Brand Stories that Work, Gerry Lantz -- Part One

Gerry Lantz describes himself as a "creative guy in a business suit." After 27 years in marketing, advertising and communications, he has created STORIES THAT WORK®,a series of narrative-based tools, that help executives and corporations communicate more memorably and persuasively.

The goal of STORIES THAT WORK® is to cut through the same-old, same-old business blah-blah and boilerplate. Using these tools, Gerry helps others create his favorite stories: how to grow business and the people in it. Gerry is a long time friend, someone I admire and respect. As I've been focusing on the power of storytelling in marketing, I wanted to share with you his thoughts on brand stories that work.

Valeria Maltoni: Why is narrative so important for brands?

Gerry Lantz: Narrative has been important to brands since brands were invented. It’s nothing new. It all began with positioning. What niche, what place will this brand occupy in consumers’ minds? That’s the fundamental question of marketing. And the story marketers tell about the brand is essential to its positioning.

Now over time, if the brand positioning is delivered to consumers by their experience with the product, then a relationship starts to build based on trusting the product or service to perform as promised. The brand actually begins to play a role in consumers’ lives. An amazing thing happens with brands over time, the product values transform into brand values—what is delivered goes from being pure features and benefits to emotional satisfaction. Real alliances, friendships get built. It’s MY brand consumers begin to feel.

Imagine, for example, if Hershey Bars were taken off the shelf tomorrow, as Coca-Cola did to Coke in 1984. People would write to their congressman, form protest groups, petition, etc. And they did in the case of Coke. Why? Because consumers had kissed their first dates over Coke; they grew up with it; it was part of their lives and available everywhere. Coke is cola—don’t tell Pepsi—in America. Likewise, Hershey is chocolate in America. The best brands become quintessential and irreplaceable. A human relationship based on shared experience develops—it is a reciprocal story told by the user and the brand. And it’s real. The marketers of Coke lost faith in marketing and their brand’s story, their conversation with users, and nearly paid a devastating price for it.

So people and brands go through life together; yes, it’s a story with a plot, incidents, characters, obstacles, victories (“Wow, this brand really does what it says! I love this stuff.” And they mean it.) Brands have more than a “personality”—I hate that word which leads to confusion when applied to brands in my opinion, but that’s another story. Brands have human qualities which are a richer and deeper part of the brand’s values than mere personality. That’s why people form a relationship with the brand.

So not only is there a brand story, a concept we use at Stories That Work, Inc. to help build, launch, and revive brands; but there are customer stories, trade stories, sales stories; everyone who touches the brand or whom the brand touches has a story about it. All of these stories contribute to a brand’s values. As a brand planning tool, the brand is the hero that stands for something or even fights for something. In managing brands long term, just as in a good story, marketers have to consider the emotional thought line that carries the brand over time and keeps its story fresh generation after generation. Story thinking helps construct this kind of longevity.

Valeria Maltoni: Can you give me an example of a brand that used narrative successfully?

Gerry Lantz: Sure, let’s take Harley Davidson motorcycles. Long before Joseph Pine and James Gilmore wrote their 1999 book, The Experience Economy, Work is Theatre & Every Business a Stage, Harley-Davidson was creating a drama and a dream for its riders. A senior executive at HD was quoted a while ago as saying, “What we sell is the ability for a 43 year-old accountant to dress in black leather, ride through small towns and have people be afraid of him.” Now he’s clear about the experience Harley-Davidson is selling and riders are buying. Each rider, from middle class family man to hell-raising bikers is a character in this little drama and loves to “ride the dream.” Talk about owning an emotional through-line, a direction into the future. Very smart stuff.

To be continued...

Listen to Gerry Lantz podcast with Anna Farmery at The Engaging Brand.

Let's continue the conversation. What brands have used narrative successfully in *your* experience?

UPDATE: for Part Deux link here.

Comments

[Lewis Green]

Valeria,

Thank you for introducing us to Gerry. The Harley story is one I love telling to my clients. Its complete in it simplicity and says everything we need to know about the bikes.

Starbucks also delves deeply into story telling, going so far as to place a little story on every paper cup.

[Connie Reece]

To this day I associate Campbell's soups with my mother taking care of me when I was sick. This is a positive association; I had a chronically ill sister, so only when I was also sick did I get my mother's undivided attention.

When I was really sick, it was Campbell's Chicken & Rice with a few saltines. When I was "under the weather" but not too sick, it was Campbell's Tomato with a grilled cheese sandwich. "Mmm, mmm, good" still equals "comfort food" in my mind.

[olivier Blanchard]

Cool post. This is a great follow-up to my 'Archetypes & Brands' post from this morning.

:)

[Valeria Maltoni]

Lewis -- It may be because I come from the land of special coffee stories. Starbucks never impressed me for a moment, anywhere. Harley Davidson, now that is one heck of a story. I had a colleague when I was in technology start up who dressed the part and had the bike -- total immersion.

Connie -- what a moving story. It's amazing how the flavors and images of our childhood stay imprinted in our memory, along with the emotional feelings they evoke. Campbell's for me was the Andy Warhol art cans, believe it or not. I lived in Italy and never imagined that I would one day visit the company that made those products.

Olivier -- I saw the post and did not get a chance to read through the whole thing. I must do that tomorrow.

[Tim Jackson]

Oh man! THIS is precisely the kind of thing I work on all the time! I was just having a conversation today about how I want to write my new catalog with more story to connect the reader with the bikes. The story has been one of the key ingredients to the humble successes I've had with the resurrection of the brand, largely thanks to the blog. The blog is my constant narrative- my chance to reach out and share why I love the bikes as much as I do.

That said, I do firmly believe in the power of story telling as a way to "sell". I prefer to think of it as less selling and more connecting. I am a firm believer that I am a really crappy salesperson, but I'm a good storyteller- especially when I get really rolling and passionate. I have no doubt I can convince somebody to at least consider buying my brand of bikes, if I can have a conversation with them and share my passion for cycling with them. Without even getting into the particulars of the brand, just by sharing that same love for cycling that they have... that, to me, is what storytelling does; it goes beyond the barriers of brands and connects people to an experience. Once they are connected to the experience (in my case, cycling), they can be connected to a product (my bikes).

Looking forward to reading more of this.

[Joe Raasch]

Where these brands, and other brands that employ a narrative approach, are successful is when they know their audience. They don't try to be all things to all people.

Just like great art, great brands evoke or awaken emotion in people. This could be joy, sadness, comfort, disgust - anything but apathy, and their job is done!

[Valeria Maltoni]

Tim -- I think selling is really a word we dislike. It implies that someone is pressuring someone else. We love to buy, and we love to connect with people and things that allow us to show who we are better. So we borrow the concept from the brand and we adapt it to our preferences and sense of self to signal to the world who we are.

Joe -- We join stories. Since we're all different, we like to be exclusive as well. There was a discussion here on the language of persuasion back in January here. We talked about art vs. the language of commercialism. http://conversationagent.typepad.com/conversation_agent/2007/01/brought_to_you_.html

[gianandrea facchini]

I really appreciate this post. It make me think at the Sunday morning when I get my bike, my Dainese protection on and ride down a hill: It's a transfiguration!