Your ‘brand story’ doesn’t matter if no one else can tell it back to you

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Every brand loves its own story. Stirring vision statements. Emotional launch videos. Slides polished to perfection.

But here’s the brutal truth: if no one outside your leadership team can repeat that story in their own words, it’s worthless.

Case in point:

We once worked with a fast-growing tech firm. Their “brand story” filled forty slides and a glossy manifesto. The problem?

When we asked ten employees, “What does your company actually do?” we got ten different answers. Some talked features. Others talked values. A few mumbled jargon so dense even the CEO wouldn’t understand it.

If your own people can’t tell your story back to you, what chance does the market have?

We stripped that bloated manifesto back to one line: a simple, human explanation of the problem they solved and why it mattered.

Suddenly:

  • Employees were saying it consistently.

  • Investors started quoting it back to leadership.

  • Customers shared it with peers -- unprompted.

That’s when the story stopped being a script and became a signal.


“A brand story only works when it can survive the telephone game.”


Where most brand stories collapse:

  • Too complex. If it takes a deck to explain, it won’t travel.

  • Too self-absorbed. Written for exec applause, not for audience adoption.

  • Too inconsistent. If your team can’t tell it the same way, it’s not a story -- it’s noise.

What actually works:

  • Strip it to its core -- what problem do you solve and why does it matter?

  • Make it conversational -- so people want to repeat it.

  • Test it in the wild -- if strangers can tell it back to you, you’ve nailed it.

Quick FAQ

Q: Why do most brand stories fail?
Because they’re written for execs, not audiences. They’re overengineered and under-shared.

Q: How do you know if your brand story is working?
If customers, employees, and partners can retell it consistently without slides or scripts.

Q: What’s the biggest sign your story isn’t sticking?
When you get different answers to “What does your brand actually do?” depending on who you ask.

“We distill brand positioning into narratives that travel, not just sit in pitch decks.”

Want a brand story people can actually remember and repeat?
Reach out to us at changenow@orchan.asia or call +603-7972 6377.

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