The Importance of Story

Attention. Connection. Persuasion. Action. In sales and marketing, your goal is to move consumers from the awareness or attention stage of the Change Journey and inspire them to act. Of course, these two ends of the spectrum don’t happen instantaneously. Many brands fall short when they try to take consumers from brand awareness to brand advocate in one swift move. So, how does one bridge the gap? Through story.

Beyond just the story itself, the way you share your brand mission and messaging, who you engage and how you nurture them along each stage of the Change Journey makes all the difference. As Author and Marketing Expert Bernadette Jiwa says, “You can’t change a mind without winning a heart.” Dive into the heart of storytelling with us as we explore a few examples on how to effectively deliver powerful messaging, including print advertising, social media, blogs and website copy.

Informing, Connecting and Persuading through Print Media

When we created an omnichannel campaign for client Dameron Hospital’s bariatric weight loss program, we focused our print ad on attention-grabbing messaging and imagery that highlighted the program’s positive patient outcomes and direct impact on local constituencies. Simplistic enough for readers to process while flipping through a magazine and emotionally evocative enough to cause pause so readers can absorb the message, our campaign reads, “Live Without Limits.” This three-word power phrase paired with a captivating image tells a short story of exuberance, fulfilled purpose and possibilities. Resonating with target audiences and judges alike, this ad received a Gold Healthcare Advertising Award for its consumer appeal, message effectiveness, creativity and overall impact. Our Client Success Director Michelle Torr says It’s clients like Dameron, who have a strong commitment to their WHY that has inspired creative design and messaging like this. Click To Tweet

Building a Brand Aesthetic on Social Media

In the highly competitive and increasingly saturated market of mattress sales, Goldilocks would have an even more difficult time finding a bed that’s perfect for her than she did when she was at the three little bears’ house. From national names to up-and-coming brands, our client Ananda had the challenge of connecting consumers with their innovative adjustable base sleep systems, pearl and cool gel infused mattresses and pillows. When they came to us for a solution, we conducted extensive research to identify their unique niche and create core buyer personas of loyal fans.

With Ananda’s strong belief that sleeping well is the key to living well in mind, we launched a social media strategy that possesses a distinct brand look and feel. Everything from the color palette and font, to the light-infused photos themselves tell a story of balancing a healthy, active lifestyle with precious, peaceful moments. Similar to Dameron, the right target audience can connect with feelings of divine joy portrayed in insightful and informative social captions, and serene imagery.

Sharing Words of Wisdom in a Blog

Addiction Recovery and Family Law are two distinct markets, which are not spoken about in the same manner as a mattress or retail company. Instead, they’re often discussed in hushed tones, behind closed doors of law offices or strictly between family members. Knowing the sensitivities that come with these markets, our client Soberlink, a comprehensive alcohol monitoring device company, challenged us to achieve synergistic growth between the two, while sustaining a cohesive, valuable brand. To garner attention, inspire connection and persuade potential professionals and clients in both the Addiction Recovery and Family Law fields to use Soberlink remote alcohol monitoring, Orange Label developed a unifying core message, “Accountability for Sobriety.” The story behind this messaging? In-depth fact-finding with the Soberlink team and its client base, which revealed one telling piece of feedback that continued coming up through our research: Soberlink keeps people accountable and people genuinely value that.

Focused on expanding the reach of this messaging and improving SEO capabilities to help meet consumers where they’re at when they’re researching alcohol sobriety, we also create highly researched, in-depth blog articles that cater to Family Law and Addiction Recovery audiences. Depending on the blog topic, section and anticipated audience, we will vary our verbiage slightly to best appeal to the reader. In most cases, we incorporate both statistics and storytelling for articles that are both informative and memorable. As Author and Stanford University Professor Jennifer Aaker says, “When data and stories are used together, they resonate with audiences on both an intellectual and emotional level.”

Making a Good Impression with Your Website

In addition to the general rules that follow website design: mobile-friendly capabilities, efficient load time, no broken links and regular updates/refreshes, making sure that your copy and aesthetic best represent your brand story should be another list-topping priority. When we redesigned leading commercial real estate owner, operator and investment manager Bixby Land Company’s website, the cohesive theme was to build off of its more than 120-year legacy.

Keeping an emphasis on historic photos of Bixby’s past we created an interactive timeline that gives insights to the company’s previous and present state of affairs. This timeline and the website redesign itself are reflective of the brand’s mission to remain innovative and dynamic in their market position. Utilizing modern fonts and photography filters that highlight the forward-thinking nature of Bixby, along with incorporating the brand legacy story, positions them as a brand leader with strong expertise. Of course, an interactive search option for their properties is featured as well, offering consumers a 360-degree view of the company and their future objectives, as well as their strong roots that planted the opportunity for future growth and market leadership.

An essential part of narrative, storytelling isn’t just about finding the right words. “It’s about finding the right way and the right time to say them,” Jiwa notes. It’s also about the visuals you pair with those words and the purposeful delivery you choose. Remember that every brand story is not for everyone, and that’s okay. That’s what attracts them to the right consumers. Searching for your niche audience? Need a clarifying mission statement to make this happen? We’re here to help. Take a look at our capabilities, get to know our brand and contact us for more information!