If we had just one word to describe the kind of ads that lead to customer loyalty and repeat purchases, it would be  ‘emotional’. 

This is perhaps unsurprising, since there are numerous studies to demonstrate that, when it comes to making brand decisions, emotions play a much more significant role than information. In other words, the emotional appeal of an advertisement has a greater influence on a person’s desire to purchase than the ad’s actual content. 

According to Douglas Van Preet, the writer of ‘Unconscious Branding: How Neuroscience Can Empower (and Inspire) Marketing, “The most startling truth is that we don’t even think our way to logical solutions. We feel our way to reason. Emotions are the substrate, the base layer of neural circuitry underpinning even rational deliberation. Emotions don’t hinder decisions – they constitute the foundation on which (decisions) are made!”

Unruly, the annual leader of viral ads, discovered that some of the most heavily shared ads of the recent few years were the ones that were based around emotional content such as happiness, warmth, inspiration, and friendship. 

More and more brands are becoming emotionally aware. However, this emotional awareness has been quite recent – during the 1990s and even the early 2000s, advertisers were more focused on sarcasm and humour. 

Using Emotions in Advertising:

Historically, the six primary emotions have been: happiness, surprise, fear, disgust, anger and sadness. 

However, the Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology brought forward some research in 2014 that combined some of these emotions in the context of social constructs and interactions. Hence, human emotions can be classified as: happiness, sadness, surprise/fear and anger/disgust. 

On the basis of these four emotions, let us check out the way that brands have been producing ads to propel awareness and connection:

1. Happiness:

Every brand wants to be connected with customers that are happy, smiling, and laughing, and for good reason – positivity is associated with greater engagement and sharing. According to a 2010 study that analysed New York Times’ articles that were most frequently mailed, emotional articles were more often shared and posts containing positive messages were shared more frequently compared to posts that shared negativity.

One of the most shared posts of all time – Friends Furever from Android [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-NKpDTwMms ]– featured clips of animal friends that were immensely cute and appealing. 

Coca-Cola recently replaced its renowned ‘Open Happiness’ tagline with ‘Taste the Feeling’. However, it made sure to maintain focus on people interacting and engaging with each other and spreading happiness.  

1. Sadness:

More and more ads these days are designed with the objective of transforming their customers into an emotional wreck and letting them have a good cry. 

Indeed, over the last few years, brands have realised how popular emotional content has become, and an increasing number of companies now focus on producing ads that move and inspire their viewers. 

A brilliant example of such ads is from MetLife Hong Kong, which features a daughter listing everything about her dad that she loves. [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O15dxrBNuAQ ] However, the ad takes a sharp turn when the daughter also starts describing the numerous ways that make her dad a liar. 

During the 2014 Sochi Olympics, P&G produced this moving piece in their recognition of mothers and the unconditional support that they represent. 

1. Fear/Surprise:

Fear comes as naturally to us as breathing. It is our armour in situations that threaten us, making us take the actions required to increase our probability of survival. 

Fear leads to urgency and demands action. It also compels us to change something about the current situation – such as, purchasing a product that might prevent something terrible from happening. In a Mad Men Episode, Don Draper says, “Advertising is based on one thing: happiness. And you know what happiness is? Happiness is the smell of a new car. It is freedom from fear. It is a billboard on the side of the road that screams reassurance that whatever you are doing is okay. You are okay.”

Fear-vertising is often used by commercials that try to reduce cigarette smoking or drunk driving. However, this approach to advertising is not without its risks. For instance, during the 2015 Super Bowl, Nationwide published an ad related to preventable domestic injuries and child safety. The ad featured a boy who was talking about everything that he will be unable to do, and concluded with the sentence: “I could not grow up because I died from an accident.” While undoubtedly attention-grabbing, the ad was also labelled as insensitive and depressing by a number of users, and ultimately forced the Nationwide CMO to give up his position just a few months after the release of the ad. 

Surprise does not always have to be negative, as shown in this ad titled ‘Love Has No Labels’. 

1. Anger/Disgust:

A lot of people think that it is good to steer clear of anger in advertisements, as it is a negative emotion that is bound to trigger negative associations. However, in certain cases, anger can force people to wake up and act. When we see a person being unfairly treated or hurt, we become angry. This kind of anger, frustration, and disgust causes us to take notice of the wrong around us, ask vital questions, and alter our perspectives. 

An imgur.com study discovered that, even though content negative emotions did not go viral as commonly as its positive counterpart, viral success did occur when a negative image was tinged with elements of surprise and anticipation. 

An example of such content is the Like A Girl Always #LikeAGirl Campaign Ad: "Super Bowl XLIX"advertisement produced by Always. This ad makes use of a popular insult to get the viewer’s attention, and, unsurprisingly, won several awards including Grand Clio, Cannes Grand Prix, and an Emmy. 

The Role of Emotion in Contextual Marketing

Contextual advertising puts focus on the content that has been placed against the ad, instead of on the viewer’s intention to purchase based on browsing history or behavioral patterns. This marketing method is becoming highly important for advertisers since it allows them to effectively target audiences without the need to use any personal data. 

When considering context, advertisers should prioritise emotions and sentiments. Any technology that a contextual targeting company uses should consider the appropriate sentiments and emotions to make sure that they deliver their ads in the right emotional context. 

Summary:

This article considered the recent importance and popularity of emotional advertisements, and the reasons behind this popularity. It then analysed how brands have made use of the  four primary emotions – namely happiness, sadness, anger/disgust, and surprise/fear – to develop effective advertising campaigns. And finally, the importance of contextual marketing, to deliver the right sentiments.

And a final word - while the use of emotions in your advertising is likely to lead to repeat purchases, brand advocacy and customer loyalty, this is more likely to be achieved if you use the emotional peaks of your advertising to also convey the message about your product/service and brand values. 

Researchers, agencies and brands choose Smile Reader to deliver valuable insights that  increase brand equity and achieve high performance marketing campaigns. 

To contact us to discuss emotion recognition services, click here.