Brand Storytelling

Storytelling is an often overlooked and undervalued communication method in branding. Using a metaphorical journey to describe aspects such as brand personalities and values is a unique way to get a client to understand a proposed brand idea. Stories are also metaphors and very powerful ones. They allow us to talk to the subconscious mind in such a way that the conscious mind does not reject or censor an underlying message (Developing Your NLP skills : Andrew Bradbury. P96)

Remember this point: A story can be used to communicate an underlying message that will not be questioned like an opinion or statement. A case study can be presented as a story to substantiate other claims or recommendations. Minimising confusion and conflict whilst providing clarity, a story becomes a very powerful tool in creative presentations. Selling an emotional concept in an analytical way results in a conflicting communication model. I agree with David Ogilvy that clients require rational reasons to make emotional decisions. However, they need to experience the emotional connection you're selling to understand the consumer's state of mind. It must be remembered that consumers make emotional choices and decisions just as much as logical choices. More importantly, it is emotional experiences that are remembered.

Therefore conveying an emotional value or idea with emotional language is clearly a more effective tool in a creative presentation. This is where telling a relevant story becomes so effective. For example, if selling a positioning that revolves around the concept of magic, a story that tells of the wonder of a child experiencing something like flying a kite for the first time can be extremely compelling. A concept like determination brings to mind some of the amazing stories of training that professional atheletes go through. The important point is to tell a story that the client will be able to personally relate to and let them recall a similar experience. If you can't tell the story yourself, there may be a video you can present that sells the experience you want to convey. This is another sensory method of selling a concept at a visual, auditory and kinesthetic level.

The average memory space of a person ranges from four to seven items at best, best represented by numerical sequences like phone numbers which are broken into digestible chunks for better retention. Research has also shown that worldwide attention spans are shrinking and people are more effectively blocking out the constant bombardment of visual stimulus such as advertising. Having methodologies to enhance a brand's memorability and recall is essential for success. I recently became interested in the way we record information after watching a world memory challenge.

What was fascinating was that nearly all the competitors used the same method to memorise what appeared to be a staggering amount of information such as numbers and patterns. An explanation from one competitor stated that by linking long number sequences to people and places he was already familar with, then creating a story as he walked through his imagination from person to person and place to place enabled him to remember the entire numerical sequence. It was compelling proof of the ability of a story to ensure maximum recall once you leave a presentation.

The conclusion was that stories are both emotively powerful and memorable. A very simple example I found effective was asking someone to write as many animal names as possible straight onto paper, then comparing it to someone who I asked to imagine walking through a jungle and naming animals they saw. A person who is able to internally visualise finds it much easier to recall items. Taking a conceptual journey stimulates more of our senses and sparks more links to existing
memories.

In oversaturated global markets every advantage to improve communication and heighten recall is beneficial. Brand stories should be part of every presentation and brand toolkit. Knowing that the brain works best by linking stories along a journey, telling a brand 'story' is a powerful tool in selling creative concepts. It also ensures the client experiences an emotional connection that is closer to the consumer experience.

Be careful, we're watching you

Consumer profiling is always an interesting phase of any branding project. And with social media making consumer voices more transparent than ever before ... I'm starting many projects with RSS keyword alerts across news, twitter and blogs. Combined with several social media tools (compete, social mention, socialseek and whostalkin are just a few favourite starting places) it's a great way to begin getting a clearer brand picture from a customer perspective.

But why scour the dark corners of internet alleys? Well, like any moment in a dark alley, the difference is honesty. People tend to say what they really think in a public forums, untempered by a social surrounding or within earshot of small impressionable children. A focus group creates a different context that can, if not properly moderated, create diluted or steered responses. But you can't argue when a customer posts a comment on Twitter saying 'Your product not only made my problem worse, my shrieks of pain scared the neighbours. My ex-girlfriend finally got it off with baby oil. Length and girth extender ... never again!'. The damage to brand perception and potential customers is almost irreversible.

That said, there's so much potential for real-time monitoring and instant feedback. Having recently stayed at the JIA Hotel in Hong Kong, I'd tweeted a general message about the Philippe Starck association and within five minutes, a JIA representative had replied directly to me asking about the service and overall experience. I was both surprised by the immediacy of the response but appreciative that they appeared to be concerned about my stay (or that customers are promoting a positive public facing message). My stay was genuinely a good and recommended one ... but out of pure curiosity I would have liked to have seen a response to an unhappy client...the true test. It's still a good reminder that marketing divisions should always have brand alerts set up for these scenarios. The ability to put out spotfires quickly before they become rampant is truly a part of any PR and brand perception campaign and assists in promoting a consumer first attitude to the public.

