DESCRIPTION
This version of “Hero’s journey” is underlining the easy implementable complexity of a story by creating “a story in a stroyin a story…” . In movie business known as Sequel, Prequel, Spinoffs, etc. it adds endless possibilities of continuing to tell the story… In business storytelling, this would be the descriotion of the different version of a slide deck: SHOWN, PRINTED, DOWNLOADABLE, etc.
Adapted, it may transform abstract business ideas into emotionally resonant, structured, and memorable narratives match with audience situation and therefore drive them action.
Joseph Campbell, an American mythologist (1949). Published in The Hero with a Thousand Faces. First known commercial adaption from Christopher Vogler for Hollywood in the 1990s
USED BY
Brand storytelling, marketing campaigns, corporate communication (especially in times of struggle), leadership narratives, sales pitches, startup pitch decks, product launches and change management
METHOD
MATERIAL YOU COULD NEED: Whiteboard or digital whiteboarding tool, Post-Its or digital note-taking tool, audience persona map, product or service info, pain points & goals of target audience and visual storytelling assets as optional add on.
STAKEHOLDER GOOD TO KNOW: Product manager/owner, PR and Communication team, strategy responsible team, sales responsibles, marketing/creative team, analysts, research team for insights surveys or feedbacks (testimonials and real cases).
STEPS
THE CALL: The problem emerges.
The story start with an hero or product and captures attention with a relatable pain or challenge associated with it. It mirrors customer’s pain point or frustration and makes it vivid to give the audience the chance of self-reflection and provides the moment of realization: “Yes, that’s me.”
Supporting methods: Empathy mapping, customer interviews, problem-solution fit analysis
Example: Our clients were wasting 15 hours/week due to disorganized data.
THE STRUGGLE: Overcoming the Challenge.
This part builds the first emotional tension and creates the first stakes too. Showing the “before” situation. What life looked like without your solution. Describing the chaos, inefficiency, or missed opportunity in every detail and in any potential way.
Supporting methods: Before/After Grid, Emotional Journey Mapping
Example: We tried solution A, B, and C, but each failed in different ways and for different reasons.
THE PRODUCT APPEARS: Your solution.
Now is the perfect moment to position your brand as solution, but not as hero. Introduce your offering as the wise guide for the hero. Explain how you empower the hero (your customer) with tools, frameworks, or insights or whatever and however your product fits.
Supporting methods: Value Proposition Canvas, StoryBrand Framework, Case Studies
Example: Our service streamlined their process, cut waste, and restored focus.
THE SOLUTION: Success achieved.
Your audience remembers stories that end in transformation and real changes. Quantify and qualify the success your solution brings to the customer. Use metrics like time saved or money made, client quotes, and emotional benefits.
Supporting methods:ROI analysis, before/after visuals, customer journey mapping.
Example: Revenue rose 20% in 6 months, and team morale skyrocketed.
THE RETURN: A new normal.
This part is reserved for the aspirational closure to reinforce your product reputation and brand as trusted long-term ally on customers journey. It solves problems, instead of only shifting them somewhere else. Your customer now should be able to inspire others. They’ve become stronger, wiser, happier. The story closes the loop emotionally and the customer combines your brand with a good feeling.
Supporting methods: Client video testimonials, post-campaign interviews, UGC storytelling.
Example: Today, they lead workshops to help other teams replicate their success.
THE PLUS TO THE STORY: deepen the story by adding parameters and complexity.
Now you may add some details and deeper insights, information to those elements needed. In case of business storytelöling this is the classical print version of slides presented or shown as they add the details to single steps not shown (in detail) before. The documentation and slide deck gets bigger and more complex, but now delivers the chance to consume the story in an own pace as all details are delivered (classically in the “Backup” section).
Example: the SHOWN slides are simpler, the story shorter and the messages are crisper. The Downloadable or printable version give the details the audience would have asked for in a written form.
According to chatGPT, when George Lucas was stuck writing Star Wars, he read Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces. He realized that Luke Skywalker’s journey mirrored the ancient mythic structure Campbell described. Lucas turned the Hero’s Journey into a blockbuster — proving its universal resonance.
In business, Apple’s iconic “Think Different” campaign echoed the same framework: rebels (heroes), challenged norm (ordeal), empowered by Apple (mentor), changing the world (return).
