Your Story Your Brand

Walter Isaacson quoted ‘When there are multiple versions of a story, you really have three ways to go. You can pick the most sensational version. You can try to balance things in your gut to get to what you think is the honest truth. Or you can err on the side of kindness.’

People love stories. Sit at a forum where everyone is basically chatting and sharing life history vibes and there is always that one person with this story built on emotions. Everyone suddenly shifts their attention to them. With puppy, sad eyes they listen keenly and later they all light up at the ingenious victory of ‘making it’ amidst a tough stretch.

I was having dinner with a friend and he was telling me of this lunch he had with this successful young man. His story was no different from what we watch on TV. Stories full of ‘sorrys’ and desires. Right now the young man is all over in newspapers, radio and social media. He mastered the art of using these platforms to get an audience that would ‘feel’ him.

Visionaries who merely had a dream, but are bowling their success to change the community because the shoe fits and the story sells. We listen, empathise and at times follow into their footsteps. They define a success story.

Sensational stories sell. Your brand is packaged on how well you can sell your story to the media and the public. People will never get tired of hearing ‘inspiration’ stories. Take the case of Mandela. His brand is that of an agonizing journey to see a free South Africa. Wangari Mathai is identified by her struggle to see the environment taken care of and that no dimwit politician would interfere with this. These are just but example. We remember some of this people because of their ‘inspirational’ life stories.

So is your brand worth empathy? What is your story? What makes people listen to you?

Well not many see this sensational branding as an enticing way to recruit an audience that would be relevant. A friend mentioned to me ‘I hate watching these farmer stories of I started with one chicken and built a house and pay fees for my kids. I want to hear the process of the journey. I want to get the nitty gritties of how one chicken later calculated to a farm of poultry. ’

See there is also an art of telling a story. Some people kill it literally by spilling all the beans of a tough life or rather keep repeating the same story about their brand and trust me that sucks. Repeated stories kill the gist of a story, or rather send most of us into a boring shell where we opt to plug in our earphones and move on. While others have the charisma to sugar coat and add a pinch of salt to their brand stories others are just not creative. The thing about publicity and branding is that whether sugar coated or not, it must be impressive enough to sell to the media and the public. Take the story of Tabitha Macharia and Keroche industry. The brand fought through what many refer to as a ‘big boys play ground’ and is now a household name in the alcohol industry. The sensational story of the growth of Keroche captured the attention of both the mainstream and online media. The dream of Keroche is still alive because the story gets revolutionized each and every time.

So now that we know your story, what next for your brand? Do we keep hearing the same ‘inspiring’ story or does it go through a fruitful metamorphosis. What will we hear about your story in say the next four-five interviews which you will be featured on? Does your brand grow with your story or does it stagnate after getting puppy eyes from the public and attention from the media? Does your story just benefit you, or does it also have some meaning to others. If you believe in your brand and in the brand of those you are marketing, then the storytelling is easy and natural.

A famous marketer named Christoper S. Penn once said, “Great storytelling can make the difference between someone paying attention to you and someone just tuning you out.’

@brandthatke