What is a StoryBrand Messaging Campaign and How is it Different From a Marketing Campaign?
- Lynn Tickner
- Oct 8
- 8 min read
If the title of this article is as clear as the teacher’s voice on Charlie Brown, I suggest you head over here to read What is a StoryBrand Brandscript and Does My Business Really Need One? You'll get the rundown on the basics of StoryBrand and context for the question I'm answering here.
If you follow StoryBrand and listen to the podcast, you may have noticed a few new things are being discussed. The purpose of this article is to help you figure out the difference between a StoryBrand Marketing Campaign and a StoryBrand Messaging Campaign.
TLDR: A StoryBrand Messaging Campaign involves the elements of a StoryBrand Marketing Campaign, but instead of focusing on the 7 parts of the brand’s message and how to apply those elements to marketing, the focus is on two things:
What stage of relationship the customer is in with the business. (Curiosity, Enlightenment, or Commitment)
The specific kinds of collateral that are appropriate for each stage of relationship. This is assuming the business knows how to apply its message (AKA its words or sound bites) to the collateral.
Lightning Fast Summary: This fresh arrangement of StoryBrand elements you’re already familiar with helps business owners like you who know how to apply their StoryBrand message determine what to deliver and when so your message is effective.
What is a StoryBrand Messaging Campaign?
Donald Miller's definition: A messaging campaign is a series of ideas, expressed in soundbites, that position your products as the solution to your customers' problems.
A StoryBrand Messaging Campaign has 3 parts. And guess what? The 3 parts are exactly the same as the 3 stages of relationship between the buyer and the business.
When I teach private StoryBrand workshops to businesses to help them clarify their message or if I’m speaking to an organization to give them an overview of the StoryBrand framework, the 3 stages of relationship are always part of that presentation.
Usually, I present the 3 stages in the context of talking about the direct call to action (buy now, call us, schedule a consult, join today) and the transitional call to action (download my lead generator/lead magnet, watch the mini-course, take the quiz).
Quick Review of The Three Stages of Buyer Relationship
Curiosity: When a potential buyer visits your website or encounters your brand for the first time, it’s like a first date. This is the first stage of relationship: Curiosity.
Enlightenment: When the buyer clicks your transitional call to action button and downloads your lead magnet, they’ve moved into the second stage of relationship: Enlightenment.
This is like the second date. They want to learn more about you.
This is where you build trust in a business-buyer relationship.
This is where your email campaign kicks in. It allows the buyer to get to know you on their own terms and build trust.
This stage is where the relationship grows.
Commitment: Now that the buyer trusts you, and you’ve gained credibility, and have shown that you are a good Guide with a balance of empathy and competency, the buyer is ready to hit that direct CTA button. During the third stage of relationship, Commitment, instead of being awkward, the proposal is welcome and even expected. Your buyer is ready to say yes.
Quick Review of Direct Call To Action and Transitional Call To Action
On a first date, you wouldn’t ask your date to marry you. When a customer visits your website or encounters your brand for the first time out in the wild, it’s like the first date.
First date: The direct call to action is like saying, “Will you marry me? on a first date. This approach to getting a commitment is probably not going to get a positive response. YIKES, to say the least.
Second date: The transitional call to action (a link leading to your lead magnet) is like saying, “Hey, would you like to go on a second date?” Having a transitional CTA on your website allows potential buyers to go on a second date with you without making a commitment. Your lead magnet is the second date: The buyer learns more about what you offer, checks to see if you've got what it takes to solve the problem, determines if you’re trustworthy and credible, decides if you’re actually the expert you claim to be, etc.
Three Things to Keep in Mind
Please keep in mind that this depends on what you sell and the length of your sales cycle. If you’re selling $5 batteries, your sales cycle will be short, and there’s not much need for a lead magnet. But if you sell a more expensive product or service that has more impact, your buyer will need more time between the first date (visiting your website or encountering your brand for the first time) and the marriage proposal (when they are ready to buy from you).
Also, please keep in mind that buyers are complex humans with lots of things going on in their lives besides figuring out if they want to buy from you or not. They’re thinking about themselves and how they’re going to solve the problems keeping them up at night WAY more than they’re thinking about you and how fancy your lead magnet is.