Combining the real-time presence of online monitoring with consumer profiling also changes the areas of brand focus. I've been working at integrating product adoption potential, social/peer influence and consumer brand alignment into our methodology to compliment our other data. "More stats!" can occassionally overwhelm a definitive point (as Mark Twain said 'facts are stubborn, but statistics are pliable') but in the consumer realm, they're king. In conjunction with behavioral patterns and levels of influence, online consumer profiling should be a part of your every project.

Stop yelling and selling. Start participating.

As I write this branding continues to change at a rate faster than the average cheetah can keep up with. Digital is the buzzword floating around my office at the moment, but I'm personally seeing this less as a complete direction change and more as the space in which brands now live and interact with consumers in. It's a natural progression versus a radical departure from most agencies core competencies.

Where real change is happening is communication. Branding has moved from yelling into a crowd and seeing who listens, to opening up the forum floor to anyone who wants to speak. For the uninitiated this can be quite intimidating. Transparency has taken on the true meaning of the word as regulation, within reason, is often perceived as a negative influence to the participation process.

But this is the change that every brand must embrace. Negativity is productive. Change is good. Opinions are wanted. As Microsoft's Mich Mathews stated, brands have moved into the 'Era of Customer Participation', a business space where brands must be able to organically adapt to an ever changing landscape. Successful brands must open direct channels to consumers and ask them 'Let us know how we can help you more, because this is your brand as much as ours'.

Social and rich interactive media solutions open up a new world of possibilities to both consulting and creative people. Speaking a differentiated message consistently at all touchpoints? The tradition. Providing a vehicle for consumers to shape, create and fulfill an untapped need? The change.

Why be simple when complex will do?

A quick list of often forgotten tips that I like to remind myself of before presenting work to a client:

PRESENTATION TECHNIQUES

Entrance strategy
A client decides whether they like you in the first fifteen seconds you enter a room. Absolute fact. So, how much time have you spent on your introduction?

Rapport
Overstated...but the reality is, a client will do business with someone they like. They need to connect with us as people as well as professionals. So build rapport. Don’t walk in, set up and start showing self absorbed slides. Ask questions about the business problem, show genuine interest and demonstrate expertise in similar scenarios.

Body Language
Are you prepared to deal with hostile body language? Do you know what to do when a client is unresponsive? Break their pattern. Have a strategy ready to deal with difficult clients. Oh and maintain eye contact. We like and gravitate towards people who are confident enough to look us in the eye when we speak.

Names
There’s a unique phenomenon that we’ve all experienced ... Awkwardness dealing with someone whose name we have forgotten (or can’t remember). Make sure you get to know everyone’s name in the room. You make a more powerful impression when you can talk to someone directly using their name.

You're Selling What?
Are we selling a process? I hope not. That’s telling, not selling. Are we selling a solution? Everyone is selling a solution. Let’s make sure we’re attuned to the needs of the client and what will move them above and beyond our competitors.

Know Your Audience
Great speakers find out everything they can about their audience before presenting. Speak to the interests of your audience in a language they understand and engage them through relevant content and delivery style.

Psychologically speaking
Our capacity for information retention is quite limited. We’re lucky if we get four (at maximum) points retained in a client’s short term memory after a meeting. Have you worked out the primary point(s) you’re trying to get across in a presentation? So, what do plan to leave the client thinking after your presentation? ‘Geez, those guys get it. And they’ve clearly done this before with great results for other clients. I’m comfortable they’re the right group for us. And I liked the guy talking about Bruce Lee. Sharp.’

Use The Stage
Find two spots in a room from which to speak from. One is your main stage from which 90% of your info is delivered from. But when you need to deliver one of your four core points (eg ‘Hire us, we have brilliant designers’) you should move to the other spot. Say it, move back. The client will associate (and remember) those impact statements more than the 150+ slides you read out to them.

Don't Talk To A Slide
It's not talking to you

You Have Four Seconds
When a person has to read a powerpoint slide...you’ve failed. The average person looks at a powerpoint slide for around three to four seconds starting in the top left hand corner. They scan for an area of interest, settle for a second or two, then move on. A slab of text or complex diagram is not an area of interest. If it’s important ... You must interact with the client and verbalise (it’s even better if you can make them say it..double the retention power! Christian is brilliant Christian is a design god)

A Picture Says A Thousand Words
So we write a thousand and one? No. Use a picture. Move them.

