An approach to unearthing the magic within your brand through a holistic approach that looks outside and inside the brand, to develop a rich and genuine articulation of it.

1. FINDING YOUR BRAND’S STORY
Craig Harries
Head of Planning
July 2011
craig.harries@gmail.com

2. Why a Brand Story?
A Brand Story gives the brand a point of view
It provides a common belief, direction and understanding of
‘where’ the business wants to get to, and ‘what’ it needs to focus
on to get there
A good one can inspire all stakeholders to get behind the brand:
• Employees
• Customers
• Business partners etc.
Brand Stories have credibility because they are founded on
brand truths
They can organise the development of the whole business, not
merely communications

3. Stories make a brand ‘sticky’
Aristotle used The stories we learn A good story has
stories to sway as children provide universal appeal
crowds lessons for life

4. A Brand Story can come
from a number of places
1. Origins &
History
BRAND
4. Quest 2. Fans
STORY
3. Experience

5. Every business started due to a
unique set of circumstances
1. Origins &
History
A brand’s origins might have been
because of frustration or spotting an
untapped opportunity
e.g. Steve Jobs discovered
There are also events in a brands history a love of Calligraphy and
that have shaped what it is and how that shaped Apple as a
people relate to it creative tool rather than a
Looking here can reveal a brands processing machine
essence and provide a source of energy

6. We can learn the most from the
people closest to the brand
Fans outside and inside the business are a
goldmine of insight and ideas and give you a
true reflection of the brand’s strengths and what
makes it special
Exploring their relationship with the brand will
help define it and generate ideas to help it grow
A brand with a strong fan base has high levels
of loyalty and advocacy and can charge a
premium 2. Fans

7. The things that define people’s
experience of the brand
Often this is the only thing that separates
brands in a category
What is the journey?
How is the brand experience different?
Unique? Or special?
How does the brand make people feel?
What opportunities are there to extend into
new channels?
3. Experience

8. The ambitions and goals of the business
4. Quest What is the brand’s point of view on
the world?
What is it fighting for?
How does it seek to make people’s
lives better?

9. The Brand Story approach provides a rich,
complete and genuine picture of a brand
1. Origins &
Brand Memories History Brand Truths
BRAND
4. Quest 2. Fans
STORY
Brand Emotions Brand Meaning
3. Experience

10. How to find your brand’s story

11. Stage 1 – Identifying your brand’s story
Developing the brand story - a vivid expression of the
essence of the brand, its positioning and vision
Mining the brand’s Origins & History
Fans – social media monitoring, create a community,
online and face-to-face workshops
Experience – interviews with users and product and
customer services personnel and business partners, trial
amongst non-users, and customer journey research
Quest – depth interviews with key stakeholders

12. Stage 2 – Activating your brand story
Activating the story in the most compelling way
Identifying the opportunities for the brand to stand out and
connect with its audience
• Workshop with marketing dept & agencies
• Analysis of competition’s comms equities
• War gaming
• Turning objectives into a comms strategy (business,
marketing, advertising, behaviour)
• Identifying opportunities
• Develop an activation plan

13. FINDING YOUR BRAND’S STORY
Craig Harries
Head of Planning
July 2011
craig.harries@gmail.com