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I will confess, I am a storyteller. I think in stories, I observe in stories, I use anecdotes as examples when I teach. I’ve been that way my whole life; getting my start at the age of 3 when I sat for hours regaling my deaf great-grandmother with my tales.

Soon I learned that my stories were more satisfactory when I had an audience that I could interact with; that that made the stories and the experience richer.

My appreciation of the value of storytelling has been a basic philosophy throughout my business development and strategic communications career. When this approach is effectively implemented, the audience is engaged, the messages resonate, and relationships grow and deepen.

The value to brand of this approach can be significant; developing and growing trust and loyalty. In this time of increased competition, a strong relatable brand story supported by corporate culture and told by passionate brand advocates can be the key to a profitable, dynamic firm.

In the past  few weeks, I have been impressed by a firm’s new marketing campaign that does a very effective job of telling compelling stories that capture a changed focus in their corporate brand.

Mark’s (formerly Mark’s Work Warehouse) is a well-respected Canadian firm known for providing reliable, comfortable work wear and safety gear. They have made a number of brand “tweaks” in recent years as they modified their campaigns to match their movement into other types of fashion. But their recently launched “Well Worn” campaign has taken their brand story to a whole new level.

The campaign uses beautiful cinematography and personal anecdotes to draw the viewers into the hard-working lives of Canadians from across the country. Mechanics, fishermen, ranch hands – men and women using skill, passion, and drive to create lives for their families – all while wearing work and casual wear from Mark’s. Even the catalogue shots have a cinematic feel to them – making them almost feel more real and “human” than standardly used images.

It is powerful, engaging stuff, for sure. It gives depth and dimension to the brand. I’m interested to know the next chapters in the Well Worn stories, which means that I will be keeping an eye on the brand, and feeling a connection to it. And, isn’t that what brand is all about? Establishing a connection?