When we asked 100 CMOs what really keeps them up at night about brand storytelling, the answers weren’t about fairy-tale frameworks or copywriting tricks – they were practical, sometimes unglamorous questions.
‘How do I flex a narrative for different markets?’
‘How do I get sales, product and marketing to tell the same story?’
‘How do I sell storytelling to the CFO?’
‘Does it even work – and how do I measure it?’
If you see your own questions here, you’re not alone. Here’s what those CMOs told us – and the answers we’ve seen work in practice.
1. ‘Is there a framework that’s simple but impactful?’
Even the most creative teams want structure. A repeatable framework keeps stories clear, even in a five-slide deck.
The simplest, battle-tested storytelling framework (adapted from Hollywood):
Hero: Your customer (not your brand)
Problem: What’s standing in their way
Guide: Your brand, offering empathy and expertise
Solution: How you help
Transformation: The better future for your customer
Tip: Your brand is the guide, the customer is the hero. Tell their story, not yours.
2. ‘How do we stay consistent across teams and markets?’
CMOs know brand strength depends on consistency. But sameness doesn’t work when you’re marketing in 10+ countries or across product lines.
Spine vs muscle is a useful metaphor:
The brand narrative is the spine – it stays the same.
The messaging and creative are the muscles – they flex and adapt.
In practice:
Build modular stories anchored in your central truth.
Localise voice, not values.
Give local teams freedom on execution but hold the narrative steady.
Tip: Consistency isn’t about using the same words everywhere – it’s about staying rooted in the same story.
3. ‘How do we get everyone inside the business to tell the same story?’
One of the hardest challenges isn’t external at all. It’s getting sales, product, marketing and customer success to speak in a single voice.
What works:
Story cheat sheets and pitch decks for daily use
Aligning the narrative with onboarding, OKRs and go-to-market plans
Offering storytelling tools, not just brand guidelines
Tip: Make storytelling part of the process – not a one-off workshop.
4. ‘How do we know it’s working?’
Storytelling can sound soft until you prove it delivers.
What to measure:
Qualitative: Customer recall, feedback, sentiment. Are teams using the narrative?
Quantitative: Engagement, share of voice, conversion rates, sentiment shifts
For example:
Stories improve recall by up to 22× (Stanford study)
Unified narratives can increase win rates in sales pitches
Tip: Track narrative adoption as you would a product feature.
5. ‘How do we keep it simple – and sell it to the CFO?’
If storytelling stays inside marketing, it never scales. To get buy-in, show – don’t just tell.
Use before-and-after messaging examples to show clarity
Share ROI data: stories build trust and reduce friction
Keep frameworks simple enough for everyone to remember and use
Tip: Storytelling isn’t ‘soft.’ It drives alignment, cuts noise and improves recall.
6. ‘Do customers really care?’
The short answer: yes – if you make them the hero.
Use real language, not jargon
Talk about problems and outcomes, not just products
Show how your features are tools in their journey
Tip: Customers care deeply – about their own success. It’s your job to make it all about them.
The takeaway
These weren’t abstract questions. They came directly from 100 CMOs who have to:
Align dozens of teams
Prove ROI to the board
Tell one story in many markets
And make sure customers actually listen
If you share these questions, you’re not alone. Storytelling isn’t just creative work – it’s a system. One that can scale, resonate, and perform.
Want to learn more about storytelling in presentations? Check out our blog: https://www.futurepresent.agency/blog