![\"\"](\"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Guiness.jpg\" "\\"Guinness")
\nPhoto Credit: Brookston Beer Bulletin<\/p>\n
At the heart of Guinness\u2019s marketing success\u2014and its global brand ubiquity\u2014is a mastery over capturing, selling, and reinventing its unique value proposition over and over again. Drawing on popular culture, local tradition and, occasionally, the absurd, Guinness has remained a top beer brand around the world for more than 200 years.<\/p>\n
Next came the 1960\u2019s, an era now synonymous with advertising thanks to the popular TV show Mad Men. Storytelling really started to take shape as a marketing tool during this time.\u00a0 Unlike today, there were fewer companies and channels inundating consumers with messages at this time, so advertisers had a captive audience to work with. Ads took on an \u201caspirational\u201d tone, where advertisers would use long-form content to tell a story that described the product\u2019s key benefits and its intended use, while subtly drawing the reader into a world of elevated status.<\/p>\n
A great example is the American Airlines ad<\/a> with the tagline: Should an airline give a passenger the shirt off its back? This ad tells the story of a businessman who needs to meet an important prospective client with no clean shirt to wear after a long trip to New York. An American Airlines employee comes to the rescue, giving the businessman the shirt off his back (so to speak\u2014he locates a clean one in the passenger\u2019s size). This ad illustrates the superior service one can expect from the airline, but it also paints a picture of the elite, white collar clientele associated with the American Airlines brand.<\/p>\n Fast forward to 2015, and the marketing landscape has shifted away from the captive audiences of the 1960\u2019s. Now marketers have to cut through the noise and find a way to connect with discerning customers through a multitude of always-on channels that favour brevity and immediacy. Can storytelling possibly work in this environment?<\/p>\n I would argue that storytelling matters more now than ever. Competition is stiff and brands are selling an experience. There are so many channels through which to market to customers that it\u2019s become easier for them to ignore your message, but also harder for them to feel a sense of loyalty to any particular brand. Brand loyalty nowadays has to do not only with whether your product or service meets the needs and budget of your target consumer, but also with the character of your company, overall. Do you support your community? Are you eco-friendly? Are you operating in an industry that has controversial affiliations or is perceived as somehow threatening to certain groups? Today\u2019s consumers care about the ethics and character of the companies whose products and services they consume. The best way to build brand loyalty in this environment is through telling your story.<\/p>\n Google Chrome\u2019s \u201cDear Sophie\u201d<\/a> video shows how good storytelling can still make a major impact on consumers, even in today\u2019s market. The short video shows a family using Google\u2019s various online services to document their daughter Sophie\u2019s entire childhood, through the emails her father writes her, the photos he attaches and the videos he shares. With more than 10 million views, it\u2019s clear that people still connect with a great story, even if the way in which we share it changes over time.<\/p>\n Next month I\u2019ll share five tips on how to identify your unique brand story, and how to build storytelling into your marketing strategy. In the meantime, check out a few great examples of storytelling from some iconic brands:<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/fd.png\" "\\"American")
\nPhoto Credit: Fast Co Design<\/p>\n