Bloom Thinks: Storytelling

Can brands tell stories? Yes, but…

Humans are born storytellers. Telling stories and thinking in narratives makes life feel more structured, meaningful and purposeful - like a map or a plot in our heads.

What does this mean for brands? We’ve learned it depends whether it’s a story or a narrative. They’re both useful, in different ways.

A story is a telling of a series of events. A narrative is a point-of-view that frames events.

A brand can have an origin story. Like Steve Jobs battling to set up Apple. Or John Walker taking his whisky from Kilmarnock to the world. But it’s hard to say what story those brands are telling now. They’re both doing fine without

one.

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Thinking in stories can also be helpful as a framework for developing a positioning or repositioning. Thinking of it as a story gives it:

- an enemy to overcome

- a quest to complete

- a tribe to gather

- a character that lives and breathes

These give direction, energy, and meaning. But it’s a tool for thinking. It doesn’t mean the brand will tell a story.

Because they’re a motivating point-of-view on events, narratives are useful for any brand. And they should be always-on. We gave Tommee Tippee a narrative on parenthood – that having a baby turns ordinary people into extraordinary parents. For Avon we developed a narrative on D2C beauty – that it empowers people to change lives. Narratives like these drive brands forward.

It's the same in real life. There are two opposing narratives around AI. One is that it will propel us into a smarter, more civilized future. Another is that it

spells the end of civilization as we know it.

Storied thinking is beneficial for brands to create a more rounded positioning. But a brand narrative is essential. So we find it’s good to have both. Thinking in terms of a story makes a brand human. Giving a brand a narrative gives it something to fight for.