Have you ever seen an ad that just sticks with you, and you can’t stop thinking about it? It’s likely that the brand used emotional marketing to connect with you on a deeper level. Tapping into target audiences’ emotions is a strong strategy for prompting memorability, action and loyalty.
What is emotional marketing?
Emotional marketing takes place when brands tug on consumer emotions to connect and drive action. Brands can invoke feelings of happiness, sadness, fear and even disgust. There is a whole spectrum of emotions that can be summoned by businesses to foster connections and reach marketing goals. Companies may choose to pull on heartstrings, induce FOMO (fear of missing out), spark laughter and more.
HubSpot shares Robert Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions as an illustration of the numerous and varied feelings that your brand could use for emotional marketing.
Want to learn more about connecting with your customers through emotional marketing strategies and see some examples? Keep reading!
Strategies for incorporating emotional marketing
It’s important for brands to elicit the right emotion, and the first step in accomplishing that is to complete audience research. This will help your brand develop the right message. Once you’re ready to impart that perfectly crafted message, here are a few strategies to drive home emotional marketing efforts:
Storytelling – This is a cornerstone of connecting with your target audience. A strong story that helps the customer relate with your message will help bring on the right emotion.
Color – Certain colors have different meanings. Using the right color for your message is vital, as selecting the wrong option can cause cognitive dissonance.
Music – Music is a key in emotional marketing. It can build the right tone and help your message be memorable.
Imagery – Select imagery that supports your story. Be careful here, depending on the type of emotion you are looking to call forth, it’s possible to go too far.
Community – People connect with other people. Building a community around your brand and message can be a useful step in emotional marketing.
Examples of effective emotional marketing
Here are a few strong examples of emotional marketing:
Always #LikeAGirl
Always taps anger and sadness as a means to empower girls in its 2014 campaign #LikeAGirl. It demonstrates how society uses the phrase “like a girl” as an insult, and this has a negative effect on girls’ confidence as they mature. In its ad, Always shows young girls who are not yet familiar with this phrase being used as an insult completing tasks such as running, throwing and fighting with confidence. When asked to “run like a girl” older counterparts flail about in an overstated and silly manner. This shows that there is a narrow window to support girls’ self-confidence to help them become strong, and furthermore that this phrase was hurtful and demeaning at the time of the shoot.
Since the start of this campaign, there has been an increase in girls’ positive association with the phrase “like a girl” from 19% to a whopping 76%.
ASPCA Arms of an Angel
When it comes to using music and imagery to drive action, ASPCA’s Arms of an Angel comes top of mind. The ad shows animals who have been abused, shaking and broken, with text sharing information about animal abuse. It also depicts animal rescuers retrieving animals from desperate situations. Sarah McLachlan’s song “Arms of an Angel” plays in the background, with her making a passionate appeal and asking for donations on screen. It’s difficult to find anyone who doesn’t remember this iconic ad, the catchy song and the powerful emotional response it evoked.
Google Pixel Javier in Frame
Google really pulled at our heartstrings with this year’s touching Super Bowl commercial with a happy ending. We talked about this ad before, and we’re still loving how Google demonstrated its technology in such a heartfelt way. Google employed strong storytelling and imagery as it follows Javier, who has severely blurred vision, as he takes pictures of various life milestones. Initially, the photos are of just him, then him and his dog, then him and his partner throughout their relationship. You can hear the phone saying, “Two faces in frame.” At the end, he captures a picture of his family with their new baby as the phone says, “Three faces in frame.”
The Social Swipe by MISEREOR and Stripe
MISEREOR, a non-profit relief organization that aims to fight poverty in Africa, Asia and Latin America, teamed up with payment processing platform, Stripe in creating The Social Swipe. The first of its kind, this interactive billboard campaign makes giving easier than ever before by allowing users to swipe their card to donate to social causes and actively visualize the impact of their contribution.
In the feels
Emotional marketing can be a powerful tool in connecting with your audience. By employing strategies such as storytelling, color, music, imagery and community, brands can build upon the target’s emotions to drive action and loyalty. Emotional marketing should be used carefully, with significant research and consideration into the message and presentation. When applied appropriately, emotional marketing will make a strong impact for your company.
Harness the power of emotional marketing. Give the marketing strategists at Beyond Fifteen a call today to learn how we can help your brand connect with your audience in a profound way.
