Don’t Sell The Product, Sell The Story

Customers don't buy products.

They buy the version of themselves the product makes possible.

So many brands obsess over the same 4 things:
Quality, design, features, and price.

But none of those things INDIVIDUALLY are what the customer is paying for.

What converts are those things PLUS identity (what the product says about who they are).

Operators who understand that make clearer creative calls.
The brief stops being about the product and starts being about the person buying it.

All by focusing on selling the story, instead of the product.

Here are 8 brands doing it well 👇

1️⃣ Merit

❌ Merit doesn't sell lipstick.
✅ They sell the woman who stopped trying to look like someone else.

2️⃣ Patagonia

❌ Patagonia doesn't sell jackets.
✅ They sell the feeling of buying something you don't have to defend.

3️⃣ Summer Fridays

❌ Summer Fridays doesn't sell skincare.
✅ They sell the person who isn't rushing through their day.

4️⃣ Alo

❌ Alo doesn't sell leggings.
✅ They sell a lifestyle you can wear out of the house and still feel put together in.

5️⃣ Ilia

❌ Ilia doesn't sell tint.
✅ They sell the woman who's decided she doesn't need more.

6️⃣ Skims

❌ Skims doesn't sell shapewear.
✅ They sell feeling good in everything else you put on top.

7️⃣ Westman Atelier

❌ Westman Atelier doesn't sell makeup.
✅ They sell a morning that feels like sitting in a chair at a magazine shoot.

8️⃣ Aviator Nation

❌ Aviator Nation doesn't sell sweatshirts.
✅ They sell weekend energy you can wear on a Tuesday.

The brands that scale know what they sell beyond their product.

Get that right and everything else gets easier.

What does your brand sell beyond the product?
Drop it in the comments.

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Follow me, Jacob Rokeach, for more on creative and brand strategies.