Sharing Your Brand's Values Through Storytelling

Sharing a set of values with customers is one of a brand's most important sources of emotional connection with its customers. I have written before about brands that do this well.

There are a variety of ways to communicate those values, but one powerful way is through brand storytelling, especially if the story is about the founder's vision or legacy. Often, this is found in the "Our Story" section of the "About Us" section on websites.

Here are some good examples of that:

• Patagonia
• Newman's Own
• Burt's Bees
• IKEA
• Zappos
• The Body Shop
• Ben & Jerry's
• Minnetonka
• Warby Parker
• John Deere
• Trader Joe's

I hope these examples help you think through how you might tell an emotionally compelling story about your brand highlighting its origins and its values. 

Targeting Children to Create Early Brand Loyalty

Studies have shown that children are expressing brand awareness as early as age two and that the average three year old in the US can recognize 100 different brands. Young children cannot distinguish between fact and fantasy so many consumer packaged goods companies target children when they are most susceptible to marketing messages. 

In fact, many brands try to build their brand franchises early by targeting young people. 

It has been disclosed in court filings that tobacco companies had historically targeted different youth market segments in their marketing campaigns. I am sure tobacco companies supported the chocolate cigarettes that I and my elementary schools friends used to buy at our corner store. National Rifle Association (NRA) is a significant sponsor of Boy Scout Camp rifle and shotgun ranges and sponsors many joint programs in the shooting sports including the BSA/NRA Brownell Youth Ambassador Program. And many businesses sponsor youth sports, including paying for uniforms on which their logos are displayed. The Strong National Museum of Play features a Wegmans Super Kid's Market that teaches children how to shop for groceries at Wegmans. There was a time when most airlines gave out free branded "junior wings" or "kiddie wings" to younger flyers. And Cub Cadet and other vehicle brands sell toy riding tractors and other vehicles.

Product placement in television programming and movies targeted at children is widespread. Further, there is increased product placement in children's fiction books. American Idol, America's Got Talent, Dancing with the Stars and The X Factor are some television programs with the most product placements. Brands also frequently appear in The Simpsons, Futurama and South Park, though in some cases, it is as a parody. Many people may remember the Reese's Pieces placement in E.T. Animated films with the most product placements include Foodfight!, Eight Crazy Nights, Free Birds, Curious George, Oliver & Company, The Chipmunk Adventure and Bee Movie. 

Marketers are also using YouTube videos, social media celebrity endorsements and mobile alerts to reach the youth markets with brand messaging.

For better or worse, many brands have targeted youth to begin building a lifetime of brand loyalty. Pediatricians, psychologists and others have pushed back on this citing consumerism, materialism, the over commercialization of our society and the focus on brands as an indicator of social status as the negative consequences of these efforts. 

Exploring Retail

If you are the manager of a brand that sells at retail, you have likely studied the retail chains that carry your brand in great detail. You may also have access to store and chain-specific category management and shelf management reports. You probably also frequently conduct market and store tours.

But, just in case you are not totally familiar with the retail environments in which your brand sells, I would recommend that you visit the stores in which you brand sells and note each of the following aspects of the retail selling environment:

• Is the store a stand-alone pad store, in a strip shopping center, in an enclosed shopping mall or in some other type of location?
• What are the store's hours?
• At what time are you visiting the store?
• Is there adequate parking? Is the parking lot full, almost empty or somewhere in between?
• What does the store entrance look like? What products are featured there? What signage is there?
• Is music playing in the store? What type of music?
• How big is the store (square footage)?
• What is the general feeling of the store? Is it more like a warehouse or a quaint boutique?
• Is there effective way finding in the store? Are product categories well marked?
• How prominently are prices featured in the store?
• Is there signage indicating price discounts? How prominent are those signs?
• How is the store organized in general? How are the different product categories organized
• What is the store's traffic pattern? Can shoppers explore the store in their own pattern or is the shopping path predetermined (as in Ikea)?
• Are there convenience sections for quick purchase of staple items?
• What products and brands are featured on the end caps?
• What special merchandising sections exist?
• Is there a "manager's favorite" section?
• Where is your brand located in the store? Is it located in more than one place?
• How many skus and shelf facings does your brand have? How does this compare to the competition? 
• How many competitive brands does the store feature?
• Does the store offer its own brand in your category?
• How does your brand's range of products compare to that of the competition?
• How do your brand's prices compare to those of the competition? Are they comparable, higher or lower? Does your brand offer a comparable range of prices or a wider or narrower range of prices?
• Do you offer different sizes than the competition does? What is the reason for this?
• Which products are in the "strike zone" (at eye level)? Which are merchandised up high on the top shelf? Which are merchandised down low on the bottom shelf?
• Do some brands have stand alone merchandising? What are the features of that merchandising?
• Which products and brands are featured in the seasonal aisle? 
• What products and brands are merchandised at the check stands?
• Are your products and brands merchandised adjacent to all of the logical complementary products?
• In how many places in the store are your brand's products merchandised? How does this compare to competitive brands?
• Are your brand's products well-stocked on the shelves?
• Does your brand stand out vis-à-vis competitive brands?
• Is it easy for the consumer to make sense of your brand's range of products and what makes each sku different from the other skus? 
• Are store associates available throughout the store and in your brand's departments/aisles to answer customer questions?
• Overall, do you believe your brand has a strong presence in the store, a weak presence in the store or something in between?
• What one or two actions could be taken to increase your brand's chances of selling more successfully in the store?

For more information on brands and how to successfully manage them, purchase Brand Aid.