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Stimulating the Right Emotions
Equals Brand Success
Our definition of marketing communications - to create and maintain strong, positive feelings so consumers are predisposed to consistently prefer and select a clients brand.
In his book, A Clear Eye for Branding, author Tom Asaker poses the following challenges:
- In todays over-saturated market of everybody-has-everything, there are too many businesses chasing too few overwhelmed and skeptical consumers.
- How does the overabundance of information, technology and ideas coupled with the ability to connect all of this at lightening speed change the way people interact with brands?
He states the ad driven consumption cycle is over, because todays better informed and smarter consumer doesnt pay attention. The consumer even resists attempts to make the merely average appear to be special. More importantly, it is no longer possible to rationally consider all of the product choices in any given category.
The Rule (or reign) of Intuition
Feelings are value judgments. We feel and then we believe certain things about brands. It is todays shorthand for selecting brands to buy because we wont devote the brain time to pour over and invest precious time in analyzing all the facts, figures and features before selection. Theres just too much stuff out there.
Our goal in communications is to stimulate the right feelings. For example we frequently recommend the involvement of outside third-party experts and recognized influencers in consumer outreach because it evokes a feeling that our clients product is cutting edge. Communication strategies and marketing programs that work to surround the consumer positively are designed to secure pleasant feelings like:
- Discovery
- Fun
- Reward
- Sense of Belonging and Community
- Self- esteem
Equally important we work with clients to help eliminate the bad feelings including:
- Aggravation
- Effort
- Boredom
- Risk
- Pain
For the consumer, a brand becomes an expectation of receiving a desired feeling. The actual experience in use either pays off and reinforces this view OR weakens the premise. Knowing this, it is vital that we continually interact and talk with consumers because their assumptions, thoughts, beliefs and perceptions are constantly changing, thus requiring ongoing adjustments in the relationship and messaging.
If consumers dont care and are not involved then the brand has been commoditized and will be viewed and bought on the basis of price. What is a strong brand? Consumers will pay a premium even when compared to alternate answers. They are willing to go out of their way to get it. They will continually repurchase and will not accept a substitute.
Emotions rule!
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