Only the other day, I happened to chance upon the first book I wrote. That was almost seven years ago. As I flipped through the stories, it brought back a host of pleasant memories. But something else struck me as well. That branding is a lot like story-telling. And more so because my book was titled ‘When I Was A Little Boy’. When I first started writing, I decided to write about the topic I knew best. Myself. And just as I had, every brand has a story to tell. But to tell that story, it is imperative that a brand knows itself, its essence. Now when I wrote about myself, it wasn’t about the mundane everyday things that no one would be interested in reading about. I had to dig deep to identify those events in my life that would really catch the fancy of children. Just as a brand should. Don’t tell me things that everybody else is doing. Yes, these have their place when it comes to establishing points of parity. But what I really want to know is what is it about the brand that makes it different, that makes it unique. When it comes to storytelling, there’s one other thing. Knowing your audience. My stories, for instance, are filled with subtle, self-deprecating humour. Children enjoy that. It strikes a chord with them. Similarly, a brand has to connect with its customers. And for that to happen, you need to know the customer, just as I need to know my audience. If I write a serious romance for children, I have already set myself up for failure. So the key lessons. Know your story, tell it well and tell it to the right people.
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