The real power of a good brand story is that it communicates an idea in an emotional way. Listeners immediately get your message and if the story is good, they internalize it and may even share it with others.

For example, you can tell your customers that you provide outstanding customer service. In fact, many brands say exactly that in their advertising, mission statements and their web sites. And it’s all completely forgettable.

Or you can “show” your customers a story.

No doubt you’ve heard about the woman who returned a set of snow tires to Nordstrom (or maybe it was a toaster). The salesperson gladly refunded her money and took the tires off her hands. The hook is that Nordstrom doesn’t sell tires. But they did what it took to make a valued customer happy.

That story is almost certainly an urban legend. But it is told and retold by Nordstrom customers to illustrate how great the customer service is at Nordstrom. It feels true.

Another example is the pizza story told by Zappos CEO, Tony Hsieh.

This story has become a part of the Zappos narrative. This story has been told by Tony hundreds of times. It brilliantly demonstrates to what lengths Zappos will go to serve their cusotmers. And each time he tells it, Tony says that he hesitates to share it because he doesn’t want people to call his company to order pizza. (Given that Tony has shared this story over and over, we can assume that he isn’t hesitant to tell it in the least, and this is just part of his approachable delivery.)

Here’s the story (excepted from his book, Delivering Happiness, at the Huffington Post):

I’m reminded of a time when I was in Santa Monica, California, a few years ago at a Skechers sales conference. After a long night of bar-hopping, a small group of us headed up to someone’s hotel room to order some food. My friend from Skechers tried to order a pepperoni pizza from the room-service menu, but was disappointed to learn that the hotel we were staying at did not deliver hot food after 11:00pm. We had missed the deadline by several hours.

In our inebriated state, a few of us cajoled her into calling Zappos to try to order a pizza. She took us up on our dare, turned on the speakerphone, and explained to the (very) patient Zappos rep that she was staying in a Santa Monica hotel and really craving a pepperoni pizza, that room service was no longer delivering hot food, and that she wanted to know if there was anything Zappos could do to help.

The Zappos rep was initially a bit confused by the request, but she quickly recovered and put us on hold. She returned two minutes later, listing the five closest places in the Santa Monica area that were still open and delivering pizzas at that time.

Now, truth be told, I was a little hesitant to include this story because I don’t actually want everyone who reads this book to start calling Zappos and ordering pizza. But I just think it’s a fun story to illustrate the power of not having scripts in your call center and empowering your employees to do what’s right for your brand, no matter how unusual or bizarre the situation.

As for my friend from Skechers? After that phone call, she’s now a customer for life.

Tony could have said, “Our service is the best,” or “We’ll do anything for our customers.” But by telling this story he doesn’t have to. Instead, he shares an experience that a listener can relate to. And we draw our own conclusions.

What stories are you giving your customers to tell?

In case you’re interested, here’s a longer version of Tony talking about Zappos (and the pizza story) from the Business Innovation Factory:

Last year, automotive companies spent more than $20 billion dollars on advertising.

And what did they get for all that cash?

Endless shots of sports cars speeding through S-turns, SUVs bouncing up rocky trails or through deep snow, and pretty cars posed in gleaming show rooms. And interior shots of polished wood panels, cool-looking dashboards, and comfortable leather seats with plenty of head- and legroom.

The ads look so much alike partly because the cars look so much alike.

If you’ve seen one, you’ve just about seen them all. If it weren’t for the logo, you’d be hard pressed to identify the car.

It’s not that these are bad ads. They look great. They sound great.

But they all look the same. Cadillac. Infiniti. Lexus.

There’s rarely a story. So it’s tough to make an emotional connection.

They’re all about features. No real reason to buy. So they don’t break through.

Good auto advertising is hard. When cars look the same, share the same price points, and try to appeal to the same consumers, it’s no surprise that the advertising is so similar. And forgettable.

But not all car advertising is bland.

Occasionally a brand breaks through the clutter with a compelling story that drives home a unique brand position and reason to buy.

Check out this spot (it’s a few years old) that beautifully tells a value-based story about the VW Jetta.

Beautifully shot, nice soundtrack, and a great story.

More recently, Toyota did a good job breaking through the mini-van clutter with it’s Swagger Wagon campaign. Each individual spot is a unique twist on how one of the car’s features makes life better for the self-centered owners. I like the back-up camera spot:

The campaign was supported with longer-form videos online, including this hip-hop video featuring the Sienna parents.

