In an increasingly complex world, they tell simple stories that allow us to mistake their seemingly effortless bluster for assurance—for a confidence that is often built no sturdier than a house of cards but that, in the moment, is impossible to cast aside.
From Brandon Harris’s “The Hidden Stars of This Year’s Sundance: Hoaxes, Hucksters, and Glamorous Frauds” via The New Yorker
While the intent of Harris’s article was to highlight emerging storytellers from this year’s Sundance Film Festival, the above passage struck a chord in how it relates to building brands and telling stories. Think about your favorite or most notable brands – Nike, Apple, etc… Their messages are simple, “Just Do It,” “Think Differently,” respectively. Yet when we’re standing in the store or shopping online comparing products & brands, that story is what we remember. Not what space-age materials the shoe is constructed with or which tablet screen has the most pixels-per-inch.
Is your brand’s story simple or complex. Worse yet, does it cease to even exist?