With internet marketing, we talk about creating a narrative story to communicate your business value and connect with consumers. But just exactly what type of connection are we talking about?
Underlying the idea of story is the theme – the central idea the story is trying to convey. We learn this from childhood with stories like The Boy Who Cried Wolf.
We recognize it in movies. Rocky shows us that the long-shot outsider can make it big when he gets the chance. The Matrix warns us that technology can grow out of control and take over human life.
In a good story, the theme is what you learn – and what you remember.
Which brings us to selling products and services.
Patagonia is a brand that knows how to weave theme into their business stories. They have two central themes that are effective.
The first is their commitment to environmental sustainability. They go to great lengths on their website to talk about themselves as an activist company. It is, in fact, their mission statement:
Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.
They tell stories of how they develop products with a goal to lessen environmental impact and make sure labor practices are fair. They seize on the clear theme that they should help protect the natural areas people need to enjoy their products.
Another effective story device is their Worn Wear program. This is a storyline that tells how long lasting Patagonia’s products are, and encourages their customers to use their gear as long as possible. The stories revolve around the adventures people have while wearing their Patagonia gear, and the “badges of honor” that the wear and tear become.
In the Worn Wear stories, Patagonia actually encourages customers to repair old gear rather than replace it with something new. Not only does this create a “better than new” theme into the story, but it gives the message a tone of integrity because they’re not just trying to sell you something new every year.
Still, you might wonder. Is all this just wishy/washy blather from a bunch of hippies? Does it work to sell their product?
I can attest to this: the last time I was in a store looking at coats and came across Patagonia products, both of these themes immediately came to mind.
Their coats are expensive, I thought. But they make far more effort to lower environmental impact, which is a cause I care about.
Their coats are expensive, I thought. But they design them to last a lifetime, so I know I can wear it much longer than a cheaper coat.
Indeed, their stories drove home a very clear message that directly tied into my buying motivations. The structure of the story, complete with a developed theme, triggered my memory when I saw their products.
This is a major achievement for marketing. To tell a brand story, develop an impactful theme, then have that anchor in the customer’s memory so that seeing the product triggers images of the story.
It’s what Shakespeare would have done if he wrote sale pitches.
More and more brands, as they seek to develop engaging content across digital media channels, are using storytelling and these branded themes.
Red Bull is a clear example of theme based brand storytelling. Their entire website and brand themesonline media presence is based on stories of sporting adventure, risk taking, and living life with wild energy. In fact, their website isn’t directly about their product (the energy drink) at all. The entire site is dedicated to telling stories that build their underlying theme.
Why do they go to such great lengths to sponsor events, document extreme sports, and build this energized lifestyle theme?
Because they want their customers to remember it – even feel it – when they’re in a convenience store buying an energy drink. When you purchase Red Bull, you’re buying a lifestyle. Their theme beckons you to build their product into your life and self-image.
The crux of this marketing strategy is when the impression from the story meets the moment of purchase. A good story is remembered, and a powerful theme is internalized by the audience. If you make the lifestyle connection, your marketing message is at its most influential.
Theme-based, lifestyle marketing was a strategy only used by big brands. But today every business has the means to develop and publish a storyline as part of their internet marketing strategy.
Consider your audience. They visit your website, read some blogs, and follow you on Facebook. They don’t buy at first, but they’re a hot lead.
Soon they’ve moved farther into the buying cycle are are ready to purchase. They go back to your product or landing page.
What will they remember about you? What will they feel in their gut? How will they make a connection between you and their own self-image?
If you have a powerful theme that connects to your product, they won’t just know they want to buy from you, they’ll feel it.
That’s the level of connection you can make with today’s content driven digital marketing.
Tags: Brand Storytelling, Internet Marketing Strategy, madwire media reviews
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