Episode 358Content Strategy

How Do You Tell a Century of Stories

Vikram Maram, a marketing leader specializing in brand storytelling, explores how companies with decades or even a century of history can find and tell the stories that make legacy brands relevant to modern audiences. The episode covers strategies for mining institutional knowledge, balancing heritage with innovation, and creating narratives that honor the past while speaking to today's customers.

Vikram Maram

Marketing Leader

16 minAugust 12, 2025

Listen on:Apple Podcasts Spotify Buzzsprout

Key Takeaways

1Legacy brands have a unique storytelling advantage — a deep well of institutional knowledge, milestones, and customer relationships that newer companies cannot replicate
2The challenge is not finding stories but curating which stories resonate with modern audiences while honoring the brand's heritage
3Balancing heritage with innovation in brand narratives helps legacy companies feel both trustworthy and forward-looking
4Mining institutional knowledge requires interviewing long-tenured employees, exploring company archives, and connecting historical milestones to current market challenges

About this episode

Discusses storytelling strategies for brands with long histories.

Topics covered

Brand storytelling for legacy and heritage companies
Mining institutional knowledge for content
Balancing heritage and innovation in brand narratives
Making century-old brands relevant to modern audiences

Resources mentioned

Strategy
Heritage Brand Storytelling
An approach to mining decades of institutional knowledge, customer relationships, and company milestones to create brand narratives that honor the past while connecting to modern audience needs

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About the guest

Vikram Maram

Marketing Leader

Marketing leader with experience in brand storytelling for companies with long histories. Specializes in finding and telling the stories that make legacy brands relevant to modern audiences.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Legacy brands have a unique advantage in their deep well of institutional knowledge, customer relationships, and milestones. The key is curating which stories resonate with modern audiences — connecting historical achievements and values to current market challenges rather than simply recounting a timeline of events.

The most effective approach is to use heritage as a foundation of trust and credibility while framing innovation as the natural evolution of that legacy. Rather than treating history and modernity as opposing forces, position the brand's longevity as proof of its ability to adapt and lead through change.

Start by interviewing long-tenured employees who carry institutional memory, explore company archives for forgotten milestones and turning points, and connect with long-standing customers who can share how the brand has impacted their lives or businesses over time. These sources often reveal stories that the company itself has forgotten or undervalued.

Legacy brands risk being perceived as outdated if they do not actively tell their story in ways that connect with modern audiences. Effective storytelling transforms a long history from a liability into a competitive advantage — demonstrating reliability, depth of expertise, and the kind of proven track record that newer competitors simply cannot claim.

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How Do You Tell a Century of Stories

Key Takeaways

About this episode

Topics covered

Resources mentioned

Vikram Maram

Frequently Asked Questions

Related episodes

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What Publishing a Book Taught a 20-Year Marketing Veteran About His Own Craft with Frank Pasquine

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