Storytelling and Brands

What does storytelling has to do with Brands? Well, it seems alot has to do with it.


I remembered reading a book "We, Me, Them and It" by John Simmons last year. Really a fantastic book that really relates how a brand can be made into story where the consumer can feel the connection to it.

Sounds manipulative yeah? But the truth is we are bombarded everyday with so many messages that if some thing does not stick out in the crowd, our brains just do not register it.

John Simmons writing flair shows throughout the book where he shows how he manages the campaigns in the various organizations in the United Kingdom. I find his attention to words rather than images to invoke the emotions and feel of the brand story he works on to be very compelling.

I think the maxim "A picture is worth a thousand words" does not apply in Simmons case. His short stories of a brand (some fictional and crafted) were great. In bursts of a few lines, he was able to communicate to me as a reader the tinge of history and personality of the organization. Basically, the core values that the organization embodies.

I am unable to share the details of the stories he told, but it was an accidental find in the library, and it has been sometime ago. But do read it, its beauty lies in his way of crafting of words. He had somewhat convinced me too that the business style of writing that we uses on the daily basis were too impersonal.

Words can be used more simply without bombastic language. Ultimately, the brand needs to be understood by the receiver, and if you the sender can convey in a manner that can invoke the sense of connectedness and emotion; the brand will stick everytime.