The strategic objective of emotional branding has always been to create firm, unshakable bonds with consumers, allowing the brands to become a significant part of the consumer's life. This is the main reason we often choose emotional branding instead of conventional branding. Our nearly two decades of research has shown the difference in ROI between conventional and emotional branding. Using high impact storytelling has increased our client's market shares by up to 300%, which is a success any way you look at it. By using the power of storytelling, we can help make brands a significant part of a consumer's life story, and an important link in their social network.
Emotional branding is not a new concept, although the term is a relatively recent invention. Countless public relations campaigns have used emotional branding successfully over the past century, and it continues to as successful today as it was in the past. By creating a bond with a specific brand, it becomes part of a consumer's life, self-view, and social network.
During the 1920's, the technique was successfully used by the American Tobacco Company under the creative vision of Edward L. Bernays. By hiring young models to march for women's rights in a New York City parade and light Lucky Strikes at the same time, he made two significant accomplishments. Not only did he help to break the taboo on women smoking in public, but he also established Lucky Strike brand cigarettes as being pro-women's rights, thereby gaining an incredibly loyal customer base.
Jump forward to the 1930's and the Great Depression. Job loss, savings loss, bankruptcy and displacement made citizens feel that corporations could not be trusted, were greed driven and needed supervision - sound familiar? Almost overnight they needed to find ways to regain trust and bring consumers back. Companies like Standard Oil (now Exxon) hired PR strategists to help them reposition themselves as "identifying with the average American vs Wall Street". Standard Oil continued their foray into emotional branding when they hired Roy Stryker to work on their public relations documentary project from 1943 to 1950. In selecting photographers for the project Stryker looked for those who possessed an "insatiable curiosity, the kind that can get to the core of an assignment, the kind that can comprehend what a truck driver, or a farmer, or a driller or a housewife thinks and feels and translate those thoughts and feelings into pictures that can be similarly comprehended by anyone." Emotional branding at its best.
Today, consumer confidence is once again on shaky ground. In order to combat this distrust, smart companies are yet again turning to emotional branding. An excellent example is the new campaign from Chrysler which focuses on the spirit and craftsmanship that built this country. When it comes time for you to buy a car, wouldn't you be more apt to choose a company that makes you proud to be an American? Probably-and that's exactly what they are banking on.
Emotional branding is not a new concept, although the term is a relatively recent invention. Countless public relations campaigns have used emotional branding successfully over the past century, and it continues to as successful today as it was in the past. By creating a bond with a specific brand, it becomes part of a consumer's life, self-view, and social network.
During the 1920's, the technique was successfully used by the American Tobacco Company under the creative vision of Edward L. Bernays. By hiring young models to march for women's rights in a New York City parade and light Lucky Strikes at the same time, he made two significant accomplishments. Not only did he help to break the taboo on women smoking in public, but he also established Lucky Strike brand cigarettes as being pro-women's rights, thereby gaining an incredibly loyal customer base.
Jump forward to the 1930's and the Great Depression. Job loss, savings loss, bankruptcy and displacement made citizens feel that corporations could not be trusted, were greed driven and needed supervision - sound familiar? Almost overnight they needed to find ways to regain trust and bring consumers back. Companies like Standard Oil (now Exxon) hired PR strategists to help them reposition themselves as "identifying with the average American vs Wall Street". Standard Oil continued their foray into emotional branding when they hired Roy Stryker to work on their public relations documentary project from 1943 to 1950. In selecting photographers for the project Stryker looked for those who possessed an "insatiable curiosity, the kind that can get to the core of an assignment, the kind that can comprehend what a truck driver, or a farmer, or a driller or a housewife thinks and feels and translate those thoughts and feelings into pictures that can be similarly comprehended by anyone." Emotional branding at its best.
Today, consumer confidence is once again on shaky ground. In order to combat this distrust, smart companies are yet again turning to emotional branding. An excellent example is the new campaign from Chrysler which focuses on the spirit and craftsmanship that built this country. When it comes time for you to buy a car, wouldn't you be more apt to choose a company that makes you proud to be an American? Probably-and that's exactly what they are banking on.
About the Author:
When ideas and human insight come together brands can transform overnight to lead consumers from couch to action. Anoroc Agency develops business brand platforms that evolve brands to the next level. Here ideas take flight because they are backed by a strong and constant strategy focused on an understanding of human nature.
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