How do you define brand storytelling—and why do you think it matters beyond just marketing?

Great storytelling in my perspective is telling the right story to the right person at the right time that makes an emotional connection. It usually involves solving a problem in a way that connects to the customer/consumer. This matters because humans are wired to care about what affects them and we see the world through stories. Stories were being told before written language existed. It’s in our DNA. And stories are more memorable than facts – much like music is more memorable than noise. If you have a compelling story that solves a consumer need, you have a much higher likelihood of being remembered and cataloged in another person’s brain.

Was there a moment when you first realized the power a good story can have?

I’m not sure there is one moment but I clearly remember back in high school what an impact that Ben & Jerry’s ice cream had on me. Their mission is always at the forefront of their messaging down to being featured on the product packaging, even part of their flavor names. Rainforest Crunch is the flavor that stands out to me because of the social impact story that went along with it. This made me a loyal customer from a very young age. Ben & Jerry’s is great at talking about their mission in engaging ways. This mission-focused storytelling, in 1990, taught me about the plight of the rainforest. Through Ben & Jerry’s, I learned that brands can do service and pay back to the communities where they source their ingredients. This was my first consumer engagement with a purpose-driven brand. The storytelling around this marketing created that strong connection in my heart and mind. It also became a north star for the type of work that I wanted to do when I grew up.

In your experience, how does storytelling help build trust—with customers, clients, or even internal teams?

Storytelling builds trust because it gives the clients/consumer/internal teams a reason to believe. I think that’s why online reviews are such a gold mine (and white papers for business-to-business marketing). Nothing gives people more hope than a believable story with results. “If it worked for her…” It also gives customers/clients/internal teams a reason to care. There is so much clutter and noise coming at us from all directions. Our brains are constantly sifting through so much information. But if there is a thread with a narrative that gives us hope (via trust) to solve a problem, that is what breaks through.

Where do you think brand storytelling is headed in the next few years?

In a nutshell, I think it means there is going to be even more information and noise to sift through, but the core tenets of brand storytelling won’t change. That is why getting the brand architecture, pillars, voice and tone dialed in is so important. Those are the guardrails for the work so that, as we enter this even more cluttered space vying for consumer attention, it’s the concise and compelling stories that will stand apart and be memorable.

In the age of AI-generated content, what human pieces do you think we still need? What can’t be replicated?

A real human experience cannot be replicated. It can be faked. We can attempt to replicate it. But it’s not the same. Our voices and thoughts shape human feeling and that is where connection happens. Maintaining aspects of humanity are critical to everything we build and produce, that’s what helps us to understand and interpret. 

With technology evolving fast, how do we keep our storytelling rooted in something honest and human?

We can keep storytelling rooted in something honest and human by doing the brand work that I mentioned above–that’s a human exercise to build the architecture, brand pillars, reasons to believe, etc. And the inputs from that should be built using consumer insight research derived from real humans, not fake AI interviews (as an example). After that, it’s using our own innate power to synthesize and edit. As powerful as AI is, it doesn’t have that gut instinct that we have as humans. There should always be a human filter for everything we put out into the world.

If you could give one piece of advice for telling a brand story people actually remember, what would it be?

Have a beginning, middle and end and solve a problem. Those are the basic components of storytelling. Be concise and clear in your messaging. Create an emotional connection with the consumer, give them a reason to care. People remember stories, not facts.

Also, remember the audience is the hero of the story, not you – and speak their language. When you are clear that you understand the challenges and frustrations of your audience and put those things into words, you will connect with them.

What fuels your own storytelling—any habits, inspirations, or creative rituals you rely on?

Just about everything fuels my own storytelling. I’ve always been a natural sharer and storyteller as well as extremely curious. I created an online journal back in the late 1990s because I enjoyed writing and musing on every day minutia. It was a great way to learn to code, but it was also a great way to process my own observations, behaviors, curiosities. So, for me, writing regularly has been a habit that has honed my own storytelling. 

Another practice that is newer for me is Morning Pages, a practice outlined in the book: The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. Morning Pages are a practice of free-writing 3 pages first thing in the morning, pen to paper. It’s a habit that helps to empty out the brain. 

Finally, I’m a huge fan of marinating on ideas. They come to me when I’m running, sitting in the sauna, or chopping onions while fixing dinner. So when I’m stuck, I take a break because an answer will likely come to me later when I stop focusing on trying to find the answer. So much can come from just allowing time to distill the thoughts.