Video is the ultimate storytelling medium, and these days it’s no longer exclusively reserved for feature films or TV shows. Brands have caught on that today’s consumers value more than just products and services. They’re looking to engage with brands that they can relate to, or those which reflect their values. Businesses have tapped into this desire by creating authentic, interesting video content that’s focused less on what they’re trying to sell and more about fostering an emotional connection with audiences. And in return, those brands are seeing better metrics.
Crafting brand storytelling videos
This article will detail 12 proven approaches and techniques for authentic brand storytelling through video and provide some of the best examples of brand story videos. You’ll see that although brands use some overlapping themes in how they tell their story, no two videos are exactly alike. The successful brand stories we showcase ahead make a great source of inspiration for aspiring creatives, filmmakers, and video editors.
Tell an emotional story
Creating an emotional connection with audiences is a great way to ensure your brand remains on their minds for years to come. Emotions are powerful things, and few things can spark feelings like happiness, sadness, excitement, or even love like a well-crafted story. Brands have long achieved success by tapping into viewers emotions and desires for things like togetherness, belonging, or imagining the world as a better place.
Budweiser aired a memorable ad for Super Bowl LVIII featuring the brand’s iconic Clydesdale horses that relies on nostalgia and emotional storytelling. The feel-good spot shows the brand’s famed horses pulling a carriage loaded with Budweiser on a snowy trek through the mountains to a remote tavern. As whiteout conditions set in, a friendly dog emerges to lead the crew to the bar, whose patrons erupt in applause. Budweiser masterfully taps into an array of emotions throughout the ad to get audiences invested, but also utilizes their much-loved Clydesdale horses to connect with their nostalgia for the brand. It’s a heartwarming commercial that people can’t help but smile at.
Provide a visual story
People form mental connections with the things they see, so using elements like video and images makes an effective method of brand storytelling. Words, either on a screen or spoken, are great for conveying information. But they lack the attention-grabbing qualities and ease-of-consumption of a story told visually. By getting creative with which visuals you show and how you combine them with audio, you can sometimes tell an entire story with no words at all.
This AirBnB ad is an excellent example, juxtaposing the sound of a ringing phone and voicemail recording with still images of people enjoying a tropical vacation. By saying literally nothing it manages to tell the entire story. It also shows the concept of disconnecting from technology to truly have a relaxing, beautiful retreat on an island without saying any of those things. If you want to create an impactful story, focus on creating content that aligns with the visuals you want customers to associate with your brand. Breaking down the main feeling you want your video to inspire for your audience is a good place to start. Then you can dive into how the visual storytelling will unfold from there.
Make your video interactive
Few brand storytelling methods are as effective as making audiences’ own stories a part of it. Immersive and interactive experiences make audiences feel more connected with brands because they feel seen and included. Examples of interactive videos can range from including trivia or other games to scavenger hunts to full-on virtual reality experiences.
Universal Orlando put out this heart-pumping video using 360-degree video featuring its new Hollywood Rip Ride RockIt roller coaster. The technology gives audiences a taste of the thrill of experiencing riding the coaster but right from their living room. By using 360 video, Universal Orlando gave audiences all over the world the opportunity to experience a taste of what the ride was like for themselves through an innovative, interactive video.
Tell an aspirational story
Some brand story campaigns hook audiences with an aspirational story—showing them a glimmer of how the world could be a better place. This can be something grandiose like a cleaner environment, or something deceptively simple, like a world where everyone’s a little more kind. Everyone has these uplifting thoughts from time to time, so it makes a connection when audiences see them play out on-screen.
A great example of this is this Starbucks campaign, which laments how although we’re living in a time of many divisions, we’re still surrounded by random acts of kindness that unite us. It leaves viewers feeling hopeful, while positioning Starbucks as a place that helps encourage that positivity.
Showcase your brand’s values
Many consumers today prefer doing business with brands who align with their personal values. This can include anything from political affiliation to how a company treats its employees, to whether it’s environmentally conscious. Customers appreciate when brands are authentically themselves, and actually live out the values they espouse. This makes perfect fodder for creating some impactful brand storytelling content. Rather than just saying you stand for something, show it off in a well-produced, shot, and edited video.
Outdoor clothing brand Patagonia is well known for their advocacy of environmental issues, and many of their campaigns reflect those values. This great ad of theirs showcases their ethical business practices as well as their lengthy heritage of living by those values. The spot shows off how they produce their clothing with recycled materials, while at the same time encouraging viewers to be more mindful of their consumption.
So they’re not only showing how they’re practicing what they preach with their own business practices, but also furthering the message that people’s awareness shouldn’t end with just buying recycled clothing. They’re both talking the talk and walking the walk, which is exactly what audiences (especially younger generations) want to see.
Use user-generated content
User-generated content (UGC) is an approach to brand storytelling that lets you achieve many different things at once. First of all, the content is free because your users are creating it themselves. But even more importantly, UGC has a genuine, home-spun quality to it that even the most in-touch corporate executives can’t match. Remember: consumers can pretty easily sniff out bogus attempts to seem authentic. It’s also a good community building tactic because it adds a layer of interactivity and relatability. Audiences are more likely to see themselves reflected in an everyday user than a paid actor, which makes a difference in establishing connections.
