An age-old insult “like a girl” was turned upside down in a campaign made by Always, a company that sells feminine sanitary products. The #LikeAGirl campaign changed everyone’s perspective, including women. It looked at all of the fantastic things that girls and women are doing in both sports and the world. 

By appealing to the audience’s emotions, the video marketing tactic captivated hearts and earned many loyal customers.  They saw a double-digit increase in their sales within their company, and even men said that they would think twice before making a “like a girl” comment again.

What is Emotional Marketing?

There have been plenty of digital marketing strategies that have been used time and time again, but emotional marketing hits a new chord. Advertisers are using emotions to get you to buy from them because it works!

Brands can get you to remember, notice, and buy from them because you find their ad relatable by using emotional marketing strategies. It can build customer loyalty, perhaps even for a lifetime. 

We’ll take a look at some emotional marketing examples as well as more to do with how it works following on from here.

Why Emotional Marketing Works

Humans are naturally social and emotional beings. We feel. In a brain imaging study by UK researches, certain processing regions of the brain light up when a loved one is hurt. Showing that humans are hardwired to feel empathy. 

We can use that emotional appeal in marketing. Emotions are a considerable force that causes you to make decisions, so it is no wonder brands have started to use emotions in their video marketing.

Here’s how it works:

It Earns Trust

We all love a good story, especially when it is relatable. Video storytelling isn’t about selling a product but about connecting to the audience. A good story gets remembered, so why not be creative and entertaining in telling people about your company or product?

It’s hard to declutter, everyone can relate to that! We played off of the emotions one might have when getting rid of clutter in this commercial for Zen Storage.

Brings More Sales

People use their hearts to decide, so emotions play a significant role in consumers’ purchasing decisions. If you are emotionally attached to a particular brand, you are more likely to buy from them regardless of price or reviews.

Your Brand Will Become Memorable

Emotions connect to memories. Think about it. Which sad or happy moments from your childhood still stick vividly in your mind today? If you have a good story, you will be remembered and stand out from the crowd, leading you to be chosen over your competitors.

Gets People to Act

Emotions can inspire and motivate people to act. They hit a nerve, and capture your attention, causing you to make a change in yourself and the world. Each emotion triggers a unique response to how we behave. Take for example the famous De Beers Case Study. In 1947, De Beers completely changed the diamond world. Their slogan ‘A Diamond is Forever’ became more than just a tagline, it created a need for diamond engagement rings.

A poster of the De Beers ad campaign of a diamond rng

What Activity Does Emotion Bring?

Happiness and Humour = More Shares

Those who make us laugh or smile have a special place in our hearts. Videos that have a positive outlook spread like wildfire. Everyone strives for happiness because it’s a pleasant emotion where people feel a greater sense of well-being and satisfaction. If it makes us feel good, then we want to share the love.

This product video we created for LuxeBidet still makes us giggle. We had a great time coming up with unique scenes that matched up with the cheekiness of the product.

Sadness and Grief = More Clicks and Action

When watching a video, we focus on a sad yet inspiring story. We feel the person’s suffering and feel as though we should help others because of it. When we connect to others who are just like us or experience the same life scenarios, we wish to act and positively affect someone’s life. 

Outline a problem and demonstrate how sad and complicated it is. Then provide a solution, and move them from sadness to empowerment.

We worked with the Royal Foundation for Mental Health on a campaign video. The video was used as part of their fundraising efforts to help increase donations for mental health support and research.

Anger and Disgust = Change and Viral Content

Sometimes a video that goes viral induces anger. How many brand videos have we seen that expressed anger due to injustice? That passion for standing up for what is right was strong. Leaning towards an anger approach video can be risky as it involves many controversial topics and could alienate many viewers.

Awe or Fear = Loyalty and Change

Surprising people with creative inventions and impressive designs keep viewers on their toes. It’s the safest and most reliable path toward a high-energy emotion. 

Surprise and fear also tend to make people cling to something comfortable. This can go both ways, either scaring customers away or having them lean toward you when things get tough.

How to Use Emotions to Encourage Your Audience to Act

Understand Your Audience

Choose an emotion based on the type of response you want from your audience and stick with it. If you’re going to attract people, you have to give them something they can resonate with. Create an inspiring message that will motivate action.

We worked with Ottawa Print Services on a video that focused on the pain points someone might have when preparing for an event. The story line allows the viewer to feel as if they were in that situation.

Tell a Story

Build emotions around a story. Storytelling has existed since the beginning of human existence. Suppose you can accurately portray a valuable lesson that will not be forgotten for generations. In that case, this will help you connect on an emotional level and help others remember your story—and brand—for a long time.
Explainer videos for emotional marketing are not so much about a product or a service but concentrate on one thing throughout the storyline: the feeling.

Keep it Short and Sweet

Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens. Get to the point as most of us in this fast-paced world have a short attention span. Video is a great way to repress the shrinking attention span of the human brain. 

We at Simply Story are experts in this space and focus on emotional marketing while crafting the script for videos. We want to help our clients create videos that will make people feel. We can accomplish this for you if the right strategies are put in place. Understanding your goals and how you want your target customer to feel will in turn move them to act. 

We hope you now have a better understanding of what emotional marketing is, how it works, and how you can utilize it to your own benefit. The emotional connection between humans may be the most powerful connection on the planet. It makes perfect sense that using emotions for marketing works so well!

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Stefania Marino