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My Take On: Sex sells – but only with a good story behind it

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This week’s My Take On is from Ben Ducker, creative director at Rascal Leeds. To suggest a topic, email david@prolificnorth.co.uk 

Sex sells, it’s why you clicked on this article (probably).

Products are the sex, they are the cutting-edge tech that lures us in or the beautifully styled clothing wrapped around attractive models. While desirable products and their equally desirable packaging can draw consumers in, they don’t create lasting relationships.

As with all human relationships, loyalty can be swayed when a newer, sexier option comes available. Cheating on partners or cheating on brands, it’s going to happen if the relationship is just skin deep and built on visual lust. What changes this is personality!

When a brand stops focusing its marketing and comms on product based content and starts to communicate its personality, behaviour and ethos we see lifelong consumer relationships and brand loyalty begin.

Bringing these brand truths to life in a beautiful, thought-provoking and exciting but most importantly relevant way is the art of the creative storyteller and what we as an advertising agency strive for. Having launched new brands and re-launched established ones via award-winning 360 campaigns we care greatly and understand the power, effective brand stories can have.

So… ‘brand stories’, that awfully pretentious term that’s been used so much the very meaning is often forgotten. It’s our responsibility as creatives to entertain our audience, this doesn’t mean make them laugh necessarily but to make them feel something.

We do this by telling stories. Through careful crafting of a brand strapline that summarises the core behaviours, scriptwriting, filmmaking and digital activation we can build an emotional connection with the audience.

Authenticity and relatability are key. A brand story that fails to make a tangible connection to the product or brand becomes confusing to consumers. We refer to these loose and often pretentious brand films as ‘wanky’, it’s a technical term. When a brand or agency has self-indulged and lost sight of the clear link from idea/story to the brand/product. You know the ones, those expensive looking ads that leave you scratching your head when the brand logo and strapline appears.

However, relatability isn’t just in the execution but also in the distribution of the brand story. Where it sits is equally important when wanting to create natural and genuine audience engagements.

While TV continues to capture the most eye-balls, we’re seeing more brands turn to cheaper video content for social. Instagram, Facebook and SnapChat exist to give the audience a sneak peek into the lives, thoughts, behaviours and personality of the brands and people they follow. So, it’s disappointing to see brands flood their channels with nothing but product heavy content. Brands should stop using their social channels like an Argos catalogue and instead provide meaningful insights and story led content to continue the relationship with their followers.

Finding a careful balance of product and personality is the key to a brand’s success in today’s market. Clever brand stories will subtly feature or link to the product and this is the fine line we continue to walk with our clients when creating effective 21st century comms.

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