Sensory
Retention of concepts and ideas is improved when multiple senses are engaged. Maybe you could sing them a big idea? (then again, maybe not). Think about how to engage beyond the normal. Stay front of mind. Be unique.

Simplexity
There’s an artform to selling complex ideas in. If I knew someone who could tell you how to do it, I would ask them to explain. But I don’t know anyone. You’ll have to figure it out yourself I suppose. I’m sure it’s simple though.

Say Less Than Necessary
Robert Green wrote this describing the common habits of great leaders in history ‘Great leaders say less than necessary, not more. When you are trying to impress people with words, the more you say, the more common you appear, and the less in control. Powerful people impress and intimidate by saying less. The more you say, the more likely you are to say something foolish.’

Power. Through simplicity.

Branding needs to change. And fast.

Branding as most agencies currently deliver has failed to adapt to a changing consumer landscape. So what's next? With digital changing the face of business more rapidly than ever before, great brands of tomorrow will need to address the following:

Be First
First to market has a two-fold advantage. First to market means front of the consumer mind. Market leaders in a category are twice as hard to shift as challenger brands and every advantage goes to a market leader, Pepsi won't overtake Coke nor will Avis jump ahead of Hertz regardless of clever marketing.

Be Unique
As the often heard but rarely understood concepts of innovation, sustainability, partnership and flexibility are repeated across industries, the basic foundation of distinction is lost. As Stephen Geissbuler eloquently states 'artificially adopted notions of growth, global business and aggressive, forward-moving technology become meaningless and overused ... because it's everybody's strategy, mission and positioning'. In a world of brand inconsistencies, we have forgotten the art of emotional connection. The need to refocus on people and bonding helps to create the most powerful assets any brand has; brand advocates.

Digital Activation
For success in the coming decade, business needs to acknowledge that the message may stay the same ... but the medium is shifting dramatically. If your business and brand are not digital now, you're of a dying breed. Traditional print and campaign style approaches to marketing are losing relevance with today's consumers. It is the user that drives and shapes brands today as they look to align with brands that reflect their lifestyle. The equation is simple; go digital or die.

Brand Communities
Brand champions and brand advocates are terms we're all familiar with. However, the places where they are developed has changed. Online communities are deciding the fates of businesses through advocacy and recommendation. The hotel industry is a good example, the consumer reviews on Tripadvisor often determine the fate of a hotel regardless of their external marketing. It also checks whether you’re positioned correctly; if you’re really a business orientated hotel masquerading as a boutique, the consumer will very quickly let you know your short-comings or misconceptions. Those who cannot adjust quickly, fall even faster.

Touchpoint Analysis
The hotel example highlights an excellent point. Agencies must analysis and pinpoint appropriate brand touchpoints and place emphasise therein. Yesterday's approach of a single message thrown into the mass market in the hope it randomly resonates is no longer working in an environment that is dictated by the end user. By targeting specific markets and demographics, mediums like mobile technology, websites and online communities can directly hit consumers that are known to have an interest in a brand, product or service. Speaking directly to an interested consumer has replaced yelling into a crowd.

Brand Service (or Consumers First)
The traditional that will never die. A simple fact that no branding or advertising can cover is; unless you can deliver the quality and services you promote, long term success will remain elusive. The digital realm has elevated word-of-mouth to new heights and through blogs, communities and online reviews consumers/users now determine the success of brands. Make your consumers happy and leverage this by giving them avenues to share their positive experiences. Zappos is a famous example; by focusing their business efforts on relationship marketing and a loyalty business model, they have become the world’s largest online shoe retailer. Built upon a core value of ‘delivering wow through service’, Zappos have achieved record numbers of repeat business.

Brand People, Brand Touchpoints, Company Culture
It's easy to forget that every employee within a company is a brand touchpoint and you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. Whether or not your people are the most consistent brand touchpoint or not is irrelevant, they are the most important. Face to face communication allows consumers to experience a brand on a human level and research shows a positive human interaction breeds word of mouth promotion more powerfully than any other medium. Great branding ultimately needs to inspire, not just make visible a business strategy. Emphasis on a company culture that resonates and can be articulated by employees thus becomes essential.

Brand Metrics
Handing over a strategic solution without being able to demonstrate a tangible result will change as digital makes KPI’s and ROI’s measurable in real-time. It can also work in an evolutionary or organic way, with strategic and creative executions able to be adjusted and tailored post-launch by recording consumer feedback, keyword spikes, online reviews and other forms of interaction.

