brand storytelling
638 posts
The Power Of Brand Energy
Brand energy builds brand equity.
Build Your Darlings
Build your darlings for the people you care about serving. Those people who will fall in love with how your work enables them to live the lives they want.
Bolder, Braver, Better Marketing
Is your marketing mindset limiting your ability to connect with and serve your customers better?
How Good Is Your Story?
A good story changes how we think. A great story changes how we feel and what we do.
Try Anyway
Texas head teacher, Belinda George, doesn’t have access to more resources than her colleagues. So how does she change her students’ lives for the better? Instead of focusing on the things she and her team can’t control, like educational policy and budgets, she concentrates on the things she can infl
Everyone Speaks
If you search ‘best breakfast in Hobart’ on Trip Advisor, you’ll find a tiny, backstreet cafe in the number one spot. This cafe opens for six hours each day, only seats a dozen people and has a queue of eager diners waiting outside before it opens. It’s the kind of place the people who visit…
Sweeping The Floor
One of my first jobs was in the hospitality industry. We worked long hours, weekends and holidays for average pay. Staff turnover was high. It was hard for managers to motivate people. One of our best managers didn’t bark orders about smiling at customers or showing up on time. She led by example. T
Efficiency Vs. Meaning
Mike’s been driving for Uber for three years. In that time he’s done 20,000 trips while maintaining a consistent 4.94-star rating. Mike works when he wants to. He’s earning more than enough money to pay the bills, and yet he can’t help feeling there’s something missing. Mike is a phenomenally succes
On Culture
Culture is how we act, based on what we know about who we are. It isn’t about fitting in, it’s about understanding where we belong and why. Culture is a reminder that if we believe this, then we do or don’t do, that. It’s about saying this is who we are, then living up to…
Fabled Or Found?
Every week, my favourite bookstore restocks the shelves at the front of the store with new releases. And every time I go there, I think the same thing. What are the chances of any book—no matter how good, being found here? The truth is, the books that sell are the ones that people come into…
Prices Are Stories
Just because someone has the money to pay what you’re charging doesn’t mean they’re your ideal customer.
Don’t Manipulate Me, Move Me
There’s a difference between a good story and a great story. A good story gets our attention. A great story changes us. Successful marketing campaigns and brand stories don’t convince us. They move us. A good leader gets our vote, and sometimes, our respect. A great leader gains our loyalty, and oft
Without You
If I were to ask you to explain your company’s ‘value proposition’ you’d probably hesitate. But if I asked you what your customer would miss if your work didn’t exist, you’d likely have some thoughtful answers about why she needs what you make, serve or sell. Sometimes the language and frames we use
The Two Rules Of Good Marketing
The best marketing does two things: 1. It empowers people to make decisions now that they won’t regret later. 2. It helps people to do the things they want to do. If you’re helping the people you serve to do both of these things, you can proudly say you’re a good marketer. Image by Eric…
Build A Trust Engine
In the golden age of the advertising businesses of all sizes relied on ads to promote and sell their products. Giant corporations reached us via TV and whole page newspaper ads. Small businesses got our attention by placing small ads in the local newspaper. In the past advertising allowed average pr
What’s At Stake For Your Customer?
We often use customer insights to inform product and service development. Throughout the process, our goal is always to empathise with the customer. But sometimes the language we use stops us from achieving that goal. For example, it’s harder to imagine a particular person with a problem by making a
Proud Work
When I was growing up, work was a means to an end for many of the breadwinners in our neighbourhood. Work meant food in the bellies and clothes on the backs of the people you loved. There is both dignity and joy in providing, especially when you’ve gone hungry and shoeless, as my father often…
What’s On Your ‘Not To Do’ List?
Back in 2007, the New York Times called Apple’s decision not to add a mechanical keyboard to the iPhone their billion dollar gamble). That decision worked out pretty well for Apple. Some of the most successful ideas in the world were born from a conviction about the things the creator, founder or co
Easy Does It
Our expectations about the quality of products have increased exponentially with our ability to perfect the things we produce. When quality improves our tolerance for mistakes plummets. Interestingly, the same isn’t true for human interactions. Even though digital technology has enabled degrees of e
How Much Information Is Enough?
When do we know it’s safe to cross the road? How much information do we need about how far away that truck is and how fast it’s going to decide whether to step off the pavement? How much information does your customer need before deciding she trusts you? As people who sell things or ideas,…
