Brands don’t belong to companies anymore. They belong to the people.
This statement is more accurate today than it was yesterday. With the rise of Web3 and decentralization, people are expecting to gain more decision power and own every aspect of their lives. From being responsible for their finances, their consumption and even their entertainment, everyone wants their purchase to be tailor-made and personalized to their specific needs.
Yes! Your brand and your products as well.
“A new philosophy is sweeping over businesses that privileges creation, imagination, and responsibility to the people.” ― Marc Gobe, Emotional Branding: The New Paradigm for Connecting Brands to People
Emotional Branding | The Long-lasting Bond
Your brand needs to resonate with your audience—from the brand story to the brand values, your mission, and vision. Emotional branding helps form a long-lasting relationship between your consumers and your brand or product by provoking their emotions.
Here is a strategic exercise that follows the Aristotle rhetoric triangle of persuasion.
“Ethos, Pathos, Logos” is a method of engaging others with a particular point of view.
Ethos (Ethics) appeals to the speaker's status or authority, making the audience more likely to trust them. Pathos (Experience, Empathy) appeals to the emotions, creating feelings from the audience. Logos (Logic) appeals to the audience's reason by building up logical arguments.
The goal is to find the right mix of Ethics, Logic and Empathy that match your brand DNA, and make your values stand out by bringing your point across.
Emotional branding is the first key to increasing the bond with your consumers.
Emotional Advertising | Feelings Matter
This is not a secret anymore. The most shared ads utilize emotion and universal experience to foster a sense of connection with viewers. Different emotions will trigger different actions and impacts on your brand. While happiness will trigger the “share” action, resulting in a rising brand awareness, sadness will most likely drive empathy and connection, resulting in increased giving. Inspiration and passion will help you gain loyal followers, while surprise and fear will ensue in growing brand loyalty.
“The best marketing doesn’t feel like marketing,” ― Tom Fishburne, Marketoonist Founder and CEO
So imagine your brand as a human being, and turn your communication to a people-to-people dialogue.
How can you increase bonding with your consumers?
Tool 1. Storytelling | The Human Link
Narratives and storytelling engage consumers’ subconscious and help create an emotional connection with the brand and the story.
Nike is a wonderful example of brand-driven storytelling that builds emotions. When watching a Nike Advertisement, there is no focus on the products, nor on the logo. The focus happens to be on the story, on the emotions it creates, because they understand that what helps build the brand and allows the company to sell more products in the long-term, is an authentic and emotional story.
Nike Ads inspire, even if it means breaking their tagline “Just Do It”, and inspiring people to find the motivation to do even more, like in their “Unlimited You” ad.
Nike | Unlimited You | October 2016
Your story needs to talk “people over products”, and embrace inclusivity and simplicity.
Tool 2. Community | A Sense of Belonging
Building a community gives consumers a voice and a chance to act.
One of the best examples of brand communities is the Lego community. Lego fans can submit construction ideas, and the most popular ones will end up on the shelves. The success of the Lego community comes from the fact that customers love to have a voice in the development of the products in a brand that they enjoy, and the Lego Ideas community gives its customers that power.
Tool 3. Advocacy | People trust People
When you bond with your consumers, you can eventually expect to see new waves of fans coming your way.
Advocacy marketing is a form of marketing that turns your most enthusiastic customers into brand advocates by encouraging your customers to share their positive experiences within their personal circles through a carefully considered marketing strategy.
What is stronger than a friend telling you to try this product because they find it super cool? That is a rhetorical question.
Conclusion | Love at first sight
You should understand it by now, that switching to emotional marketing can sound like a scary move, but the results are tremendous if you have a long-term strategy. It builds a solid base for your brand on which you can keep developing and growing organically.
It all starts by understanding your consumers, their lifestyle, their aspirations and how your brand can benefit their life. Don’t push your products. Speak with emotions—authentically and genuinely—and the fruits will come your way.
Let us help you get your consumers closer to you. Contact us
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