Building a Brand Story that means something, and makes an impact in your customers lives, is no easy feat. But I’m here with 50 of the greatest Brand Stories in the world to help guide and inspire you. As we edge towards 2016, I want to share some of my favourite brand stories from 2015, and those about to shake the industry in 2016 and beyond.

Today we complete the countdown by sharing numbers 5 – 1, which is rather exciting indeed. Plus, there’s a FREE Ebook you can now download, devour, and keep handy for when you craft your own epic brand story.

Ready to feel inspired and learn from the best? Good!

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Read The Complete Brand Story Series Here

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5 : AWESOME MERCHANDISE

I’m so proud to place these guys and gals in the top 5 of this epic list of brand stories. They do things differently. They’re in an everyday industry, but as far removed from everyday as one can possibly get. They’re awesome, hence their name.

I talked about their simple brand film in a previous article, and although there’s no music, words, or interview, it tells you so much about who they are and what they do.

They’re true outliers in an often bland industry, and this enough makes their brand story great. But it stands out because they stay true to their values and what makes them special: they’re quirky and a little weird, but above all, creative. This is their art, and it’s damn good art if you ask me.

What Awesome Merch do is nothing out of the ordinary. We’ve covered some impressive brand stories, but I wouldn’t use such a word to describe this brand story. It’s amazing, but it’s simple and the sort of a approach most folk could replicate. I wouldn’t advise you do, because few could copycat these guys and do it justice.

But the point is: your brand story doesn’t have to be complicated. All it has to be is YOURS!

WEBSITE: awesomemerchandise.com

4 : FUELED

Let me introduce you to a New York Agency who stand out, despite residing in a city brimming with talent. I wrote about Rameet and his team previously, and it’s his team and about page that places Fueled so high on this list of great brand stories.

These guys practice what they preach, showcasing their talents throughout their brand story. It isn’t just their site, but how they portray themselves throughout the online world (and I can only imagine, offline world too). Their team page… to die for. Their about page and brand film… top of the class.

They approach everything with a show-before-tell attitude, which means their story comes alive at all times. They’re prestige. They’re high quality. They don’t mess around. They also happen to embrace who they are, their creativity, and what makes Fueled, Fueled. This begins and ends with people… their team… their culture.

This is how powerful your brand story can become. This is how powerful it is when you build it around human beings.

WEBSITE: fueled.com

3 : CHARITY WATER

We briefly touched upon charity: water earlier in this list of great brand stories, and I detail their brand story in all its glory via this post. In the same vein as World Project Play, they bring their stories alive by building them around real people. Not any old people, either, but those they serve and help.

This isn’t any old charity. What they do and how they approach it isn’t old-hat. This is the future, and it’s no surprise to see them inspire a new world of givers and thinkers and folk who desire more. There’s a lot I could write right now, but it all comes down to transparency and how they invite you into the process.

They literally invite you to be part of this, and place ownership in YOUR hands. They don’t want you to give to the story; they want you to be the story. They want you to care and help those who charity: water serve. If you’ve followed this list of great brand stories, you’ll know how much of the good staff occurs when you make your story about people: your staff, your audience, those you can help…

If this brand story doesn’t inspire you to change your approach, I don’t know what will.

WEBSITE: charitywater.org

2 : XERO

And here we are, edging closer to the top spot. We’ve covered some truly inspirational brand stories so far, and it may surprise you to see an accountancy tool so high in this list. It surprises me a little too, but I cannot deny what Xero do. 

Everything that’s good about this brand story centres around pages likes these.

Simply put, the way they approach case studies… game changing! Breaking down the industry type, they show you whether they can help you or not. Once they hook you and say, “We can help you“, they pull you in closer by introducing you to an actual person.

“Meet Emma,” they say. “We helped her rule her retail business.”

Through videos and visuals and continuous narrative, they bring what they do alive by literally showing you how they help. This does take effort. This does take time. Is it worth it? Absolutely! Because not only do they entice new people into their story (immersing them by sharing real success stories), they build trust in their existing audience, too.

Because they say, “We care about you. We want to share your story. We want to invite you into our own.“

To say this brand story is powerful doesn’t do it justice. The way they approach the case study… welcome to the future!

WEBSITE: xero.com

1 : RODE

Welcome to the number one spot. The head honcho. The beast of all brand stories. I happen to love their mics and other audio equipment, but it’s Rode’s brand story that possesses an important place in my heart.

To break this down in a simple way is to say it’s like a presentation. Not any old presentation, mind you, rather an interactive one that allows you to delve as deep as you wish. Oh yes, the Rode Difference is what it says on the tin (different to other brand stories) and takes you an epic experience that shares a great deal as to who they are, what they do, and who they serve.

It’s simple yet in-depth. Visual and full videos, but also shares a consistent narrative through short and sweet text. It’s involving, and requires you to interact. If you wish to delve further down their rabbit hole, you have to click. You have to take the time to travel along their path.

Such a simple approach. Such a simple brand story. A lot of effort has gone into this, don’t get me wrong, but they maintain an effortless feel throughout. It’s hard to say this is the best brand story in the world, because we’ve covered so many wonderful brand stories throughout this list. But there’s something different and special about Rode’s, and I hope you like it too.

At the very least, lose yourself in it… learn from it… walk away from it inspired and ready to craft your own epic brand story 🙂

WEBSITE: therodedifference.com

There we go, this brand story countdown is now at an end. We’ve just worked our way down from number 5 to number 1, and I truly hope you’ve taken a lot from this list of great brand stories.

They’re amongst the best I know, and they tend to be the type of business that continues to evolve, tweak, and adjust their stories as they move forward in time. Your brand story never ends. As such, the above examples may change, but I sense they’ll remain amongst the world’s greatest brand stories for quite some time.

But this is just my list. Be sure to share your own favourite brand stories with me via Facebook and Twitter. This is where the conversation continues, where we become friends, and where you introduce me to new brand stories each and every day.

Cheers for now.

TURNDOG