What becomes possible when brands transform into beacons of active hope through regenerative storytelling? Whether in traditional marketing or sustainability –storytelling has gained in importance in our attention economy, where both attention and meaning have become scarce. Many stories remain however trapped in patterns that contribute to division, delusion and disengagement. More than ever, we need activist brands that explore what it means to embrace nature, community, and a meaningful life. Perhaps, it is time to dare crossing the threshold to the dream of a thriving world.

Stories have shaped our world - from our connection to nature’s wisdoms as hunter-gatherers to modern consumerism. Our great contemporary crises – from climate change to geopolitical conflicts – may be the expression of an underlying crisis of meaning-making. In the West, the far-right, religious extremists and tech ideologies à la Elon Musk fill the void of meaning. In that context: which role does brand storytelling play in creating thriving pathways for their organization, the wider community and ecosystem they are part of?

A short history of storytelling

For millennia, humans have used stories to make sense of reality. Storytelling has been key to foster the sense of belonging to a community, to share knowledge and wisdom, and to express the role that we think we play here on Earth. As hunter-gatherers, stories were our survival tool because they taught us about the cycles and patterns of nature through myths, transmitted knowledge about natural medicine, and made social organization possible.

With the development of agriculture and hierarchical societies, larger narratives emerged to organise society and legitimize the power of kingdoms and churches. More recently, the narrative of the enlightenment, and story of scientific and technological progress, has laid the ground for the industrial revolution and our consumerist societies. This narrative also created a divide between nature and culture, and “primitive” and “civilized” societies. In today’s attention economy, stories have become products. They sell lifestyles, belonging to a community, and social status. Some argue that they have become more important than products themselves.

In modern branding, storytelling has been elevated to a master discipline. Stories create an emotional connection to the brand, foster a sense of community, and clarify the role products play in the life of clients. Importantly, the emotions induced by stories have the same effect in our brains as real-life experiences. They can release adrenaline, oxycitine, and dopamine. According to psychologist Jerome Bruner, stories can be 22 times more memorable than facts alone.

The role of storytelling in modern marketing

Unfortunately, the power of stories has been appropriated by marketing to “engineer consent”, manipulate our subconsciousness and sell us things we don’t need and are harmful. The influential pioneer of PR and marketing, Edward Bernays, argued that a small number of people shall control the public mind:
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“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. ...We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of.”
Edward Bernays

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This logic is largely prevalent in today’s world of marketing, PR and communications. Whether by political parties, corporations or NGOs, stories are used to present a single truth that identifies a problem and sells the solution or product. Even in sustainability communications, a rather small number of people pretent to “know better” and understand their role as being the ones to influence, convince up to manipulate for what they consider to be “good”. What do we need to understand about storytelling to be able to be able to move to an empowering approach?

Much of today’s brand storytelling can be read as the expression of our culture’s narratives. Whether in “traditional” marketing or sustainability storytelling, there are some recurrent Leitmotifs, or scripts, that are used to promote brands and products. These include the idea of a heroic savior that has the solution for the world’s ills; the promise of eternal progress and redemption from our problems through ever-more technology; and the binary problem-solution approach that is so present in today’s consumerism and marketing. Consequently, marketing storylines very often consist of a beginning, the challenge or problem, and the brand’s products as the solution.

What are the main characteristics of modern storytelling?

1. Saviorism:
Saviorism describes the tendency to present heroes as the main actors of change. Equipped with extraordinary intelligence, power and/or courage, they overcome conflicts and solve the world’s problems. Brands use heroes for clients to identify with, thus often creating a feeling of – quite temporary –superiority and smartness. This way of storytelling over-emphasizes the individual role and removes agency from those to be saved. In a post-colonial perspective, “white saviorism” is being criticized for solving problems for the Global South while failing to recognize historic responsibility and denying people to determine their own future. This narrative element is recurrent in sustainability, the tech industry, and among social justice NGOs, among others.

2. Action-fetishism: in modern marketing, there always has to be a call to action. The solution to climate change has been the call for a “decade of action”. “Action-fetishism” describes the priorisation of outward-looking activity as the solution to the world’s ills. While action is an important part of life, the fetishization can sometimes blind ourselves to the already existing solutions, the role of listening to unheard perspectives, and the fact that it has been too much – destructive and restless – action that has led to issues as diverse as global warming, or burnout. Inviting the power of receptiveness, listening, and not-knowing the solution can be a game-changer to be able to move to a radically different, thriving pathway.

3. Solutionism: tightly linked to fetishizing action, “solutionism” describes the reductionist approach to narrow down the world’s phenomena into a dualistic “problem-solution” frame. While many will empathize with a presented problem and some buy into the solution presented by a brand, the attention is diverted from potentially more transformative pathways. Rather than finding the solution to a pre-determined question or problem, potentially the question itself is misguiding. Learning to ask better questions, and sharing open questions through storytelling, can be a more humble and potential-activating approach. The role of imagination can also allow for a more ecosystemic approach for exploring “solutions”. Furthermore, it invites audiences to be part of the process, rather than pretending to act on behalf of others (see “saviorism”).

