Whats Your Story

1
Whats Your Story?
Brian Lanahan Align Story and Strategy for New
Brands
2
Story

• A description of a series of events that conveys
  meaning.

3
Story Structure
When you strip away the surface of all great
stories, at heart they share an identical form.
As in all categories of art, there is an
underlying structure. Form is what makes a
painting a work of art instead of doodling. Its
what makes something music instead of noise. So
it is with story. -Robert McKee
4
Character Model Characterization Relationship
Objective Where
5
Story A description of a series of events that
conveys meaning.
6
Character Elements Characterization Objective R
elationship Environment
7

• Conflict
• The sources of struggle, difficulty and hardship
  a character faces
• Character v character
• Character v environment
• Character v itself

8

• Story Principles
• Story is a description of a series of events that
  conveys meaning.
• Character
• Objective
• Conflict
• Human Truth

9

• Brands and Conflict
• Starbucks everyday vs. indulgence
• Mini practical vs. exhilaration
• Apple machine vs. human
• Google control vs. freedom

10
(No Transcript)
11
Components of a Brand Story Inciting Incident
The call that brought the brand into
being. Objective What the brand most desires in
the word. Fundamental conflict The struggle
that drives the story. Universal human truth
The meaning derived from the conflict. CORE
Guiding principles for expressing the story.
12

• Framework Questions
• What is characterization of this brand?
• What world does the brand live in?
• What is the nature of the brands relationship
  with its consumers?
• What does the brand desire?
• What are the sources of conflict that make the
  brands story interesting
• and engaging?
• Where is there a human truth?

13

• Getting to Your Story
• What was the inciting incident for creating this
  business?
• What do we desire that comes out of this
  inciting incident?
• What world does this company come from?
• How does it present itself?
• What role do we play with consumers, with
  customers, with suppliers?
• What are the sources of internal conflict? Where
  are we combining two things that dont go
  together?
• Who or what are we challenging?
• Where is there a human truth?