Emotions and marketing

“People don’t buy for logical reasons. They buy for emotional reasons.” — Zig Ziglar

Humans are emotional creatures, and consumer behavior has been seen to be heavily influenced by emotions since primordial times.

Amul, one of the most iconic brands of India is testimony to the fact that triggering the right emotional response makes way for consumers becoming the brand’s own ambassadors.

Right from the 1960s and 70s, when the hand-painted hoardings on billboards captured the wit and satire of Amul’s blue haired girl in a polka dotted frock tapping into the nation’s emotions, to this day today — when the brand has been running its old ads alongside the reruns of Ramayana and Mahabharata on Doordarshan when it spotted a lot of viewers getting nostalgic about them, on their social media timelines ; Amul is a movement which continues to rule hearts in India.

Need for emotional marketing:

Emotions give meaning to events. There is no denying to the fact that the practice of connecting a brand to the emotional needs and aspirations of a consumer is the secret to the brand’s longevity and trustworthiness.

¨ Helps in fostering customer loyalty

Kelloggs, which happens to be the leader in the Indian Breakfast cereal market launched #MummyWaliFeeling campaign this Mother’s Day. With clarity on communication and data analysed insights on the precise audience that needed to be targeted, the campaign connected with 700+ people via Instagram Direct messages and was appreciated far and wide.

Personalized messages were sent: “We are getting the mummy wali feeling, especially today. So just wanted to check up on you to make sure you’re eating right. Breakfast khaana mat bhoolna!! Happy Mother’s Day from us to you!”, evoking positive responses from celebrities as well as customers.

¨ Enhances brand value

If one considers the marketing campaigns of the sports product market leader Nike, it is observed that they never talk about the product offerings. Instead, they honour great people. It is a stellar example of emotional marketing that inspires people to act and needless to say, adds immensely to the brand’s value.

¨ Emotions get you sales

It has been argued that emotional marketing is fit only for a first impression. But if we take into account the sale figures, brands from different industries have registered increased sales after a successful campaign.

Surf excel remains HUL’s top brand with net sales over 5,000 crores in the past one year, and the reason is not just the quality of deliverables. A lot of credit has to be given to the timeless ‘Daag Ache Hain’ campaigns featuring the Indian middle-class households and delivering the exact emotions — raw and pure.

Emotional Marketing Strategies:

1) Know your audience: Emotional marketing works best when a brand identifies its target audience well in advance, and then caters to their needs and aspirations with creatives. It saves a great deal of time and resources as well.

2) Tap into the right emotions: Robert Plutchik’s psych evolutionary theory of emotion illustrates different emotions through a “wheel of emotions”.

It is of paramount importance for a brand to spend considerable amount of time deciding on the emotions to be targeted in a particular campaign. If not carefully assessed, it can result in customer backlash and other contentious issues.

3) Colours: Artists and interior designers have long believed that colour can dramatically affect moods, feelings, and emotions. Understanding colour psychology ergo becomes important, before incorporating one’s ideas in a campaign.

The Coca-Cola Red portrays positive and friendly energy, while Starbucks’ Green is identified with growth and prosperity.

4) Storytelling: Story-telling has no competition when it comes to connecting with the audience. Effective storytelling is a sure-fire way, not just to market products to a brand’s own customers, but also helps build an impression and spread awareness far and wide.

Tata Trust’s Feb 2020 campaign ‘Mera Baba Desh chalata hai’, which addressed the sanitation workers on the frontline was hailed as one of the most hard-hitting videos, conveying a vital message with utmost simplicity.

5) Building a community: The most crucial aspect of emotional marketing is building a loyal community. It taps into a few psychological triggers and helps in word of mouth marketing as well.

OnePlus is a terrific example. The company has managed to create a community of engaged and loyal consumers with a steady mix of content, and enjoys continued support.

Emotional Marketing : The Way Forward

With the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of potential businesses are registering losses and fall in demand. Marketing tactics have suffered a setback, with digital marketing being the only assured way to reach out to potential consumers.

How do brands go about emotional marketing in this crisis?

¨ Authenticity: As consumers grow apprehensive about product buying and usage, it is essential that marketing campaigns deliver authenticity and stay true to the core brand value.

¨ Consistency: In the midst of skyrocketing usage of internet and social media platforms, it is important that brands remain consistent in their online presence.

¨ Provide value: Building on the brand’s potential unique value, and communicating it in ways that provide value to people can help in staying relevant.

When we come out of this pandemic and step into the new-normal, brands that would have leveraged emotional marketing in the wisest manner will always hold a significant place in people’s hearts and needless to say, will thrive in the market as well.

(All images used have been obtained from Google search)