Branding can span everything from videos and magazine ads of a simple logo, to company culture and C-Suite tweets. It plays a vital role in whether or a not a business - of any size - can accomplish the #1 feat - standing out.

These five examples will feature big brands with bigger budgets - but there is a wealth of knowledge to be drawn from their tactics for small business to stand taller than their competitors. Let’s dive in.

Sometimes, small business strategy can feel like a coinflip in terms of where to direct attention. But grasping a key difference between two often misunderstood arenas - marketing and advertising - will inform you, lighten your load, and generate sales in one fell swoop. Let’s break it down.

Stories entice us, they move us, and can leave us feeling compelled to act. In Mona Lisa’s case, “act” means traveling to Paris only to stand in line for three hours, only to be crammed in a sea of people, cameras and gasps.

That’s the power of stories, and it has introduced a new era within business and advertising. Because what business doesn’t dream of enticing customers and compelling them to act?

“Centuries went on and the presence of stories just kept expanding, into Renaissance artwork, the novel, still photography, Chaplin films, concept albums and of course the Desperate Housewives series. “