I have been working on a concept for a while, and during the process, many thoughts and ideas come to the surface. As you may or may not know — I am very passionate about brand and marketing, which is proved by my decades of working within the industry. I started out as the art director, the graphic designer that made visually compelling stuff, built and based on the given strategy and brief, but I always felt that the briefs I received could have been more thorough, more based on data, insights, and knowing in detail about the customer, the competition, the channels, the category and the context of the word, to make sure we truly made something remarkable for the clients I work with — something that makes a positive impact on the audience. So I transformed; first into a creative director, translating the insight and discovery into a creative brief, where I distilled the important insights and creative direction, and then later into a full creative strategist. I am the hybrid, the guy that has both the logic and magic — the head and heart in the game.

In my book, Brand You Economics, I refer to the one rule (that rules them all) which is 1rE2zag; one message, that is relevant, emotional + engaging, and when everyone zig › zag, be remarkable.

Let’s dive a bit deeper into what makes emotional marketing magical.

What is Emotional Marketing?

Here’s the thing. We all make decisions based on our emotions, which is something that marketers understand very well. That’s why emotional marketing is among the prominent marketing strategies these days. It is a technique that uses emotions to portray a message or motivate the audience to a specific call to action. Emotional marketing strategies include emotional cues to get a response from the target audience. These cues can trigger feelings of happiness, excitement, fear, sadness, empathy or other types of emotions.

Can Emotional Marketing Give you an Edge?

More than 70 per cent of our decision-making is based on emotions. Phycologists have proven that humans feel first, and think second. In this era of content pollution and fierce competition, it is important for brands to connect with their customers emotionally instead of just relying on facts, figures, and features. Once your audience develops a bond with your brand, they are likely to become more loyal to you and continue to buy from you over time. In addition, loyal customers are also your strongest marketing channel, as they will surely tell their friends and family about your brand, product or services.

Emotion is a force strong enough to lead your audience to action. However, it can also be a huge challenge for some brands. If they fail to connect with customers on a personal and emotional level with relevant content, they might end up losing the attention of their audience. Therefore, utilising emotions as a vital component of their content, such as comfort, hope, confidence, etc., is essential to be successful in the area of emotional marketing.

Do you want to discover ways to reach the hearts of customers?

The 5 Things That Make Emotional Marketing Magical

Know Your Targeted Audience:

Developing a heart-to-heart relationship with your customers is no easy task; it involves a lot of research on the marketers’ end. You cannot bond with your target audience unless you understand them on a deeper and personal level. A brand must be able to explore different ways to leave a strong and lasting impression in the mind and hearts of its audience.

Some significant emotions to consider while formulating an emotional marketing campaign include; joy; anticipation; pride; and excitement. Interestingly, numerous brands have effectively executed their emotional marketing campaigns based on negative emotions like envy; anger; and fear. For instance, Always challenged the gender stereotypes and redefined the interpretation behind the phrase “Like a girl” by starting a confidence movement for girls.

Focus on the Color Scheme:

If someone asks you to think of a famous food brand with a red-coloured theme, your answers may include McDonald’s and the oh-so-famous Coca-Cola. That’s because colours and the overall creative design have a great influence on our minds. For an effective emotional marketing strategy, taking colours into account can be very rewarding.

The usage of the right type of colours can be helpful in amplifying the emotional appeal of the content.

A wide range of organisations and businesses benefit from colour psychology. For instance, football players’ jerseys include vivid colours to trigger a sense of excitement among the players and the fans. Think about the green in Subway; this colour is associated with health and nature. The colour scheme is relevant to their slogan “Eat fresh,” implying the importance of eating healthy food like their sandwiches.

Consider Storytelling:

Marketing your product through storytelling is an art. Numerous brands opt for storytelling in their advertisements to portray a message in an emotional way. Attracting your audience through a story is only possible if you understand your target’s mindset well. If you lack understanding of the audience, your story may not be relevant for them to begin with.

Stories can be of numerous types, with each surrounding a particular emotion. The ones that motivate, inspire, empathize, or provide comfort are likely to connect with the customers successfully. Take an example of Procter & Gamble’s commercial “Thank You, Mom.” This commercial featured numerous well-known Olympians and emphasized the support provided by their mothers throughout their careers. P&G acted smartly and aired the commercial before the Sochi Winter Olympics back in 2014. Mothers are among the primary target audience of P&G. Hence. The brand killed two birds with one stone by telling an inspirational story and marketing its products.

By the way, if you’d like a synopsis of my book ‘Brand You Economics’ head over to this page, and get a free ebook — click here.

Remain Sincere and Authentic:

When you try to connect with the hearts of a large group of people, you have to be true, authentic, and sincere. Therefore, it is important to understand your brand’s core values before you learn about the audience.

When the core values are aligned with the marketing campaign, you will be able to attract and retain loyal customers. Customers in this era of advanced technology are very smart; they can sense if a brand is fishy or suspicious in any way. Hence, be true to what makes your brand unique, special, and remarkable.

Inspire Your Audience:

An inspired person can feel several emotions like hope, excitement, and joy. Make sure your brand efforts benefit from these powerful feelings. Create an emotional marketing campaign that addresses the importance of a goal or a dream of your target audience. Touch the hearts of your audience by showing them hope for a better future awaiting them. If your marketing campaign can help customers envision a bright future through the benefits of using your products, it will definitely be magical.

One of the prominent brands that took this approach for marketing is Red Bull. Its in-famous campaign “Red Bull Gives You Wings” the brand inspires people to push themselves to be better and achieve their dream. The ads portray a picture of intense moments where athletes successfully achieved their dreams after timers of struggling. This kind of content act as a source of hope to the audience, making them believe that they will also achieve their goal one day.

Why it Matters:

Undoubtedly, emotional marketing can be quite tricky. However, it can impact the hearts of your target audience by leaving a long-lasting impression. In today’s era, emotions play a vital role in marketing. Hence, a marketing strategy that can create a strong connection with the audience’s mind and heart is transformative and profitable.

I hope you found the 5 things that make emotional marketing magical compelling and engaging. The next time you create content, try to make your audience feel special and worthy, focus on the emotions and benefits you want them to achieve, because of your brand, product or service, and you will be likely to have more loyal customers than last a lifetime.

Again, get your free ebook of the synopsis of ‘Brand You Economics’ here

Be safe, stay awesome,

// Arnt