Brand Stories

Note: Image from Trendwatching Status Stories

We are no longer jumping and jiving as a group in our matching khakis and cotton shirts. Rather, we are seeing an influx in the desire to be individuals - everything we purchase or associate ourselves with must communicate something about who we are or want to be! The brands we associate with must stand for something, so we can decide if it suits our individual style/personality!

We, as consumers, are more proud of our products/services that we purchase when they come with a unique story! Consumers are no longer interested in purchasing products/services, as they are the stories (aka bragging rights) that come with them.

Customers want to be able to connect with brands on a meaningful level - know something special about the brand that no one else knows or have experienced something truly memorable with that brand! These brand stories make our relationship with brands more significant because the product/service is no longer generic and meaningless, rather it's a one of a kind, personal experience, which, in turn, makes that product/service more valuable!

Brands need to provide customers with stories to share! These stories often come in the form of reasons to believe - initiatives that support and uphold the brand's purpose, yet they have enough 'wow factor' to excite customers and make them feel special and unique to have experienced!

There are 2 ways to empower your customers with brand stories:

1) Give them background on the brand/product/service:

For instance, I, recently, purchased a beautiful Marc Jacobs bag, and when I was buying it, Joy, the sales associate, told me this was the first time Marc has made a true red bag. Also, she mentioned that Marc Jacobs grew up with his wealthy grandmother in New York, and that is where a lot of the influence for his designs comes from.

This not only made me feel unique to have one of Marc Jacobs' first true red bags, but I also felt like I was learning insider information about the designers influences! So, you can only imagine how many times I've shared this story any time someone comments on my new bag, because it's not just a bag anymore - it's a special story!

2) Provide customers with a memorable experience:

For example, this past month, a Canadian credit union, Servus, started handing out $10 bills to people for its Feel Good Ripple initiative, which encourages people to make someone else feel good with that $10 bill!

This is a great initiative for 3 reasons: 1) the person Servus gives $10 to will remember its passion towards encouraging random acts of kindness within the community; 2) the receive of the random act of kindness will hear how Servus created this ripple effect & will associate the brand with how special they were made to feel; and 3) all of this works for the Servus brand as they are a member-owned, community-based financial institution, so it makes sense for them to take an interest in creating a feel good ripple within its community!

Any memorable experience, whether a great background story or engagement with the brand, creates a ripple effect! Customers will be proud of these stories and want to share them with friends and family - like I have done with my bag. It makes us feel unique and special to have learned something new or have experienced something memorable!

For the brand this means:

1. The creation of a stronger customer relationship
2. The spread of positive perceptions for the brand that correspond to its purpose

So, how are you going to give your customers powerful brand stories they will feel proud to share?

For fun - here is the 1998 Khaki Swing Commercial by GAP that I made reference to at the beginning of this post. Khaki Swing happens to be one of GAP's most successful & memorable ads, which, ironically, is also one of their cheapest campaigns - no superstars, just no name dancers having a good time!