What is a brand really? Well, theoretically it is defined as a name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s goods or service as distinct from those of other sellers.
Does that mean, a brand is just a symbol, design, a logo, or some identity tag? No right? Brands play a key role in people’s lives. A feeling of nostalgia, something that puts them at ease, or at times it could even serve as a starting point for people to stand up and take notice.
On one hand, there are legacy brands, on the other, there are new brands that aspire to be the next big thing. But is this all what a brand really is, or can be? Well, it can be much more. Let’s look at it in context.
Branding for me is about impacting people’s lives in ways that touch a chord that makes it very difficult for people to live without you. That is the true essence. While a textbook can say and make many definitions, it’s all about the way the brand makes you feel. That’s my mental makeup, my belief. After all, people buy brands for emotional reasons. Logic only comes into play when we try to justify the money we have (or are about to) spend — especially when we’re giving in to our wants.
This is the very facet of emotional marketing. It tells a story that connects with us, the audience in a human or personal way. In today’s age of personalization, emotional marketing creates meaningful relationships that result in brand fans, replacing the loyalty marketing approach of years past. Emotional marketing can work as a strategy as well, provided there is seamless integration between what the brand’s role is or its identity and what is it that the consumer is grappling or identifying himself with.
While there are five approaches that could be used in the case of emotional marketing, as Ivy Cohen also puts it,
1. Inspirational
2. Aspirational
3. Love
4. Brand or Life Milestones
5. Local
1. Inspirational:- What inspires the people you are talking to? How do you make them act differently? What do they care about? Who is the right ambassador, who can inspire and the people can identify with? These are some of the questions that could be important to address. Michael Jordan and Serena Williams for Gatorade could be a plausible example of this. In the Gatorade example, Jordan and Williams, inspire audiences not simply with their looks or fame but with their accomplishments, talents, and perseverance. Such is the power of emotional marketing.
2. Aspirational:- It’s the aspect of trying to tap into the audiences’ innate desires, something that is long overdue. Tesla could be an example of this. People who believe in the mission of the company, to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy. In this case, it is essential for marketers, to understand the aspirational need of the audience that the brand actually satisfies.
3. Love:- A strategy that helps touch chords of the most personal emotions of our consumers. This can change even the most insignificant, name-less brands into a household name. This strategy is best applied by brands for special occasions such as Cadbury Celebrations or Archies.
4. Brand or Life Milestones:- This helps strengthen brand relationships with customers. Momentous occasions of brands, when extended to the consumers, in a proper manner (which resonates with them) leaves a lasting impact on the consumers. For example, when a car manufacturer launches its anniversary edition, this is the emotion, they intend to tap into.
Even just creating a story about your brand’s presence in the lives of those experiencing a milestone can be very effective, for example, the Huggies’ babies’ first hug campaign which reminded moms to hug them as it strengthened babies’ immune systems. Imagine, once the mother identifies herself with this brand, feels the emotion, don’t you think, it would trigger a purchase of the brand for once at least?
5. The Local angle:- The current Covid situation has triggered the “go for Local” campaign across countries. Brands can exploit that very aspect and connect with people’s pride and passion to trigger purchase or recognition amongst the local community. This could also be location-specific that could be used by smaller local brands as well. In India, the make in India or the Atmanirbhar Bharat is a campaign that tried to touch this chord.
Thus to sum up, regardless of the marketing strategy, using emotion in the campaign is the icing on the cake, in many ways it does build authenticity. This is as it is always said, “when you want your voice to be heard, speak from the heart”. what say?