Brand stories: bringing narrative theory to brand management

Abstract

While the use of stories in branding has been well-researched from a consumer influence perspective, limited work has taken a strategic view of brand storytelling. Most research on brand stories focuses almost exclusively on what brand stories do rather than on specifically what they are. This paper examines brand stories and brand storytelling through a lens of brand management strategy, leveraging narrative and literary theory to inform and define the brand story construct in marketing. Three critical elements of brand stories – plot, character and purpose – are examined, and presented in a comprehensive model of the brand story. Subsequently, a conceptual framework for brand story theory-building is offered to guide how brand stories can be better designed to engineer brand positioning and image.