If you’ve been watching the Bud Light conversation in recent weeks you’ve gotten a master’s class example of how brand storytelling isn’t always under the control of the brand. At least in the ways people like to believe it is. Social media has only accelerated the public’s ability to derail the grand schemes of brand managers all over the world.
There are lots of ways to talk about storytelling and the principles of what makes a good story: protagonist, antagonist, hero, tragedy or issue to overcome, twist, outcome, etc. Those are all extremely valuable and it’s good to understand what it takes to create an epic story. But far too many brand storytelling models put the brand squarely at the helm. As we’ve seen lately, it’s not that simple.
Brand storytelling doesn’t follow a linear path. It never has. A linear model doesn’t allow for the chaos that comes with dealing with real, living, breathing humans and constantly changing markets. It certainly doesn’t take social media into consideration.
The Brand Narrative Arc Isn’t Linear
Brand storytelling doesn’t follow a linear model. Because all of the variables are not controlled by the brand.
If you’re not careful, you could fall into the trap with some narrative arc models that, though they account for some issues with the brand, often do so with the issues in the rearview. As if the challenges the brand has faced in the past will somehow predict what the brand will face in the future.
Instead, look at brand storytelling as a narrative chain made up of many stories in “S” curves.
The Opening Stage
At the beginning of every brand story, the brand is in complete control. This is the story the brand intends to bring to the market and use to attract audiences. It’s the new baby ready to be presented to the world.
The Narrative Phase Begins
At the beginning of every brand narrative, the brand is in complete control. This is the story the brand intends to bring to the market to attract audiences.
The Swell Stage
Next, the brand enters into the Swell stage or stages. Sometimes these are guided by the brand. Think of Dove’s Real Beauty campaign. The brand chose to go against the tropes of the beauty category and celebrate real women in all shapes, sizes, colors, and personalities. The campaign was embraced by consumers, the press, investors, and has allowed Dove to enjoy a steady wave of positive press and sales.
The Swell
During the Swell, the narrative builds whether by design or reaction.
What Bud Light is experiencing is the other side of the Swell, when the brand loses control of the narrative by contrasting forces. This isn’t unique to AB InBev.
For those old enough to remember, and for those who want to know the story, J&J and Tylenol went through a horrendously negative Swell event in the 1980s.
A brief recap of the events: In 1982 Chicago, people started dying of cyanide poisoning. Random people with no connection with each other. Except that officials quickly discovered someone was lacing Tylenol with cyanide. It induced panic in the community to the degree that police and rescue vehicles were driving through neighborhoods announcing to people to get rid of their Tylenol.
In all, seven people died. J&J had a crisis on their hands and decided to just pull all Tylenol products from shelves. ALL of it, since they didn’t want anyone else to die, and no one could be sure what products were affected.
That someone would put poison in a consumer product was well beyond anything J&J could have predicted. It was out of the brand’s control. What came next was where the brilliance happened.
J&J went to work and took control of a shocking event and a little while later reintroduced the world to Tylenol. But to make sure people knew this edition of Tylenol was significantly better and safer, they launched new innovations including sealed boxes, tamper-proof bottles with a shrink-wrapped outer barrier, and a foil seal glued to the top of the bottle. All of these are commonplace today but were huge innovations at the time. They were great examples of a brand guiding the story through the downside of a Swell event.
J&J’s response ended the Swell stage for this event. It didn’t end the overarching narrative, and that’s the important part of how to think of the narrative chain. Brands don’t have control over everything that happens in the Swell, but they do have a responsibility to manage it. J&J chose to pull all products and rethink their approach. Yes, it took a while, but they also took control of the situation.
Some stories, like Dove’s Real Beauty, catch the right cultural wave and enjoy a long, healthy, positive ride. Their Swell has been stretched for years, with most of those years under the control of the brand.
For other brands, the misery is self-inflicted which makes it harder to overcome. Examples include Volkswagen’s rigged emissions testing scandal and Samsung’s exploding Galaxy 7 batteries, but there are dozens of others we could talk about.
At some point the story changes. When that happens, we conclude that narrative story phase and start a new one.
Closing the Swell
The Swell stage may go quickly or last for years. When the story changes, that marks the conclusion of that narrative phase.
Writing the Next Chapter
Thankfully, every brand gets chances to start a new story. Depending on the circumstances, it may start off with “we screwed up, we apologize, and we’ve changed.” In the case of Tylenol, J&J effectively said, “we didn’t start this and could have never seen it coming, but we are changing to try to ensure this can never happen again.”
If the brand fails badly enough, the narrative may shift to the new owners who see the value in the brand and have a chance to tell audiences “the previous owners stumbled and we’re fixing those issues.”
The True NarraTive Chain
The total brand narrative isn’t one, long, continuous story. It is made up of dozens and sometimes hundreds of stories.
Linking the stories
Over time, brands link a wide range of stories, some very positive and others not so much. It’s the natural result of ongoing brand building. And it’s a reminder of why shepherding brands is so important at the executive level. It doesn’t take much these days to turn your once-loyal audiences against you and find yourself rebuilding your brand. In the end you worry about what you can control and adjust to things you can’t.
If you would like help building your brand story, let’s talk.