| Course | BU 323 Strategic Marketing Planning and Brand Storytelling |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 5 |
| Paper type | Brand narrative |
| Length | About 1,010 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Herzing University |
| Program | BS in Marketing |
| Updated | September 2026 |
Free sample paper for BU 323 Unit 5
Two Farms, One Roaster and a Truck to Tucson: Rio Seco's Brand Narrative, Tied Line by Line to Its Position
Student Name
Business, Herzing University
BU 323: Strategic Marketing Planning and Brand Storytelling
Instructor Name
March 18, 2026
Two Farms, One Roaster and a Truck to Tucson: Rio Seco's Brand Narrative, Tied Line by Line to Its Position
The Story
Every September, the air in southern New Mexico smells like roasting chile. We have bought from the same two farms, one near Deming and one near Hatch, since the week we started in 2014, and every year we stand beside the roaster while the drum turns and the skins blister black. We freeze that harvest the same day, because green chile does not wait.
People who grew up here know what happens next. The chile goes on eggs, on burritos, on burgers, on almost anything, and it tastes like home. What we heard at the farmers market, year after year, was the other half of the story: people who had moved away, or who had fallen for green chile on a trip, told us they missed it and never had time to roast and peel their own.
So we made a sauce you can pour. Our green chile sauce is that September harvest, roasted and bottled with a little garlic, salt and vinegar, ready to go straight onto breakfast. Every bottle carries the date the chile was roasted. Every bottle is New Mexico chile, which in New Mexico is not just a boast; it is the law.
This spring, for the first time, we are driving it west to Arizona. If you know green chile, you will know it on the first taste. If you do not, you are about to.
The Parts of the Story
The story has four parts, and each ties back to the position chosen in Unit 4. It is about a harvest and the people who tend it, which grounds the brand in the New Mexico origin that is its reason to believe. It turns on a difficulty felt by the target: people who love green chile but do not have the time or skill to roast and peel it, the exact definition of the ready-to-use green chile fans funded in Unit 3. What the firm did about that difficulty, making a pourable table sauce, states the point of difference in the frame of reference, table sauce. Why it matters to the target is spoken in the last line, which addresses both the shopper who already knows green chile and the one meeting it for the first time.
Escalas (2004) found that consumers who process advertising as a story, imagining themselves in its events, form stronger connections between the brand and their own sense of self than consumers who process the same claims as arguments. Woodside et al. (2008) reviewed research showing that people store and retrieve much of what they know as stories, and that brands can take on the role of a character or tool in a consumer's own narrative. Both findings support writing the brand's claims as a story rather than as a list of benefits.
Why a Rival Could Not Tell It
A national hot sauce could tell a story about its pepper or its founding, but not this one, because it depends on facts only Rio Seco holds: two named farms in the chile valleys of southern New Mexico, a roaster the founders stand beside, a roast date on every bottle and a claim reserved by statute for in-state chile (N.M. Stat. § 25-11-3). A story that could be told by anyone in the category, about passion, quality ingredients and family recipes, would fail this test. Aaker (2018) describes a signature story as one that is intriguing, authentic, involving and tied to a strategic message, and warns that a generic story adds little because it cannot be linked to one brand.
The Voice
The brand's voice is warm, plain and specific. It uses concrete nouns: roaster, harvest, eggs, farm, September. It speaks as "we" and addresses the shopper as "you." It names places and dates. It avoids words that could describe any sauce, such as "artisanal," "bold," "gourmet" and "crafted with passion," and it never describes heat with violent or exaggerated language, since the target buys for flavor, not for a dare.
When something goes wrong, the voice stays plain and takes responsibility. If a batch is delayed or a store runs out, the brand says what happened, when it will be fixed and what it is doing meanwhile, without excuses and without humor that would read as dismissive.
The owners will keep a one-page voice guide, with the words to use and avoid, beside the tasting kits so that demonstrators speak about the sauce the same way the label does.
Three Sample Applications
Shelf sign, for the condiment aisle at Saguaro Market: "Real New Mexico green chile. Roasted in September. Pour it on your eggs."
Social media post, for the week of the first Tucson tastings: "We brought the roaster's smell as far as we could. This Saturday, 9 to noon, taste our green chile sauce on a breakfast burrito at Saguaro Market on Speedway. If you have been missing green chile since you moved, come say so."
Note to customers if a store sells out: "We ran out of green chile sauce at your Saguaro Market sooner than we planned. A new shipment leaves Las Cruces on Tuesday and should be on the shelf by Thursday. Thank you for your patience, and for finding us so fast."
What the Brand Will Not Say
The brand will not claim to be the hottest sauce, because heat is not its position and would attract the wrong buyers. It will not call itself authentic Mexican, because it is New Mexican and the difference matters to the people it most wants to reach. It will not say all natural or healthy, since those claims are vague, crowded and unrelated to green chile. It will not invent a grandmother's recipe or any story detail the founders cannot show. And it will not criticize competitors by name; the story works by being specific about itself, not by attacking others. Rio Seco Chile Company, its farms and its founders are composites created for this course.
