Can storytelling build equity in a company’s brand?
Better yet, can storytelling differentiate a company?
AHALife makes a case for both.
I remember Twitter CEO Dick Costolo blogging about the purchase of a product from Moosejaw.com that came with a fresh note:
“If you are actually reading this note you should be super happy. First, you have received your order, reading is fun and getting something in the mail (even if you bought it yourself) has got to make the day better. Second, I put your order together all by myself.”
Costolo goes on to say the note makes him like Moosejaw more because people like it when companies have personalities.
AHALife has a personality which by itself serves to differentiate the company.
Here’s a good example describing a planter. Take a look at the first ‘graph:
Ever want to do everything upside down and backwards, just for the hell of it? Eat ice cream for breakfast, call in sick to go surfing, etc? We don’t advocate the former—and are going to stay mum on the latter—but we do have a stylish way to mix things up with these gravity-defying Boskke Sky Planters.
It’s conversational.
It makes you feel like there’s a real human being on the other end.
The narrative then moves to how these bad boys actually work:
Cool, you say, but how do you not end up with plant guts splattered all over the floor? We wondered the same thing. The solution is simple but ingenious: Remove ready-grown plant from its container and place into Sky Planter. Once locked in place with the circular ceramic disk, flip the pot and suspend from a securely fastened ceiling hook. Voilé! An upside down plant.
Nice turn of a phrase, “plant guts splattered.”
And the company does an admirable job sustaining the vibe throughout the site.
If I had one quibble, it would be the welcome note from the company that arrived after I signed on the dotted line:
Welcome to AHAlife! We look forward to bringing you unique, innovative and hard-to-find products sourced by our global network of influential tastemakers. Here’s to living beautifully!
Welcome to AHAlife exclamation point?
Now there’s a greeting that grabs you by the scruff of the neck.
C’mon Shauna (the founder).
You can do better.