We’re all designed to be natural born storytellers:
How does the brain make up its mind? Jonah Lehrer, the author of this book, explains that in 9 out of 10 cases, the brain is constructing a story or many micro stories that help us make everyday decisions. Our brains are hard-wired to tell and act on stories. The emotional brain which gave us the ‘fight or flight’ instinct is as old as man himself. The rational brain which analyses data is still a calculator when compared with the gi-ant supercomputer, our emotional brain.
Indranil Chakraborty in his book, “Stories at Work” explains when the brain saw a possible shape of a tiger in the jungle, it didn’t wait to seek additional information or weigh alternatives in that moment. It filled in the missing pieces on its own, constructed a possible story and immediately prepared for action.
Truth is boring. Stories are not:
This doesn’t mean stories must be a bunch of lies to grab attention. But truth packaged in a masterful story will always win over facts and data. It is how we make memories. Everything we remember is, in fact, a story. Be it our childhood, our first teachers, our first job, first presentation, first love, first kiss - everything is a story stored in the brain.
Billions of dollars are spent on making public ‘Smoking causes Cancer’ statistics. Scien-tific studies have proved that none of the stats advocacy changes smoking behaviour. This works well for the manufacturers - they’re playing good, while still pedalling poi-son, knowing that their consumers are not the least motivated to act on the cancer warning. Stories that one can relate to one’s own life, however, have the power to change behaviour. What if a smoker were told the story of a close friend, also a smok-er, who lost his voice, lost the ability to swallow, was nose-fed on a bed, was reduced to a vegetable while still in his high 30s? Mirror neurons will make him feel his friend’s suffering, and he is more likely to consider quitting!
This is because stories connect us, and building bonds is the most basic trait of human-ity. Data is dry - it doesn’t evoke emotion. It remains impersonal and removed from one’s reality and hence fails to make connections.
The most powerful brands are built on powerful stories:
The most memorable brands are those that make a human connection with us, not those that serve us with a surfeit of data and analysis. Brands are like people too. When a brand’s story connects with us at a deeply personal level, the rational package becomes almost irrelevant. We’re happy to forgive the brand when it falters. We’re happy to pay a premium. We’re glad to recommend the brands to friends and family even if competition were to offer the same product. In fact, it is the strength of the sto-ry that helps a product reach for better and transcend the journey from a product offering to a brand. A brand is nothing but a story - think about it. The most powerful brands have powerful stories to tell –
What inspired the idea? (Zomato founder scanning menu cards in his office cafeteria so everyone didn’t have to line up to order from takeaways!)
The founder’s personal journey (Sanjeev Bhikchandani has the most inspiring per-sonal story I’ve ever heard on his journey of entrepreneurship!)
What was game-changing about the idea? (Airbnb, Zoho, Zivame, Urban Clap, Cars24)
A story on a pain point that the founder tried to solve (Ola, Mom’s Co, Rentomojo)
Why is it the best place to work?
What is your brand’s story? Every brand is, in fact, a story continually in the making. Even as Benddit is as young as 2 months old, the first question most investors ask us is, “How did you hit upon the Benddit idea?” And that’s a story I’ll write about next time.
Author Bio: Vani Dandia
Vani started as an advertising girl, with accounts like Coco-cola, Cosmopolitan and Adidas. She went on to chase different experiences in marketing across Global brands with Henkel, Reckitt Benckiser, Unilever and PepsiCo. She has worked with cross-cultural teams across Asia and Europe, led innovation for several markets, and held full P&L responsibility. In her last stint at PepsiCo, she was the category leader for In-dian Snacks. She led the turnaround of a massive $250mn+ brand from double-digit negative growth to double-digit positive growth in 2 years. Vani has been listed by ‘Business Today’ as the Hottest Young Executive under 40, in a nationwide survey. Af-ter a long stint in the corporate world of more than 20 years, Vani is now on an entre-preneurial journey of her own.
Brand storytelling is a tough nut to crack
Brand storytelling is a tough nut to crack
We’re all designed to be natural born storytellers:
How does the brain make up its mind? Jonah Lehrer, the author of this book, explains that in 9 out of 10 cases, the brain is constructing a story or many micro stories that help us make everyday decisions. Our brains are hard-wired to tell and act on stories. The emotional brain which gave us the ‘fight or flight’ instinct is as old as man himself. The rational brain which analyses data is still a calculator when compared with the gi-ant supercomputer, our emotional brain.
Indranil Chakraborty in his book, “Stories at Work” explains when the brain saw a possible shape of a tiger in the jungle, it didn’t wait to seek additional information or weigh alternatives in that moment. It filled in the missing pieces on its own, constructed a possible story and immediately prepared for action.
Truth is boring. Stories are not:
This doesn’t mean stories must be a bunch of lies to grab attention. But truth packaged in a masterful story will always win over facts and data. It is how we make memories. Everything we remember is, in fact, a story. Be it our childhood, our first teachers, our first job, first presentation, first love, first kiss - everything is a story stored in the brain.
Billions of dollars are spent on making public ‘Smoking causes Cancer’ statistics. Scien-tific studies have proved that none of the stats advocacy changes smoking behaviour. This works well for the manufacturers - they’re playing good, while still pedalling poi-son, knowing that their consumers are not the least motivated to act on the cancer warning. Stories that one can relate to one’s own life, however, have the power to change behaviour. What if a smoker were told the story of a close friend, also a smok-er, who lost his voice, lost the ability to swallow, was nose-fed on a bed, was reduced to a vegetable while still in his high 30s? Mirror neurons will make him feel his friend’s suffering, and he is more likely to consider quitting!
This is because stories connect us, and building bonds is the most basic trait of human-ity. Data is dry - it doesn’t evoke emotion. It remains impersonal and removed from one’s reality and hence fails to make connections.
The most powerful brands are built on powerful stories:
The most memorable brands are those that make a human connection with us, not those that serve us with a surfeit of data and analysis. Brands are like people too. When a brand’s story connects with us at a deeply personal level, the rational package becomes almost irrelevant. We’re happy to forgive the brand when it falters. We’re happy to pay a premium. We’re glad to recommend the brands to friends and family even if competition were to offer the same product. In fact, it is the strength of the sto-ry that helps a product reach for better and transcend the journey from a product offering to a brand. A brand is nothing but a story - think about it. The most powerful brands have powerful stories to tell –
What is your brand’s story? Every brand is, in fact, a story continually in the making. Even as Benddit is as young as 2 months old, the first question most investors ask us is, “How did you hit upon the Benddit idea?” And that’s a story I’ll write about next time.
Author Bio: Vani Dandia
Vani started as an advertising girl, with accounts like Coco-cola, Cosmopolitan and Adidas. She went on to chase different experiences in marketing across Global brands with Henkel, Reckitt Benckiser, Unilever and PepsiCo. She has worked with cross-cultural teams across Asia and Europe, led innovation for several markets, and held full P&L responsibility. In her last stint at PepsiCo, she was the category leader for In-dian Snacks. She led the turnaround of a massive $250mn+ brand from double-digit negative growth to double-digit positive growth in 2 years. Vani has been listed by ‘Business Today’ as the Hottest Young Executive under 40, in a nationwide survey. Af-ter a long stint in the corporate world of more than 20 years, Vani is now on an entre-preneurial journey of her own.
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