Storytelling Frameworks

When to Activate

• Writing a brand origin story or "about us" narrative
• Creating customer case studies or success stories
• Building a narrative-driven campaign (launch, rebrand, cause)
• Content feels informative but emotionally flat
• A keynote, presentation, or video needs narrative structure
• Translating product features into stories that resonate with audiences
• Fundraising or investor pitch needs a compelling story arc

First Questions

1. Who is the protagonist of this story? (Customer, founder, team, community?)
2. What transformation does the protagonist undergo? (Before → After)
3. What obstacle or conflict creates tension?
4. What is the emotional response you want from the audience?
5. What is the audience's current belief, and what do you want them to believe after?
6. Is this a single story or a recurring narrative format (e.g., customer spotlight series)?
7. What medium will carry this story? (Blog, video, presentation, ad, social?)

The Hero's Journey in Marketing

Joseph Campbell's monomyth, adapted for marketing. The customer is the hero — never the brand.

1. ORDINARY WORLD — The customer's life before the problem is recognized
2. CALL TO ADVENTURE — The moment they realize something needs to change
3. REFUSAL — Hesitation, doubt, fear of change
4. MEETING THE MENTOR — They discover your brand/product (you are the guide)
5. CROSSING THE THRESHOLD — They commit to trying your solution
6. TESTS AND ALLIES — Implementation, learning, early wins and setbacks
7. THE ORDEAL — The biggest challenge or moment of doubt
8. THE REWARD — The breakthrough, the result, the transformation
9. THE RETURN — The new normal, better than before
10. THE ELIXIR — What they can now share with others (advocacy, referral)

Marketing application: Use this structure for long-form case studies, brand documentaries, and keynote presentations. Not every piece needs all ten stages — but the arc of ordinary world → challenge → transformation → new normal is universal.

Key Principle: The Customer Is the Hero, the Brand Is the Guide

This is the most important storytelling rule in marketing. The brand is not Luke Skywalker — the brand is Yoda. The customer is on the journey. The brand provides the tools, wisdom, and support.

Wrong: "We built an amazing platform that revolutionized project management." Right: "Sarah's team was drowning in missed deadlines. Then she found a way to get everyone aligned."

StoryBrand Framework (SB7)

Donald Miller's framework, widely used in marketing:

1. A CHARACTER (your customer)
   - Has a want or desire
   - Is identifiable and relatable

2. HAS A PROBLEM
   - External problem (the tangible issue)
   - Internal problem (how it makes them feel)
   - Philosophical problem (why it's just wrong)

3. AND MEETS A GUIDE (your brand)
   - Demonstrates empathy ("We understand...")
   - Shows authority (credentials, results, experience)

4. WHO GIVES THEM A PLAN
   - Simple, clear steps (3 steps ideally)
   - Reduces perceived risk and complexity

5. AND CALLS THEM TO ACTION
   - Direct CTA ("Start free trial")
   - Transitional CTA ("Download the guide")

6. THAT HELPS THEM AVOID FAILURE
   - What happens if they don't act
   - Paint the stakes clearly

7. AND ENDS IN SUCCESS
   - What their life looks like after
   - Transformation, not just transaction

SB7 Applied: Website One-Liner

[Problem] → [Solution/Plan] → [Result]

"Most teams waste 5+ hours a week on status updates.
[Product] automates project reporting in one click,
so your team spends time building, not reporting."

Three Levels of Problem

The most powerful stories address all three levels:

Level	Example (Project Management Tool)
External (surface problem)	"Projects keep running over deadline."
Internal (emotional problem)	"I feel like I'm failing as a manager."
Philosophical (moral problem)	"Teams shouldn't have to choose between doing good work and tracking good work."

Most marketing only addresses the external problem. Addressing the internal and philosophical problems creates emotional resonance.

Problem-Agitate-Solve (PAS) Narrative

A compact storytelling structure ideal for emails, landing pages, ads, and social posts.

Structure

PROBLEM:   Name the specific problem the audience faces.
           Be precise — vague problems get ignored.

AGITATE:   Amplify the pain. Describe consequences, frustrations,
           and what happens if nothing changes. Make them feel it.

SOLVE:     Present your solution as the clear path forward.
           Show the transformation, then provide the CTA.

Example: Email Newsletter Promo

Problem: "Your team ships code every day but has no idea how customers actually use what they build."

Agitate: "So you keep building features nobody asked for, your backlog grows, and your best engineers start wondering if their work matters. Meanwhile, your competitor is talking to users weekly and iterating twice as fast."

Solve: "UserVoice connects product teams directly to customer feedback — organized, prioritized, and tied to your roadmap. Start a free trial and stop guessing what to build next."

Customer Success Story Structure

The most valuable marketing stories are real customer stories. Structure them for maximum impact.

