How to build your brand's next hero

Ever felt like you know a fictional character better than your cousin?

Crazy, I know.

But sometimes, fictional characters become that real.

As you probably realized, storytelling has been my obsession lately.

More specifically, character creation.

There's Pandafoo I mentioned in the last e-mail - the chic panda from our kids' streetwear brand.

Then there's Infi Torem, the ever-creative Mutant Ape who turns anything into art – whether it’s chocolate bars or couture.

And who could forget Rumpel? Our bad-ass street art character we brought to the blockchain as an NFT collection last year.

"But, why care about fictional characters?", you might wonder.

Characters give life to a brand.

Imagine getting emails from a graffiti-loving character rather than just a company. Yeah, that’s what Rumpel's been doing for our brand for the past years.

In our recent Grateful Show podcast, we hosted Clon, the creator of the popular "Cool Cats" collection.

His blue cat character wasn't an overnight sensation.

Not at all.

Born in 2013, it took years of relentless drawing and crafting before reaching global acclaim in 2021.

He paints a picture - imagine a modest stand at a 2015 festival displaying a few cat prints.

Fast forward to San Diego Comic Con a few weeks ago: Cool Cats exploded. His perseverance is inspiring, and he reminded us that the journey itself can be more rewarding than the destination.

Clon's key message was simple: When crafting your character's universe, don't overcomplicate. Funny enough, that’s also the name of a chapter in my book.

“It's easy for you as the creator to fully understand the story. But you're not the one consuming it. Other people are. And you know other people have their daily lives. They can't always keep up with it. So you can’t be constantly showing them something new. Repetition and familiarity are key,” Clon explained.

That resonated. A character's world should be deeply understood by its creator, yet easily relatable to its audience. Like rewatching a favorite movie – noticing something new each time, yet comforted by its familiarity.

If you’re in the process of creating a character, Clon suggests starting close to home. Modeling it after someone familiar – a friend, a foe, or even yourself – can make it more genuine.

Because real emotions, experiences, and nuances shape them.

There's also a great trick in character creation that Clon shared, and it’s all about age appeal.

He mentioned: "Our ultimate goal is to be multi-generational. But at one point, we were 'too cute and too family-friendly'. It's almost impossible to get out of that! So you have to shoot past where you want to be and go more adult. Because kids always look up to people who are older than them to figure out what's cool."

It made perfect sense and resonated deeply with my journey with Pandafoo. By targeting a slightly older audience, not only do you appeal to them, but you catch the younger ones who are always on the lookout for what's 'cool' to the older kids.

Just like "The Simpsons", where kids laugh at Homer's goofiness and adults chuckle at the more sophisticated humor.

Oh, and let’s not forget about my regular Weekend Tip: If you want to learn more about storytelling, dive into 'Save the Cat'. It's one of those masterful books on storytelling that’s hands-on and, well, purrfect. (I had to, given the cat theme…)

So before we part, I’ll leave you with this question: Who’s the hero of your narrative?

Carpe Diem,

Tino