Role of Corporate Storytelling in Strategic Brand Building

Abstract

In an era of communication overload and declining consumer trust in conventional advertising, corporate storytelling has emerged as a powerful strategic tool for brand building. Story-driven brand narratives enable firms to humanize their identities, create emotional connections, and communicate values more authentically than traditional promotional messages. This study conceptualizes the role of corporate storytelling in strategic brand building by integrating insights from branding theory, narrative transportation theory, and relationship marketing. A comprehensive framework is proposed in which storytelling dimensions—authenticity, emotional appeal, narrative coherence, character identification, and value congruence—drive brand outcomes such as brand trust, brand attachment, brand equity, and long-term loyalty. A quantitative research methodology using structural equation modeling (SEM) is proposed for empirical validation. The paper contributes to branding literature by positioning storytelling not merely as a communication tactic but as a core strategic branding capability. Managerial implications and future research directions are also discussed