Note that video has more than 7.5 million views on YouTube. Not bad for a car ad (compare that to the Cadillac ad above which only has about 170,000 hits). Want the MP3 for your iPod? Me neither, but it’s available here.

And speaking of hip-hop videos, there’s the KIA Soul Hamsters.

It seems you either love it or hate them.

I hate them.

Partly because I don’t get it. Partly because the music is bad. And again, what’s the story? Where’s the reason to buy?

But then I’m not a hamster or a hip-hop artist, so clearly I’m not in the target demo. I’d rather get with a toaster that drives.

It does deserve some credit, though, for being different enough to get noticed. Now if KIA would get to work on the story…

It’s a question many marketers face: what do you do when your product isn’t perfect? Even worse, what do you do when your product has characteristics that make people turn up their noses? Or opt for a competitor?

Answer: Use a story that turns the negative into a positive.

I’ve written before about Buckley’s Cough Syrup. It has a nasty taste that consumers don’t like. Once you’ve tried it, it’s hard to want to use it again. And that drives down repeat purchases. So Buckley’s story is that something that tastes this bad, must work. Read more here. It’s a great story and it works.

This past week I saw another example from copywriter Bob Bly‘s newsletter (click here to subscribe). It perfectly illustrates the idea of taking a negative “feature” and turning it to a positive:

Legendary adman James Webb Young, who started selling fruit by mail around the same time that Harry & David did, tells the story of an apple-growing season where he was nearly ruined.

Violent hail storms bombarded his apple trees with ice pellets, causing bruising and pock marks.

He feared massive complaints and returns if he shipped the bruised fruit to his mail order apple buyers. But if he didn’t ship the damaged apples, he would have to refund all the orders, and his mail order business would be ruined.

The apples were damaged only cosmetically. The hail had pockmarked the skin, but this did not affect the flavor or freshness.

Young went ahead and filled his orders with the pockmarked apples, and in each box shipped, enclosed a preprinted card that read as follows (I am paraphrasing):

“Note the pockmarks on some of these apples. This is proof that they are grown at a high mountain altitude, where the same extreme cold that causes sudden hailstorms also firms the flesh and increases the natural sugars, making the apples even sweeter.”

According to Young, not a single order was returned. In fact, when orders came in for next year, many order forms had handwritten notes that said, “Pockmarked apples if available; otherwise, the regular kind.”

Young’s story proves what experienced marketers know: Often, by being truthful about your weaknesses and flaws, you can gain substantial credibility with your buyer, increasing loyalty, sales, and customer satisfaction.

Do you have a product weakness that can be turned into a positive with the right story?

When it comes to telling a brand story consistently over time (and by time we mean decades), very few brands do it as well as Nike. Their most recent ad, “Say Boom” is just another chapter in a compelling brand story about the joy of sports and game changing moments. Check it out:

Groupon is a great idea and a very successful company. In a little more than a year, it has grown to more than $400 million in revenues. It has local websites offering deals in more than 100 U.S. cities from Akron to Winnipeg and more than 20 other countries. Hundreds of thousands of customers subscribe to their daily email. Thousands more check their website every day. And the daily deals often sell out. 35,000 businesses are on the waiting list to be featured.

So what’s the secret to Groupon’s success?

In an interview this week, CEO Andrew Mason says it is “good writing.”

Uh, not so much.

Despite the fact that the company employs 70 writers, I am seriously underwhelmed with the quality of the writing. There is no consistency from day to day. No “brand voice”. And the copy is often trite or down right silly.

Don’t get me wrong. I love Groupon. I’ve discovered a delicious new pizza place in my neighborhood and saved hundreds of dollars on photography thanks to them. I just can’t get worked up about such mediocre copy. Here are a couple of examples:

Today’s Deal in Las Vegas (for a hair salon) reads:

“If hair could talk, it would have a mouth, transforming stylish head wraps into cruel mufflers and skinny headbands into orthodontia. Today’s Groupon gives hair a voice without the expensive dental upkeep…”

If hair could talk, it would have a mouth? That’s good writing? Someone call the good folks at Bulwer-Lytton.

Here’s today’s deal in Vancouver for a Chinese restaurant:

“At some point, every country builds a Great Wall to keep the secret of their cuisine from spreading to foreign nations, only to find that the real wall lies in their heart. Tear down the Great Wall of painful secrets with today’s Groupon…”

Huh? How many countries have built a wall only to find the real wall in their heart? To protect their cuisine? And what in the world does that have to do with Szechuan noodles?

