The Secret Relationship Between Brand Positioning & Brand Stories!
Crafting a compelling brand positioning statement is one thing, and communicate it effectively is another thing. Almost, every business has a potential of having an attractive brand positioning statement, but not every business is able to utilise that crucial statement in an optimum way. Not to mention many brands have failed dramatically in educating/informing their target audience about what they stand for.
A major challenge here, is the extent of hooking Brands’ target audience in the mutual world that exists between Consumers and their Brands. That is, allowing consumers to live in the world of their preferable Brand (under consumers’ preferences), making them real advocates, obsessed with the pleasant experience they are living with their most beloved Brand.
Adding to that, when it comes to developing Marketing Communication Strategy, many Marketers have struggled to find their suitable tool to aid their strategy. One reason for that struggle is not due to the difficulties of the task itself, but due to the fact that, the subject of Marketing Communication (especially, brand meaning) is mostly obfuscated by catchy terms that imply a sort of complexity, as if we were dealing with some sort of dark magic.
We need to remember, it is all about simplifying all sorts of communication complexity, especially for the brand!
Branding is the difficult, but actually very straightforward process of making a product meaningful.
Bobby Calder-Famous Professor of Marketing
Extra challenge regarding the nature of the Positioning Statement itself
(This challenge has been overlooked by many practitioners over the years)
Do you remember that (in general) brand positioning is mainly about:
• How different brands are perceived by customers in the marketplace vis-à-vis the competition
• Actually, it is a vital part of your entire Brand & Branding Strategies
• Brand Positioning Statements are also known as the unique selling proposition (value propositions)
• The big idea of its brand
• The promise of its brand
Now, if you can think about your brand for a moment. Is it true that such a statement (no matter how well it is) can do an entire justice for your brand?
If someone is trying to convince you it is enough, then think again!
As a matter of fact, the answer is NO. And that answer is based on many scientific evidences and research. Where many Marketing and Branding Experts have agreed on the idea that “a Brand Positioning Statement cannot work alone, and in fact, it needs some complementary help”.
As much as a single-sentence brand-positioning statement format is critical for the brand, it is also very true that one sentence, no matter how well crafted, it won’t be able to completely do justice to its brand by itself.
Bobby Calder-Famous Professor of Marketing
So, from a communication perspective, what is the solution?
It is obvious that the Brand Positioning Statement needs some help, and a very successful communication strategy for solving that issue is through using “a new classic” concept. That is, the Brands Story Concept.
Over the years, Brand Stories have secretly supported Brand Positioning Statements and Claims successfully in several ways. Plus, in every year that relationship is gaining further strength and attention from many Marketing Experts around the world. No wonder why nowadays we are witnessing many ads that tell compelling and attractive stories, where in some cases they became really contagious between people!
As I have stated in my other post about Brand Stories, “Stories tend to fascinate and captivate people, and they have been used since thousands of years ago. Storytelling by itself is an ancient art and science. In reality, people communicate by stories in their daily lives with or without them noticing. People create stories to understand themselves, organize experiences in their lives, create order, create meanings, explain strange events, gain perspective, and even evaluate situations. Just recently, brands started to realise and witness the difference when they started to utilise the stories in their brand-consumer communication initiatives”.
Brand Story “is a light in a sea of darkness”, it provides contents as well as depth and emotion for the brand. Such stories drive attentions and in many times Brands go viral because of them. Narratives in Brand Stories allow consumers to pay attention to specific details and unusual or unique events that can explain and resonate the experience and exposure to the Brand telling the story.
Revealing the secret relationship between ‘Brand Positioning’ and ‘Brand Story’
In fact, the brand positioning statement becomes the conclusion at the ending of the story. The brand story provides a context for the brand-positioning statement and explicitly ties it to the narrative arc of the targeted consumers’ experience.
Bobby Calder-Famous Professor of Marketing
