04. About Bruce Miller

OVERVIEW:

The Brand Story® Method

• In case you're curious about my brand roots:
• I developed the Brand Story method through years in corporate marketing and as a principal at an Atlanta branding agency.
• My original impulse began at UCLA Film School, and the influences of my parents.
• The method was developed in my agency became the basis of my book: Brand Story: How to Launch Your Shoestring Startup Like a National Brand

My Mom: The Original Brand Storyteller

• My mom, Nann Miller, was dubbed the "PT Barnum of the PR Industry" and was among the first women to own a major PR firm.
• Her gift: dramatizing a brand story in a single unforgettable image (e.g., staging the world's biggest root beer float for Hires Root Beer).
• Her most famous stunt: convincing a skeptical client to have a camel check into the Hyatt Regency Los Angeles for the Israeli Tourist Commission — it made the TV news and the L.A. Times.

Key Insight: Contrast creates attention; attention creates memory.

My Dad: Positioning Through Innovation

• My dad, Ed Miller, was a pioneer in high-fidelity audio. I grew up watching every technical advance — first solid-state receiver, first stereo FM broadcast — and how they got turned into brand positions.
• The lesson: Owning a "first" is one of the most powerful brand positions available.

Filmmaker Roots — Story Has Structure

• I'm a UCLA Film School graduate who won the Jim Morrison Award for my project – named after the film school's famous alum.
• Screenwriting gave me the storytelling framework — inciting incidents, stakes, a hero with a mission — that became the backbone of the Brand Story method.

Key Insight: Brand story is not just messaging — it's architecture.

A Career Built on Brand Story

• CheckFree: Our team won the Marketing Campaign of the Year in Georgia; helped establish CheckFree as the recognized leader in electronic commerce.
• Design Coup (15 years): Grew MedSolutions from $122M to $843M in revenue; named and built the Thrive Farmers brand for Chick-fil-A's coffee program.
• The Moonshot: We developed a digital Car Selling Kit with Auto Trader, got shelf space at Lowe's — and it failed. Starting a business is not for the faint of heart – but a great learning adventure.

Today: Miller eMedia

• I consult through Miller eMedia, helping small to medium-sized businesses launch and grow their brands.
• My deepest affinity is with shoestring entrepreneurs — people like Sara Anderson, a stay-at-home mom who built a successful brand of wearable art from her original designs.

The goal of this course is encouragement: "You can do this."

BUY The Entire Brand Story Course for $97.00

BUY Chapter 4 as a single lesson for $9.95.