Here’s a Groupon offer, I received the other day:

“When applied correctly, cosmetics can enhance the beauty of one’s natural features and advertise one’s crush when written in lipstick on one’s forehead…”

And here’s the first line of today’s deal in San Diego:

“Until the personal watercraft was invented, mankind’s only hope for outdoor fun involved hitting candied hams with tree branches.”

Is this something people do? What does that even mean?

I could go on.

Sorry to break it to you Andrew, but this writing is just not good. It’s trying too hard to be clever. Most of it just sounds lame. Or confusing. Or worse.

If you want to see how good copy is done, check out Woot!

Woot! has a consistent, often literary, brand voice. It doesn’t matter what day you check in, you get the feeling one person is writing for the brand. The writing is always entertaining, sometimes silly, often funny, and very, very consistent.

While Groupon’s writing is mediocre at best, it does other things phenomenally well.

Their headlines are simple and brilliant. Each day’s deal is spelled out so clearly, the customer knows exactly what they’ll get and what they will save. Some examples:

Today’s Deal: $50 for $125 worth of Designer Denim and Apparel at National Jean Company.

Today’s Deal: $89 for Two-hour Jet-Ski Rental from Action Sports.

Today’s Deal: $10 for $20 Worth of Tasty Comfort Food and Authentic New Orleans Fare at Magnolia Grill.

What else?

The “Time Left to Buy” counter on each page is genius. It creates urgency and demands you make your purchase decision right now. If you forget to come back later, you miss out on the deal, so you better buy now.

The requirement for a minimum number of buyers does the same thing. It forces customers to opt in early to ensure enough people get in on the deal for it to be “on”.

The stock photography is almost always good: delicious food, relaxing spas, attractive models. It’s hard not to want what Groupon is selling.

And once you decide to buy, Groupon makes it easy with a huge Buy! button you simply can’t miss.

There are a lot of reasons Groupon has been a phenomenal success. But let’s be honest. Good writing, at least so far, isn’t one of them.

Just a short TED video to give you something to think about. This one is from Rory Sutherland (yes, I know it’s been available for quite a while and you have probably already seen it, but just in case you haven’t, it’s today’s Friday Inspiration).

Mr. Sutherland talks about how changing perceptions is a critical part of creating value. He cites the brilliant Diamond Shreddies campaign as proof (among other things). Enjoy…

Posted by Rob Marsh.

By now you know your brand needs a story. But how do your consumers, employees, and other stakeholders use that story? Here are four ways that the people engaged with your brand might use yours:

Brand stories as mission statements.
This is generally how most of us think about the narratives we use with our brands. It’s the story that gives purpose to everything we do (as brand owners). It is the story we hope our customers will relate to, and possibly adopt as their own. It’s the story most easily communicated in advertising and other big brand initiatives.

Stories like “We empower athletic accomplishment, overpower the obstacles, and encourage our customers just do it” as told by Nike. Or “We fight to make air travel affordable and fun for everyone, not just the privileged few” as told by Southwest Airlines. Or, “We deliver insanely great service” as told by Zappos (and Nordstrom).

At the very best, brand stories as mission statements inform every experience a customer has with a particular brand—reinforcing the narrative with each interaction.

Brand stories as proof points.
Not all brands use narratives that work as mission statements. Sometimes a brand story works better as a proof point to entice consumers to try the product.

A few years ago, I wrote about Buckley’s, a brand of cough medicine that uses a compelling story to turn a negative product feature into a positive reason to believe (you can read that post here).

The idea is, Buckley’s tastes so bad, it must work. No one would be dumb enough to sell something this nasty if it didn’t do what it claims.

Buckley’s story is a proof point and gives consumers a compelling reason to buy their product instead of other, better tasting options. But it wouldn’t work well as a mission statement. Buckley’s isn’t about making bad-tasting products. Rather, they make effective disease treatments, at least one of which just happens to taste bad.

Brand stories as a badge.
Other brands have stories that a consumer uses to imply very specific things about what kind of person they are. “Choosy moms choose Jif” is a great example of taking a commodity product and giving it a story that says using this peanut butter means you care more than moms who don’t choose Jif.

