A new non-verbal approach to verbal branding
Written by verbal identity and branding specialists, Simon Andrew and Phil Ramsell, joint founders of Sticky Name Design and both native English copywriters & creative directors based in Germany
Our previous post looked at why the tagline is no longer the universally applicable marketing tool it once was, due to the limitations of many digital media environments as well as changed media consumption habits. So, what’s to be done? Is there an alternative solution that can work effectively across all forms of digital and analogue media? The simple answer is, yes. More than this, the solution puts marketers in a stronger position than ever before – by combining an invisible approach to branding with a radical shift in storytelling.
We have seen the future and it’s invisible
Using storytelling as a marketing device has been in vogue for a good while now. It’s probably no coincidence that it began to gain traction around the same time as fragmentation of the digital media environment gathered momentum in the mid 2000s – because storytelling made it possible to keep a single narrative going across extremely diverse channels and formats.
Of particular relevance to branding is the possibility of taking a highly focused, distilled approach to storytelling – where a single compelling storyline is used to inspire every aspect of branding and communication. And to do so in a way that provides many of the same functions taglines once did, without any of the limitations.
Introducing the storyline
Like a good tagline, the right storyline has the potential to set a brand apart from competitors, inject emotion, display attitude, and create personality. It can also inspire and motivate customers, employees and other stakeholders and provide a reference point that keeps messaging consistent across communication channels. Not least, it can ensure core brand messages are remembered through the power of story, rather than simple repetition alone (more on this later).
The key difference between the tagline and the storyline is that the latter is never actually seen. It remains hidden in the background and informs brand communication and interaction rather than being an element of the communication itself. It is this invisible quality that makes the storyline so flexible and easily applicable to all media environments.
Whose storyline is it anyway?
In the past, most of the myriad storytelling techniques espoused by marketing gurus were about making the brand the hero, which is why the results of their efforts were unambiguously referred to as “brand stories.” This is no longer the case. Marketers are waking up to the reality that, it’s the customer who should to be the hero of the story, not their brand. First, this is because the customer understandably relates to and cares about their own story more deeply than any other. Second, in an age of competing and overwhelmingly abundant, digital- and other environmental stimuli, the customer has little time or inclination to engage with brand stories, if any. Rather, the customer is only interested in brands insofar as they help advance their own story in some way.
Defining your storyline in three steps
Simply put, the storyline reveals how your customer can become the hero of a given situation by achieving a desired objective with the enabling support of your brand. With this in mind, your storyline requires the identification of three basic elements:
1. Hero: Your customer
2. Objective: The goal your customer wishes to achieve
3. Enabler: Your brand
Hero. Objective, and Enabler make for an unfortunate acronym, but it is a memorable one. Before continuing to an example of how this might work in practice, a quick word on each of the elements:
The hero
The customer is always the hero of the storyline, which is focused on a desired quest derived from their wider life story. No other narrative is more compelling or relatable to the customer, and your challenge as a marketer is to align and integrate your brand with this customer-focused quest.
The objective
Of the three elements, the customer’s objective is the defining aspect of the storyline. Because it is what drives the customer to action. For example, the customer’s objective might be to satisfy hunger, build status, avoid loss, earn acceptance, or any other motivator in the bigger picture of their overall life story. And bearing in mind that we want to inspire the customer to act in some way, the objective should be stated in a manner that calls our hero, the customer, to action.
The enabler
As discussed above, your challenge as a marketer or branding expert is to make your brand relevant in the context of the customer story. This is easily achieved because, while your brand may not be the hero of the storyline, it takes on the critical role of authoritative guide, coach or enabler. It does this by demonstrating that it understands the customer’s situation and crucially, has what the customer needs to help them succeed in their quest – and emerge as hero of the piece.
The bigger picture of creating a customer-centric story is expanded upon in Donald Miller’s excellent book, Building a Story Brand. Importantly, the storyline is not quite the same thing as the customer story Miller elucidates in his book. Rather, it is the focused essence, the pivotal point around which the story revolves. The storyline succinctly captures the role a brand plays in enabling the customer to become the hero of a given situation in just a few words, rather than in an entire book. Simplicity is key. A storyline is clear, concise and single-minded, as is well illustrated by a brand that has already taken bold strides in this direction: Nike.
Help me just do it
Nike is arguably the greatest story-telling brand ever and "Just do it" has always been the tagline to beat them all. Even so, the brand has never rested on its laurels. In 2012, consumer feedback indicated that customers were looking for a more helpful and enabling brand, rather than one that provided inspiration and motivation alone, as discussed in this ADWEEK article. This led Nike to consider a strategic shift to the more enabling "Help me just do it". It may not have been as catchy as their ultra-visible three-word tagline, but it did contain all the key elements of an invisible storyline: Nike (the enabler) helps you (the hero) just do it (the objective).
Perhaps it is no coincidence that Nike’s desire to position itself as a more enabling brand started to emerge in communication that appeared around the same time. Rather than offering inspiration though showcasing the achievements of famous sports stars or super-fit individuals, Nike began to take on a more coaching and enabling role built around relatable stories of everyman, that is, you and me, the customer. Their famous tagline is not used in these commercials (see below) but, one could argue, the invisible story line runs through them.
Nike's 2012 "Find Your Greatness" campaign
The shifting role of the brand from motivator to “motivator plus enabler” can also be seen in the brand’s more recent NikePlus Membership program, which “connects customers to exclusive shoes and gear, events, athlete stories, and running and training programs to help them reach their potential.” The enabling aspect of the brand is also visible in highly user-rated Nike Run Club and Nike Training Club apps. All contain the spirit of the storyline, “Help me just do it,” without visibly using the words anywhere.
NikePlus Unlocks – Part of the NikePlus Membership program
Why the storyline offers more than a tagline
There’s convincing research that shows nothing helps people remember like good storytelling, especially where it leverages the power of emotion. The results of the research speak for themselves. Memorability is massively enhanced and the ability of emotive storytelling to drive sales is, in a word, remarkable.
The fact that the same storyline can be expressed across multiple different stories in any channel further enhances memorability by allowing a subtle form of repetition: the visible communication in the foreground changes but the storyline behind it remains immutable. This form of “soft repetition” engages and endears customers to the brand rather than annoying them.
What makes the storyline even more compelling is that it’s derived from the world of the customer, their goals, hopes, fears and dreams. This ensures your storytelling approach remains absolutely focused on customers in a way that leaves them feeling understood and empowered by your brand.
In the final analysis, the storyline can do anything a tagline can do, better. And for those who wish to keep using a tagline, do so. Done well, these can still continue to work hard for your brand in classic media channels. Only good news, really. All that remains to be asked is, what’s your storyline? Get in touch if you’d like any assistance in working that out.