Can Brands be Emotional? Part 2

Many thanks for your valuable comments which lured me to write this Part 2.

As per my previous posting, it is Brands’ stage of maturity in the marketplace what allows them to approach consumers with an emotional content in their marketing messages. Let’s keep in mind that what companies pursue with their marketing campaigns is either retention or conversion. This ultimate objective is achieved upon the consumer completing a call to action.

One of the commentators stated the efficacy when introducing a brand with emotional slogans which I find totally valid. Many thanks to “endpoint” for allowing me open a second tier of discussion for this interesting topic.

Here comes my two cents. The decision of buying a product responds to a series of processes that happen in the brain. (I will write later about the difference in these processes within B2B and B2C landscapes).

For products with low monetary investment involved, the decision of purchasing a new product based on emotional messaging may be instantaneous as investment risk is not an issue and manufacturers are bidding for consumers willing to try the product. For those so called big ticket items, a strategic approach when introducing a brand to the marketplace should be taken into consideration.

Let’s take for example the brand Cisco (Cisco Systems), a major player in both B2B and B2C landscapes. They have years in the technology sector, one with strong competition and considered to certain extent not as sassy as many manufacturers would like their brand to be perceived.
Cisco has reinvented itself by switching gears using a very emotional tagline “together we are the human network”,( they have recently added the word together). Moreover, they are using celebrities such as Ellen Page who highlights the efficiency of Cisco’s new product in helping her stay connected. Cisco is a brand imprinted already in consumers’ and influencers’ minds. The latter involved in B2B decision making processes which we are going to cover in a later posting and in which I’ve been involved for many years. The tagline “together we are the human network” opens an intangible yet precious channel of communication with the consumer later to yield to a connection and consumer experience.

We can name numerous brands that have achieved success when tackling the concept discussed in this post. I would like to highlight though a brand which has established a milestone in the marketing and advertising industry. Dove and its “Campaign for Real Beauty” is the epitome of creativity in tackling one of the most deep human emotions, self-esteem. Dove’s campaign which resulted in an unprecedented peak in sales revenues, explored women’s potential by profiling models to which the majority of women can relate to. It was genius and a big success that have opened synergetic campaigns that are benefiting many groups.

At the End of the Day an effective branding management program obeys to a deep understanding of consumer behavior, market observation and an overall holistic approach.

¿Pueden ser las Marcas emocionales?

¡Por supuesto que sí! Ahora bien, el “cuando” depende del nivel de maduración que la marca ha alcanzado en el mercado.

Hay diferentes puntos de vista en cuanto si el mensaje de la marca debe ser emocional o mantenerse racional/funcional o una combinación de ambos. Es por demás sabido sin embargo que la marca debe comunicar valor agregado o beneficios en todos los puntos de contacto que tenga con el consumidor.

“De acuerdo con una encuesta conducida por La Asociación Nacional de Publicistas (ANA, por sus siglas en Ingles), solo el 38% de los especialistas en mercadeo encuestados dicen que su mensaje comunica los beneficios emocionales de la marca – a pesar de la creencia entre los marketeros de que las marcas deben balancear equitativamente entre los beneficios emocionales (52%) y los racionales/funcionales (48%).”

Acá viene mi raciocinio.
¿Es que cuando la marca está ya bien reconocida entre los consumidores, entonces es que se puede dar el lujo de incorporar emociones en sus mensajes de marketing? Así lo creo.

Tomemos como ejemplo, AT&T, la compañía de Telecomunicaciones y recientemente muy agresiva con sus servicios de telefonía e Internet móvil. AT&T ha lanzado una campaña publicitaria llamada Rethink Possible que incluye comerciales en la televisión. En 31 segundos AT&T nos cuenta una historia en donde el destino juega un rol decisivo. Un destino y una decisión instantánea que es facilitada con una red de Internet 3G súper veloz. Esta es la función que se resalta del producto en el comercial; sin embargo la teleaudiencia es seducida por la historia que cuenta los orígenes del presidente de los Estados Unidos numero 57. ¡Me pareció genial!

Cuando la marca ha logrado suficiente enquistamiento en las mentes de los consumidores, un mensaje con contenido emocional funcionará de forma muy efectiva. Los consumidores se sienten ya familiarizados con la marca y están abiertos a conectarse con ella y por lo tanto a recibir mensajes que vayan más allá de simplemente resaltar las funciones del producto.

Después de todo, si la marca ha madurado lo suficiente, mensajes con contenido emocional pueden conseguir la atención de los consumidores y llamar a tomar acción.

Can Brands be emotional?

Yes, indeed! However the “when” depends on the level of maturity the brand has achieved in the marketplace.

There is a mix of opinions among marketers as to whether a brand messaging should be emotional or stay rational/functional or a combination of both. It is known that the brand should always and at all touching points communicate the value add or benefits to consumers.

“According to a survey from the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) just 38% of surveyed marketers say their messaging conveys the emotional benefits of the brand—despite marketers' belief that brands should be more evenly balanced between rational/functional (48%) and emotional benefits (52%).”

So here comes my rationale.
Is it that when a brand is already well recognized among consumers, it has the luxury of incorporating emotions into its marketing messaging? I believe so.

Let’s take for example, AT&T and their advertising campaign that runs every day on TV named Rethink Possible.

In 31 seconds AT&T tells a story where fate plays a definite role. Fate and an instant decision which is enabled by a fast 3G Internet network. This is the feature highlighted; however viewers get seduced by the idea of where the 57th president of the United States came from. It was genius!

When brands have made enough imprints in consumers’ minds, emotional messaging will work just fine and very effectively. Consumers feel familiar with the brand so they are open to connect and receive messages beyond just profiling the product’s features.

At the end of the day, if the brand is mature enough, emotional messaging may get consumers’ attention and a call to action.