GEW MAGAZINE| ISSUE 3, 2022
PAGE 15
BRAND STORIES What they are, why you need them, and how much is TMI? It seems everyone is talking about the importance of storytelling in sales lately, which leads to a lot of oversharing of personal information. What's an introvert to do? How much does your audience need to know about you when creating and sharing those allimportant brand stories?
WHAT IS A BRAND STORY? First. let's get one thing straight. Despite the current hoopla about origin stories and the mad rush of seemingly every CEO to share their hard-luck backstories, your brand story doesn't have to be about you. Brand stories are narratives that connect the audience with the values and purpose of the company. And while the brand origin story may well include details of the founders' lives, it's more important to make sure the
All photographs of Ms Seymour by Dawn Louise Howson
IMAGES MATTER, BUT NOT HOW YOU THINK My sister Dawn is a photographer, so when I needed a headshot for my author profile, so we arranged a photo shoot. Unfortunately, when the day came, the weather was lousy, and so was the lighting. The backdrops she had ordered came with creases in them and weren't suitable to iron, and pulling them taught on the frame didn't do the trick either as they started to tear. So, after an hour or so trying to set up a half-decent staging, we gave it up as a bad job. But we decided to do the shoot anyway, just for practice.
We had fun, took some photos, and called it a day, planning to do another shoot at a later date. Then Dawn sent me the snapshots of the day. In among them was one that with a little photoshopping was suitable for my author profile. And a dozen more that were simply hilarious. We never did get around to that second photoshoot, and then Alan and I moved to Greece. Now, I know these photos are far from perfect. Many of them, I would rather no one ever saw. And yet, here I am, sharing them voluntarily in the name of storytelling. Why? Because storytelling is all about expression and emotion. The images you use, however perfect, will leave viewers cold if the models you use are stiff and disinterested. Sometimes, you just have to get over yourself and share. Often, it's the candid shots that make you cringe that other people respond to and love the most.
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