Emotions in Marketing

All about the fact that it is now possible to use emotions in positioning, branding and communications, as the outcome of a structured process.

Emotions in Marketing at Strategic Level

Introduction: Post #1

This is the first entry into this site. I hope it stimulates you to respond with your own thoughts.

I'm an independent marketing consultant and have been for over 30 years, 15+ in the advertising agency field marketing and planning field and 15+ as a marketing consultant working with many of top brands in the U.S. and in Canada. I have worked as a specialist with other consulting companies, running projects for them or working on a virtual consulting team of multiple disciplines. My specialty is brands and how brands drive products. And, following from that, how brand strategies drive companies--into the right spaces in order for them to be successful.

I've worked for Fortune 100 and 500 companies during all of my career, but particularly during these last 15 years, working as a principal consultant and project driver or supporter for major consulting projects. I've also worked with new and smaller businesses. My approach has always been to help the smaller company put to work some of the tools that have developed into fundamental "best practice" requirements among top brand organizations.

What's new today is the formation of a new company--Emotives Marketing, to focus on emotions in marketing, and the fact that there is very little such use today, at the strategic level. And, surprisingly, very little is utilized on the web. While there are frequently emotional advertising executions, that's a far cry from having a specificed role for specific emotions--at the strategic level, where it makes so much possible. We find that in many cases, the use of emotion in advertising was a creative choice--as opposed to being the result of an emotion appraisal process.

All this represents a shift in my focus from large CPG companies and B2B companies, to web entrepreneurs. My goal is to help them build strong brands, stronger customer relationships and stronger new products and services. All this results in sold, often impenetrable differentiation. This is the result of having emotions being leveraged, because emotions encourage decision-making, and in fact, often make it possible, while a rational focus complicates and restricts decision-making.

Emotives Marketing was formed to share the power of a new Model of 29 Core-Emotion Families to help accomplish this goal. We've worked the last 4 years to develop this model, working with the foremost researcher, professor and author in the affective science. We have worked with him directly in the development of the model, building on his experience, his research results, his knowledge and his best thinking on what these "core" emotion families should be. His name is Dr. Paul Ekman, and he is Professor Emeritus at the University of California at San Francisco Medical School, He has written many books and papers and been quoted worldwide and widely, throughout his career.

This is one of the very first applications of his work in the marketing field.

There will be a brief CV of myself in the profile section. While our site is being constructed, please leave your notes here.

Well, that's a beginning. I hope it stimulates your thoughts, with agreements, disagreements, questions, issues and so on. I'll do my best to direct traffic and share my own thoughts particularly to get the full story out, but also to allow commentary.

ASK

December 14, 2005 in Marketing Consulting with Emotions | Permalink | Comments (4)

Raising Emotions to the Strategic Level

This site should be interesting to wide variety of people with varying interests. However, it should be very meaningful and interesting, even helpful, for web entrepreneurs and marketers of all ilks (whatever an ilk is). Size of business does not matter--a major brand or a new company or anything in between. It's about how you can use a model of 29 emotion-based families to improve marketing communications, positioning, brand development, all forms of research, new products and services while strengthening your customer relationships at the same time. No, it's not a magic trick or a hyped-up super balloon, it is just more detail and structure applied to the effective use of emotions at the strategic level of your business, as well as tactically throughout.

This post is intended to wrap up the introduction, so we can get into the specific core emotions, more examples from the market place, dealing with your questions and comments (and a few I've gotten by telephone before things were working smoothly). These may seem like loose ends, but they are all needed to form a good foundation:

1. On the Emotives® projects I've performed in the past, they were done in several different ways: a senior client team with brainstorming; a 2 step qualitative research process; an emotion-clue data analysis from past brand research; also personal interviews of C-level targets for one B2B company and a web-survey for yet another.

2. I see emotions every day in the marketplace. For example, in the building materials business: Lowe’s says “Improving Home Improvement” while Home Depot says “You can do it. We can help” --I see these two statements as being significantly different because one is emotion-based and the other is not. In my opinion, the latter has the greatest potential for leverage inside and outside of the company. (Both might be very successful, by the way. I’m commenting only from an academic and Emotives perspective. I was involved in neither one. It is probably clear that while both may be successful, one might have more potential than the other.--if hidden strengths are tapped.) I just comment because clearly one is very rational and the other is very emotional--in fact, there are two emotions in that second phrase (Fiero, which is quiet pride and Gratitude). Having 2 emotions in the positioning expression at the same time is not always a good idea, but in this case that seems to work).

3, So all of this is already happening in the marketplace, except that there is remarkably little science being applied to the use of emotions, the structure or understanding of when, how, why, which, etc. This, of course, limits the use and the power of emotions overall. With Emotives, there is science, structure and multiple application processes.

