Creating Brand Love
Monday, June 20th, 2011 by Laura
Believe it or not, us human beings are programmed to respond to emotion and we often make many important decisions based on how easily we are influenced by feelings and emotive language around us. For example, making purchases in a shop or from a website based on emotion is quite normal. Just like the age old head over heart argument, we know what we should do; the logical, sensible and often safe option, but the most successful marketers understand that successful products appeal to the heart, not the mind. Going by our emotions is usually what creates the action, and this is where the magic happens!
If we take this philosophy and apply it to marketing, it could translate as: be inspiring, be adventurous and bold, or why bother? It’s entirely possible that if you are not inspiring or causing people to feel emotions, then your brand is just ‘existing’. Emotive branding is about taking everything you do today and creating a focus. These intentions can only be realised when everyone working for the brand is reading from the same page and embrace the brand’s emotive center.
However, there is a difference between using emotion in advertising and having an emotive brand that builds meaningful connections from the foundations of everything that you do. While using emotion in advertising can help consumers buy into your concept you will need to keep this ‘promise’ as it were so that it runs seamlessly into all aspects of the customer experience from creation all the way through to implementation.
Emotive brands engage their entire organisations so that every message induces a similar set of thoughts and feelings – consumer’s thoughts about brands are made up of groups of associations: feelings, sounds, memories and images as well as facts. Studies on how the brain processes and stores everyday messages and associations suggest that knowledge, experience and emotions are the three things called upon first to make up our representation of a brand.
If these are positive connotations, the recalls should bond the customer (and the employees) to the brand. Think of the infamous Coco-cola, ‘Holidays are coming’ adverts shown on the run up to Christmas- the resulting brand harmony means brand loyalty. The idea is to genuinely bond with your target audience through shared values, attitudes and behaviour which needs to be a long term creation not just a 30 second fling.
However, don’t lose sight of your realistic and rational benefits and values, the backbone for a ‘right decision’ is based on reason and marketing should highlight both the rational and emotional components of the brand promise to create a balance.
Ultimately, it’s the difference between indulging in meaningless marketing activity and striving for meaningful connections.
It’s a choice every brand can make.
If you would like help with creating brand love then please do get in touch. ross@rtmedia.com















