelling.
If we dissect these we can see a few common elements between them, and many others like it.
They invoked emotion and empathy
They grabbed your attention and were engaging
They felt authentic and unique
They were relatable for their audience
And while these are just individual stories, they are tied to a greater series with a consistent message
and most importantly… they push you to take action.
So when we look at brand awareness campaigns, we are really telling a compelling story, and typically, you find the elements above built in.
So, where do you typically start? Look from within. What sparked your company into existence? Why was it founded? The founder's story is a great place to start and build upon, especially at an early stage. In many cases, there was a driving factor to solve something, especially in the cybersecurity world. As the brand matures, the story should reflect your audience, though.
Building your Brand Story