References
Aaker, D. A. (2018). Creating signature stories: Strategic messaging that energizes, persuades and inspires. Morgan James.
Escalas, J. E. (2004). Narrative processing: Building consumer connections to brands. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 14(1-2), 168-180. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327663jcp1401&2_19
N.M. Stat. § 25-11-3 (2025).
Woodside, A. G., Sood, S., & Miller, K. E. (2008). When consumers and brands talk: Storytelling theory and research in psychology and marketing. Psychology & Marketing, 25(2), 97-145. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.20203
The Herzing BU 323 Unit 5 instructions
For Unit 5, students write a brand narrative for their firm and explain how it supports the brand's position. Most versions want the story itself, written in the brand's voice, along with an explanation of its structure, a description of the brand voice and examples of the story applied to marketing materials. Instructors expect the narrative to be specific enough that a competitor could not tell the same story. Many rubrics also ask what the brand will not say. The story is usually short, one page or less, followed by two to three pages of reasoning in APA 7, with any research on storytelling or branding cited.
Inside the BU 323 Unit 5 example
The sample prints the story first, about 250 words in the founders' voice, moving from the September roast through customers who missed green chile to the bottled sauce and the Arizona launch. The next section breaks the story into four parts and ties each to an element of the positioning statement, then cites two research sources on why stories persuade. A short section explains why a rival could not tell this story. The voice section gives concrete rules for vocabulary and tone, including how the brand handles mistakes. Three short applications demonstrate the voice. A final list names five things the brand will not claim, from heat to invented family recipes.
Reading the BU 323 Unit 5 rubric
The rubric for the brand narrative generally assesses the quality of the story, its alignment with the positioning, the definition of brand voice and the applications. Story quality earns full points when the narrative is specific, readable and written in the brand's voice rather than described from outside. Alignment is judged by clear links between story elements and the target, frame and point of difference. The voice criterion rewards concrete rules, words used and avoided, rather than adjectives like friendly. Applications score highest when they show the voice in realistic formats, including a difficult one such as an apology. Instructors also credit a list of claims the brand avoids and support from research.
Common BU 323 Unit 5 mistakes, and how to avoid them
A generic story is the usual Unit 5 weakness: one about passion, quality and family that any brand could tell. Another is describing the story instead of writing it. Students often invent details, such as a grandmother's recipe, that a real firm could not support, which undermines credibility. Voice guidelines are frequently vague, calling the brand warm or bold without saying what that means in words. Some narratives drift from the position, telling a story about heat when the brand's difference is flavor. Finally, show the story in use; a shelf sign or social post proves the narrative can actually guide the brand's materials. Read the story aloud before submitting; if it sounds like an advertisement for any company, it needs more specific detail.
Get a BU 323 Unit 5 example written to your instructions
Send the Unit 5 instructions and your BU 323 rubric, with the brand or case the assignment names. We write a custom example that tells the story before explaining it, ties every element to the chosen position, defines voice through examples and lists the claims the brand refuses to make. First custom sample free, back in 24 to 48 hours.
More BU 323 papers and marketing samples
- BU 323 Unit 1: Situation analysis
- BU 323 Unit 2: Competitor analysis
- BU 323 Unit 3: Segmentation and targeting
- BU 323 Unit 4: Positioning statement
- BU 323 Unit 6: Objectives and measures
- BU 323 Unit 7: Tactics and budget
- BU 323 Unit 8: Complete marketing plan
- BU 106 Unit 5: Operations or supply paper
- BU 217 Unit 5: Stakeholder analysis
- BU 231 Unit 5: Entry mode analysis
- BU 242 Unit 5: Value proposition
BU 323 Unit 5 questions, answered
Can the narrative be invented for a real company?
Only as clearly labeled coursework, and it is safer to say so in the opening line. Where the firm is real, the story should rest on published material about what it actually did, since a fabricated origin attributed to a named brand is a false statement about a real organization. Where the case is composite, write the story freely and mark the case as constructed.
How long should the story be?
Shorter than most drafts. A page is usually enough for the full version, and the sample applications matter more than the length, because they show whether the story survives being cut down. Where the instructions set a word count, spend the extra words on the analysis underneath rather than on more narrative, which adds detail without adding specificity.
Does a brand story need a customer as the hero?
It is one common approach and your reading may recommend it, but the rubric grades whether the story connects to the position rather than whether it follows a template. What matters is that somebody in it faces a real obstacle and that the resolution is something the firm can actually deliver. Follow whatever structure your section teaches and keep it specific.
Where can I find a free BU 323 Unit 5 sample paper?
The whole BU 323 Unit 5 narrative, from the story itself to the voice rules and applications, is free to read above. If your brand has a different history or position, share the prompt and your positioning statement, and a free custom narrative will follow, typically in 24 to 48 hours.
How long should the BU 323 Unit 5 story be?
Short enough that a customer would read it, usually one page or less. The sample's story runs about 250 words, followed by the reasoning, voice guide and applications. The reasoning can be longer, but the story itself should read like something the brand would publish.