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The Shift We Need To Make
Touchpoint analysis, company culture, consumer focus and digital activation are the areas that most agencies are struggling to take advantage of but understandably so. Whilst younger businesses have an appreciation of these areas, older and more established clients still struggle to recognise their potential .. and agencies have yet to develop case studies showing tangible benefits. Proving that these areas require the most attention whilst providing the best return on investment will determine an agency's own relevance in a changing marketplace.

Respect? Oops, wrong career. Become a dentist and drill your way to the top

I was recently lunching with my consultant counterparts (distinguishable from creatives like myself for their use of business-speak and symmetrical haircuts) when the topic of a company blog was mentioned. There was a casual accusation as to why I had not contributed to the archive which I parried back with that I could write a provoking design related article to stimulate conversation and intense over-coffee debates. The slow blink response however, was less than encouraging. Whilst not word for word, it ran along the lines of ‘We are not a design agency, we are a branding agency. We don’t want an article describing how to make a colour wheel.’

Oh my poor heart. These cutting words were like a nipple twist from a high-school bully who lacks the judgement on when to let go. I was shocked, appalled, horrified and shocked. Firstly, because I hadn’t used a colour wheel since my blurry university days and secondly, because of the flippant and dismissive attitude towards mention of a purely design related entry from my highly regard peers. I felt like I’d just been dismissed as a one-night stand, ‘Sorry, but it was just a moment, I don’t actually want to see you naked again. Especially with a colour wheel hanging off anything.’ Here I was thinking we had something beautiful together. That I was the ying to their yang, the peanut to their jelly, the cancer to their cigarettes. Did they really think that design was simply a logo on some stationery? I had always suspected this attitude may be hiding under the cool exteriors of my left-brained colleagues but they were usually polite enough to sugarcoat it or politely dismiss it in an confusing myriad of business terms that meant by the time you realized they’d insulted you the lights were out. Alas, it was nowhere to be found and I felt I’d been subjected to the classic retort that design is all style and no substance…and therefore, less than desirable reading to the intellectually rather than artistically gifted.

Luckily my iceman features betrayed none of these microexpressions and I kept a cooler than cool poker face. Unluckily, my choice of words didn't quite have the same neutrality. ‘Not purely design? What the f*** do you think we do on the other side of the room in between youtube surfing and vice fashion do and don’t reading? We do design. The stuff that makes people ohh and ahh. That makes you buy products you don’t need. The stuff that makes people fight over the last pair of manolo blahnik shoes at the end-of-year sales. The stuff that gets into books and wins awards and is remembered when everything else is forgotten in the sands of time you evil money hungry bastards.’

And there it was. I had aired my passionate frustration to only receive a few dismissive shoulder shrugs and blackberry checking but the thought stayed with me… That design within a branding agency was deemed less important, or more relevant only to the poorly dressed side of the office, than if I’d hinted at presenting a thesis of disagreement with Al Ries positioning assertations, disapproved of Aakers strategic analysis tools or mentioned any of the brand mascots; purple elephants, innovative foxes or consistently consistent hedgehogs.

Where oh where does design credibility lie? Must it be sandwiched between the sheets of a strategy and business threesome, waking up feeling used and dirty? That argument might be true if only it were true. Sometimes, at the best of times, it is true. But the fact remains that some of the greatest brands of the last fifty years were based on great design as well as a business strategy that was the sole invention of the business owners. Design that didn’t speak about three throw-away brand values that seem to be echoes of the last three hundred jobs you’ve worked on. Design that was just … good design…for the sake of good design ... and told a story about the company.

Sacrilege! I can hear the nervous typing of emails from across the room that independent designer thought has occurred without strategic direction to temper the flames. Wait, hear me out. Of course a brand (and design) should stand for something. It should make the business strategy visible, or tell a brand story or be a unique insight into the company. It should be more than just being pretty … it should inspire and have relevance to the company for which is stands. But it can do even more than that. Research has shown the correct interior colour scheme can improve productivity. Acoustic design can do the same. Considered layouts improve retention of information and environmental design can increase instore consumer spending and at point of sale areas. Good design is both function and form, and usually being the first touchpoint (and just as often the last) for consumers, it better be more than just pretty…because as the entrypoint into a brand it may just be the most important device to trigger recall in your arsenal. Fortune 500 companies that are heavily branded make more than those that don’t. Simple fact. Good design makes money.

But does that design have to reflect the usual brand value and proposition methodology? Maybe not. There might be credence in the words of Steff Geissbuhler when he says ‘We have run out of marks representing artificially adopted notions of growth and forward moving values for business, because when it’s everybodies strategy, mission and vision … it becomes meaningless. Audiences react more directly and emotionally to recognizable symbols and cultural icons with clear connotations, characteristic and qualities.’ Perhaps he’s on to something … if I have to design the brand of another innovative, flexible, next generation, partnership driven company ... I might have to pause to reopen the concept files of the last few jobs and start recycling. And that hurts. Down low.

So what’s the conclusion? Is it still about making strategic values and propositions visible … or is it about telling a company story that will inspire employees and create loyal customers? Easy answer is that it can be both and for the sake of a regular paycheque, it should be both. No designer can be arrogant enough to say that a good logo alone amounted to business success, but the idea that got there certainly helps. A good strategy, well, icing on the cake my friends. Tango time… and that takes two.

The argument shifts then to the need for creative strategy, emotive brand values and a broader definition of design. A call for company values that aren't from the brand dictionary and a request for connections with consumers. Brands that have real, distinctive, unique meaning. Brands that people will become loyal advocates of. Brands that want to be great. And yes, brands that are made visible through good, considered design that tells this story.

And thus we arrive at a vague conclusion. You may well be thinking ‘thank god, what is the point of this ramble?’ Well, my call to action is to acknowledge that design deserves more respect than if it was simply the final product on the strategic conveyor belt. Whether in a branding agency or design studio, this broader definition of design is an integral part of business success. It might be a long road to get there, but rest assured … it’s the good design that ends up in museums being discussed by post-modernists and art students (they can be one and the same if appearance is disregarded and only review of their comments is accounted for). If museum worthy design and strategy are able to balance like libra scales, we arrive at brand utopia. So designers, here ye here ye … go forth and strive and draw and argue with your counterparts for respect and professional recognition. They will respect and loathe you all the more for it. They may even let you write articles about colour wheels.

Creative Presentation Tips #1

It is best to display multiple concepts individually (ie each on a separate page) rather than together. Research has shown that attention is divided between objects on a page even when objects are dulled or even hidden. The brain remembers object locations and will continue being processed.

Maximum attention is established by placing a new object such as a single brandmark on a new clean slide or page. This is essential when presenting brandmarks especially when pushing for a recommended option. The client should be focused on a single point rather than asked to move between multiple objects on a page.

Too many choices cause what is known as cognitive dissonance (or more simply, internal confusion). For example, a case study involving consumer choice was conducted in a shopping environment. A display of six jams were set up and consumers were asked to sample each. Another display featuring twenty four jams was used and results showed that with so many choices, indecision was caused quickly and less purchases were made than the display featuring only six.

Understanding memory retention is also important for emphasising key points. Presenting an maximum choice of four options (three may be even better) reaches the average person's memory processing and short term limit. It is also an effective way of setting up a graded context in which one option is preferred. For example, in a creative presentation, option one can be explained as a safe update of an existing brand, option two as the contemporary and market relevant recommendation, whilst option three represents the furthest leap forward. Simple enough, it helps persuades a client toward the desired recommendation with option one appearing acceptable but not forward looking enough and option three as exciting but too much of a leap.

As always, never present work you're not happy with because despite the best prepared rationales, no one can account for irrational decisions.

Further to this last point is a story I read in Kevin Hogan's book, The Science Of Influence, that struck a chord in relation to contextual selling. The book describes the following

"There is a wonderful piece of television history from the archives of the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. One night, Johnny had the number-one Girl Scout cookie salesperson in the country on. He asked her the secret of her success. She said ‘I just went to everyone’s house and said “Can I have a $30,000 donation for the Girl Scouts?”. When they said ‘No,’ I said, ‘Would you at least buy a box of Girl Scout cookies?’

If you put two products or services close together in space, in time, or in a person’s mind, the person will begin to clearly see the differences and their programming will help them choose ‘which’ instead of ‘whether or not to’. If you can show your expensive product or service first and then show what you would like to sell second, the client is very likely to purchase the second item."

Applying this thought in a creative context, could it be best to show your most 'revolutionary' brand option first followed by your preferred option second to emphasise the difference in implementation? I'll let you decide.

Further reading
Mind Hacks by by Tom Stafford, Matt Webb (Hack 19)
The Science of Influence by Kevin Hogan
Number 4 : A Reconsideration of Mental Capacity by Nelson Cowan 2001