Between Soccer and Brand Storytelling

Although I don't consider myself a football fan, I love a good game and enjoy the thrills, twists, and turns that come with an action-packed match.

I love listening to the banters, predictions, and analyses of a beautiful football match.

So yesterday, I made time to sit with the boys and watch what will go down in history as one of the greatest world cup finals. 

It was the match between Argentina and defending champions France.

When the referee awarded a penalty in the 23rd minute, and the talented Messi converted it on the spot, one of the guys said, "FIFA has a soft spot for Messi, and this will be an easy win for Argentina. 

"Look at the audience in the stadium. It's predominantly Argentine Fans, and you know what that does to the opponents' psychology", he said.

As he went outside to pick up the drinks in his car, Di Maria scored a second goal for Argentina.

"I told you, there's nothing to miss here. Argentina's victory will be a walk in the park, he said.

But you know what they say about life and surprises: "You never know what will hit you".

Well, it's true because just when every analyst seemed to have everything figured out...

The unthinkable happened!

Whatever the French coach Didier Deschamps had told the boys in the locker room seemed to be all the shepherding Les Bleus needed. 

Because in the second half of the game, the flawless Kylian Mbappe created chaos for the Argentine team when he converted a penalty and 90 seconds later scored another goal for France. Those goals cast a pall over the living room, and the analysts in the house suddenly went mute.

This equalizer forced the game into extra time. 

But to the delight of Argentina's fans, Messi scored a goal in the 108th minute, and guys sang Ole Ole Ola jumping high into the air, giving some knuckles, and taking off their shirts when the referee approved the rebounded goal.

But as the Argentine fans were cruising and celebrating on cloud 9 (because victory was as good as sealed), an Argentine footballer was penalized for his handball

And the French Mbappe converted the penalty to a neat goal sending the Les Bleus fans in the house jumping out of their hearts, hugging themselves, and high-fiving like mad.

This unexpected event drew France back into the tie for the second time and sent the game to penalties.

At the penalty stage, it was a heart-pounding moment for fans of the two teams. I saw men sit at the edges of their chairs as players from both teams took on the penalties, and eventually, Argentina clinched the golden cup.

Although they lost, the French team gave the Argentine players a run for their money. These Blue guys roared, creating chaos and tears in the stadium, at viewing centers, and in homes like the one I was in.

And when Argentina got the highly-coveted world cup, you could feel the exhilaration and joy in the air. Women sang, fans yelled at the top of their lungs, and lovers clung long and hard like glue on paper.

It was a moment you couldn't forget in a long time. And someone in the house I was shouted "free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty we are free at last."

Business Lessons from the World Cup

Brand storytelling, like a football match, uses compelling narratives to create an emotional connection between your customers and your brand.

In these stories, you link your values and what you stand for so that your customers can connect deeply with you.

So if there's no conflict presented, there's no drama or emotional journey that people can relate to.

And if your story has no drama or emotional journey, it won't hold anyone's attention, let alone resonate with and inspire them.

If your brand story doesn't take us on a roller coaster of emotions, we don't want it.

A calm ride sucks. A rough ride rocks!

We want the highs, the lows, and the yes and Nos.

Let your brand story tell us:

 ⚡️ How you started

 ⚡️ The obstacles you met, and

 ⚡️ How you rose above the storm 

A compelling brand narrative contains the peace before the storm, the storm, and everything in between.  

Your storm could be: 

 ✅ Low self-esteem

 ✅ Revenue leaks

 ✅ Unemployment

 ✅ High turnover rate

Whatever it is, tell a story that cooks up a storm and takes your customers on an emotional roller coaster they can relate to and that inspires them.

The truth is...

People are so done with plain vanilla stories.

A story without the highs and lows is bland and artificial.

In your brand story, show us how you went from 0-3 goals. Then, take us on a journey that shows how your villains turned up the heat on you, made you tear up, or shattered your nerves.

Show us how your brilliant business idea bombed, how you picked up the pieces, and how you eventually faced your fears.

The more you take us on a journey through these adversities, the more we become inspired to believe that the impossible is nothing. More importantly, we'll care about your business, because if you fought so hard for it, then it must truly be important.

Why is this important?

Because life isn't a happily-ever-after tale. It is messy and complicated.

People will tune out mentally if you repetitively talk about your product or brand.

But when you tell stories about how people get to their desired destination because of what you do, you reel them in, and they'll trust you.

So here's the thing…

You need to do more than talk about your product or brand. Instead, tell stories about how people's lives are better because of what you do.

Take us to our desired future and make us nostalgic about our shared histories.

A sterling example of masterful storytelling is Nike's campaigns.

They don't shove their stories down our throats. Instead, they inform, inspire and solve our problems with a compelling narrative that includes problems and challenges we can relate to.

When told correctly, your brand story will stay glued in our hearts, and before long, someone might just exclaim, "free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, I am free at last".

Thanks for reading, and I'll see you again, next Monday.

P.S. Whenever you're ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

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