The practical way to building your brand’s story

Believe it or not, only recently, after almost 20 years of building brands, have I finally defined my own brand and unique proposition. I wouldn’t have done it without my good friend and advertising legend Brent Tollman.
We started philosophically discussing the massive changes the industry has undergone over the past decade. About how branding was all about design and why it’s changing, about how customer behaviour is moving at 10x the speed of brand behaviour and most importantly we discussed how I need to focus my rather specific and unique brand offering in the face of such a dense and competitive landscape.
The Design Golden Age
Design is everywhere. Design is generally good and tragically, design is starting to look a lot like other designs. From cafes to the internet, from banking to co-working spaces, design has become formulaic.
But, what once was the biggest factor in helping business stand out has ceased to be the biggest factor.
Design has become a standard and not a differentiator (except those rare cases when it’s truly exceptional and disruptive).
So, what now?
With more competition than ever, less certainty, less customer loyalty and constant technological innovation, it has become clear that business needs something else to help it stand out.
Brands need to dig deeper, find meaning and focus on their story, service, experience and value proposition. Not just the big ones, all of them.
And that was my starting point…
All the branding agencies in Tel Aviv and Berlin, many with whom I have and continue to work, are all still selling design. They bring a brand strategist and copywriter on board (sometimes me), but the process is design-driven because that is what they are ultimately selling.
On the other hand, when the client is mine the strategy and story is what drives the process and the design comes only once the foundations have been set.
Value-Driven Branding
Branding should begin with strategy and core messaging that defines your unique offering. This is your brand’s foundation and helps you optimize and align all of your processes with designers, social media teams and PR firms.
This is what my process typically looks like.
Homepage Story Model
Your website’s homepage is perhaps the first place where you can truly see the result of the storytelling process. It is often your first experience with your new story — it is here you know we’re on the right track.
With today’s scrolling websites, you are telling a different angle of your story with each new scroll. You don’t want to say everything immediately, but rather reveal something new and relevant as the audience deepens his journey on your website.
Combining knowledge of UX with strategic storytelling to present your brand story on actual wireframes.
This provides a hierarchy of storytelling and a framework for evaluating your messaging and user experience before moving on to design and programming where revisions are usually costly and time-consuming. I work either with your designers or any number of top design studios in Tel Aviv & Berlin based on the nature of the client.
Day-1 Content
Think Day 1. Think your ‘core’ content. The content that is must-have and not nice-to-have. The content that lets the world know you are open for business. The content that communicates your unique offering and positioning. Think website, launch video, company deck, investor deck, blog, LinkedIn profile. Think lean and mean. Think what sets you apart.
Day 2, 3 & 4 Content
Now imagine day 2. You’ve just shared your new proposition with the whole world and you’re getting great responses. You’ve created a great first impression. People are signing up for your newsletter, following you because you’re new and exciting.
But soon they will forget. Every second on the internet means a chance at clicking on a new Billy Eilish video, reading something in the news or clicking your competitor’s content.
This is the moment where you need to think about your story again…This is where you need to determine your on-going content strategy. To determine the parameters of your content, your position on different topics to be able to engage in conversations, the frequency and velocity of your content and what channels present the best opportunity. This is your opportunity to become a leader in your field, to have an opinion and to articulate your vision clearly and powerfully. This allows you to always be top of mind for your clients.
‘Companies like Casper, Harry’s, Warby Parker and the Dollar Shave Club have leveraged their content strategy to become something bigger than just the product they are selling.’
Serious Content
I confess, I don’t do ‘viral’ content that will bring you millions of followers. I specialize in ‘serious’ content — a mix between marketing, psychology and journalism. It is calculated and engaging. It is the kind of content you would perhaps want to consume yourself.
David Laxer is a strategic storyteller based in Tel Aviv. To get in touch visit DavidLaxer.com

