Is Your Brand’s Story Powerful or Just Confusing?

Forget what agencies say about building a brand for now.

Many leaders are frustrated. They see the effort. The resources poured in.

But the results feel diluted. The impact is underwhelming. Their company struggles to stand out.

Here’s what they miss: your brand isn't built by your latest ad.

And it isn't a static object that you create once.

A perception meticulously built from every story you broadcast, every customer interaction, every promise you uphold (or fail to).

It's the collective perception people form about your company. And that perception is shaped by every story you broadcast, every customer interaction, and the promises you keep (or break).

A brand is the sum total of every story told and every experience delivered.

And what’s often missing is coherence.

A lot of stories get told. But they aren’t aligned. There are multiple narratives being told about your brand. All at once.

And that turns your brand’s voice into a whisper. A voice that struggles to stand out in all the noise.

The root cause isn't usually a flawed tactic. It's a fractured narrative sung by different voices. Each one singing a different tune.

This disconnect occurs because there’s no unity in the sound.

There is nobody leading the orchestra.

Your Brand: A Living Saga, Told Every Single Day

Humans are wired for story.

Stories are how we make sense of the world. They guide us. Show us how to navigate new situations. And teach us how to succeed when facing the unknown.

All stories, at their core, are about helping us survive.

They tell us how to behave in order to succeed in uncharted territory.

Central to a story is a conflict that the hero triumphs over, creating a change in their life.

In your business:

• Your customer is the hero. They’re facing a challenge, a tension, a problem they need to solve.

• Your company is the guide. You provide the solution. You guide them through the conflict and help change their life.

And these stories aren't confined to your ads department. They echo in every interaction:

• That email from customer service.

• The way a rep handles a sales call.

• The experience of using your product or service.

• How your employees talk about their work—are they inspired, or punching a clock?

The brand isn’t created by a single ad. Or a single narrative.

It’s created by a saga of stories told by the company, customers, and employees.

When a customer tells a story about a $20 shirt, it isn’t a story about a shirt. It’s a story a mom tells about how she was able to dress her son for prom. How great he looked. How much he beamed. And how much pride she has in the man he has become.

Or, it can be a story about how a shirt fell apart. How it ruined her son’s prom. How sad she was for letting him down. And how much a store she trusted let her down by failing to live up to what she believed it stood for.

And employees can tell stories, too.

They can talk about how motivated they are by their work. Or how the company doesn’t care about them. And the dread they feel going to work for their lazy, condescending manager who doesn't understand them.

And they might take that out on a customer.

These aren't isolated incidents. They are the threads that weave the "saga" of your brand—told by your company, your customers, and your employees.

Every encounter shapes the narrative that your brand tells.

Every story builds up the narrative. Or breaks it down.

Although you can’t finish the story—that’s up to your customers—you do get to start it.

You get to set the stage, define the intent, and provide the core narrative.

Every message and interaction shouldn’t be an opportunity to tell a new story. It should be a chance to strengthen your narrative.

But that’s where most companies go wrong. They don’t have a narrative that they want to tell.

And that’s where your vision comes in.

Vision: The Conductor of Your Brand's Orchestra

Few companies have great visions.

They’re often fluffy statements full of jargon, stored in dusty documents. Posted on a website’s about page. Or limited to recitation at corporate retreats.

Nobody knows what they mean. Or what they should do with them.

They’re statements. But there isn’t anything visionary about them.

A vision must capture a clear, specific, and measurable picture of the future you are commit to create.

It has to be clear enough that anyone reading it knows what success looks like. No guessing. No interpretation.

Think about Microsoft’s early vision: "A computer on every desk, and in every home."

• Clear? Absolutely.

• Specific? You bet.

• Measurable? Definitely.

Either there is a computer on every desk and in every home, and you’ve achieved it. Or you didn’t.

That vision wasn’t just a nice sentiment. It was a company-wide GPS. It guided all decisions, products, and stories told by Microsoft and about them.

Or consider Henry Ford’s ambition to "democratize the automobile." Ford aimed to make cars accessible to the average person.

Either the average person can afford an automobile or they can’t.

This vision influenced their manufacturing and pricing. It also changed the story of personal mobility in the 20th century.

And look at Google's early vision: "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.”

Either the information is organized, accessible, and useful or it isn’t.

It wasn’t something vague about “empowering people through knowledge.” It was a commitment that guided the creation of everything from their core search engine to Google Maps, Google Books, and Translate.

It was a clear, specific, and measurable quest to put knowledge at everyone's fingertips.

All these visions have something in common.

They have an endpoint. A destination. A clear picture of what success looks like and the transformation needed to make it happen.

Because without a destination, you can’t direct your stories in service of it.

Your vision filters which stories you should tell—the stories that add to your narrative. And what stories you shouldn’t—the stories that add noise and fog your destination.

Without knowing what success looks like, you can’t tell a cohesive narrative.

What Story is Your Vision Directing?

Does your current vision:

• Paint a vivid, unmistakable picture of the future you want your brand to help create?

• Give your team a clear direction for the stories they should be telling?

• Help you filter decisions and ensure that every action reinforces the central narrative?

If not, it’s likely your brand's many stories are pulling in different directions.

Without this kind of tangible, guiding vision, you risk:

• Strategic Overwhelm: Lost in a sea of conflicting narratives.

• Wasted Resources: Telling stories that don't resonate or build a coherent brand perception.

• Vaguely Defined Goals: Leaving your team unsure of the plot they're supposed to be a part of.

• Becoming Forgettable: Your brand’s saga lacks a compelling theme.

A clear, actionable vision cuts through the chaos.

It’s the foundation upon which you build all your messages. It turns every story into a powerful, cohesive narrative.

And that helps you get the most out of your brand.

Onward,

Aaron Shields

P.S. Feeling like your brand's story is a bit muddled? Or your vision isn't directing the narrative? Let’s talk. Reply to this email. I’ll arrange a free 15-minute call. We’ll discuss how to sharpen your vision and make sure your brand stories work well together.

Notes

1. Jim Harrison, “First Person Female,” The New York Times Magazine, 1999.

2. Marty Neumeier, The Designful Company: How to Build a Culture of Nonstop Innovation, 2008.

3. Bernadette Jiwa, Story Driven: You Don’t Need to Compete When You Know Who You Are, 2018.