Brand story: the essence of your brand as a foundation
A brand story makes clear why your brand matters. It is a clear story that captures the identity, positioning and dynamics of your brand in a nutshell. The brand story is a framework for all communication with your different audiences: customers and prospects, partners, and the job market too. It gives direction, and is a source of inspiration and a touchstone for:
Propositions: The story guides which propositions you put in the shop window. It also shows which propositions you're still missing, and which no longer fit.
Content: The brand story guides the structure, copy and visual language of your website, social channels and brochures. It gives you storylines for your content strategy, with choices about format, perspective, form and channel. You can hold your existing content up against it and adapt it. Your marketing team then knows instinctively what fits the brand and what doesn't.
Sales pitch: Sales gets a pitch with the same structure as the story: the customer's challenge, what's at stake, the role you play and an example of a customer who went before them. That way, everyone who talks to customers tells the same story, in their own words.
Brand story: our approach
To create a good brand story, we dig into the history of the brand and turn our gaze to the future. We look for the right adventurous elements of your brand: why are you setting out? What are you searching for? And also: what role do you play in your customer's story? What magic or superpowers do you bring, and why does that matter? To map this field of forces, we use our Storytelling Canvas.
We develop the story elements into a powerful brand story or manifesto. This forms the foundation for all communication around the brand, from shaping your events to designing your website. Broadly, we work in three steps:
1. Finding the brand story
First, we dive into your current brand strategy, carry out in-depth audience research and a competitor analysis. This gives us a picture of the entire playing field, and of where your brand's strengths and opportunities lie.
In a one-day workshop, we search for the deeper layer: what makes the brand credibly its own? How do all the pieces of the puzzle fit together? Together with your team, we crack your brand's code.
We have developed a number of methods to get people out of their heads and switch on imagination, experience and emotion. Because the core of a story is always about something that moves people, about passion. We use story constellations, metaphors, the theory of The Hero's Journey and our Storytelling Canvas.
2. Creating the brand story
Fed by everything we've discussed, we capture the brand story as powerfully as possible on a single A4 page. It makes crystal clear what the brand fundamentally stands for, what its ambition is and what makes it distinctive and relevant to customers.
The brand story serves as an anchor and touchstone for communication, such as content marketing, recruitment campaigns, communication formats and the structure of your website.
As part of the brand story, we include advice on tone of voice and matching visual language, based on the story and the brand archetypes that fit it. We develop the story into a brand book and/or brand story video to give it even more impact and touch people emotionally.
3. Sharing the brand story
Now that the story exists, it's time to tell it and share it. To do this, we draw up an implementation plan together with the core team.
How can we translate the story to the website and social media? Can we set up storylines, and what choices do we make in terms of format, perspective, form and channels? Which existing content can we adapt to bring it more in line with the brand story? Which propositions do we put in the shop window, and what are we still missing? That's how we create a razor-sharp position in the market.
The process generates plenty of inspiration and clarity for developing new initiatives. Your marketing team knows instinctively what is on brand and what isn't. The brand is reborn!
What does a brand story process deliver?
A powerful, unique and compelling story about the magic of your brand that gives direction, pride, recognition and meaning.
A brand book that communicates the story, including the brand archetype and guidelines for tone of voice and visual language.
Connection, inspiration and enjoyment among the workshop participants, and a shared sense of ownership of the story.
A concrete plan to bring the story further to life.
“And then we finally cracked the code. A lot came loose that had been stuck for a long time, and there’s more connection and belief internally. We now understand the why.”
“The story helps enormously. Wherever we show it, it is immediately recognised and embraced.”
Creating a story constellation during a brand story workshop
Examples from our practice (in Dutch)
Ralph Poldervaart (founder)
Ready to dig?
Writing a good brand story isn't a copywriting job. It's a strategic and creative process. It calls for reflection, courage and sharp questions.
We help you find that story, put it into words and translate it into action. So that your brand doesn't just say what it does, but shows why it matters. We're ready with a fresh pair of eyes and a sturdy spade.