4. Developing the Emotives Model also involved Ron Beasley of ABM Research in Canada, and today he uses the output in some of his work. As a consultant, I want to see Emotives utilized at a higher and broader level in the organization, in addition to research, where it tends to be thought of as a research tool, which it is, but it's more than that. This is because if Emotives starts out at a higher level, then there is at least a chance that emotion could exist at the strategic level of marketing overall, or even at the leadership level of the brand or company, where it can do the most good. (Researchers with whom we have worked very satisfactorily and others with whom we have talked, tell us all this pretty consistently.)

5. Frankly, after working on such a wide array of situations, it's hard to avoid thinking that it will not be very long before some Fortune 100 companies elevate a specific emotion to a strategic level, as being the precise feelings they want to create for their customers at every touchpoint. That’s a lot more than satisfaction or happiness. It’s also more integrating among all the marketing functions, between marketing and other key departments and divisions. We're seeing this happen with some of the smaller companies and it's seems to be a natural fit.

6. I already work with clients in many diverse industries and I hope to continue doing so. However, I’m particularly fascinated by those who are really succeeding on the web, often without that strategic foundation that pulls things together and magnifies the impact of, yes, operational, tactical and policy moves as well as marketing-oriented decisions.

7. Thinking about starting this blog has caused me to take a closer look at much of what's going on in the marketing and branding industry: I feel there is a significant need existing and therefore an opportunity to work with web entrepreneurs. That’s because there seems to be a very tactical orientation to marketing on the web. Not really a sales focus, but a site focus. I view the site as the store or office. The isolation of content as being the real key component. I view this focus on content as the analog for what used to be called "merchandising" in the old as well as current retail model.

8. With that said, without the right kind of brand strategy, it is very difficult to sort out the best tactics that make the most sense--strategically. Also, without a strategy, it’s difficult to know how you should control messaging for widely diverse options--without a strong strategic foundation (or umbrella--for when it rains). Just like it would be in a store or office. Also, it focuses and controls the content and the new products and services that are needed to enrich it.

9. After all, what people want, crave, dream about, enjoy, fear the absence of, laugh about, nod quietly with self-satisfaction--all these things, and more, are emotions that messaging and positioning should--and now really can--leverage in a structured way. I’m focusing all of my time on this part of the business, so we’ll see what happens. I find it refreshing and challenging, as it is new turf to play on. And, Emotives makes a huge impact at the strategic level.

10. So based on this and the prior post, I want to complete the Introduction. You see there is science involved in identifying and characterizing the core-emotions. You realize there is a model of 29 of these core-emotions. You see what I mean about emotion-based positioning. I wonder if Home Depot knows they have both Fiero and Gratitutde in their positioning statement. Emotives provides that type of information, which then opens the door to greater leverage. Now, with all that, a senior management team can look at emotion as a strategic decision and place it in a sufficiently high enough level in the organization to drive strategic and therefore tactical action. Today, emotion is a Creative Director's idea and choice. If he or she wins, a new campaign is built around the "feeling" they saw in a phrase or a situation that could be repeated. But when the campaign gets tired, and they all do, what happens is that whatever emotion was involved, is very often thrown out--the old baby and the bath water is what happens. With emotions, a new campaign can be built around the same emotion, if you know what it is and know how it works, how it is expressed, etc. It will be new and fresh, but will still be strategically bang-on. And, that's a good thing.

Next time, we’ll get into more about the Model itself and what Emotion-Based Families really are and how they work.

Leave a note if you have a thought or a question. I’d like you to post it on this location where it says "Comments" at the end of any post.

Are you using emotion? What examples have you seen on the web? Have you noticed the "empty space" or "gap" between research (what you're hearing from your customers, for example) and the communications or product output? Do you know what that gap is? Let me know.

ASKP1010234_1

December 14, 2005 in Marketing Consulting with Emotions | Permalink | Comments (1)

More About the Emotives Model and Families of Emotions

There has been an uptick in interest about emotions in marketing. Not surprising, since brands are built on emotions and the desire to purchase, own, use, wear, drink, drive, go to, etc., are all emotion driven. It is not rationale that makes someone pay $80,000 for a car or $1.5 million for a house. That individual does not need a car to drive or a place to sleep. And if they do, there are certainly some less expensive options. It's obviously more than that.

Everybody, deep down, knows that. When I bought my first so called luxury car (that was 8 years old at the time), what I enjoyed most about it was looking back at it, after I parked it in a parking lot!

A lot of academic and scientific work has always been done on emotions, since the days of Freud and even way beyond that, but little of it ended up in the field of marketing. During the early years, there was very little published about positive emotions: Happiness, Gratitude, etc.--the focus was on the negative ones: Fear, Anger, etc. The reason for this is that the research on emotions was to support the clinical practice of psychology and psychiatry, for people as well as corporate environments. industrial relations, is not always "getting employees to do what they don't want to do." It is, or should be, about removing negative emotions from their relationship.

