A clear message and a well structured brand narrative can produce powerful videos that set you apart from your competitors.
In this video from 6th Ave Homes in Fort Worth, we see a textbook perfect implementation of a BrandScript in Video.
Further below the video, I pull out each element of the StoryBrand Framework for you to watch. Hopefully it inspires you to create your own story driven promo video!
It is important to note that there are countless ways to use narrative in your video, this is just one application. I like it because it demonstrates (for those just learning to apply StoryBrand) every element of a BrandScript in action. Though it is possible to develop powerful narrative videos with just a single element of your BrandScript.
For now, take a look at the video, if you like it, scroll down as I dissect each component of the StoryBrand BrandScript. Watch video below ↓
If you want to learn how this brand applied the StoryBrand Framework to their video, check out the video snippets below as I dissect each section of the BrandScript.
Identity Transformation
The video opens with the Character Transformation. “We know you want to be original”
As Humans, we all have a deep desire to be transformed, we want to be taken somewhere. This simple notion, implying that we want to be original and individual, is setting up the identity transformation that will potentially occur if I do business with this brand.
There is also a nice tough of empathy in this statement, The words “we know” are a great way for a brand to create an emotional connection with its audience… remember all purchases are driven by emotion. If your brand can tap into that emotion, you win.
Philosophical Problem
The philosophical problem in your Brand Narrative should answer the question; “Why is it just plain wrong to be burdened by this internal/external problem?”.
This brand taps into the philosophical problem perfectly. As a home buyer, you are looking to buy a home, that are often less-than perfect, they don’t feel like you…. and you deserve the “perfect house”.
A simple statement like this can really get your audience nodding, drawing them into a narrative…. saying to themselves “yeah, I do deserve this”.
What your Character WANTS
In order to get the narrative started, we need to define what the character wants, in this case, they want to;
“buy the right house, then design and renovate it to make it your own”
External Problem
Once your brand has defined something that your character wants, we need to introduce the problem.
The external problem can be defined or asked as;
“What is the thing that is stopping your character from getting what they want?”
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If your brand is obsessed with talking about features and benefits, you are losing. The brands that talk about their customer’s problems are the brands that win the day!
When you agitate the problem, you draw the customer further into the story.
Watch the snippet below to see how 6th Ave Homes introduces the external problem ↓↓
Empathy and Internal Problem
We tend to trust others who understand us, we form trust with brands that understand us, too.
Sadly, many brands forget to use empathy in their marketing… and it’s hurting their sales. Without empathy in your brand story, your product becomes commoditized and devalued.
Here, 6th Ave Homes uses a simple empathy statement to create affinity…. “We understand”. Then they use the words; frustration, confusion and stress. This emotive language draws the customer deeper into the narrative as they are tapping into the core emotions that the consumer is feeling when buying property.
The Solution
At some point in your narrative, it is important to talk about “WHAT” you offer. It’s not on your BrandScript, you’ll need to come up with this yourself.
The key is to be as clear and as succinct as possible. Don’t try to embellish or use flowery language. Clarity always trumps cleverness!
Here are two examples, which description is clearer?
1) Jim’s Tech Shed: Complete technology services provider, we diagnose and rectify software and hardware.
2) Jim’s Tech Shed: We fix computers…. Fast!
Don’t laugh…. I see #1 all the time… The business owner wants a headline that sets them apart from their competitors… If you confuse,. you’ll lose.
Look at your website Bounce Rate (in Google Analytics), if it’s high, chances are you are confusing your audience.
Bounce Rate: the percentage of visitors to a particular website who navigate away from the site after viewing only one page.
Authority
Your consumer is looking for indicators that your brand is trustworthy, indicators that show your brand is capable of delivering on its promise.
The problem is, most brand want to tell the world how many awards they have won and how good they are…. do this, and you risk playing the HERO…. remember, your customer is the hero in the narrative, not your brand!
Instead use subtle elements to indicate that your brand has authority;
● Logos
● Testimonials
● Statistics
● Podcasts
● Thought Leadership
● Books
● etc
Listen to the short snippet below and you’ll hear a subtle statistic. That is all you need to demonstrate authority, without playing the Brand Hero.
Process Plan
At this point in the narrative journey, your client likely wants what you are offering… but something strange starts to occur in the mind of a consumer. They start to question themselves. . . if they are about to “buy now” or “schedule a call”, there is something at risk for them. The enormity of the transaction is staring them in the face…
Think about the last time you were shopping online (ladies be nodding here), you found a nice pair of shoes, you added it to your shopping cart, but you didn’t checkout…. Some of you are nodding because you still have 10 pairs of shoes in your shopping cart.
A process plan (and agreement plan) can help make the transaction/process ‘appear’ easier and less risky for your consumer. Try to lessen the risk by breaking your process down into three simple steps.
Sure, there are probably 36 steps to buying a home, but in the video you will hear only three. Check out the snippet below to hear the Process Plan. Listen for the three steps.
Success
People will gravitate towards a successful outcome. If your brand can paint a picture of what success looks like, you are more likely to draw them to your Call to Action.
6th Ave Homes have done a tremendous job of including success elements right throughout the video, some are spoken but most are image based.
I lost count of the number of happy clients portrayed in the second half of this video… perhaps 30?
Video is the most powerful way to communicate success, in my opinion, these guys nailed it!
You’ll see a short snippet below that contains the narrative version of success, but if you go back to the top and watch the full video again, you will see dozens of success based images that draw the customer closer to the Direct Call To Action.
Call to Action & Philosophical Language
It’s crazy, I see so many brands wasting money on videos that forget to “ask for the sale”. Almost all pieces of marketing you create should contain a strong, clear Call to Action.
●“So schedule your meetup today”
●If you want to increase your sales, ask for the sale!
●What action do you want the person to take after they watch the video? tell them (or they won’t take it).
●Also, right at the end, you’ll notice some great philosophical language;
●“Because life is way too short to live in a boring home”
●This is used to strengthen the CTA and create a sense of urgency without being corny.
How to use StoryBrand in your next TESTIMONIAL video
Testimonial videos are a great way to demonstrate authority without playing the hero.
Did you know that there are 5 great questions that will deliver powerful, story driven testimonials? (Check out my other blog on StoryBrand Testimonial questions)
In the testimonial video below (Sure, it’s a shameless plug for myself, lol) you will see the following story elements:
● External Problem
● Internal Problem
● Solution
● Success
● Call to Action
Notice how it is different from typical testimonials:
“I highly recommend XYZ, it’s a great product, you should buy it”
A story driven testimonial will connect with your customer on an emotional level and will draw them into a narrative. It is important to introduce the problem right at the beginning, if your customer shares the same problem as the customer in the video, it sets the hook.
