Book excerpt: Written by the award-winning storyteller Miri Rodriguez at Microsoft, this bestselling book gets back to the heart of brand loyalty, consumer behavior and engagement as a business strategy by using storytelling to trigger the emotions that humans are driven by. Despite understanding essential storytelling techniques, brands continue to explain how their product or service can help the customer, rather than showcasing how the customer's life has changed as a result of them. This second edition of Brand Storytelling contains new trends in storytelling, as well as expanding on story experience and employee experience. This book explores the future of brand storytelling in a post pandemic era. New to this edition is also a 'How to Guide' taking readers through each step of the design thinking process in order to prototype their stories. Brand Storytelling provides a step-by-step guide to assess, dismantle and rebuild a brand story, shifting the brand from a 'hero' to 'sidekick' mentality and positioning the customer as a key influencer to motivate the audience. Clarifying why machine-learning, AI and automation only tell one side of the story, this book will inspire you with cutting edge interviews and case studies from leading brands like Expedia, Coca Cola, McDonalds, Adobe and Google to tap into authentic brand loyalty and human connection.