Fashion brands often use stories as badges. The same is true of many automobile, cigarette, and soda brands. Advertising infuses these brands with meaning and consumers use the brands to signal those meanings to their peers.

iPhone anyone?

Brand stories as props or tools.
Marketers don’t like to think of their brands as tools used by unengaged consumers, but often this is the reality. We use dozens of brands simply to get a job done. These are branded commodities and are easily replaced by a similar product as price or availability changes. The can of tomatoes, carton of milk, or pack of tube socks.

To be sure, some consumers will care, but for many (even most) these are simple props in their lives, tools to get a job done. The story matters very little.

A good brand manager works hard to lift his brands into one of the other categories: mission statement, proof point, or badge and as far away from tool as possible.

Have I missed any ways brand stories are used by customers? If so, please add them in the comments.

A big misconception held by many brand managers is that their product or brand needs a compelling story that consumers will adopt as their own.

The idea goes like this: Nike tells a powerful brand story about athletic accomplishment, which is summed up with their tagline: “Just Do It”. This idea is retold over and over in Nike’s advertising (visuals, copy, music, product design) and by the athletes that endorse Nike.

When consumers hear Nike’s story, they are enthralled and want to be part of it—to adopt it as their own. So they buy Nike stuff. Wearing Nike signals to everyone around them that they are the kind of people who “Just Do It”. That is their story.

Except it doesn’t really work that way.

Most of the time it’s the other way around.

Consumers don’t usually adopt a product’s brand story as their own.

Instead, they have a personal story and when brands fit into them, they buy those brands.

The reality goes like this: A runner is training for her first marathon. When choosing the shoes she will train in, she considers a couple of options—Nike, New Balance, Saucony… Which brand’s story fits best with her world view?

The brand story that supports her personal story determines which shoes she buys.

Which means the story your brand tells is important, but how it supports your customer’s stories is critical (it’s that old macro/micro thing again).

How do the stories you tell support your customer’s personal stories?

But that won’t stop them from trying.

Take canned tomatoes.

I buy Hunt’s Canned Tomatoes instead of Del Monte Canned Tomatoes. Why?

Let’s just say it has nothing to do with either product’s Facebook page or twitter feed. (Yes, they’re both on FB.)

But is there really a difference between these products?

Both are cans filled with cooked tomatoes. Both feature tomatoes on the label. Both will make decent spaghetti sauce, salsa, or casseroles.

But I reach for the Hunt’s. Why?

Not because they have a compelling brand story (if they do, I don’t know it). Rather it’s what mom used to buy. The same reason I choose laundry detergent, toothpaste, and dishwashing soap.

Habit drives a lot of purchases. Maybe most of them.

But that doesn’t stop brand managers from trying to attract customers with a story.

Hunt’s talks about flash steaming.

Del Monte talks about savings.

Does it make you want to buy?

Maybe.

A lot of commodity brands struggle to create a compelling reason to buy their product. They try positioning (fresh, cheap, easy to use, quality, natural, new and improved!). They publish recipes that call for their brands. They run coupons and promotions.
But in the end, there’s really no real story to share. And who wants a conversation with their canned tomatoes?

Selling tomatoes (and most other commodities) comes down to creating familiarity—seeing the cans in the pantry and on the store shelf—becoming a trusted member of the family.

There may still be a story there, but can Hunt’s own it? Can they tell it in a way people will pay attention?

Finding a brand voice is hard. Really hard.

But there are brands that do it well (at least for awhile). Apple. Mini Cooper. The Economist. Every time you see a marketing effort for one of these brands, it’s as if it were created by the same person that did the last one. Different execution, same voice.

How do they do it where others fail?

Finding the right brand voice requires two things. First you have to know exactly who your consumer is. If your target market is “everyone” you will never have a brand voice that stands out. You’ll sound just like everyone else targeting everyone. Second, you need an almost fascist dedication to consistency over time. It also helps to work with a good writer.

One brand that did it exceptionally well from 1997 until 2005 was Miller High Life. In a category of cheap jokes masquerading as ads, it is clear that the MHL brand team understood exactly who they were talking to—men. Real men. Not college boys who greet each other by saying, “Wazzup,” a dozen times. Men who could appreciate skills like backing up a boat trailer.

Men who weren’t worried about their diets.

Men who don’t cheat.

Real men.

A terrific example of a brand voice (not just Doug Jeffer’s voice overs, but also the writing, the photography, the subject matter) used consistently over eight years to reinforce a strong brand story.