What a brand story decides

A brand story is not a slogan. It is the answer to three questions, settled before anything is made: who this is for, what it is, and why it is made this way.

Without that decision the film and the words pull in different directions, and a reader feels it even when they cannot say what is wrong.

How it works

The decision first, then the making.

Market read. What this category looks like to an overseas reader, and where you actually differ.
Message. One sentence the reader should be able to repeat after ten seconds.
Journey. What a reader sees first, second and third, and what they do at the end of it.
Glossary. The words that must mean the same thing everywhere.
Then the making. Film, photography and copy come after, built on the decision rather than in place of it.

What we need from you

Your existing material, in whatever state it is in.
Who the story is for, and who it is not for.
The people who make the decisions about the brand.
Any claim you cannot make, and any you must.

Common questions

Is this a logo or naming project?

No. It is the decision about who you are speaking to and what you say — the brief that design and writing both work from.

How is it delivered?

As a written brief: the audience, the message, the order the reader meets things in, and the glossary. Film and copy follow it.

We already have a tagline. Is that the story?

A tagline is the shortest version of it. The story is the reasoning underneath, and it is what keeps the tagline honest.

Brand story