Brand storytelling – what’s your Christmas campaign story?
An unpopular Reindeer with an unusual nose lights the way for Santa’s big day out on the 24th of December. A boy has the adventure of a lifetime when a snowman he made comes to life. A different boy fends off two robbers in his home after his parents left him home alone over Christmas. What do all of these have in common? They’re stories. Christmas stories that have crept into the hearts of many and stayed there. They’re memorable and we love them.
With hundreds of businesses vying for buyers’ attention over Christmas, it’s not always easy to stand out. If you’re looking for ways to connect with your customers over the festive season, read on. Here’s how to light up your Christmas campaign using the art of storytelling.
Light up your Christmas marketing with storytelling
The key to any successful marketing campaign is storytelling. Creating a magical and inspirational brand story that connects with your customers. Crafting stories that ignite emotion and make your brand memorable.
John Lewis is the BEST at storytelling over Christmas. Watch one of John Lewis’ most memorable Christmas stories, from 2014 here.
P.S: Marks & Spencer just dropped their Christmas video ad! Not sure if it will hold a candle to Johnny Lewis’ – we’ll have to wait and see. When is the John Lewis Christmas ad coming out?
How to create your brand’s Christmas story
All good stories have the following components – a protagonist, a conflict and a resolution.
Pick a protagonist
Pick a protagonist to tell your story. Is it a story from the perspective of a Mum who uses your product? Is it a factory worker who has deadlines to get all his/her products out before Christmas? Is it your CEO who is keeping all his workers on track to deliver the best customer service at Christmas and beyond? The idea is to take something ordinary and turn it into something extraordinary. Create a story and then weave that story into pieces of content that help sell your products. Here’s an example of storytelling used to in an image:
Conjure a conflict and offer a resolution
Let your story show a problem that needs to be fixed, a situation that needs a resolution or a character that has something missing in his/her life. Perhaps Jessica, the vegetarian, hates Christmas because there’s never a decent vegetarian meat alternative. Her Christmas-hating days are over when she is connected with a product (like Beyond Meat) that makes the perfect alternative to Turkey!
Remember – a story is a story. It doesn’t need to necessarily sell anything, except your brand. Supplement the storytelling component of your campaign with tactical campaign messages that are geared for sales.
Storytelling on a budget
There’s a misconception that only big brands with big budgets can benefit from brand stories – we disagree. The power of storytelling is in the story and in the telling. If you’ve got a good story and you can tell it in a good way, it doesn’t matter if your story is shot with an iPhone or a million-dollar TV crew. In fact, the authenticity and creativity that comes with DIY commercial shooting are often appreciated even more.
What story will you tell this Christmas?
It’s storytime! Get your team together and host a brainstorming session or competition to develop a story that can be used in your Christmas marketing campaign. Stay tuned for our next blog that’ll unpack the best tools and strategies to create and execute your Christmas campaign story.
Need some help?
Ninki creates content that delights your customers and increases your online presence. If you’d like help to develop your brand story or Christmas content – we can help.
