Building self-brand connections: Exploring brand stories through a transmedia perspective

Abstract

Consumers interpret their experiences with brands via narrative processing; thus the brand story has emerged as a major marketing construct. Transmedia storytelling occurs when the story elements are dispersed across multiple media, each making a unique contribution to the whole. As brand stories can create connections between the consumer and the brand, delivering transmedia brand stories may strengthen the bond, leading to positive attitudes, more entry points and higher purchase intent. Past research on brand stories has not addressed the types of brand stories that consumers know and desire to hear, and the media in which they prefer to find these stories. The present research answers these questions and positions the findings in the context of creating transmedia stories. Qualitative interviews revealed that consumers know and wish to hear stories about the brand’s history, product reliability, philanthropy and users’ personal stories. Other findings indicate that consumers with stronger brand connections prefer stories focused on the brand’s experiential value and will access this through interactive media. Consumers with weaker brand attachments prefer stories about the utilitarian dimensions of the brand, told through more traditional media. Practical recommendations focus on creating consumer-brand connections through different types of stories and media.