N-of-8 Brand Story Development

I’ve been in so many meetings where someone declares, “This is such a no-brainer that all we have to do is get the word out, and it will sell itself.”

And of course nothing could be further from the truth.  No brand is a no-brainer.  And I’ve never seen even the biggest big idea sell itself.  And the “word” you get out there is the central challenge that can be addressed by N-of-8 Brand Story Development.

What is branding really, but a story attached to a product or service?

When you have a product that's similar to another, there are a number of ways to compete. The smart way is to change the value of the product by telling a story about it.

Traditional marketing often bypasses the use of “stories” and goes straight to conveying sales and promotional messages.  Too much focus is on rational, economic appeals to customers in terms of reasons to believe, attributes and benefits.  But to stand out in an ever-competitive marketplace, it will be important for brand marketers to differentiate their offerings by making a persuasive case for their superior innovation, benefits and attributes. Creating emotional relationships with customers is one such differentiation and stories, above all, embody and evoke emotion and a higher connection with the brand.

In chapter 7 of my upcoming book, N-of-8, I’ll define story development, offer some major objectives that can be accomplished with it, and detail the process.