PowerPoint Presentation

Rob ClarkStoryteller & Problem Solver@theelusivefish

The Brand NarrativeIdeas, experiences and values that represent the tangible, authentic depth and integrity of the brands relationship with its consumer. A good brand narrative is the incomparable force multiplier.

Storytelling Advantages

Compelling and emotionally engaging formatCaptivating content that attracts the right kind of leadsInspires and optimizes content

Case Study:Ubers New LogoUbers culture is one of bits and atoms. Bits representing the machine efficiency involved in Ubers mapping and dispatch software. Atoms representing people.

If you talked to people the way advertising talks to people theyd punch you in the face.

- Hugh MacLeod

Stories are a tool of persuasion, changing both opinion and behaviour.

and the children were never seen or heard from again. The end.

We evolved as storytelling creatures.Telling stories gave us distinct advantages and is hard-wired into how our brains work.

Our brains are always converting raw data into meaningful patterns.

Experiences translate into an understanding of the world.Memories expand our available data from which we model the world.Language and the written word allow us to share experiences further expanding our available data.

Our brains are continually trying to model the world around us

Stories allow us to codify our collective past in order to better understand the now.

Mirror Neurons

I finally took the gun. I liked the heavy way it sat in my hand. I could see myself as someone out of an Ed McBain story or a John D. MacDonald novel. I pointed the gun at a large tin with smelly rubbish spilling out of it and squeezed.

KA-BLAM!

The gun jumped in my hand. Fire shot from the end. It felt as if my wrist was broken. My heart was in my mouth. A big hole appeared in the surface of the tin it was the work of an evil magician.

Jesus! I screamed.

I finally took the gun. I liked the heavy way it sat in my hand. I could see myself as someone out of an Ed McBain story or a John D. MacDonald novel. I pointed the gun at a large tin with smelly rubbish spilling out of it and squeezed.

KA-BLAM!

The gun jumped in my hand. Fire shot from the end. It felt as if my wrist was broken. My heart was in my mouth. A big hole appeared in the surface of the tin it was the work of an evil magician.

Jesus! I screamed.

Stories allow us to have experiences without facing the physical risk.

From our brains model of the world, we better understand cause and effect.

From our brains model of the world, we better understand cause and effect.

and intuit what comes next

Not sure if actually experiencing the futureOr just hearing a really good story.

Stories allow us to accept change by experiencing it in a safe setting and fully examine the rewards of taking risk.

Stories were most likely to latch onto are structured around change, which comes about through conflictAction / ConsequenceProtagonist / AntagonistEmotional weight

The hardwiring and working of our brains make some stories more acceptable to us than others.

Freytags Pyramid

Inciting incidentRising actionFalling actionDenouementClimaxResolutionExposition

Joseph Campbells MonomythCall to adventureReward

KNOWNUNKNOWNMeeting MentorCrossing the ThresholdTestsHelpersClimax / OrdealRefusal of the callEnemiesReturn with TreasureThe Road Back

PAYOFFSETUP

Our brains seek to give meaning to patterns and loves to connect the dots:If this, then that.

Establishing quickly that there is a puzzle or emergent pattern helps hook your audienceEvery summer Lin Kong returned to Goose Village to divorce his wife, Shuyu.

Once upon a time, there was a woman who discovered she had turned into the wrong person.

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.

My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen years old when I was murdered on December 6th 1973.

What a twist!

WTF?!?

The brain is looking to connect details. Remove anything that doesnt have relevance.

If Chekhovs gun shows up in the first act, it absolutely must be fired by the end of the third act.

The brain wants reality to fit the model it has built for itself.

The brain doesn`t like randomness or abstraction and will seek to impose order or establish a pattern.

Your audience should always be asking, and then?

However, your narrative should never be connected by and thenConnect your narrative with:

ThereforeButMeanwhile

So whats any of this got to do with marketing?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnSIp76CvUI

A bottle of Johnny Walker is no longer just a bottle of scotch. Its a family history, a heritage, connected to the ever forward movement of society.

Protagonist / Antagonist

https://youtu.be/PWPkZH_UicU

Dollar shave club is the hero, rescuing you from the conflict of a hostile/indifferent customer experience.

Your brand doesnt have to be the hero.Call to adventureReward

KNOWNUNKNOWNMeeting MentorCrossing the ThresholdTestsHelpersClimax / OrdealRefusal of the callEnemiesReturn with TreasureThe Road Back

Only with the smooth refreshing taste of Coca-Cola can we usher in world peace and global harmony.

Emotions help set our highest goals.

They give weight to the actions and consequences of a story.

https://youtu.be/Dd1FNPx_YN4

The story happened outside of this narrative.

Ad is designed to evoke our emotions and then connect it to the brand.

Inciting incidentRising actionFalling actionDenouementClimaxResolutionExposition

https://youtu.be/cYROcGmdDDc

Whats NOT in this ad?

So back to brand narrative

Their cigarettes are poisonous; Lucky Strike is toasted.

If youre going to be naked, you better be buff.

Story needs to be authentic

or at least within the realms of believability.

What people think about our brand.What we want people to think about our brand.The reality of our brand.

Questions?