#022 GUEST – Carolyn Camoens – Brand Narrative
Who's telling your story?
Published on August 13, 2018
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Gone are the days where brands would hire PR companies to pump out press releases. Hoping a media outlet would pick up the story. Also, gone are the days where journalists would just copy and paste from those same press releases. But if the PR executives and journalists are no longer spinning your brand narrative, then who is?
This episode we have with us Carolyn Camoens, a one-time Senior VP at WE Communications, now the Managing Director, Asia at Hume Brophy. Trained as a lawyer, Carol is also a playwright and author, which makes her the perfect guest for telling stories.
In this age of online media channels, there is no reason why brands themselves can’t take charge of their narrative and tell their own story. A brand can easily leverage the likes of Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, email newsletters, blogs, content hubs, YouTube channels et al.
A brand narrative is a rather complex blend of official and customer generated stories that make up the overall impression and reputation of your brand. While there is no such thing as being able to control public opinion, a good way for brands to at least set the tone and engage directly with their audience (read customers) is to have an integrated content and editorial strategy.
Yes, I said that right. An editorial strategy. Brands have to start thinking of themselves as centres of influence and having their own media channels means having to take on an editorial function. Marketing, PR and brand management need to be working together like a well-oiled machine. Do this successfully and the world is your oyster.
Brand Narrative in action
One great example of this is Mahindra Rise. This media centre is wholly owned by the giant multinational Mahindra Group and is the lynchpin of their global communications strategy.
Another great example is the Porsche Newsroom – consolidating stories from all over the globe and also from Stuttgart, this is the premier news site for all things Porsche.
For national brands and organisations, the game is still the same, create your own content and own your channels. Australian natural sweetener brand Natvia is a leader in this space and their website is chock full of sugar-free content and recipes.
When boiled down those sites are nothing more than giant blogs. So, if you think that owning your brand narrative is too hard, have a listen to this episode. It’ll help you make a start.
If you’re ready to start making content that will influence and entertain, get in touch with Mark. He’s built whole editorial departments, not just for brands but agencies too.
