THE POWER OF STORIES IN BUILDING BRAND EQUITY

The times are  changing fast, yes.  But advertising will never die.  No,  not the way you all "experts" scared the living day light out of us sometimes back.

About a decade ago,  advertising practitioners across the world started to quiver on the emergence of social media and it's attendant  implications for revenue and credibility.

 
10 years down the line,  we have discovered that Advertising is not going to die as we were told a few years ago. 
The power of Integrated Marketing remains.  With information effectively democratised by social media,  attention span of target audience has shrunken very badly. 

Prior to the democratisation of the information highway,  the issues with advertising has always been the trust element. 

Myriads of consumers have seen copies and acted based on them to make purchases and decisions,  only to discover that what they were pitched and what they get is often totally different in reality. 

Like a lady said after buying a product from an e-commerce platforms recently " What I ordered for was a Donald,  what I had delivered was an Adams.  Even though they are both from Nigeria Delta,  how are they the same? "
This is still a problem to consumers and marketing communications professionals.  But not to the professional who has come to terms with the power of storytelling in building brand equity. 

Brands that hope to gain attention and maintain it,  no matter what aspect of the mix is being deployed must as a matter of necessity,  be able to weave up stories that captures attention,  move the audience into action and sustain it through effective and sustainable neaural coupling. 

According to communication psychologists,  NC-Neural Coupling is the activity  that occurs between the speech of the speaker and the listener.  The speakers mind must be evident in the listeners response or reaction.

An effective Neural Coupling must be evident in Clearity, Comprehension and Receptivity.

Every #Brandstory must be clear in that it shows three things in planning and delivery.
 
1. Problem: The #brandstoryteller must able to establish that a problem exists and attract some measure of sympathy. 

2. Solution: The #brandstoryteller must be able to demonstrate the solution deployed and raise hope.

3. Success: The #brandstoryteller must be able to gain excitement with the solution power factor.  The success must connect and this should show in every #brandstory effort.

#BrandStorytelling is not to be confused with Good Showmanship, No. Never forget that the issue is the credibility of information being passed to the consumer and that the #brandstory is designed to effectively enhance that and help the consumer make favourable decisions to your brand.

As the information age takes its perfect position,  credibility issues will endure but create a powerful world for #brandstorytellers who seek avenues to inspire their world and build connection. 
Take for example,   Gtbank with over 5 million customers or an MTN with over 54 million subscribers.

Asides the service that they both render to their consumers,  competition in their industry will demand that they deliver more than just the basic service experience in the future. 

Beyond quality services,  they will need to build an effective and sustainable Neural Coupling with their messages to CONSUNERS if they are to continue to hold them to a unique experience which is what a Brand literally is, after all is said and done. 

A brand is nothing but an experience.  People,  and not just machines,  create experiences. 

Experiences are best accentuated only through stories. 
The brands that tells the best and most powerful stories will sell the most in the most and gain commercial value from the mere mention of their names. 

Are you ready to tell?
©Ogedengbe Ayo Moses
@ayoozovehe
@lagosbrandsfestival

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