How to build the bones of a great brand story.
Seasoned storytellers know that great brand stories start with a solid strategic framework. This framework helps ensure that the intent of your story is well thought out. That it is relevant to those you hope to serve. That it offers real value. And that it connects with the audience in a meaningful and moving way.
A simple place to start is with a tool called the positioning statement. The positioning statement helps you document the key components of your strategy. The result is a directional narrative. Although these statements tend to be somewhat stilted, they do ensure that you have defined your strategy and they provide a way for you to evaluate your messages.
The upside
The positioning statement helps ensure that you have all your strategic elements documented
Once completed, it can serve as a tool for evaluating the strategic soundness of your messages.
The downside
These statements can feel a bit wooden
Stick with me to the end of this post and I'll discuss an additional tool that improves on the positioning statement to create a more evocative tool for helping you craft great brand stories.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. A good first step to those great stories is to understand the fundamental strategic components that you find in the positioning statement.
The positioning statement structure
The positioning statement has 6 strategic components. Here is the basic framework.
For (TARGET AUDIENCE)
Who are looking for (THEIR UNMET NEED)
Our product (HOW WE MEET THIS NEED)
Unlike (COMPETITIVE ALTERNATIVES)
Ours is the only product that offers (FUNCTIONAL ATTRIBUTES)
That deliver (EMOTIONAL BENEFIT)
TARGET AUDIENCE - this is who you hope to serve. It's good to have a deep understanding of your audience. Doing so will help you create a powerful line or two that captures the essence of your audience.
THEIR UNMET NEED - this is the challenge or opportunity they have.
HOW WE MEET THIS NEED - this is how your offering addresses the unmet need.
COMPETITIVE ALTERNATIVES - this is the competition. As a rule of thumb, include the top three.
FUNCTIONAL ATTRIBUTES - these are the key features of your offering. Again, as a rule of thumb, include the top three.
EMOTIONAL BENEFIT - this is how the offering makes the audience feel. It describes how your offering will have a positive impact on their lives.
Here is an example of a positioning statement for Acme Rocket Skates - equipment to help predators like Wile E. Coyote pursue prey like roadrunners:
For downtrodden coyotes (TARGET AUDIENCE) who need a more reliable way to catch elusive roadrunners (THEIR UNMET NEED), Acme Rocket Skates combine dependable performance while mitigating the life-threatening risks of high-combustion propellant devices (HOW WE MEET THIS NEED). Unlike the Pinnacle Jetpack or the Explode-O-Launch Cannon (COMPETITIVE ALTERNATIVES), only Acme Rocket Skates offers the Sure-fire™ ignition system for dependable starts, advanced polymer wheels for unsurpassed durability, and a lifetime warranty (FUNCTIONAL ATTRIBUTES). It is dependable performance that helps restore a sense of self-worth and confidence to the downtrodden coyotes (EMOTIONAL BENEFIT).
As you can see, the positioning statement is not an eloquent tale. In fact, I emphatically remind those I consult with that this is an internal-facing document. Just understand its role. It documents the strategic elements and how they interrelate. And that creates the bones on which you will form that enchanting brand story.
Taking the next step with the Thrust Story Framework
I had used the positioning statement for years. While valuable, I always felt like there needed to be a tool that moved the strategic thinking closer to the story creation. It's for that reason that I created the Thrust Story Framework. It is built off the story structure work of Joseph Campbell.
The framework asks the user to put the strategic elements into a story structure. As a result, we begin to see how those strategic elements can become a story, reducing the disconnect that can happen between writing a positioning statement and writing the brand story.
For more on the Thrust Story Framework, check out this post. You can also find complete instructions on using the framework in my book Big Audacious Meaning – Unleashing Your Purpose-Driven Story.