4. Human-centricity: in almost all modern stories, humans are the protagonists. This perpetuates the idea that humans are existing outside of nature, are essentially different than nature. This anthropocentric idea is at the core of our biodiversity, climate, but also related social crises. Brands can invite more-than-human perspectives into their storytelling. If we are able to extend our consciousness ecologically, we may be able to find new ways of communicating, developing business, and being part of communities. In sustainability, often by inducing a feeling of guilt, humans are those supposed to “save the planet” (see “saviorism”), without considering the role of nature’s self-organising, ecological dynamics. This kind of thinking perpetuates the idea of an all-mighty human, opposed to nature.  

5. Contextlessness: While storytelling is supposed to put facts into a larger context, the story, brands often miss the opportunity to share how they and their products are embedded into nature, communities, and places. A key element of greenwashing and its variants is omitting the context in which products are produced. A “recyclable” plastic bottle will still end up in the ocean if there is no recycling infrastructure or plastic is simply exported, which is the case for many Western countries. A regenerative approach to communications and storytelling will emphasize the interconnectedness of a brand – and its success- with its living ecology and stakeholders. Understanding the conditions in which something is created is more authentic and empowering.

6. Rootlessness: since the narrative structure of modern storytelling is often simplified to “beginning - conflict – solution”, the origin of the story is often absent. It is as if “suddenly” someone had a great idea and created something transformative. Years of challenges, personal transformations, or wisdom received by others that made the product, organization etc. possible are therefore regularly neglected. Furthermore, not including the “roots” of a story fails to recognize its ecological and cultural imprint. Exploring the roots of a story can also create new connections with audiences – by sharing a heritage, tradition, or emotional connection to a place many come from.

Based on the understanding of the recurrent patterns in modern storytelling, we can become more conscious of the way we are telling stories. By failing to recognize these patterns, brands risk reproducing narratives that create division and violence. Besides cultivating a more fertile way of using language and practicing communications, regenerative storytelling can be an important gateway for a brand and organization to embrace its role in building a thriving, regenerative future.

Regenerative brand storytelling is first and foremost a deep investigation that cultivates self-consciousness, clarifies a brand’s role in the world, and creatively cares for other beings. We can call it a regenerative story, if it fosters a sense of radical being, belonging, and beauty. When engaging with such a story we may feel awe, reverence, compassion, wholeness, love, inspiration, and connection. Besides these inner qualities, there can also be outer manifestations, such as: wanting to engage with the brand, joining a community, deciding to go on a personal transformation journey, or sharing the own story.

If we imagine a regenerative brand story as a tree, we will start by asking about the unique essence of the tree: what kind of tree (species) is it and what makes it unique (compared to others of the same species)? We will explore the roots of the trees that made its growth possible (the communities, wisdoms, heritage it emerges from). Nourished by the roots, we grow our stems and branches that can go into different directions – our pathways. These connect us to realizing our dreams, the fruit of the tree. And finally, we would like to create ripple effects by pollinating, giving life to something new.

What are key features of a regenerative brand story?

Essence: Essence is the unique vibe and sensation of a brand in both the visible and invisible realms. It is the connecting thread of our story, the wisdom that we embody. Distilling and sharing the deep, authentic essence is what resonates wholly with the heart, intuition, and mind of those we engage with. Communicating the essence can create a field of attraction relevant to brand perception, customer and audience engagement, innovation and more.

Roots: a regenerative brand story is radical, because it re-connects to our roots. A brand does not come out of the blue, but has a history, a heritage or tradition, a founding place – they wait to be told. The roots of our story will connect the brand to the communities, places, wisdoms etc. that made it possible, thereby creating a “root network” that can connect clients and stakeholders to the brand. The latter can provide inspiration (ideas, references etc.), practical resources (feedback, time commitment, volunteering etc.), or further connections (audiences, networks, alliances etc.).

Dream: in many indigenous cultures, human projects start with a dream. For instance the aborigines have been cultivating “dreamtime” for a dream to be as “solid” as to be considered worthwhile pursuing if it benefits at least seven generations. The brand dream connects the unique aspirations of the founder /team with the needs of communities, places and the planet as a whole. Through imagination and deep sensing into our inner truths, the dream story will invite potential. Who will help us realize our dream? What is needed to mobilise the energy for the dream (fruit) to come true?

Pathways: Depending on our ecosystem – incl. market, stakeholders, locality – the pathways that connect our roots with our dreams may look very different from person to person and organization to organization. This part of brand storytelling has very practical and strategic implications, since it opens up to existing or potential activity streams. The story process will help clarify potential pathways and their qualities (e.g. resistance, length, or breadth).

Pollinators: To make the dream come true or to help the dream to grow into new territories, pollinators – or allies – are needed. The story will look at who is able to turn the dream into reality – which audiences, partners etc. are needed? Where can synergies be created? The pollinators will also be an important element in following-up on the brand story through communications. Just as in nature, there are different pollination strategies. Based on the unique essence of the brand, it will become clearer which channels and mediums are the most authentic and impactful.

To conclude, regenerative brand storytelling is an exciting approach to refertilise not only branding, but also communications as a whole. Based on a powerfully unique brand story, marketing and communication activities become clearer. As a sort of “backbone” for communications, the story will orient and structure how to share the essence of the brand. Regenerative brand storytelling roots the success of a brand where it is needed, and opens up new horizons of thrivability.

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