Emotion-Based Marketing: The Key to Winning Hearts (and Sales)
When was the last time an ad made you laugh, brought tears to your eyes, or made you angry enough to actually do something about it? That is the power of emotion-based marketing. It’s not a fad, but one of the best ways brands engage with their customers. When there are so many products vying for attention these days, having an emotional connection can mean the difference between someone remembering your brand or not at all.
But what is it about emotion-based marketing that works, and how can organizations harness it in genuine ways? Read on to learn the psychology behind this approach and see real examples in action, along with actionable tips to help you use it to your advantage.
Emotion-based Marketing: The Emotional Aspect to be Tackled
Important emotions must be understood that are relevant to your business in emotion-based marketing.
In essence, it is marketing designed to make consumers feel around some of their decisions. Here’s a deeper look at the primary emotions that brands tend to trigger and why they are so effective:
Happiness
We all love to feel good. Many feel-good stories spread like wildfire and are shared all over because people instinctively want to share, spread, and connect with content that brings a smile to their faces. Companies should not underestimate the potential of feel-good marketing campaigns to boost engagement, brand loyalty, and even sales.
Example: Coke’s “Open Happiness” campaign, which featured upbeat music and happy images, can be considered a textbook case of how happiness is used to generate brand association.
Sadness
Sadness is a strong emotion that triggers empathy. When brands tell stories about suffering, they inspire their audience to feel, to think, to act.
Why it worked: People are motivated to help fix problems or to support organizations addressing real pain points.
Example: Ads for charities often employ storytelling to illuminate pressing global or community issues and to persuade viewers to donate or back their cause.
Fear
Crocker suggested that fear-based marketing works by emphasizing fears and threats, often juxtaposing them with the brand’s product or service as the solution. Although tricky to execute correctly, fear-based campaigns can be effective motivators.
Why it works: Fear triggers survival instincts and sets an urgency into motion. When it is genuine, proposed solutions make sense and build confidence.
Example: Security companies such as ADT emphasize burglaries in ads, so viewers believe they need to install their system.
Anger
Although anger may not sound like the most marketable emotion, it’s the one that rings true in any campaign that is rooted in advocacy or injustice.
Why it works: It encourages action, be that the signing of a petition, a boycott of an institution, or solidarity with a movement.
Example: Campaigns, like Always’ #LikeAGirl, addressed the frustration and injustice of gender inequality, and it drove a global conversation and brand fame.
Emotion-Based Marketing in Action
Here’s what it looks like when companies use emotions right.
Some of the top-performing campaigns of all time are built on emotionally charged storytelling. Two prime examples are these:
Dove – Real Beauty
This campaign went viral in all the best ways. Dove broke down beauty stereotypes by featuring real women of all shapes, sizes, and ethnicities, instead of conventionally glamorous supermodels. It made women from other parts of the world feel proud and real.
It was selling more than beauty products; it was redefining beauty and standing with its audience on an emotional level so visceral that it gave us all goose bumps.
Always – Like a Girl
Always – #LikeAGirl. It is the brand’s biggest win to date and is seen as a triumph against a term that can be so destructive for young girls and do irreparable damage. It struck a chord with target and secondary audiences alike, building trust and initiating broader social change conversations.
Both campaigns worked, ultimately, not because they tugged at the heartstrings, but because they struck a deep chord with their core audiences and were true to their brand values.
Apply Emotion-Based Marketing Dispatch To Props: How to Do Emotion-Based Marketing
If you have a desire to add emotional marketing to your game plan, follow these steps to make sure that emotion-based marketing strikes the right balance for both effectiveness and authenticity.
Know Your Audience
It’s key to know whom you are talking to. Survey the demographics you are interested in, read feedback from customers, and learn about their pain points, wants, and values. What makes them tick? What keeps them up at night? The more you can tune in, the more effectively you can craft a message that lands.
Pro tip: Segment your audience using data. Not every message resonates with every customer.
Evoke Emotion in Content
Leverage storytelling, visuals, sensation, and copy to drive the right emotional response. It’s just an issue of what the human being needs to stimulate the feeling you desire. That might involve tapping into nostalgia for childhood, pulling on the heartstrings with a personal story, or putting forth feel-good positivity with candy-colored photographs.
Example: Video carries emotions much better than still ads. Creating a brief video featuring relatable characters or situations can increase your emotional resonance.
Stay Authentic
And viewers can always suss out when a brand isn’t being genuine. If your campaign feels contrived, you just may succeed at driving away the very people you’re trying to reach.
Connect your emotional angle to the mission or story of your brand. For instance, if you’re touting pride, your company should speak up about diversity and inclusion. It’s about showing your values, not just saying them.
The Downsides of Emotion-Based Marketing
But effective as it is, emotion-based marketing can be risky. Mistakes can erode trust or alienate your audience.
Can Be Seen as Manipulative
Your readers may resent the use or overuse of emotions and feel manipulated and abused. This statement is especially applicable to fear-based advertising.
Example: The strategy of selling by exaggerating risks is bound to come back and bite back, especially if customers get scared and not emboldened.
May Offend Some of Your Audience
Emotional marketing tends to focus on one emotion or one segment of the market and exclusion may be involved. Some values will stick with one crowd but can divide or alienate others.
Example: Always #LikeAGirl campaign also drew in YouTube trolls that didn’t relate to the message (and swore off the brand).
Finding the Sweet Spot in Your Marketing
Emotion-driven marketing is a weapon that, in the right hands, can forge deep connections, drive action, and create customers for life. With a clear understanding of your audience and sending authentic messages that resonate with and rally them around an emotion, and/or aligning your campaigns with real values, can help you truly tap into the power of emotions and grow your brand.
Looking for other ways to engage your audience emotionally? Discover how to create real and compelling campaigns that will motivate action and loyalty. You’re not just a brand to your customers — you’re an experience.
If you’re facing negative feedback or simply want to strengthen your online presence, learn how to take control and build credibility in How to Improve Your Online Reputation.
