The Villains in a brand story are the opposing and the counterpart forces of a brand meaning and solution that challenges the hero (the brand) and drive the actions forward. Every great hero needs a great villain. A good villain is a complex evil character whom readers and viewers simultaneously love and hate. Unless marketers define the brand’s villains, the hero will not stand out brightly. Stories with heroes and villains might inspire the customers to change. The Audience empathizes and mimics heroes’ behavior and suppresses the behaviors embodied by villains. A good villain makes a story a lot more entertaining and exciting for the viewers as it keeps the suspense growing across the progression of story events. Villains and adversaries give context to the story plot in a way that no other character can do because they make the audience see the level of evil or opposition through the hero’s eyes. Villains in the content marketing perspective often are not people or objects. Customer frustration, overpricing, confusing processes, terrible customer support, slow service, and the complicated purchasing process could be the adversary forces of antagonism that a heroic brand shall conquer. According to (Sprout's 2017) research, 66% of respondents believe that brands must take a public stand on major social and political problems such as immigration, human rights, and racial relations. These reasons can be used by marketers to create an adversary force in the brand story.
The Villains in a brand story are required to drive consumers to make logical choices for brand advantage. It enhances brand trust and helps consumers make the choice that is most natural and most likely to be a benefit to the brand. The key to a brand story is to make the logical choice the easiest choice, the one that is best for the consumer.
In the last decades, the brand has become a powerful symbol to express a brand value and to demonstrate the brand meaning. A brand is a strong personality of a company, and as such it embodies and represents the values, ideas, products, services, and people associated with a company. People need a strong brand to identify themselves with the company. People are drawn to brands because of their inherent trustworthiness.
The Villains are the things you see as the negative side of a brand. Usually, they're the bad guys. For example, Coke, McDonald's, and Adidas are all examples of brands that have villains. The main objective of storytelling is to help the reader remember the brand. The villains in a brand story are the counterparts that you will need to create and promote your brand and make them engaging to the audience. When you start marketing your brand, you should be sure to look beyond the product itself and discover what the product is being used for and why. Who is it meant for? What does the brand have that your competitors don't?
The Villains “Transfarency” in Southwest Airlines Story
Southwest
Airlines builds its pricing model around the villain of competitors’ hidden fees.
The Carrier celebrated customers and underscored core values such as low fares.
While other low-cost airlines charge for seat choices, checked bags, and even
water, Southwest does not. In 2015, Southwest Airlines launched the “Transfarency”
campaign focused on the carrier’s low-fare message and newly refreshed livery
and interior. The 2017 campaign -Behind Every Story is the Reason for
Transfarency- built on Transfarency through the emotional telling of customer
stories and their reasons for flying. They reminded customers that they were at
the core of the carrier’s purpose: connect passengers to what is essential in
their lives through friendly, reliable, and low-cost air travel. They made up a
unique trust for their no-hidden-fees pricing strategy: “Transfarency,” which
is a philosophy of treating customers honestly and fairly, and low fares stay
low—no unexpected bag fees, change fees, or hidden fees. Low fares. No hidden
fees. Southwest Airlines created this villain in their marketing all the time,
and people like it and engage with it.
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