The Art of Storytelling

🎙️ The Art of Storytelling in Branding: Authenticity, Voice & Visuals | Brand of Brothers

In this episode of Brand of Brothers, hosts Doug Berger and Johnny Diggz explore the powerful role of storytelling in branding—from how it creates emotional connections with audiences to why authenticity and narrative alignment are essential in today’s market.

Drawing on real-world examples like Disney, KFC, and even the lesser-known lore of Pleasure Island, they reveal how brands build mythologies, shape consumer perception, and develop narratives that reinforce their ethos, mission, and visual identity. Whether you’re building a brand from scratch or revamping your messaging, this episode unpacks the core of why stories sell—and why bad stories break trust.

🔍 What you’ll learn:

• Why storytelling is the foundation of authentic branding
• The difference between verbal and visual storytelling—and how they work together
• The 5 questions every brand narrative must answer: Who, What, When, Where, and Why (+ How as a CTA)
• Examples of effective brand storytelling from Disney, Super Bowl ads, and even Colonel Sanders
• When it’s okay to use fictional narratives—and when it can backfire
• How visual elements like color, typography, and tone reinforce the brand story
• Why some stories get “retired” due to cultural shifts and controversy
• How brands can future-proof their narratives without losing authenticity

💡 Who this episode is for:

• Brand strategists and creative directors building emotional resonance
• Entrepreneurs and founders refining their company’s mission and voice
• Content marketers looking to craft consistent and compelling brand messaging
• Designers and copywriters shaping brand identity across platforms
• Anyone curious about how Disney, KFC, and others use stories to stick in our minds

With wit, experience, and a nod to Gen X sensibilities, Doug and Johnny break down the storytelling anatomy behind some of the world’s most enduring and emotionally resonant brands. Listen in to learn how to make your brand mean something—and how to make your audience care.

Presented by Remixed – The branding agency that tells stories people believe in.

🎶 Music by PRO
 🎙️ Production by Johnny Diggz, Simon Jacobsohn & Doug Berger
 🌐 More at BrandShowLive.com
 📱 Follow: @BrandShowLive on socials
 👍 Like, subscribe, and keep the story going.

Episode Transcript

Doug Berger (00:00):
Welcome to the latest installment of Brand of
Brothers.
I'm Doug.

Johnny Diggz (00:02):
I'm Johnny.
Today we're talking about theart of storytelling.
All right, let's get to it.
So Doug, we recently released aarticle on our blog, the Branded
Brothers blog, um, talking aboutstorytelling, specifically the

(00:26):
art of storytelling andbranding.
And I wanted to ask you why,

Doug Berger (00:33):
why did we, why did we write that?
Why

Johnny Diggz (00:35):
do we care?
Why, why, what's, what's thething?

Doug Berger (00:38):
So when it comes to branding.
What you want to do is create anauthentic connection with your
audiences, right?
So, um, in order to do that, youneed to convey your ethos.
Your ethos is primarily yourvision and your mission, um, but
it goes a little bit deeper.
It also resembles your, orreflects your personality.

Johnny Diggz (01:03):
So, um, give me an example.
Like what, what's, uh, how doyou tell a story in branding?
Oh my, how do you tell a storyin branding?

Doug Berger (01:14):
Well, I think one of the most successful companies
that has done this, uh,storytelling, um, it.
is definitely Disney.
Um, in fact, one of, one of thegreatest things that they did,
uh, was they created aconnection between celebrating

(01:35):
and going to Disney.
Right?
So, you would watch the SuperBowl, for example, and, uh, and
at the very end they'd go up tothe quarterback of the winning
team and say, what are you doingnext?
And they would instantlyrespond, I'm going to Disney
World! And then, uh, that, that,they took that one step further,

(01:56):
and they would have, uh, aroundthe holidays, they would show
kids opening up a package, andthat package would be some
Disney themed character, andthen there would be this
overwhelming surprise thathappens and it really tugged at
the heartstrings like made youcry Uh because the kids would
find out that they're going todisney disney world or

(02:18):
disneyland

Johnny Diggz (02:19):
They, um, they still do that to this day.
I mean, I just got a magnet fromthem the other day, and it's
thanking me for being an annualpass holder, which I'm not, but,
uh, it was still kind of cool tosee something from Disney.
Um So, uh, you know, fulldisclosure,

Doug Berger (02:38):
uh, to our listeners, we're located in
Orlando, Florida.
So, uh, so of course it doesn'tcome across as a big surprise
that Disney made a mistake and,and sent you, uh, annual pass
holders stuff.

Johnny Diggz (02:49):
The, um Yeah, and, you know, I thought maybe
because, because Remixed, uh,did some branding for Disney,
maybe I, I, I got grandfatheredin or something like that.
You know

Doug Berger (02:59):
what?
I, I gotta tell you, we, weworked with Disney for almost a
decade, um, and I can't rememberwhat we got for free.
Um, because there was so little,

Johnny Diggz (03:13):
they do all of their like, uh, marketing and
stuff in house.
Now

Doug Berger (03:16):
they did.
They, yes, they broughteverything in house.
Um, I can't remember maybe 5, 10years ago.
Um, but enough about Disney.