Template

# [Customer Name]: [Transformation Headline]
## "[Pull quote capturing the transformation in the customer's own words]"

### The Challenge
- Who is the customer? (Company, size, industry)
- What was the situation before?
- What specific problem were they facing?
- What had they tried before?
- What were the stakes? (Cost, risk, frustration)

### The Decision
- How did they discover the solution?
- What criteria mattered most?
- What concerns did they have?
- Why did they choose you over alternatives?

### The Implementation
- How did they get started?
- What did the onboarding process look like?
- Were there any early challenges?
- How long until they saw first results?

### The Results
- Quantified outcomes (%, $, time saved, revenue gained)
- Qualitative outcomes (team morale, confidence, speed)
- Unexpected benefits
- Before/after comparison

### The Future
- What's next for the customer?
- How has the relationship evolved?
- Would they recommend? (Direct quote)

Rules for Compelling Case Studies

1. Lead with the transformation, not the company profile. Nobody reads the first paragraph of a case study that starts with "Acme Corp is a leading provider of..."
2. Use the customer's words. Direct quotes are more credible than your paraphrasing.
3. Be specific with numbers. "Significant improvement" means nothing. "42% reduction in onboarding time" means everything.
4. Include the messy parts. Perfect stories are not believable. Mentioning challenges builds trust.
5. Make the customer the hero. They made the smart decision. They did the work. Your product was the tool.

Brand Origin Story Template

1. THE WORLD BEFORE
   What was wrong with the status quo?
   What frustration or gap did the founder(s) experience?

2. THE SPARK
   What specific moment or insight triggered the idea?
   Make this vivid and concrete — a specific day, conversation, or event.

3. THE STRUGGLE
   What obstacles stood in the way?
   Early failures, skepticism, resource constraints.

4. THE BREAKTHROUGH
   What made it work?
   The pivotal insight, first customer, key hire, or product-market fit moment.

5. THE MISSION TODAY
   What does the company believe and fight for?
   Connect the origin to the present-day mission.

6. THE FUTURE
   Where is this going?
   What does success look like for the company and its customers?

Example opening: "In 2019, Maya spent three hours building a weekly status report that nobody read. That night, she opened a blank document and started writing the product spec for what would become [Product]."

Narrative Arc for Campaigns

Multi-touchpoint campaigns can follow a story arc across channels:

PHASE 1: ATTENTION (Awareness)
- Hook with the problem or a provocative question
- Channels: Paid social, display, PR
- "Did you know 73% of teams can't answer 'what are we working on this week?'"

PHASE 2: INTEREST (Consideration)
- Deepen the narrative — share the journey and context
- Channels: Blog, email, webinar, content marketing
- "Here's what we learned from studying 500 product teams..."

PHASE 3: DESIRE (Preference)
- Show the transformation — proof, results, testimonials
- Channels: Case studies, demos, comparison content
- "See how Acme Corp went from chaos to clarity in 30 days"

PHASE 4: ACTION (Decision)
- Clear CTA with reduced risk
- Channels: Landing page, retargeting, sales outreach
- "Start your free trial — no credit card, no commitment"

Emotional Hooks and Tension

Stories without tension are boring. Build tension through:

Conflict Types in Marketing Stories

1. Person vs problem. The customer struggling with a challenge (most common in marketing).
2. Person vs status quo. Challenging industry norms or conventional wisdom.
3. Person vs time. Deadlines, growth pressure, urgency.
4. Person vs complexity. The desire for simplicity in an overwhelming world.

Emotional Triggers

Emotion	Trigger	Example
Frustration	Naming a specific, relatable pain	"Another meeting that could have been a Slack message"
Curiosity	Opening a knowledge gap	"The one metric most marketers ignore (and why it matters most)"
Aspiration	Showing a desirable future state	"Imagine reviewing your pipeline and knowing exactly what's closing this month"
Fear of missing out	Social proof and momentum	"2,000 teams switched to [Product] last quarter"
Relief	Demonstrating simplicity after complexity	"Set it up in 5 minutes. Seriously."
Belonging	Community and shared identity	"Built for teams that ship fast and break less"

Common Pitfalls

1. Making the brand the hero. Always, always, always make the customer the hero.
2. No conflict. Stories without tension are descriptions, not narratives. Find the "but" and "despite."
3. Vague transformations. "It changed everything" is not a story. "We went from 4-hour manual reports to real-time dashboards" is.
4. Overproduction. Authentic stories told simply outperform polished narratives that feel manufactured.
5. Skipping the emotional layer. Facts inform. Emotions persuade. Include both.
6. One-size-fits-all storytelling. A 60-second TikTok needs a different narrative structure than a 2,000-word case study.

Quality Gate

Before publishing story-driven content:

• The customer (or audience) is the protagonist, not the brand
• A clear transformation is shown (before state → after state)
• Tension or conflict exists — something was at stake
• Specific details are used (names, numbers, dates, quotes) instead of generalities
• The emotional and rational layers are both addressed
• The story structure matches the medium (short for ads, long for case studies)
• The narrative connects to a business outcome or CTA
• Real customer quotes or data are included where possible
• The story has been reviewed for authenticity — does it feel true?