How Storytelling Turned Brands Into Humans
by Aliya Banks | Category: Digital Marketing, Business | 7 Min Read
Once upon a time, marketing was about product. It was about being 'sold to’, and we liked it (or we didn't) because it was all we knew at the time. Then something changed- consumers stopped buying things and started buying feelings.
📖This is a story about how brand storytelling has transformed products and services into something human, relatable, and unforgettable. That transformation gave rise to a term you’ve probably seen everywhere — brand storytelling. Everywhere you turn, someone is talking about brand storytelling.
If you're a freelancer, small business, or just new to digital marketing, I'm here to help demystify this buzzword. Here, I'll explain the human side of advertising and its stratospheric impact on the growth of any business. Most of all, you'll understand why it is everything - and why you need it.
What Is Brand Storytelling?
Your brand is your unique product, your fingerprint, unlike anyone else's. It's your name, how you spell it, and perhaps its deeper meaning. Brand is that thing you want to bring to market, that lightbulb idea that you just know will make the world a better place.
👀Look around. Everyone has a story. Everyone's been through something. We’ve all had our share of ups and downs. This is what makes us human - and your product is no different.
Take a closer look at your favorite brands - they have personality, moods even. Nike is that inspirational trainer urging us to do just two more push-ups. Dove, the motherly nurturer, brings confidence to generations of women and young girls, showing us how to melt into our own unique beauty. Duolingo? The passive-aggressive owl incessantly reminding you of your broken promise to keep learning Spanish
Brand storytelling is the walking, talking, emotional aspect of a brand, making it nearly as human as you and me.
It's how brands tell their truth and connect on a personal and very relatable level.
It's what bridges the gap between a product and a product that everyone wants. The most convincing can show you what you didn't know you needed, without pretense.
It feels modern, but in truth, storytelling has always been a part of how bands connect with people.
A Brief History of Brand Storytelling
Brand storytelling isn't a completely new concept; it's just that we have a name for it now. Before the 1960s, getting a product into people's homes was strictly about what features it possessed, not feelings. The focus was never on the consumer.
Between the 60s and 80s, companies began to sell lifestyles and created a division in demographics that we can identify with today: glamour lifestyle, athletic lifestyle, luxury lifestyle, homemaker, businesswoman…you get the picture.
👑|“Now in the ‘content-is-king’ era, people crave authenticity, transparency.”
In the 90s and early 2000s, brand storytelling leveraged family values, a sentimental cause, or a moral attribute.
Think Benetton and its striking photos of contrasting skin tones to confirm there is unity and harmony in humanity. It was truly a time when advertising pushed meaning and a sense of depth to its products.
Now in the ‘content-is-king’ era, people crave authenticity, transparency. Perhaps we've grown up as a species in that aspect. We can spot being 'sold to' a mile away and will gladly tell you about it in the comments.🤨
Today, brand storytelling is the art of using narrative to make your brand feel human and meaningful. It's the friend you want to get to know better. The friend you depend on and never want to leave. That evolution from selling to storytelling is what led to the popularity of the phrase that describes modern marketing.
|“In today’s digital landscape, your story isn’t just part of your brand — it is your brand.”
The Rise of the Phrase
The phrase “brand storytelling” came alongside the explosion of content marketing in the 2010s. There was a time when brands had to rent attention — buying ads in someone else’s magazine or waiting for the decision of a journalist to feature them. But when content marketing emerged, that flipped.
Now brands could own their story. A blog post could reach thousands; a video could go viral; a tweet could shift perception. The line between “media company” and “brand” started to blur, and storytelling became the bridge between the two.
In other words, content marketing turned brands into publishers — responsible for creating their own narratives, building audiences, and nurturing loyalty through consistent storytelling.
In an age of infinite information, stories became the only way to make brands feel human again — a way to earn trust and attention in a world overflowing with noise. In today’s digital landscape, your story isn’t just part of your brand — it is your brand.
The Heart of Storytelling
Brand storytelling plays out like your favorite Pixar movie or fairytale. There's the beginning (the problem or, in marketing terms, 'why you exist’), a middle (the solution or who you serve), and an end (the transformation you help your customers achieve).
Like any good story, there's structure and flow, and a result it gives that good-feeling happy ending.
Example: You're on medical leave for a broken foot and need groceries (the problem and why you exist). You find Amazon, not only do they deliver food, but premade meals, saving you from hobbling around the kitchen (the solution). And the happy ending, there are services like Prime that offer a slew of delivery options at low or no cost. Results-driven and a story that plays out with the customer happy, trusting, and more than likely with repeat business (the transformation you help the customer achieve).
When brands get that structure right, we see it play out in familiar ways.
📝Let's look at Dove again. It's not only soap, it's a beauty bar, but it's not only a beauty bar, it's the product to help your skin stay moisturized, and that helps create confidence, and we all need and use confidence to move us through life's challenges, and we all have challenges. That's how Dove humanizes its products.
That's brand storytelling at its finest.
So, Why Should You Care About Brand Storytelling?
Now that we’ve explored what it is and how it works, let’s bring it back to you — why it matters. For marketers, it's the hook that helps you create meaningful, real-world impact that keeps consumers engaged and connected. For buyers, it helps them find brands they trust and relate to. When done right, storytelling feels less like being sold to and more like connecting.
Brand storytelling is image, mood, personality, relatability, and trust. Its value, humanized. It's strategic and very doable.
Every brand has a story; some, like horror shows, deliberately scare you into action, some offer encouragement, brutal truths, romance, or comedy.
How will you tell your story? It's time to take a look at your brand, humanize it, and give your story legs, arms, a head, and a heart to bring your unique story to life.