Johnny Diggz (03:29):
Um, so when you're, when you're working on
this storytelling.
Uh, I imagine that there arecertain things that you're
trying to convey in the story.
Um, like what, when, you know, Ilike to think of it as all the
things that you need to put on aflyer.

(03:49):
Like, uh, when you're likemaking a band flyer, like where
is it?
What is it?
Uh, when is it, uh, who shouldbe going to it?
Yeah, you're

Doug Berger (04:01):
hitting on all of the aspects of a brand narrative
that are necessary to connectwith respective audiences.
You're spot on.
It's the five key questions.
It's not always going to be who,what, when, where, why, and how.
Right.
Often times the how is your callto action.

(04:21):
The why is baked in theresomehow as well.
The who that represents both youand the consumer, I should say
the brand and their, theirrespective audiences, the, when
right now, right, everything isright now.
Um, and, and of course there,when it comes to a concert
promotion, it's a buy yourtickets now for the concert

(04:43):
that's happening next week ornext month or, or even next
year.

Johnny Diggz (04:47):
The, um, I would imagine that as you're working
with.
Uh, with clients and they'retrying to reinforce their, their
brand story back in, you mightrun into some challenges, some
pitfalls, so to speak.

Doug Berger (05:04):
So I, I, if I may, I kind of want to, uh, dive in a
little bit deeper.
So, uh, from the, the brand sideof things, we, we
compartmentalize brand,generally speaking between the
visual and the verbal, right?
So we were, we're, we've mostlybeen talking from a brand
storytelling perspective.
We've mo mostly been talkingabout the verbal, right.

(05:26):
Um, and, and, and I think what'simportant is to convey the
visual.
Uh, as well.
And that visual needs to tie inwith what we're trying to
convey.
So, that usually happens in thetonal qualities of things.
Um, but, of course, there's thewho, right?
So, you want to put forward the,the what does it look like, um,

(05:48):
based on what do you look likeas a brand.
So, that's, that part of thestorytelling.
And that, those are your colors.
Those are your fonts.
Those are your images and yourstyle, right?
And then there's the why.
Which is probably the mostimportant thing to convey to
your audiences and, and again,that visual storytelling is

(06:08):
baked into that message.

Johnny Diggz (06:11):
Now If, I would imagine that most brands, when
they're telling, like, whenthey're, when they have a
compelling brand story, that,um, that they're telling their
actual story, right?
So, like, for example, Mostly.
Mostly.
When, when would they not?

(06:31):
Uh,

Doug Berger (06:32):
I think for entertainment purposes or, uh,
to connect and resonate a littlebit more with their target
audiences.
Oftentimes we'll see thesefabricated stories, um, but
usually brands want to be alittle bit more authentic.
I know that, that you and I havehad conversations previously
about this, like, for example,Colonel Sanders.

(06:53):
Colonel Sanders was a realperson.
Right.
And that Is an authentic part ofthe, the, the KFC brand story,
but simultaneously that, thatperson has grown into a
character or a caricature,

Johnny Diggz (07:08):
right?
We, uh, it, it calls them, uh,we're, we're called, uh, the.
Uh, because we live in Orlando,we grew up with when Pleasure
Island became a thing.
Right.
And I remember that there was acharacter created with Pleasure
Island, his, it was MeriwetherPleasure was his name, and he
was sort of the creator ofPleasure Island and all of its,

(07:32):
and he actually opened theAdventurers Club, and so, um, I
love going to the AdventurersClub, so I've heard his stories
many, many times, but they don'thave that brand anymore.
They lost that, that sort ofstorytelling part of Right.
Pleasure Island and now it'sYeah.
They got Disney Springs.
Yeah.
Yes

Doug Berger (07:49):
it is.
Disney Springs.
They got rid of it for a numberof reasons, right?
So, uh, one of the reasons wasbecause, well, they wanted to
create this ridiculous shoppingPO complex They already had a, a
ridiculous shopping complex,right?
They, the Wait Lake

Johnny Diggz (08:02):
Winne Vista or the, the Disney Village.
Disney

Doug Berger (08:04):
And, and, and so what they wanted to do was they
wanted to make it a little bitmore family friendly because
there were parts of pleasureisland.
That were simply off limits tochildren, especially.
You had to

Johnny Diggz (08:16):
be 21 and up, yeah.

Doug Berger (08:17):
But, that wasn't the only part.
Their narrative, theirstorytelling, their brand
storytelling, um, if you heardit today, it would be considered
a little bit controversial.

Johnny Diggz (08:28):
Mmm, interesting.
Yeah, well Disney doesn't likecontroversy, that's for sure.

Doug Berger (08:34):
Definitely not.
And I gotta be honest, for thebrands that we work with,
neither do I.

Johnny Diggz (08:41):
That's
true.

Doug Berger (08:42):
Thank you for tuning in to Brand Brothers.
Big thank you to our presentingsponsor, Remix, the branding
agency, along with productionassistants from Johnny Diggs,
Simon Jacobson, and me, DougBerger.
We can't forget music by PRO.
Speaking of not forgetting,remember to do that like and
subscribe thing and find us atBrandShowLive.
com and follow us on the socialsat BrandShowLive.