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Stories are universal. In every corner of the world humans have been telling stories that have been passed down generations to generations. Often the stories are very similar. The situations may be different.
The geographies may be different. The cast of characters may be different. But the underlying theme is pretty much the same.
In his book Hero with a Thousand Faces (and the companion book Hero’s Journey), Joseph Campbell, author/academic, presents the 12 stages that most stories trace, referred to as the ‘story arc’: common elements of the hero’s journey include the call to adventure, refusal of the call, meeting the mentor, crossing the threshold, tests, allies, and enemies, the approach, the ordeal, the reward, the road back, the resurrection, the return, and the freedom to live.
All famous mythologies, Indian, Greek, Norse or Chinese, fit this pattern. So do modern stories like Harry Potter or the Star Wars series.
You can find this arc resonating in every Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikant, Vijay or MGR films too.
In his book Building A Story Brand 2.0, Donald Miller draws inspiration from the ‘Hero’s Journey’ to present an interesting way of looking at brand communication.
The first step is not to get obsessed with what you make; try to put yourself in the shoes of the prospective consumer. Often when I meet my clients they are gushing over their new product, how it saves energy and works seamlessly. When I ask them what do their prospective consumers want, there is often silence in the room: ‘Well we think we know what they want but we are yet to speak with them about this great new product of ours!’ is the sheepish reply.
Seven step framework
Miller prescribes a simple seven step framework that he calls SB7: In short ‘A customer has a problem, meets a guide, who gives them a plan and calls them to action that helps them avoid failure and end in a success’.
Let me break that up and explain as presented in the book: A character (the customer is the hero not your brand); has a problem (people buy solutions to problems, identify the problem and speak clearly in order to sell anything); and meets a guide (customers are not looking for a hero, they are looking for a guide; the guide could be a product or a consultant if you are running a consulting organisation); who gives them a plan (customers trust a guide who gives them a plan); and calls them to action (customers need to be challenged and nudged to take action); that helps them avoid failure (customers are trying hard to avoid a tragic ending); and it ends in a success (never assume people understand how your brand can change their lives for the better; tell them).
The SB7 framework reminded me of what I use in my own brand training sessions: Brand Positioning Statement (BPS). This statement does not start with the product but with the consumer. It does not glorify the product but presents it as a solution to a problem being faced by the customer. And it offers reasons to believe the claim.
If I were to create a BPS for SB7 it would be ‘For an entrepreneur who is looking at ways to build his business, SB7 is a simple branding framework that will help them clearly present their business proposition to their prospective customers because SB7 has been tried and tested by thousands of entrepreneurs’.
A signature story
If SB7 seems too simple and if you are looking for more juice around brand stories and a more nuanced approach, the book Creating Signature Stories by the branding guru David Aaker is one that I will definitely recommend. What is a signature story: It is an intriguing, authentic, involving narrative that delivers or supports a strategic message clarifying or enhancing the brand vision, customer relationship, organisational values and/or business strategy.
The book Storybrand 2.0 is highly readable though it has clearly been written as a quasi-promotion piece for the business Donald Miller runs (storybrand.ai) and at the end of every chapter he suggests that the reader go to the web site and apply what they have learnt from the chapter to create a storybrand for themselves. Full disclosure: I too belong to the tribe of ad professionals who wrote books to promote their business (FCB Ulka Brand Building Advertising – Concepts & Cases came out in the year 2000).
I am all with Donald Miller on his pursuit for spreading his unique formula and also his search for new customers. The book provides enough for you to apply its principles to your business. But if you had some spare cash ($39) then you may want to read the book and also use the power of storybrand.ai to help reimagine your brand marketing strategies, from the smallest details to the big picture.
The reviewer is a marketing/branding veteran and a best-selling author of 11 books
The book Storybrand 2.0 is highly readable though it has clearly been written as a quasi-promotion piece for the business Donald Miller runs (storybrand.ai)
Click here for Amazon link
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