品牌，请别再扮演英雄了！

你还在扮演英雄吗？过去，企业在打造品牌故事的时候都喜欢扮演英雄角色，这样的品牌定位放之现在的市场上其实并不受用，如今，我们要把顾客视为主角，而品牌则是引导者。

来源: adweek

为什么发生了转变？又是什么使得“品牌即英雄”的理念失效？是顾客，他们的消费心态变得更加复杂，头脑更为机智，同时也对消费有了更高的期待。任何企图控制他们的行为都被认为是傲慢和无法接受的。但是当你将自己定位为参与者而不是控制者时，顾客则更愿意让你走进他们的世界了解其所需。你可以努力从推动导向和以品牌为中心（品牌即英雄）的战略转变为以经验为基础和重视消费者参与的品牌定位（品牌即引导者）。

那么该如何做呢？让我们看看《绿野仙踪》对“英雄”和“引导者”的诠释。谁是英雄？Dorothy。谁是导师？Glenda。她帮助Dorothy到达奇妙的Oz。毫无疑问，品牌需要成为伟大的巫师Glenda为顾客提供真正的价值。

这个Glenda/Dorothy 概念是我们塑造品牌故事的基础，而在数字世界里品牌故事是联接品牌和消费者的重要纽带。

对于能够帮助他们达成目标、满足欲望或需求的引导者，消费者愿意视其为朋友。以顾客的英雄形象为蓝本设计你的品牌故事，在满足顾客需求的同时品牌也自然成了故事的一部分——那么谁会是比英雄更适合来说故事的最佳人选呢？

汤姆布鞋（TOMS Shoes）就是成功运用“顾客即英雄/品牌即导师”理念的典范。汤姆布鞋的创始人是来自美国的才华横溢的设计师Blake Mycoskie，他在一次往阿根廷的旅程中，发现当地小朋友需要步行数英里寻找清洁水源或上学，却没有鞋子保护双脚，很多人因此患上皮肤疾病，于是他从阿根廷当地传统布鞋中获取灵感，成立TOMS这个品牌，并承诺每售出一双Toms Shoes鞋子，公司就会捐赠一双给全球需要鞋穿的孩子！这项被称为“One for One”的活动成功引导了顾客一边消费一边做慈善。

当品牌在扮演导师的角色时，他们在人和需求之间搭建了桥梁。无论什么时候，这些桥梁都必须是切实的。过去，说故事的人是桥梁，但是今天，再伟大的故事都是不够的。记住，我们的目的是参与，所以品牌必须超越讲故事的角色成为英雄故事中的一员。这就是说故事的人和故事中人物的区别。

想要成为Glenda有几个简单而有效的步骤。首先，消除组织和品牌之间的距离。消费者认可你的品牌，那么当你从品牌的角度去思考和行动时，你的努力将更有价值。

品牌在用语和表达方面也应该学会转变。当你的目标是引导消费者、增加参与度和互动性时，老一套的用语诸如“目标受众”的说法将不再适用，因为它们一开始就是建立在错误的理念和前提之上。普罗大众对内容贡献的程度远远超出了品牌自身，他们才是真正有影响力和驾驭整个互动环节的核心。所以，对于品牌来讲，“目标受众”或者“用户”的概念，是时候该更新换代了。

与此同时，无论你称他们为消费者、贵宾、顾客还是其他，请一定切记他们的身份，他们在购买产品，体验服务的同时，更是在定义和创建自己与品牌的故事。理想的情况是，你的品牌成功地成为他们故事的一部分，他们会用有意义且身临其境的方式和你的品牌互动和相互影响。

最后，我们必须明白一点——消费者更偏爱能够分享价值的品牌，因此要建立和推广一种鼓励合作、参与和分享的品牌文化。人们是不是更愿意去表达和分享自身参与的故事？是不是也很乐意参与其中？答案是肯定的。

别让Dorothy放弃了。

Brands Need to Stop Trying to Play Hero

The goal should be participation ByGaston Legorburu

Did you ever know that you’re not my hero? There. It had to be said (or sung). Consider this amusing yet pertinent disconnect in the spirit of helping brands with positioning. One of the biggest mistakes brands make in storytelling is to play the role of the hero. Today we must make consumers the hero while we get better at being their mentor.

Why the shift? What’s making the brand-as-hero approach less effective? Consumers. They’ve become more sophisticated, resourceful and now have higher expectations. Any intent to control them may be received as arrogance and is unlikely to pass through their acceptance filters. But when your goal becomes participation, rather than control, the hero is more likely to let you into his world and his story. You can start by focusing on efforts that rotate your brand from being push-driven and brand-centric (brand as hero) to being experience-based and consumer-engaging (brand as mentor).

How? Well, let’s look to the great Wizard of Oz for an illustration of “hero” and “mentor.” Who is the hero? Dorothy. Who is the mentor? Glenda. She helped Dorothy get to Oz. Brands need to become the good-witch Glenda and offer real value to the consumer.

This Glenda/Dorothy concept is the basis of our Storyscaping approach that is designed to connect brands with consumers in this always-on, digitally enabled world.

Consumers befriend mentors that serve to help them achieve a goal, satisfy a desire or meet a need. Making your customer the hero of your brand’s narrative landscape empowers them. Brands that serve the needs of consumers naturally become part of their stories—and who better to tell your brand story than a hero?

Look to Toms Shoes as a good working example of the “consumer as hero/brand as mentor” philosophy. Toms was born from a purpose—to provide children in need with shoes and improve their health and well-being. Toms’ “One for One” model promises that for every pair of shoes purchased, a pair will be given to a disadvantaged child. Toms mentors its customers by providing a streamlined way to support a greater purpose, and everybody wins.

When brands act as mentors, they create bridges between people and their needs. Whenever possible, those bridges need to be tangible. In the past, storytelling served as the bridge, but today, stories, even great stories, aren’t enough. Remember, the goal is participation, so brands must create experiences beyond the narrative where heroes become immersed and involved. That’s the differentiator between a story told and a story lived.

There are a few simple, yet powerful steps to becoming a Glenda. First, dissolve any unnecessary separation between your organization and brand. The consumer sees you as the brand, and when you think and act from that place, your efforts will project more cohesively and authentically.

The language you use should change. When the goal is to mentor, involve and participate, the old terminology of “targeting an audience” sets up the wrong premise from the start. These are the folks who create much of your content, hold powerful influence and actually control their own interaction within your experience space. So it will be helpful to find a more accurate and empowering reference than one-directional terms like “target” or “user.”

Also, whether you call them consumers, guests, customers or anything else, please always keep in mind that they are people—the very people who are defining, creating and building their story through the acquisition and application of your products and services. Ideally, they are (or will become) the people who interact and transact with your brand in meaningful and immersive ways, the people who carry your brand as part of their story.

Finally, consumers are likely to favor brands that share values they care about, so establish a meaningful purpose and share it often to encourage cooperation, participation and even more sharing. Are people more likely to express and share stories they are part of and feel good being part of? In our experience, the answer is a resounding yes.

Never let Dorothy surrender.

Gaston Legorburu (@gastonleg) is worldwide chief creative officer, SapientNitro.