Purposeful Storytelling

“ Our advertising tries to link consumers to the Nike brand through the emotions of sports and fitness. We show competition, determination, achievement, fun, and even the spiritual rewards of participating in those activities.” - Phil Knight, Founder, Nike.

This quote from the Nike boss shines a light on storytelling's role in marketing. To captivate your audience and articulate your message clearly, there's nothing better than building a narrative around it. In a world with content overflowing on all platforms, an authentic story can set you apart. People seldom remember data and figures, but often recall how a campaign made them 'feel'.

In this article, we'll unravel the power of storytelling and see how this can be adopted by purpose-driven brands and organisations in the sports industry.

How Storytelling Works?

A strong narrative builds an emotional bond between the brand and its audience. This deep connection transforms into trust and loyalty as the narrative becomes more humane. There's no barrier to entry in the storytelling space. Any brand can punch above its weight and foster a strong relationship with its audience by authentically conveying its identity.

Think about brands like Nike, and Adidas and clubs like Liverpool FC (LFC), Everton FC (EFC), or FC Barcelona that use the power of storytelling to build deep connections.

This campaign from Norwich City FC around mental health is an example of brilliant storytelling. Not only does it convey a strong message but it also brings out the values and ideology of the club.

A noteworthy aspect of this campaign is that it inspires action by calling for people to 'check in on those around' them. Good storytellers know how to ignite the right passion and emotion with a clear understanding of what needs to be done.

Storytelling for a Purpose-Driven Campaign

Purpose is the foundation for any brand looking to connect to its audience. Having a clearly defined purpose that runs through the entire organisation is what leads to a deep impact.

However, even the most purpose-driven brands need to use the power of storytelling to convey their values and establish a strong connection with their audience.

As with any great story, there are a few key elements that creators should consider while building their narratives.

Purpose
What is it that your brand stands for? What are your values? What social causes do you support? Consumers want to know answers to these fundamental questions surrounding the existence of brands. Defining a clear purpose is one of the central pieces to cracking compelling storytelling. Without a clear sense of your values, none of your 'out-of-the-box' ideas will achieve true potential.

Having an identity and acting consistent with it is the real key.

Consider a football club like Liverpool FC (LFC) and their motto of 'You'll Never Walk Alone'. The club stand by these words and carries themselves in a manner that aligns with its meaning.

Read our previous post about how to find your Purpose and craft a strong Mission Statement.

Characters
Always remember that the real Hero of your story is the consumer. They are the central character and it is your responsibility to cater to their needs.

Parallely, your narrative needs to have some characters in the form of a mission, community, or individuals that your Hero sides with. Essentially, your audience needs to feel the emotion of being treated as the Hero while also feeling a reliability to the characters in your narrative.

This Nike advert perfectly encapsulates the use of inspiring athletes to invoke emotion and passion among their Hero audience of young females. The narrative encourages young girls and women to dream big and makes their journeys relatable to the top athletes.

Authenticity
Being true to your values and making your stand clear to the audience is another important aspect of storytelling. In a bid to please everyone, brands usually end up impacting no one.

This campaign for French Women's Football challenges the stereotypes and biases around women's football and highlights the need to move beyond them.

One of the highlights of this campaign is the use of technology and creative storytelling to amplify the impact. The clever use of VFX to mask the skilful display of football with the men's team before revealing the real picture adds excitement to the messaging. It goes on to show how well an out-of-the-box creative is received when it comes from an authentic place.

Want to dive deeper into crafting a brand purpose? Check out our in-depth guide on this topic.