Emotional Marketing: reaching the customer’s heart

The importance of emotions in the decisions we make.

Many people think that the decisions we make are based on a rational analysis. rational analysis of the alternatives presented to us. The truth is that, on many occasions, our emotional side influences us to the point of practically deciding for us.

In his book, "Descartes' Error", Antonio Damasio argues that "emotion is a necessary ingredient in almost every decision we make". When we are faced with a decision, emotions from previous experiences attach values to the options we are considering. These emotions, therefore, create preferences that lead us to choose one option or another.

Emotional marketing: emotions in the decisions we make

Damasio's view is based on his studies of people who had impaired emotional brain area of emotions. These people were able to process rational information related to the different alternatives, but were unable to make decisions because they lacked an emotional anchor to the options they had to decide on.

The importance of brand when it comes to making choices

Today, brands are looking for strategies to build customer loyalty and to capture the attention of new consumers in order to generate long-lasting relationships over time. It is not only about buying the product, but also about feeling the brand as your own. I'm sure we all have acquaintances who want to buy the iPhone 7 before it goes on sale. Successful companies create expectations in individuals and generate emotions through experiences. In this way, they seduce consumers by making them complicit in their business stories and touching their hearts. By generating closeness with the potential customer in an efficient way, you increase your chances of selling your products. This is what is known as emotional branding or "emotional branding".branding".

In his book "Emotional Branding: the new paradigm for connecting brands emotionally", Marc Gobé explains: "Emotional branding is the conduit through which people subliminally connect with companies and their products in an emotionally deep way. The innovation of Sony, the sensual elegance of Gucci, the insatiable glamour of Vogue, reach us emotionally by awakening our imagination and promising us new realms." Another example is Nike, which associates its products with great sports stars, hoping to transfer to the customer the athlete's emotional attachment to the brand or product. All these brands carry an associated image that generates emotions in customers.

Branding is not just about coming up with a logo, a name or the use of certain colors. A brand is the creation of an identityA brand implies the creation of an identity, a personality, the creation and promotion of certain values that make it desirable from an emotional point of view.

Emotional advertising: selling emotions

The branding is just one example of how to reach the consumer through the generation of emotional relationships. But the concept of emotional marketing not only includes branding through emotions, but also involves generating feelings in your products or making the brand visible. This is achieved through advertising, which is a point of contact with the customer. Examples of advertising are: the retail environment, the merchandisingThe company's buildings, the digital environment or advertisements in the media. Ideally, the creation of a brand and its management should start with branding and be projected through advertising.

With the emergence of emotional marketing, advertising based on highlighting the benefits of what it is intended to sell is a thing of the past, since today almost all products offer similar advantages. For this reason, there has been a proliferation of emotional advertisingThis is the reason for the proliferation of emotional advertising, highlighting above all values associated with the desires, wishes and internal aspirations of potential consumers.

What emotional marketing strategies propose is that in order to leave a mark on the consumer, it is necessary to provide stimulating networks based on pleasure and well-being, accompanying the individual in special and unique moments and situations, or to provoke emotional reactions of guilt through unpleasant emotions. For neurologist Donal Caine "the essential difference between emotion and reason is that emotion incites to action, while reason only to conclusions.while reason only leads to conclusions. In other words, human beings are emotional beings, and this is reflected in their purchasing decisions. The more intense the emotion (positive or negative) associated with the product or brand, the deeper the neurological connection achieved in the brain of the potential consumer.

That is why advertising campaigns reinforce this association between neural networks, as they are the ones that ultimately motivate the impulse purchase of certain products. An advertisement can make you feel more attractive, more sophisticated or, on the contrary, it can make you feel guilty so that you leave money on charity. Through branding, you may come to believe that you are a tough guy because you drink Jack Daniels or drive a Harley Davidson.

The use of happiness in times of crisis

The above-mentioned companies know how to captivate the customer through the 5 senses. By transmitting emotions and feelings, these companies have created a special connection with the customer and have made their products have a special meaning for them.

One of the companies that has made the best use of emotional marketing is Coca-Cola. This soft drink does not seduce by offering carbonated water full of sugars and colorants, instead, it sells happiness. It is curious how a soft drink that could easily be associated with obesity ends up becoming a synonym for feeling "happy". As if that were not enough, in its "Share Happiness" campaign, it placed dozens of names on its containers and cans, so that people would know that the product had been created specifically for them.

It also created the "happiness cashier". An ATM that might look like any bank's ATM, but in reality, it was an ATM where people could withdraw 100€ for free with the only condition of sharing it with someone else. You know: in times of crisis, happiness sells.