Also, also please keep in mind that today’s buyers aren’t as predictable as they used to be. The majority of today's customers aren’t going to neatly drop into the top of your sales funnel and obediently click Buy Now after they pop out the other end once they’ve predictably visited your website, read your lead magnet, and completed your email series. This is why we need to make sure we're thinking about alllll the places your buyer will encounter your brand. It's not just your website. But that's another article for another day.
Back to the 3 Parts of a StoryBrand Messaging Campaign
Remember, the 3 parts of a Messaging Campaign are Curiosity, Enlightenment, and Commitment.
Approaching your messaging this way helps you decide WHAT to deliver WHEN.
Buyers who are in the Curiosity stage will only pay attention to messaging that connects the words you're using with their survival. If they don't think your message will help them survive and thrive, they’ll tune you out. The Curiosity stage is critical.
If you’ve followed Don Miller for any time at all, you already know he’s a fan of using metaphors to explain complex business concepts.
He uses dating to explain the 3 stages of relationship.
He uses a caveman (I use a cavewoman in my workshops) to explain the Grunt Test. (Schedule a free call with me to find out if your website passes the Grunt Test.)
He uses an airplane to explain the different parts of a business. You can read about the airplane and Small Business Flight School here.
When Donald Miller talks about a StoryBrand Messaging Campaign, he uses a house metaphor. The Curiosity stage is represented by the front steps. If a house is missing front steps, most people aren’t going to make it up to your front porch (Enlightenment), and they’re definitely not going to make it all the way to your front door (Commitment).
To watch the full presentation, head to this page on my website.
Examples of StoryBrand Messaging by Stage
Here are some examples of the kinds of messaging that should be delivered or available for each stage of your messaging campaign. This isn’t an exact science, so you’ll find that some items in Curiosity might also be completely appropriate for the Enlightenment stage. This will depend on your buyer and the journey you've planned for them.
When their curiosity is satisfied, they're ready to be enlightened. When they are enlightened, they're ready to make a commitment.
For the Curiosity Stage (the front steps to the house): brandscript, tagline, controlling idea, one-liner, social media posts, landing pages, lead magnets, video scripts, advertising copy, sales rep talking points, email and text campaigns, white papers, podcast episodes, webinars
For the Enlightenment Stage (the front porch of the house): sales rep talking points, email and text campaigns, white papers, podcast episodes, webinars, keynote presentations, mini books, books, explanatory videos, pitch decks
For the Commitment Stage (the front door of the house): pitch decks, proposal, surprise and delight collateral, brand evangelist collateral, newsletters, email series, ongoing communication
Don’t let the length of this article fool you.
It’s simple, and it comes down to this: Deliver the right message to the right person at the right time.
So, what’s the difference between a StoryBrand Messaging Campaign and a StoryBrand Marketing Campaign?
A messaging campaign is part of your overall marketing campaign. It’s specifically focused on the kinds of messages you are delivering.
A messaging campaign gets specific about the different kinds of collateral you’re serving up to buyers or potential buyers, and WHEN it’s appropriate to deliver each kind of collateral. The key is to deliver items that are appropriate for the stage of relationship the buyer is in.
Remember the parts of your StoryBrand brandscript? Your customer is the Hero, and you are the Guide. If you show up as the Hero, you’re in competing stories with your customer. They’re going to head over to your competition because they’re looking for a Guide.
A hero Wants something but has an Internal, External, and Philosophical Problem and meets an Empathetic and Competent Guide who shows the hero a Plan and helps him avoid Failure and achieve Success.
The parts of your brandscript, also referred to as different categories of sound bites for your brand, are what helps your brand message be clear and easy to understand.
Whatever you are delivering in your StoryBrand Messaging Campaign should use these different parts. Remember, marketing is an exercise in repetition.
If the message you deliver is aligned, clear, and connects what your buyer wants to the problem they want to solve, you’re golden.
A StoryBrand Messaging Campaign assumes you have the 7 parts of your StoryBrand brandscript nailed down.
Now you’re applying your brandscript to all the assets you’re creating for your buyers.
FYI: This is where most business owners get stuck. They get excited about their new brandscript but then it collects virtual dust because they either don’t understand how to apply it to their marketing efforts and what they’re creating, or they just don’t have time to do it themselves or train their team. (This is where I come in with private workshops and my included follow-up support!)
If you are feeling stuck and finally ready to get expert help with your StoryBrand Marketing and Messaging, scheduling a free consult with me is the right decision.
You've got this. I'm here for you.
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