The Power of Co-Created Brand Stories (The Waka Waka Story)
If anyone ever told me I’d have an emotional connection to a solar-powered phone charger and light, I’d have ordered them a straight jacket right away. But the WakaWaka brand has achieved just that – and, in the process provided me with an active role in an empowering story (pun intended) to bring light to those who need it.
I’m a sponsor of the WakaWaka #LightItUp campaign on Kickstarter where supporters get the innovative WakaWaka solar-powered light and cell phone charger and, get this: two WakaWaka lights are also sent to Haiti. That’s 10,000 little bundles of uber-efficient and sustainable light for the hurricane-devastated community through the one campaign.
It’s a great example of how a brand can establish shared narrative with people and provide them with an active role for co-creation as a means of real engagement, creating meaning for the brand and power to its mission.
Because you don’t just buy a product, you buy a story (especially when you’re in it!).
As a supporter, I get periodic updates of the little lamps en route to homeless families in Haiti who need them the most – a process managed personally by the WakaWaka staff on the ground.
And it doesn’t stop with Haiti. WakaWaka’s mission supports a goal to bring light to 1.5 billion people who live off the grid.
It’s not too late to claim your role in the story — while the Kickstarter campaign is over, you can join WakaWaka to help people that live without electricity by being an Agent of Light. Check it out: