146 BRAND REAL fans cheered on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and brooded darkly in an Interview with the Vampire. Despite the perpetual recurrence of the formula that drives vampire stories, audiences keep coming back for more. They love the genre. In fact, Twilight's success is an apt demonstration that stories are not power- ful because they are original but because they play with our expectations. It is the way that a story line frames those expectations to surprise and delight audiences that creates box office magic. In this chapter we'll explore the awesome power of storytelling and how it binds real brands to their audiences. We'll discover that just like a good genre film, a brand can rely on the expectations of a category to create its own unique narrative. We'll consider how a brand defines and presents its character through the auspices of a brand voice. Finally, we'll consider how the story is put to practical use through a communications platform that cuts through the clutter and persuades with simple, relevant messages.