Brand Storytelling: #NOREGRETS vs. "One for One"

#NOREGRETS VS. “One for One”

Anyone in marketing must realize now it is all about the story. To be able to successfully tell your brand's story you must have compelling content. Most companies today are understanding this and trying to tell their story through various media campaigns, some better then others. I'll be examining and comparing two hugely successful brands, and their campaigns that helped get them to where they are now. Both of these companies have done an excellent job at telling their brand's story through compelling content, but I'll be trying to determine which one did it better!

The first company I'll be examining is Contiki Holidays. Contiki specializes in pre-packaged holiday tours for 18-35 year olds. They have a clear understanding of who their target audience is, which is even stated in their logo. Their current campaign, which has been running for just over a year now, is centred around the concept and now their signature hashtag, #NOREGRETS. Their video about the campaign, which originally ran on television and is still being watched on YouTube, is about breaking away from your everyday mundane activities to experience the adventure of a lifetime. It is about living your life to the fullest and with #NOREGRETS.

To understand how Contiki is successfully telling their brand's story through compelling content I'll be comparing it to several theories. Jonah Sachs from The Huffington Post discusses 4 Steps To Build Brand Awareness Through Storytelling. First a brand must craft their myth. “While stories may seem like simple fun, they are actually deeply important. Stories act like cultural DNA -- tiny packets of information that build tribes and societies. The stories we love most tell us what people like us value, what they don't, and what they want for the future. These core stories are known as myths, and every society uses them to forge a shared identity. We're programmed by evolution to look for these stories and share them.”

Contiki uses the key ingredients to craft their myth by starting their video off by giving us numbers of hours spent doing our daily mundane activities (showing us how the world works), then it breaks to beautiful images of young 20 year olds experiencing the wonders of the world, reminding us to “Start living” because you only have “One Life, One Shot, so Make it Count. #NOREGRETS” (meaning). Contiki shows you through their compelling imagery what you will get with them (story), and that experiencing life to its fullest and sharing that experience with others is to live without regrets (ritual).

Secondly a brand must know their hero. Brands used to be the hero, stepping in to save the day with their products or services. Today brands have to talk about how great their audience could be, that is “what excites people into sharing content these days”. Contiki shows you that you can be the hero by experiencing all the world has to offer, without directly telling you that this is all possible because of their services. Thirdly they live their story by standing for larger truths (there is more to this life then your everyday activities) and empowering their audience (showing you what else is out there to discover). “Another advantage [to calling for a deeper authenticity] is that stories guide us into a deeper sense of our values, transforming our brands as we work to live up to our stories.”

Lastly, Contiki completes the fours steps with practice makes perfect. “The best way to learn how to craft your unique story is to immerse yourself in the learning experience through an interactive medium. Storytelling is a group experience, so the creation of the story should be too.” Contiki is continually crafting this story through their website, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and various blogs. They not only have hired people that are out their experiencing these holidays first-hand through Contiki and blogging about it, but they use content created by their target audience that have taken their own holidays with Contiki. They are telling their story through the eyes, ears and mouths of the audience they are directly trying to target.

Contiki's #NOREGRETS campaign is still successfully running, while continually gaining audience interactions on their various social media platforms. Looking at Contiki's campaign through Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose's CM (content marketing) Brand Hero's Journey, they can be found at step 7, the “Final Challenge” stage. “This is the culmination of your brand story. In the larger sense, you may never want your brand’s (your hero’s) story to end. And this content marketing campaign may be but one episode in your story. But this final challenge is what you have to overcome to get to the possibility of the “what if?”…”.

While this campaign is still going strong, Contiki is already hinting at their next campaign with this teasing image to the right. They are continuing to tell their story while keeping their key theme and now very recognizable hashtag #NOREGRETS. This hashtag has become so symbolic with Contiki and what they represent, it has the potential to become as powerful and as the well-known as the Nike line, “Just Do It”.

Now its time to look at the competition, TOMS. While TOMS is not in the same industry as Contiki it is still telling its brand's story through compelling content and trying to attract the attention of the same target audience as them. TOMS is a shoe company guided by one simple mission, “With every product you purchase, TOMS will help a person in need. One for One.” TOMS promises that with every purchase you make, they will in turn make and donate a pair of shoes to a child in need. While TOMS are made for anyone at any age (they even have TOMS for kids), their campaign is targeting millennials who want a stylish pair of shoes at a reasonable price, with the added bonus of feeling good about their purchase by helping a child in need.

Referring back to the CM Brand Hero's Journey, TOMS can currently be found at Step 6: “Map the Road of Challenges”. This step is used to determine how you can gather friends, take a strong point of view and possibly create some naysayers. It is this naysayers and challenges that has kept their brand's story at this step. While TOMS is telling an incredibly inspiring story, people are still questioning whether TOMS really donates a pair of shoes for every shoe purchased. How will TOMS lead their audience into this idea of being able to help a child in need every time they purchase a pair of shoes from TOMS? By providing proof through various media channels. This video update from TOMS headquarters (found on their website as well as YouTube) demonstrates through compelling content proof that TOMS stands by their logo, “One for One”.

Michael Margolis in his article Brand Storytelling 101 looks at the five steps to create a successful brand story. Step 1 is about naming, “When we name something, our relationship with it transforms”. TOMS has named their campaign with their logo, “One for One”. “A brand represents the complex emotional relationship between the storyteller – the one who is sharing something about that brand – and the audience. Put in a more traditional context, a brand represents the emotional relationship between a consumer and a product.” TOMS has created this emotional relationship by representing a product that makes you feel good about purchasing it. Their video pulls on your heartstrings by creating an emotional bond with the children who have been helped by TOMS. The audience is meant to be moved and want to participate in the cause and therefore feel the affects donating has on the heart. They want to help, to be involved, to be part of the story.

The next step is about the meaning behind the brand. “Nearly anything can be branded. It’s a natural human impulse to want to put a name to the images, energy, and patterns that are a part of a shared experience, event, or relationship...Building successful relationships for your brand or your business comes down to the stories you tell as well as the stories other people tell about you.” TOMS is telling a great story, except that people are still questioning whether its true or not. Through video updates (as seen above) as well as through their Stories section on their website, you can see how TOMS is allowing viewers to help tell the story, while continually providing proof that TOMS is keeping their promise.

“Every storyteller has a brand and every brand has a story.” Step 3 asks you to think carefully about the value of your brand story by looking at its relevance, hero of the story, its origin and whether its authentic. TOMS clearly outlines its brand's story by representing a relevant societal cause while making the audience the hero through their purchase. On their website they clearly define the origins of TOMS campaign by telling the biography of Blake Mycoskie, founder and chief shoe giver of TOMS. They are also proving their authenticity through the video updates and shared content of others.

TOMS campaign highlights the 4^th step perfectly, for “We all need something to believe in”. TOMS clearly defines what they stand for and asks their audience to fight for the same cause. “You want your story to become their story. As your audience sees their own values, hopes, and dreams in the story you create, they will deepen their emotional connection to your brand.” Lastly, step 5 is about brand stories that help shape culture, “How do you hope to change and improve people’s lives?” TOMS is trying to help shape our culture by asking us to be a part of something bigger then us. They are asking us to help donate to their cause and share in the joy it brings to help a child in need.

“As storytellers, we have a responsibility to tell better stories, the kind of stories that speak to our rapidly evolving world and re-establish our connection to the people and cultures around us.” Contiki and TOMS are both doing this through their compelling content as seen in the theories above, Contiki is just doing it slightly better. Contiki has their target audience fully engaged and part of their movement. Their hashtag #NOREGRETS is becoming so synonymous with Contiki that they don't even need the name Contiki in their ads anymore for people to recognize who they are. They have people telling their own Contiki stories and sharing their content over many social platforms. Contiki is successfully telling their brand story and isn't even finished yet! #NOREGRETS DAYS coming soon...