[How About This Book] Every Attractive Brand Has a Story

Kim Kolbe's "Branding Is Ultimately About Storytelling"
Just as architecture designs spaces to create narratives,
Brand storytelling is not a mere list of facts,
But the work of crafting an immersive narrative structure

In the 1980s, a columbarium housing a giant Buddha statue was built about 40 minutes by car from downtown Sapporo, Japan. Despite introducing various attractions such as Stonehenge and Moai statues to draw attention, the site failed to gain significant recognition for 30 years due to the small number of visitors. Ultimately, in 2012, the world-renowned architect Tadao Ando was asked to provide a solution. The request was, "Please make it so that many people come to see this Buddha statue, which has been all but neglected." The result was a resounding success: tourists from all over the world flocked to the site.

Kim Kolbe, Branding Is Ultimately About Storytelling, featuring the world-renowned architect Tadao Ando's project "Hill of the Buddha." Wisdom House

Tadao Ando's idea was as follows: "Cover the existing Buddha statue with a hill," "Blanket the hill with a lavender field, like the Notre-Dame de S?nanque Abbey in Europe," "Let only the giant head peek out," "Have visitors walk around a water feature, purifying their minds as they walk," "Burn incense in a cave-like entrance, guiding visitors toward the distant Buddha statue," and "When looking up at the Buddha from below, let the round sky appear as an aura."

Kim Kolbe (Kim Sungmin), CEO of Studio Archi, explains that this architectural design process is similar to the process of building a brand. Just as architecture is not simply a combination of bricks and steel but a process of designing a spatial experience that leaves a narrative in the visitor's mind, a brand story is not just a list of facts but a structure that allows the listener to become immersed in the story. He explains, "The better the story, the more it can spark curiosity with a single word or sentence, and the detailed stories support the substructure in a meticulous and solid way."

The brand story architecture he proposes consists of six main elements.

The first is the brand name. He defines the brand name as "a word that encompasses all the images and values the brand aspires to," emphasizing that it requires very precise design because it is the condensed language consumers encounter when they first recognize the brand.

The second is the concept. The word "concept" comes from the Latin "Conceptus," a combination of "con" (together) and "cept" (to take). The author describes the concept as "a single sentence that bundles together the many images and values my brand wants to present to customers."

Other concepts that describe a brand include "fa?ade," "zone," "mise-en-sc?ne," and "vibe." The fa?ade, which refers to the front exterior wall of a building, serves to introduce the brand's outward face. If the brand name and concept are the name and first impression, the fa?ade is the stage that shows the appearance in more detail. The zone breaks down the brand into more specific components, while the mise-en-sc?ne captures its visual characteristics. For example, in the phrase "When freshly fried donuts come out, the red neon sign lights up," the color red is part of the mise-en-sc?ne.

In contrast, the vibe refers to the atmosphere of a particular space. While mise-en-sc?ne is a visual and tangible element, vibe is more emotional and intangible. For instance, background music (BGM) is an element that creates the vibe.

The author emphasizes that it is only when such elements are combined with an interesting story that a truly attractive brand is born. He introduces various brand cases he has worked on. "Yidomansion" used King Sejong, who was known for his extraordinary love of meat, as its concept. It is said that no matter how unwell he was, King Sejong would become upset if there was no meat on the table, and the theme was that Sejong would invite guests and serve them meat. The logo was a modern reinterpretation of Irwolobongdo (Ilwol Obongdo), a symbol of royalty. This approach resonated with customers and led to the restaurant being selected for the Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand (a distinction for good value restaurants).

For storytelling techniques, he recommends using the "logline" advocated by Matthew Luhn. Matthew Luhn is a key artist behind Pixar hits such as "Toy Story," "Monsters, Inc.," and "Ratatouille." He now provides story-based business consulting to Fortune 500 companies. The core of the logline, as he emphasizes, is to capture four elements?hero, goal, obstacle, and change?in 30 seconds to 3 minutes.

For example, in "Monsters, Inc.," Sulley (the hero), who is skilled at scaring children, risks being fired from his job and losing his best friend (the obstacle) in order to reveal the truth that scaring children is wrong (the goal), and transforms into an enlightened monster (the change). The author applied this structure to the fa?ade of the brand "Jibmusil." "After COVID-19, many people ended up working from home, whether by choice or not, and many found it difficult to work at home (the obstacle). We (the hero) thought that people needed a great work environment within a 15-minute walk from home (the goal). So, we developed and installed three types of work modules that people can choose from based on their personalities and the nature of their work that day (the change)."

He explains that this message was used as Jibmusil's promotional phrase for the longest time, and that using the structure of hero, goal, obstacle, and change was a great help. "People, regardless of the era, are drawn to stories in which a protagonist overcomes adversity and undergoes transformation."

This book showcases the detailed know-how of Kim Kolbe, who has spent 15 years honing his skills through collaboration and is highly regarded among branding professionals. The BSA concept, which organizes branding into six stages?concept, fa?ade, zone, mise-en-sc?ne, and vibe?is regarded as a practical branding formula that can be immediately applied in the field. It also has the scalability to be applied to personal branding.

Branding Is Ultimately About Storytelling | Written by Kim Kolbe (Kim Sungmin) | Wisdom House | 284 pages | 17,000 KRW