The psychology behind successful brand activations: Tapping into consumer emotion

Nobody ever asks us to “activate their brand”.

Yet we have a Brand Activation team who are constantly bringing client brands to life in a number of ways.

Be it campaigns, corporate reporting, creating experiences, designing board rooms… these manifestations all fall under the guise of brand activation.

So what makes a successful brand activation? We discussed this recently and found the role of emotion particularly interesting.

This article will capture much of that discussion, outlining how brands can truly connect with their audiences and tap into consumer emotion to drive success and engagement.

Brand activations are often designed to create long lasting emotional connections between your brand and your target audience.

Take the John Lewis Christmas adverts as example. If you live in the UK, it’s likely you won’t need to click on the link to jog your memory.

It’s equally likely, however, that you’ll want to re-watch at least one of them again.

These adverts are very effective. Because they last in the memory and, on the whole, have tended to leave an emotional connection with the content or messaging.

And, while various factors contribute to the success of these adverts, an unquestionable pillar of this success is the fact they tap into our emotions.

This, in turn, drives brand salience and connection with the brand.

In an article for Fast Company, neuro-research firm Neuro-Insight notes that the key to creating a successful Christmas ad is the ‘intensity of emotional experience’.

If we have a strong, emotional connection with a particular advert, event or campaign – we’re much more likely to remember it.

It lives within our emotional memory.

And we can integrate some of the same fundamentals into our brand activation work during the rest of the calendar year.

We’d argue that for your brand activation to successfully connect with your audience, you need to have an awareness and understanding of consumer psychology.

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In this blog, we’ll look at how we can develop our understanding of consumer psychology to tap into consumer emotion and benefit your brand activations with insights from Mark Hauser, Applied Behavioural Scientist at The Team.

The Power of Emotion in Marketing

Brands like Nike have aligned their marketing with their mission and purpose, and have successfully tapped into consumer emotion through consistent brand messaging.

With their slogan – ‘Just do it’, their brand has become synonymous with feelings of empowerment, commitment and determination.

They appeal to a diverse audience encompassing differences, ethnicities and abilities.

And through the use of storytelling in their campaigns, such as athletes or everyday people sharing their journeys, Nike have given real-world relatability to their brand narrative.

These stories encourage and uplift the viewer to believe in their own fitness or sports ability.

As a result, Nike have formed a strong connection with their audience.

They are seen as an aspirational brand you want to be connected with.

Emotional Motivators

As noted in The New Science of Customer Emotions, understanding emotional motivators allows us to measure and identify the key emotions and feelings that drive customer behaviour.

They provide a better gauge of customers’ future value to a firm than any other metric. This includes brand awareness and customer satisfaction, and can be an important new source of growth and profitability.

People buy with the objective of satisfying underlying motivational goals.

Brands which clearly signal an ability to meet these motivational goals (while delivering products that satisfy the concurrent functional goals) elevate against the competition.

Research cited in the article shows over 300 motivators, some of which we’ve listed here:

• • ‘Stand out from the crowd’
  • ‘Have confidence in the future’
  • ‘Enjoy a sense of well-being’

Often, consumers are unaware of these motivations.

There are typically multiple motivations experienced at any point in time.

And their actual motivations may differ from what they think, or say, they’re looking for.

Different brands and products will satisfy different motivations.

For example, I might want to buy a specific item of clothing, or accessory, to feel good and stand out amongst friends. Maybe that has me heading to Patagonia so that my friends can see I care for the planet. Or I’m wearing the latest Dr Marten’s boots.

Whereas, if I was looking to enjoy a sense of well-being, I may seek out a brand more associated with calm, style and chill.

This might mean lighting a Jo Malone candle, eating an Itsu lunch, opening my Calm app or looking for a Champneys weekend break.

How Emotions Ignite Brand Activations

If a customer is fully emotionally connected to your brand, then they’re much more likely to be “loyal” (by which we mean they will not feel any urge to look elsewhere).

And these emotional connections are a useful way of attracting new customers. Especially if existing customers are telling others about their emotional experience.

If you can clearly meet the needs and desires of your target audience (both physical and psychological), and you can help customers think they deserve a great experience, then you have every chance of attracting a new brand-customer relationship.

And for marketers this is important. The behavioural scientist Dan Airely did an experiment with consumers on the cost of painkillers. The ones that were more expensive were deemed to be more effective at managing pain. But it’s the same ingredients. Perception is often reality and tapping into emotion is a part of that.

Perception is often reality and tapping into emotion is a part of that.

Emotional motivators can change and vary depending on where the customer is on their journey.

However, as noted with Nike, some level of consistency and congruence is key.

Take Aesop for example.

A customer might initially think – I want a premium, luxurious experience that promotes wellbeing.

And Aesop’s in store experience offers this in abundance.

Every Aesop shop interior is a multi-sensory delight. You enter from the street into a warm, decadent space that smells amazing.

You’re then met by an attentive member of the Aesop team who will likely ask you what you’re looking for.

Then you’re paired with your perfect product, and given complimentary samples upon purchase.

This experience not only makes you feel like you’re investing in your wellbeing, but also that you’re deserving of it.

And following on from this experience. When you think of Aesop, you’ll connect it with the amazing products and high quality service you received.

But once you’ve formed this connection – your underlying motivation to shop there might switch.

Perhaps to a drive to feel ‘cared to’ by the staff, or to ‘connect with’ the assistant whose energy resonated with you.

And Aesop’s high-end, customer attentive experience satisfies this motivation.

Psychological Theories Behind Emotional Marketing

Damasio’s somatic marker hypothesis suggests that emotions play a crucial role in quick, speedy decision-making.

In Damasio’s theory, we attach emotional significance to experiences which then guide our future decisions.

We can use Damasio’s theory to help us better understand how we can tap into consumer emotion.

When we have a ‘gut feeling’ about something, this is when Damasio’s theory comes into play.

I may have a gut feeling about doing something, because I may have had a negative experience when something similar happened previously.

Or it could be the other way round.

I may have positive emotional associations, which then creates a physical response in my body which drives me to make a decision.

This is a somatic marker, defined by The Decision Lab as:

Changes in the body and brain, which together make up an emotion. They are triggered by one’s perception of external or imagined events and can include both perceptible changes (posture, facial expression) and imperceptible changes (endocrine release, heart rate)

In emotional marketing, Damasio’s hypothesis is particularly relevant.

By activating these emotional triggers, brands can influence consumer decisions more effectively.

Not least by increasing salience and a sense of pre-existing connection.

Key Points

Using Damasio’s theory, and having a deep understanding of their audience’s underlying motivations, brands can develop their activations accordingly.

But it’s important to understand the trade-offs.

If you have a lot of information that you need to get across, high emotional engagement can be counterproductive.

Our brains are captured by how we feel, without necessarily being attentive to remembering specific information.

Final Thoughts

Tapping into consumer emotion is vital for a successful brand activation.

As Maya Angelou once said:

People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

So, it’s important that we think of our audiences as people. Not just as consumers.

We must empathise with their journey, and humanise their experiences.

This will help us truly connect and maintain positive brand-customer relationships.

If you’d like to discover more about tapping into consumer emotion in your brand activations, we’d love to hear from you.