Big T vs. small-t Truths

In class today, we continued to talk about storybranding and its importance for marketing strategies. A group of my classmates gave a presentation about the most important concepts from this week's readings, but we never got around to talk about a concept I found both interesting and confusing. This is the Big T vs. Small-t Truth idea, which is talked about in chapter 20 of our Storybranding 2.0 book. To better help myself understand this, I thought I would blog about it.

This section of the chapter talked about how successful story writers go along with the principle that "truth is not what is said, but what is believed". This concept seems very valid for marketing and the whole concept of emotional involvement. Consumers believe brands that generate emotions from them. If a commercial makes you cry (like the Duracell one I blogged about last week), you're probably going to believe whatever message is being told. It's almost as if brands want to make consumers vulnerable. By generating these strong emotions, it seems like they're using that as a persuasive tactic.

The small-t truth, according to our book, is objective, a provable fact or arguable opinion, that is explicitly stated and directly communicated. I connect this to the brand's outer layer. This could be a commercial explicitly stating a product's features or benefits. It's what is "obviously" stated or told to you as a consumer, and not much thought is needed to process it or understand it. The Big T truth, on the other hand, appeals to the non-rational side of consumers. It is also said that we know these kinds of truths based on personal perceptions and beliefs. I connect this kind of truth with a brand's inner layer. These truths are not explicitly stated, instead they are to  be interpreted by consumers based on their inner values and beliefs.

So, what I think this means, is that the Big T truth is the more important truth for consumers to understand. By having to interpret and analyze it (without it being explicitly stated), consumers are engaging and getting more emotionally involved with the product or brand. For a company like Nike, the small-t truth might be that their shoes are the best for athletes' needs. The Big T truth could be that Nike focuses on inspiring every athlete in the world to be their best. It's a deeper, more emotional kind of message than simply stating the product's unique attributes and features. This relates back to Unique Value Proposition vs. Unique Selling Proposition.

Overall, I found these concepts to be a little confusing when I first read them, but breaking them down was very helpful. I think I've gained a better understanding of them, and I hope my explanations were helpful for you readers as well!