What’s the one thing that big box retailers don’t have? Heritage and a story. Sure, they can hire celebrity spokespeople, spend millions in advertising and photography, but they can’t tell me a story. This is one thing that Bentley has excelled at in their recent campaign dubbed, “Le Mans 24 Hours: Les Bentley Boys."  This short documentary is available on YouTube and it’s about the world's oldest active endurance sports car race.

What’s so special about this video?

It’s divided into three vignettes chronicling a different period and perspective to the story. The first part creates awe, it establishes almost a mythical aura of Le Mans race. The second part gives us a picture of the rugged and audacious Bentley Boys who dominated the race in its earliest days. The final section takes us to 2003 when Bentley returned to the race and won after a long absence from the race.

This 6 minute documentary told a story unlike any car ad I’ve seen. The best part of this video is that it’s their story and no one else can touch it. It’s about relentless driving and it’s about the putting two unlikely things together: man and machine.  It’s about how the Bentley Boys made the car a luxurious, untouchable, classic vehicle. It’s not an ad to sell the car. It’s an ad to tell their story. There in itself, is a big difference.

How can you score with storytelling and heritage?

People connect with stories because they want to have an affirmation of life and meaning. Nothing gives greater affirmation than when we connect through stories.  Stories can cross through any barriers of time, past, present, and future. They allow us to experience the similarities within ourselves and others.  Here are some tips to create your story:

1. Make a promise that the story will lead somewhere and be worth your time

2. Make the audience put things together-- hold their attention and don’t be predictable

3. Change is fundamental in stories-- we are constantly changing and if your story doesn’t change then it’s not true to human nature.

4. Drama is anticipation mingled with uncertainty.

5. Stories have guidelines, no hardline rules -- remember that.

6. Have a strong theme

7. Evoke wonder

Once you evoke wonder, then you’ll see that this is the driving point to share a story. I was in awe of the Bentley Boys story and that is what made me write this blog and share Bentley’s story with you all.

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What is it about your product or service that is uniquely and totally you? What story can you tell that no competitor can duplicate? For more automotive marketing tips, check out @activengage on Twitter!