We hear it a lot – “We need a story.” Or “What’s our narrative?”
And it’s true – yes, we believe you need one. Where we see some of the most promising brands being held back is when they think they are looking for a Brand Story, but all they are really searching for is their next campaign idea.
Story is built on Archetypal modeling. The hero’s journey (one of the more popular that you might be familiar with), a mother’s benevolent healing, a rags to riches princess story…
These stories are all built on Archetypal themes and characters, because they are universal in nature and tap into the human psyche. We get it, we understand them without even knowing or understanding why we understand them. And that’s the strength, that’s the power of Archetypes and Archetypal stories. They are universal, they transcend cultures, draw your attention and evoke emotion and resonance.
So when clients say “what’s our story”, we know it’s not as easy as just having a great idea that you run for a few months across your digital and traditional platforms, but it should be a story that continues with the same underlying motivation and narrative for years.
The key difference is that your story should evolve, not change.
The easiest way to understand how a story evolves, is to understand the Archetypal Human Psychology it carries.
Heavy. We know. Because it’s deep. That’s where the magic is. Your story, your narrative, once identified from an Archetypal point of view, takes you deeper and deeper into your meaningful story.
A campaign, in comparison… will send you looking wider, not deeper and you may begin to change your meaningful story without realizing. You’ll question why results aren’t quite happening the way you thought.
You’ll “test the waters” with different messages and communications hoping something sticks. The risk you run is showing up “schizophrenic” in the marketplace to your consumers because you are widening the thoughts of a campaign, instead of diving deeper to tell the true, meaningful, authentic story that your brand was meant to tell.
Don’t worry – we know it’s a lot to take in. If it wasn’t a bit challenging to get your head around, everyone would be doing it.
Find out more to get the edge. It will be the difference in the sustainable growth of your brand.