🧠Stories Sell: Here's How

Hey there 👋

Welcome back to the sixth edition of Brandish.

Your guide to crafting an iconic brand.

In this week’s newsletter, I’ll show you how to use the power of storytelling to:

• Get more customers

• Make your ads more effective

• And last but not least, create stronger connections with your customers.

I hope you feel as pumped to read this newsletter as I felt writing it!

I've been a bit quiet on social media and haven't created as much content as I wanted over the past 2 weeks because of our recent Walmart launch in 4200 stores.

But now, we're back.

Last week, I recorded a new episode of Roast My Landing page with The Oodie, so watch out for that.

I also have a ton of other helpful content pieces ready for you soon.

But…

Let’s skip the chit-chat and dive straight into today’s newsletter.

Kick up your feet, grab your Brez, and let’s tell some stories.

Why Storytelling Matters

What does a little child first ask of his/her parents?

Love, affection, comfort, & food.

What comes next?

A story request, right?

Humans have told stories since the dawn of history, and storytelling remains a fundamental part of how we communicate, educate, and entertain.

And especially in business, stories connect consumers and brands.

To connect emotionally with brands on a deeper level, you must tell better stories.

That's how brands stand out from each other in today's world.

If you examine some of the greatest brands on the planet, you'll see that they use storytelling to connect with consumers deeply.

Think about Nike’s “Just do it” campaign.

It tells a story of perseverance, breaking barriers, and ambition.

Or even medium-sized DTC brands like True Classic.

They don't just sell you T-shirts.

They sell you the story of looking handsome and confident in your clothes while feeling relaxed.

How to Craft Captivating Stories (for Ads, for DTC Brands)

Alright, I know that many of you reading this probably work in or with a consumer brand of some sort and want to know how to incorporate storytelling into your performance-focused ads.

Because, yes, a way exists where brand & performance coexist.

And I'll discuss that now.

I'll introduce you to two frameworks to craft story-based ads that resonate with your audience on a deep, emotional level.

To use these frameworks, you must already understand your target audience and their experiences. Otherwise, you can't craft compelling stories around them.

Framework #1: The Hero’s Two Journeys

People have used this well-known storytelling framework for years. If you offer a solution-oriented product, this framework typically works well:

• A relatable character in a familiar setting

• A desire to achieve a specific goal

• A setback and struggle while trying to achieve the goal

• A type of eye-opening Eureka moment (for example, when they discover your product)

• Victory & Resolution

To see some examples of how we've applied this storytelling framework in our ads, check out the thread my partner, Ash, wrote.

Framework #2 - The Storybrand Framework

I took this framework from the book: Storybranding by Donald Miller.

But it remains useful.

His framework goes like this:

• A character

• Faces a problem

• Meets a guide (your brand)

• Receives a plan (your product)

• Achieves success

• Avoids failures

• Bonus: AND - undergoes a character transformation

Both of these frameworks effectively guide you in crafting compelling stories.

As mentioned, these are just frameworks, and you still need to understand how to create each story element using customer research.

I don't have enough space to teach you all of this in one newsletter, so we'll cover it another time.

By the way, if you want help from an outstanding creative agency in creating these types of story ads, reach out to me, and I'll introduce you to our agency.

That's it for this newsletter, thanks for reading along.

I appreciate it and every one of you who read this far.

See you next Sunday

/ Ankit