GoPro is perhaps the perfect product for generating tons of UGC, and as it inevitably came rolling in, the company has had tremendous success featuring it in various campaigns. This video highlighting the best content they saw creators make using GoPro products in 2023 is a great example. The best way to start getting UGC content is to solicit more engagement from your audience. Ask them to share pictures of themselves using your product, or even comment on social posts.
Tell your brand’s history
Every brand has a story to tell, whether it’s a 100-year-old legacy brand still on peoples’ minds or a little-startup-that-could that defied the odds to become a huge success. Authentic retellings of those origin stories resonate with audiences, giving them a glimpse into the real “personality” of a business or brand. Brand history stories are often inspirational, for instance, sharing how a brand overcame various obstacles. And they often involve milestone achievements or key historical moments, like a 1 millionth sale or its 100th year in business.
Storied jeans brand Levi Strauss & Co. is a master of brand storytelling focused on its heritage and history. To mark the 100 year anniversary of its 501 jeans, the company did an entire three-part documentary series, “The 501 Goes to Work.” In it, Levi’s focuses on the working people who have relied on them over the years, including coal miners and cowboys. It also delves into the design and construction of the classic jeans, highlighting ways they’ve changed (and haven’t changed) throughout the decades.
Educate your audience
Brands can connect with audiences by sharing content that informs and enlightens them. It could be sharing an interesting fact they didn’t know, or something more practical, like teaching them a new skill. This is especially useful for brands who operate in educational-adjacent spaces, like Duolingo, a popular program for learning a new language. By presenting content that also serves as a micro-example of their language learning program, it gives audiences a glimpse into what’s possible while even teaching them a foreign word or two in the meantime.
A memorable recent Duolingo spot demonstrates how in some languages words can drastically differ between different countries or regions, using avocado as an example. The fun, animated ad teaches the important language-learning lesson that there isn’t always one “right” answer for translating a word.
Solve a problem
A tried-and-true advertising strategy for brands is presenting a common problem and then proposing its product or service as the solution. This kind of content has a clear beginning, middle, and end, and concludes leaving the audience with a positive impression of the brand. The problems shown in these kinds of brand storytelling content should be relatable.
Dollar Shave Club started out as a subscription service for razors and other shaving products. Its commercials are popular in part because they skewer a common problem (razors cost too much) using a humorous approach. Once they’ve grabbed the audience’s attention it seems almost like an afterthought to mention their own high-quality, less-expensive offering. This 15-second spot gets in, makes an impression with some ribald humor, then ends with a product money shot reiterating the message of affordability.
Follow your customer’s journey
One thing customers easily connect with is seeing people like them sharing their own experiences with a product. Showcasing customer testimonials that tell the story of how a brand’s products make their lives better every day creates a lasting impression. Before-and-after testimonials can be especially attention-grabbing, such as a weight loss plan or cleaning product. It’s not only exciting for audiences to see the results in action, it also makes a brand seem more credible or trustworthy in the eyes of audiences.
A classic ad from business messaging app Slack portrays a company as it goes from disjointed patchwork of communications apps to a well-oiled machine, all thanks to Slack. It uses a breezy, humorous style, similar to a sitcom, as employees across the company give testimonials about how Slack has improved their lives. Even though Slack is used by businesses of all kinds, it’s casual and light-hearted approach to talking about the inner workings of a company make it fun to watch compared to many corporate brand tactics.
Focus on a noble cause
Most people have a noble cause or two they believe in, and are often on the lookout for opportunties to support them. Brands often seize the opportunity to show off their commitment to causes, in part because it makes them more attractive to like-minded audiences. It also gives brands an air of authenticity, particularly when the cause they back aligns with the overall brand aesthetic or reputation. An outdoor company creating content about a company-wide river cleanup effort, for instance. Or an athletic wear brand trying to get more kids involved in youth sports. Brands showing audiences they care about the same things they do creates a powerful emotional connection.
Eyeglasses brand Warby Parker created several campaigns around its Buy a Pair, Give a Pair program. The charitable effort promises the company will donate a pair of glasses to a person in need for every pair sold. It’s a moving message of how they’re giving back to communities around the world as a brand and making their customers a part of it.
Create impactful, authentic video with Storyblocks
Brands today are working to forge lasting connections with audiences, and they’re doing it through compelling and engaging storytelling. Marketing has become about so much more than just putting your product in front of an audience. Consumers today prefer brands they feel they can relate to on a personal level. Taking the time to craft and share an authentic brand story that resonates with your target audience will pay dividends year after year and boost your ROI from video. Don’t just market the things you’re selling, market the brand itself as something people feel they can get behind.
So get creative, and be sure to maintain a consistent message as you develop brand narratives. Audiences don’t just want brands to say things that sound good, they want them to walk the talk. That’s why Storyblocks provides everything needed to tell effective, authentic brand stories. From high-quality stock footage, video templates, music, SFX, motion graphics and more, you’ll find every asset and tool you’ll ever need in our vast library. With a Storyblocks subscription, you’ll have unlimited access to the ultimate creative resource, freeing you to experiment as you build your brand’s stories.
