Brand Narrative : The New Origin Story for your Business

corporate brand narrative

Is Your Origin Story Enough to Make Your Business Stand Out?

Origin stories have been embedded into modern marketing’s rulebook for as long as we can remember. And for good reason. Historically, they did help companies stand out. Origin have traditionally been the place where a brand explains what business ventures meant to their leaders and for the greater world – personally, historically, economically, and culturally. They helped make brands more human and emotive. People could empathize with stories embedded in the American Dream and felt connected to self-starters, underdogs, and garage-to-riches tales.

Now, many startups and new companies still buy into the importance of an origin story for the same reasons. But are origin stories the best way to make your business stand out? Although they are meant to help brands differentiate themselves, these days they all sound alike. And because there’s a clear and recognized formula, people are identifying origin stories as just that: formulaic, sometimes trite, forced, and simply more of the same.

Out With the Old, in With the New

At the same time, increasing choices, crowded marketplaces, and constant innovation demand an even greater need for businesses to stand out. Businesses that stand out connect and communicate why their business matters to the people integral to its success. The epiphany in the garage story is no longer enough. Even worse, the story that leans on someone who “identified a need for…” sounds like the founder was out looking for a pet project. It suggests the brand has no authentic purpose. And forcing a compelling origin story will only hurt your brand in the long run.

It’s time to step away from the expectation of crafting the perfect origin story. If you have to work tirelessly to make it compelling, it’s never going to be the origin story you need. Focus on your corporate brand narrative to bring your brand aspiration and purpose to life. When developing a narrative, consider the following:

Make it Roadmap

A successful brand narrative brings people along on the journey. With this story, they understand the brand purpose in a way that brings them along, answering the questions: “Why does the business and its leaders care so much?” “And why should we care?” This content helps the people most important to your business understand where you came from, where you are, and where you are going.

Take for example Yellow Leaf Hammocks’ narrative. In “addition to sustainable social change, [they] believe passionately in…broadened horizons and a spirit of adventure.” Their narrative describes the impact of what spending “15 minutes a day in a hammock” is for the consumer, the world, and the community they aim to uplift. By framing and explaining how exactly they empower and transform a community of artisan weavers, you become emotionally connected to their brand journey.

Add Emotional Pull

Your corporate brand narrative should convey your passion, explain your aspirations, and make your audiences feel inspired about the road ahead. These emotionally infused goals are, in the end, more important and compelling than the tales of where you first thought of your business idea or where the first product was created. Your narrative is what people will get behind. It is the story that will recruit the talent you need, attract loyal customers, and acquire consistent backers.

Create Common Culture

A corporate brand narrative helps people get aligned around your business by establishing a shareable story. It gives your audiences something to buy into and helps them understand why they should care. By being able to rally around a clear and unified purpose, they are able to join you in sharing your goals and aspirations. The stronger and more clear your narrative, the more focused, effective, and inspired the people who matter to your business will be.

As an example, Sweetgreen, a local-foods restaurant chain, tells their story in a very simple way that brings everyone together around a common set of values. Because the company believes food brings people together, inspiring and growing a strong community built around common goals is especially important to their success.

Build Brand Engagement

A strong brand narrative will build engagement by communicating your brand’s aspirations and purpose in ways that feels true to your brand, capturing the hearts and minds of the people most important to your success. Your narrative will help situate and ground your business while communicating why you are different and why that matters. By getting people aligned, headed in the same direction, and rallied behind a common purpose, brand engagement will sky rocket. So don’t dwell on an origin story if it’s just not there. Instead, focus on your corporate brand narrative to help your business stand out and flourish.

Emotive Brand is a San Francisco brand strategy firm.

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