Quotes from David Aaker

A brand vision should attempt to go beyond functional benefits to consider organizational values; a higher purpose; brand personality; and emotional, social, and self-expressive benefits.

Why do stories persuade? There are several explanations: First, people deduce a story's logic by themselves. We know from research and common sense that self-discovery is much more powerful than having people talk at you.

A borrowed signature story can also come from news accounts, historical events, biographies, novels, fables, TV shows or movies. Whatever the source, the stories must communicate the strategic message in an intriguing, involving and authentic way.

If you are told that the king died and then the queen died, that is a sequence of events. If you are told that the king died and that the queen then died of grief, that is a story.

This book shows how to apply the power of storytelling to strategic messaging in the age of social media.

First, recognize that a set of facts can guide and inspire only if it is heard and gains buy-in—but that is rarely the case. Second, explore how stories can accomplish or help to accomplish the same objective. Sometimes, a set of facts can be turned into a story by providing a context and more information.

Unless your brand is one of these exceptions, it needs energy! That energy can come from new products—provided, of course, that your business is blessed with truly original and different products that are meaningful to people's lifestyles and passions.

A story bank can also help website visitors find the most helpful stories. Skype, for example, has put stories into 15 compartments including acting, art/design, beauty, education and food. And Skype for Business has its own set of over 130 signature stories that can be searched by industry, product or language.