The four Cs of brand storytelling.

In the old days, telling a brand story was relatively easy. There were basically three different media forms (radio, tv and print), and the audiences for each were relatively captive. This put the storyteller in control.

But today, with the massive disintermediation of media and explosion of new forms (can you imagine what Don Draper would make of social media, or gaming, or webinars?), everyone, everywhere is a publisher, and the audience is now in control. They choose when, where and how they will engage in your brand story.

The implications of this shift are huge for storytelling. Whereas in the old days, you could tell your brand's story in a more traditional, sequential narrative form, today, your brand story must be flexible enough to engage people at any time and in any form.

This almost requires an episodic approach to storytelling. And an episodic approach needs anchors to keep the story focused. We'll call these anchors the four Cs:

Context

Conflict

Character

Concord

Context is the time, the place and/or the situation in which your brand story unfolds. Is your brand focused on improving life for people in the present? Is it pursuing a lofty future goal? Is it a local story? A world story? Does it address some current imbalance or injustice? Understanding where your brand sits in time, space and principle gives your story a consistent foundation.

Conflict is essential to a compelling brand story. Every powerful brand story revolves around a central conflict, and without it, there is no story to tell. The conflict around your brand story defines what your brand stands for, and, just as importantly, what it doesn't stand for.

Character is exactly what it sounds like -- the central personas in the conflict. They may include the brand's founders, the brand's employees, the brand's customers and others, but they will sort into two groups -- heroes and villains. It's important to note that some characters in a brand story may not be real at all, but metaphors or abstractions. Characters give your brand story a consistent voice and point of view.

Concord is what occurs when the brand delivers on its promise. Concord is the coming together of brand and audience for the purpose of resolution to the conflict: some grievance has been righted, some need has been met, some imbalance has been restored. Concord is seldom a final act -- rather, it is myriad little acts that are repeated over and over again throughout the life of the brand relationship.

In future posts, we'll look at each of these four C's in greater detail. And we'll explore where brands get it right, and where they struggle.