In his second book, Citizen Brand, Gobé expounds on the dualistic concept of love and fear as a new way of looking at brands from an emotional perspective. Love and fear are both powerful purchase motivators, but are much more useful to attempt to inspire positive feelings rather than to create fear-based communications. Love, quite simply, has more staying power and overall potential to inspire. Fear, by its very nature, is about adopting a defensive posture in order to avoid something negative – and once the threat is gone, the emotional association is no longer valid. Exploring the notion of love and fear as basis for understanding emotional motivation, Gobé takes us through a list of major current trends affecting our world, our emotional lives, and the way brands and branding should be handled.
For some time now, many smart brands have understood the power of the tribal instinct in creating a strong brand. The point here is that by inspiring people about the idea of belonging to a brand club, we are able to build a huge opportunity to market our products, as we provide the warmth of the tribal fires around the brands that they get to trust and love. The tribal trend is bringing people together for a positive experience. Avon, for many years has done a great job of galvanizing women, organizing walkathons around the world for the cause of breast cancer. Apple has motivated thousands of computer aficionados to attend the annual MacWorld Expo.
A tribe needs a language too. To talk to one, a brand will at least need to understand, and importantly, speak, this cultural language meant for the insiders of a particular tribe. A fascinating example of course is the text talk that Gen Y has invented to communicate via wireless devices. Abbreviated letters combined with numbers representing a syllable, an entire word or phrase are used not only for speed and small digital spaces, but also for privacy from any potential prying eyes that would just see gibberish in these messages.
"Sweet-Homing" is grand living in the comfort of our own nests – an active exploration of all the wonderful things and activities we can bring from the outside world into our dining table, entertainment nook or bedroom. It runs contrary to Faith Popcorn’s idea of "cocooning" or the couch potato whose only desire is to escape the pressures and responsibilities of the external environment. It is a celebration of the home and the family.
This trend for example makes the Magic Microphone, videoke machines and other forms of home entertainment highly sellable. But as the elements of work and entertainment are increasingly added to our concept of home, we may find other things, such as everyday chores taken away from our routinary existence. Time-starved people, looking to enjoy domicile coziness, may rebel against using the time for domestic duties, and we may see the advent of more services like the valet laundry, aromatherapy, full body massage, and food delivery.
People are seeking the familiar in this new uncertain world. Sincerity and authenticity have become very vital. Focus groups in the USA have revealed that they would like to see the return of Coca-Cola’s classic "I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony" commercial because they have warm memories of it as a positive, inspiring message of global communion.
This trend challenges brands to find out how their own unique value proposition can simplify people’s lives, reassure them and appeal to the inner child, either through comfort or fun. However, it certainly does not signify an end to the advertising practitioner’s ever-expanding need to explore new, more demanding creative territories. It will require a fresh approach to humor which will be kinder, gentler, uncomplicated and does not thrive on irony or putting down people.
A brilliant print ad by The Body Shop, a long-time advocate of reality-based communications, attacks societal views of female perfection head on. The ad shows a plump doll (a la Barbie with a good 30 or so extra pounds) with a tag line that reads, "There are 3 billion women who don’t look like supermodels and only eight who do." Similarly, a Benetton ad simply showing a happy child with Down’s Syndrome with no tag line continues the brand’s tradition of communications that address real issues, but with more sensitivity and a subtle flavor of optimism that is new to Benetton’s style of advertising.
Whether a brand chooses to address the reality check trend or not depends to a large degree on the brand image. It is not a trend for all brands, and it certainly doesn’t mean that consumers are no longer interested in escapist fantasy. Clearly, the need for soothing, or forgetting entirely the sharper edge of reality, will always exist. "It is fantasy that pretends to portray reality that may well fall under attack given this trend," Gobé emphasizes.
Big companies will have to learn to speak with a personal voice in order to win the hearts of consumers, and design will be a potent tool for communicating that personal touch to their various publics. This trend is responsible for the huge success of micro or niche and brands whose captivating personal stories invite targeted individuals to be part of the brand story.
Given this learning, a brand must appeal to the senses, from product development to communications. This will make itself rise above the status of mere commodity to become an emotional brand. The spiritual and sensorial factors have clearly become important considerations when purchasing brands, and the promise associated with any product needs to be relevant to these aspirations.
Emotional branding is a continuous process, a business infrastructure that must be constantly built upon. As such, organizations must realize that unwavering dedication is critical to experience both immediate and long-term gains.