| We didn't lose the game; we just ran out of time. | | | | Now what leather skinned cowboy in his right |
| - Vince Lombardi | | | | mind would wear silver? Strike silver maybe, but |
| How you can make stories work for your Brand | | | | then he would be a prospector and not a |
| on the conscious and unconscious level with your | | | | cowboy, and we all know the '49'er's are Red and |
| prospects and customers is by tapping into an | | | | Gold! |
| archetypal theme. | | | | The Dallas Cowboy's logo serves to convey a |
| By touching on a familiar story, you get your | | | | story about their team: |
| customer to nod along with you, and engage with | | | | They are stars. |
| you on multiple levels. | | | | Performance wise, they may not back up that |
| The most common archetypal themes are: | | | | claim, and some team members may not live up |
| THE HERO'S JOURNEY | | | | to the expectation created by their story, but |
| THE COMING OF AGE | | | | their design reinforces the idea of their story. |
| THE ACQUIRING OF WISDOM | | | | The key to a successful branding campaign is to |
| PACTS WITH THE DEVIL | | | | know who you are and show who you are in |
| & | | | | your business. |
| TRICKING THE TRICKSTERS | | | | One day of practice is like one day of clean living. |
| Some of the story motifs include the Achilles Heel | | | | It doesn't do you any good. - Abe Lemmons |
| from Greek mythology, where a seemingly | | | | A second key to successful branding is to focus |
| invincible warrior has one small weakness that can | | | | on the emotional aspect of your brand in the |
| bring about his downfall, and the Cinderella story, | | | | hearts and minds of your consumer. |
| where a downtrodden hero defies expectation to | | | | Creating a compelling story to connect with your |
| achieve success. | | | | audience is paramount to achieving this goal. When |
| These common themes help your audience tap | | | | a customer feels an emotional pull toward your |
| into primal emotions and create an instant sense | | | | company, you've gained their trust and are |
| of familiarity. Each story has a moral, or a point | | | | rewarded with their loyalty. |
| that talks about your firm, your skills and credits. | | | | Numerous studies show that while people may |
| And for a brand product, the story is | | | | use reason to reach a conclusion, they use |
| never-ending. | | | | emotion to justify their actions. That's why most |
| We use stories to build trust and credibility. Brand | | | | salespeople are taught to focus on benefits, |
| building based on stories make a promise with the | | | | instead of features. |
| customer and the mission of all of the elements | | | | A feature is what you have- a benefit is how |
| to the brand, like logo, website, brochure, even | | | | what you have works for your customer. How it |
| down to how you interact with customers and | | | | makes them feel, and once you connect on that |
| clients is to build on that trust. | | | | level, you have a real power with your brand. |
| Some Brands use color, and placement to forge a | | | | Think about NASCAR for just a moment. |
| bond with their customers, and create an instant | | | | NASCAR has built a huge loyal following of race |
| impression. Think about a hundred dollar bill. Just | | | | car fans, they have a couple of hundred great |
| the sight of it invokes an instant response: | | | | stories to choose from when connecting with |
| MONEY. The color of the green, the look of old | | | | their audience, and they have entered into the |
| Ben Franklin. Some logos incorporate those | | | | cultural lexicon. |
| elements, which tap into our association with that | | | | Have you ever heard anyone say, "I'm going to |
| element. | | | | go watch NASCAR," when referring to how they |
| Complicated? | | | | will spend a Sunday afternoon? |
| It can be. Or it can be simple. Which is the point | | | | No one says, "I'm going to go watch NFL." |
| of using a familiar story to create recall, and have | | | | Or "Me and the guys are going to the MLB game." |
| your customer think about that story while they | | | | They say "I'm watching football." |
| think about your company. | | | | Or "Let's go to the game." |
| Some of the basic rules of visual branding are: | | | | But NASCAR has become a destination Brand for |
| Keep it simple. | | | | many fans. Sure, you have people who watch the |
| Keep it clean. | | | | Brickhouse, or fans who visit the Daytona 500. |
| Keep it consistent. | | | | And as the sport has grown, and the fan base |
| Let's look at the Cowboys for a moment, and I'm | | | | expanded, more varied definitions of the Brand |
| referring to the Dallas Cowboys of course, not | | | | have been referred to. But the basics are there. |
| the grungy, shower starved, range dwelling pokes | | | | When people think about racing now, they think |
| from the West- | | | | of NASCAR stock car racing, and often refer to |
| Wait! Aren't they the same thing? | | | | the individual races by the NASCAR brand name. |
| No, I'm kidding. The Dallas Cowboys of today | | | | That's a story and an emotional connection with |
| have a clean simple look. Their logo is a STAR! | | | | their audience. Any time you are considering the |
| What does that say about the team and | | | | story to tell about your brand, you need to |
| conveying an instant message! | | | | consider the emotional profile and let it play a key |
| The colors are blue and silver, soothing, reliable. | | | | role in positioning your market. |