People were suffering from the negative emotions. The science focused on the negatives, because the practitioners needed the information to help people live happier lives. In later years the field has learned that many negative emotions can be driven away, at least temporarily, through positive emotions.

I remember making a condolence call on a friend that lost his father. His Mom was there, crying and talking. When her young grand daughter was brought into the room, she first smiled, but was soon laughing and enjoying the deep happiness that had, temporarily or not, driven away the deep sadness she was experiencing. At times of great sadness, I remember that my own Mom was always crying and laughing at the same time--she would be sad at the loss, but would laugh from discussion of the qualities of the one who had passed away--always focusing on the fun and the happiness that she associated with them.

Again, everybody knows that, they just don't know how easily positive emotions can be utilized, for the consumer's, employee's and customer's benefit. While it's not quite the same thing, the avoidance of a negative emotion is also very powerful. Avoiding Fear is does not have to be Happiness, but it can be close. Sometimes the avoidance of fear creates a new family of emotions of it's own--that of relief from a very negative expectation.

Advertising frequently uses emotions, like laughter and excitement. Budweiser, for example, does a great job every year, and nearly every year comes up with a true home run for their Bud Light brand. "Whassup?" and other memorable funny commercials are part of this foundation.

Well, there really has not been a method to this madness, because their was no structure, allowing marketers to look at emotions and being able to name and focus on one particular emotion and understand its attributes. Also, in regard to the expression of the emotion, a unique expression for the time being, with new expressions being very helpful to bring the emotion to life over time and to keep it relevant might be right for a while, but needs change at some point. With a structural emotion-based underpinning, a new expression can be developed--as part of the same emotion, instead of "throwing the baby out with the bath water." Budweiser has done this with campaign after campaign, with different funny approaches, all providing pleasure and heightening the feeling that it's Bud Light, for the really great times.

Many of the following questions have been virtually impossible for clients, marketers or creative people to answer. Many professional psychological and medical people would also have a problem with the full list:

What are emotions? Is every feeling an emotion? Are all emotions of equal power? What is a family of emotions? Is every emotion useful in marketing? Do people experience emotions in different ways or the same way? Do people in the U.S. feel, react, enjoy or avoid emotions such as Fear or Sadness the same was as they do in Canada or Russia or an island in the Marianas? How many emotions are there? What is a core emotion? How can they be utilized? Are rational benefits in a marketing message more important than emotion-based motives? Which type of emotions give people unique personal reasons and urges to buy or experience new things? Which type stimulates reasons not to buy or not to experience new things--or at least, stimulates many reasons why not to do something, as opposed to reasons why they should?

My work the last 4 years has been in, first of all, defining the above questions and then searching for the answers. Today, we've formed a structure and foundation for concise, useful answers to each of the above questions, developed with the assistance of the leading emotion researcher in the U.S., and also with the many articles and writings of a host of other emotion-focused academics and professionals in the field.

Some professionals and laymen may agree, some may disagree, but few can argue that our approach and the processes we've developed to use them, are anything outside of the track the evidence and the science supports. We're not recommending anything for psychological help or practice, nor anything medical. However, you will soon be able to see all of this in a different light, as a useful tool and process that takes the already low to moderate effectiveness of even generalized feelings and turns them into powerful motives, through the structure we're providing.

By the way, the word "benefit" and the word "motive" are used carefully in this work. We believe that a benefit is a rational benefit, like health insurance with a great job. The motive is something that literally drives the person. People don't perform serious crimes for simple benefits. They do so only when strong motives exist. That's the potential level that positionings based on motives reach.

We are consultants in marketing. Our work focuses on brand and product positioning, as one part of creating a powerful Brand Strategy. Emotion is the key focus, but all of the detailed learning from Consumer Packaged Goods practice are included. In fact, many have stated that they feel this program is the missing link between dry rational benefits and an alternative, powerful feelings associated with such brands, products and experiences. However in this work, we're wanting to provide information on what we've done and how it can be used. We're focusing on transferring information even excitement to this subject. We believe in any advertisement, for any product in any category to any target, can be powerfully improved through the appropriate use of the right emotion. With these tools that is more possible than it ever has been before.

If you have any comments on any of this, please add a comment below. If you are interested in having a business discussion regarding your site, your business, your brand(s) or your product(s), feel free to ask your key question in the comments, and indicate you would like me to contact you or you contact me.

My next post, in a few days, will answer all of the above questions in brief form--and their very brevity is a signal that we know what they are and we know how to use them. For many, answering questions like the above, really is a lot of arm waving, stuttering, repetition and frustration. We hope to end that for those of you who have been there before (which certainly included me)!

January 04, 2006 in Marketing Consulting for Web Entrepreneurs | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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