Dear brand, what’s your story?

A recent article about the downfall of the Abercrombie and Fitch brand in The Guardian highlighted the importance for brands to have depth in order to remain relevant. This got me thinking about what depth could possibly be, and what it takes for a brand, of apparel or other, not to fall into the category of the soulless and meaningless. The explanation for the sheep picture comes right after this, I swear.

Brands need to have depth in order to remain relevant

Storytelling is a way for brands to maintain depth. By creating a carefully crafted narrative around a brand, its origins, evolution and meaning, marketers can create more than a shallow, meaningless brand. They can create a brand that consumers can relate to, and that goes beyond the products or services they offer.

I wanted to give you an example of a brand that represents storytelling, without falling into the usual case studies of Apple or Coca-Cola, and the idea came as I was scrolling down my Instragram feed and saw this, posted by Cherchbi:

Cherchbi is a leather goods and accessories brand, and the picture represents all 12 locations in Britain where parts of the bags are sourced, designed and produced.

I follow and like Cherchbi since I attended a talk by its founder Adam Atkinson last year, because the brands rests on very strong pillars, which I think the story conveys beautifully. This Instagram picture is part of the storytelling: it shows the importance of the British heritage of the brand, and gets you to travel around the British isles where local producers contribute to the making of the goods (and, yes, there is a step in Scotland!).

The story, which you can read in full on their website,  is that of the Herdwick sheep, which produces in Cumbria, North England, a rough fleece that goes through multiple stages before becoming the brand’s emblematic tweed bags.

A story with guts and soul make for the depth of the Cherchbi brand

I find Cherchbi to be a brand with guts, because it thrives to make locally produced goods and rely on strong ethical standards. I find Cherchbi to be a brand with a soul, because it is ingrained with years of UK manufacturing tradition. These guts and this soul make a story worth believing in, that I am sure will get the increasing attention it deserves.

More to be discovered about the Cherchbi story on this short video by Decree Magazine, and on their website.

And you, which brand story do you love most?