As brand storytellers we’re trying to engage consumers and convince them to buy our products. Yes, that’s the bottom line goal. The challenge (and most often, failure) of brand storytelling is that we rely on flash, but not on resonance. Too often brand storytellers attempt to extol the virtues of their product — the HERO of their story — as an attempt to attract buyers. It’s not about your product. As any good salesperson will tell you, it’s NEVER about your product. It’s about what the product means to the buyer. And that is exactly what I learned from Dungeons & Dragons.
The central premise of Western narrative is: there are heroes and villains. While there are some who prefer to play the villain, the majority see some part of themselves — real or aspirational — in the hero. There is the struggle, the flaws and the ultimate triumph, and all of those are aspects of narrative that bring us along for the ride…
