Why the Best Brands Don’t Just Tell Stories - They Build Places
There’s a reason Guinness ads linger long after the pint is gone.
It’s not just clever scripts or beautiful cinematography. It’s this:
They don’t sell you a drink. They invite you somewhere.
Take the Guinness “Welcome Back” ad.
The pub scene is short. At the end. Filmed in silence.
Yet you can hear the conversations, feel the weight of the glass, sense the pause before the laugh.
It’s full - of atmosphere, memory, anticipation.
It’s not an ad. It’s a place you know - and want to return to.
Lily’s Kitchen: Bringing That Sense of Place Home
When I worked on brand positioning for Lily’s Kitchen, one of the trickier questions was:
How do you introduce a cat into what’s very clearly a dog’s kitchen?
The answer wasn’t product benefits or recipes.
It was about protecting the place Lily’s Kitchen had built - and expanding its world view.
A kitchen where dogs, cats, and humans live harmoniously.
Principled. Polite. Partial to something slow-cooked.
Urban-with-a-dash-of-country. A little eccentric. Always warm.
The name, the copy, the illustrations - they don’t just communicate a brand.
They create a quiet utopia.
Somewhere to live. Somewhere to return to, again and again.
Because when you build a place - not just a product story - you create something far stickier than a sales message.
You create belonging.
Why “Place” Matters - The Psychology Behind It
Humans don’t just buy things.
We seek places - mental spaces where we feel comfortable, connected, and understood.
Sociologist Ray Oldenburg called these “third places” - those relaxed, familiar environments beyond home and work where we feel most ourselves. A favourite café. A cosy pub. A kitchen where everyone - including the cat - feels at home.
The best brands recreate that feeling.
They become a kind of mental third place.
It’s not just about geography.
It’s about creating a consistent atmosphere, a shared world view, and a sense of identity.
Somewhere the audience wants to step into - and stay.
Porotti: a Dash of the Unexpected
Look at Poretti’s “Welcome to the Lake”.
It invites us into a world where the unexpected feels perfectly at home.
Where slowing down is a given and charm floats as easily as the boat.
They’re not listing tasting notes or brewing credentials.
They’re creating a place - one of sun, ease, good company, and a raised glass when life surprises you.
Like Guinness and Lily’s Kitchen, it’s about atmosphere, rhythm, and those little details that make you feel like you belong there - whether it’s a pub, a kitchen, or a lakeside boat with a fox for a captain.
Because products fill shelves.
But places? Places fill minds. Places pull you back.
There’s soul in that kind of storytelling.
And soul doesn’t fade when the campaign ends. It stays.
Brand Takeaway:
Are you listing what you offer, or building somewhere your audience wants to be?
Somewhere they’ll return to. Again and again.
If your brand feels more like a product on a shelf than a place people belong, let’s change that.
I help purpose-led businesses craft messaging, voice, and strategy that don’t just sell - they welcome.
✨ Let’s build somewhere your audience wants to return to. Let’s connect.
