Emotional Consequences

It was a long trip. Travel home was a grind. I was tired. Weary. Road worn.

As I neared my house there was a growing sense of anticipation and yet, hesitation. Had I been homesick? No, but yet I wanted to get home. Then again, re-entry was not always pleasant.

I walked in the door and was overcome by a sense of familiarity. Sound, smell, touch, sight. Then I was noticed. I was greeted, touched, accepted, loved. I felt belonging. Contentment. Happiness. At peace. Connected.

Your brand has an audience. Their days are grinds. They are weary. They are worn. How do they feel as they near your brand experience? How do they feel in the moment? What is your brand's emotional consequence?

When consumers interact with a brand, there is an emotional consequence. Brand failure, even in the most insignificant categories, can cause frustration, anger, even embarrassment. Brand success can lift spirits and turn a bad day around. What’s interesting is these emotional consequences are often not just directed at the brand, but at the user. Ever felt like a sucker for buying a brand? Ever felt more confident about yourself when using a brand?

As a brand builder, the goal is to marry your brand to a positive emotional experience that enhances the user’s day and their self opinion. In short, interaction with this brand makes me feel ______. So when I want to feel that way, I reach for the brand. This is the essence of the emotional benefit.

Unlike with functional benefits, it is often much easier to differentiate your brand with its emotional benefit. When I was young, Nike and Adidas were functionally marketed brands with little differentiation. Nike figured out the emotional benefit of running (and fitness in general) to its users, and the rest is history.

While functional benefit remains precedent to emotional benefit in my opinion, it’s the MARKETER that is typically the author of emotional benefit strategy. Net, this is where we earn our keep in brand construction.