Narrative Identity
Narrative Power: Brands, Identity, and the Stories We Tell Ourselves
When I was in college at the University of Kentucky, I drank a lot of cheap beer. Like many undergrads, I didn’t think much about what I was drinking—only that it was cold and affordable. But one summer, that changed. I was twenty years old, working as a news intern at the Knoxville News-Sentinel—my first […]
Narrametric Analysis™: A Strategic Reset for Brands at a Crossroads
For more than two decades, brand insights teams have turned to RealityCheck when they need fresh answers—when standard methods fail to provide fresh insights, the deeper drivers of consumer behavior remain elusive, or when teams are simply looking for new inspiration. These are the moments when brands start to feel disconnected. When consumers drift, the […]
Narrative Identity: What Role Does Your Brand Play in the Life Story of Your Consumer?
If they a made a movie about your consumer, what role would your brand play? Hero? Trusted sidekick? Mentor? Villain? Would your brand even have a speaking part? Or would it be an extra? You know, “Man in crowd #3 played by your brand”.
Narrative Identity: 3 Roles Your Brand Can Play in Your Consumers’ Life Story
In a recent blog post, I wrote about the concept of Narrative Identity and what it means for brands. (You can read that blog post here.) In short, Narrative Identity is the life story we tell ourselves to give our lives a sense of coherence and purpose. We are all creators of our own myths — […]
How to Apply Human Insights to Market Research
If you work in Consumer Insights, you probably hear the word human a lot these days. Everybody seems to be talking about human insights. Whether this trend is driven by a backlash to the sterile, uninspiring nature of big data or a desire to get team members to connect more directly with consumers, we think […]
Why Iconic Brands Decline and What Can Be Done to Reverse It
Iconic brands are often in decline for an easily overlooked reason…they have lost their contextual meaning because people have changed but the brand has not changed with them. People have evolved their story but the brand continues to tell its story in the same way with the same message and/or the same voice it has […]
Brands & Narrative Identity: A New Way to Think About Brand Strategy
Jim White presents “Brands & Narrative Identity: A New Way to Think About Brand Strategy” at the 2017 IIeX Global Insights Conference.
Brands & American Mythology: Narrative Identity, Brand Identity & the American Self
Jim White presents “Brands & American Mythology: Narrative Identity, Brand Identity & the American Self” at the IIeX Global Insights Conference.
Brand Strategy & Narrative Identity: 5 Qualities that Great Brands and Great Characters Share
By Jim White & Jim ChastainWe use brands to tell ourselves stories about who we are. The brands that are most meaningful to us are those that play a role in our internal life stories, or what psychologists call our Narrative Identity.We’ve spent years listening to people tell stories about how brands fit into their […]
