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Marketers urged to learn the art of story telling and ‘be ruthlessly consistent’

Rowena_MillwardMarketers need to be ruthless in delivering a consistent brand message but have been warned that a lack of authenticity will backfire in such a transparent era.

Rowena Millward, director of partnerships at Seven West Media and a partner at marketing agency Morgan, said successful brands down the years have told a simple story and stuck to a message.

Those brands which are unable to articulate what they stand for will struggle to get cut through with consumers,  she said.

The comments came as Millward, and Morgan owner and principal David Morgan, urged marketers to develop stories to build an affinity with consumers.

“When you think about the brands that continue to be number one, and you look back at the history of their communications, they are ruthlessly consistent about their story,” Millward said. “Brands that succeed tell their story simply and consistently at every touch point.”

She warned marketers who don’t have a story to tell, and who can’t articulate how and why they will improve the lives of consumers, “won’t have a story that cuts through and engages and connects your brand to the consumer”.

Millward said authenticity was also crucial, and in era of rampant social media, brands deemed inauthentic will be quickly exposed.

“Authenticity is really important because of the transparency and the speed of transparency. We all have seen what happened to Woolworths with the Anzacs,” she said. “Authenticity is critically important.”

“Brands are also usually part of a bigger organisation so if there a disconnect between the stories, that is going to have an impact on how your brand story is understood.”

David MorganMillward also suggested brand purpose and story telling were closely linked.

“Purpose and story telling are very much connected,” she told delegates at the Mumbrella360 conference. “The purpose is what you are about, why you exist. The story is telling the story of why you exist, so they are two sides of the one coin.

“When we think about the move towards purpose, it’s also a move towards story telling. It’s telling people why we exist, not just what we do.

Morgan added: “Understand your purpose and tell a story consistently. Choose one story and stick with it at every touch point otherwise the consumer gets totally confused.”

He used the example of Nike which for 25 years has depicted people overcoming adversity in its advertising.

“Nike succeeded by helping you win when the odds were against  you. It was all about containing the monster, the disadvantage that you had when playing sport,” he said.

“Everyone will tell you that Nike is the brave brand that breaks all the rules of marketing but they were the most structured brand. Everything that Nike did for 25 years was illustrating how people overcame the monster when things were against you.”

Steve Jones

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