Feelings Do Matter: 5 Examples Of Emotional Marketing Campaigns

When it comes to marketing, emotions matter. Emotional marketing campaigns can connect with consumers on a deeper level, forming a bond that can lead to loyalty and brand advocacy.

All successful brands rely on emotional marketing. This is because nothing connects us as strongly as emotions, and storytelling allows marketers to connect with their prospects. Examples of emotional advertising across brands show that marketers who inspire, encourage, or even motivate their audience will always be on the front pages. Furthermore, marketers who use a variety of tools and platforms to deliver emotions in email marketing stand out from the crowd.

What exactly is Emotional Marketing?

A type of advertising in which basic emotions such as happiness, fear, or anger are used to elicit a response from consumers. This usually leads to increased social sharing and sales. It can also improve customer experience and increase customer loyalty by building trust between your brand and the customer.

Emotions in marketing speaks directly to people’s hearts. Emotional marketing can occur anywhere in the marketing world, from social media posts to product descriptions. Emotions in email marketing can be used at any point in the process to elicit specific customer behavior.

Various Emotional Marketing Strategies to Evoke Emotions

Before you experiment with emotionally charged marketing campaigns, make sure you understand what they are for and how to use them.

Emotional branding, emotional advertising, and general storytelling are the three main marketing strategies used to elicit emotions.

• Emotional Branding

Emotional branding is the process of establishing a meaningful relationship between your brand and potential customers by evoking basic emotions. Hallmark, for example, evokes positive feelings of love and happiness, whereas Nike evokes feelings of awe and inspiration.

• Emotional Advertising

Emotional advertising refers to the types of advertisements used by a company to elicit emotions, raise brand awareness, and build trust with their target audience. Emotional advertisements can be used to both establish a brand and contribute to a larger discussion about current events or tragedies. Following the 2018 travel ban in the United States, Airbnb, for example, launched its “Let’s Keep Traveling Forward” campaign.

• Storytelling

The tactic that ties everything together, marketing objectives and customer loyalty, is storytelling. Storytelling is an art form that has been used since the beginning of human existence and, like human emotion, is a survival skill. The goal of storytelling is to become so good at it that customers remember your brand when they are making a purchasing decision.

5 examples of Emotional Advertising

Here are a few examples of big brands and small businesses that used emotional advertising to their advantage.

1. Nike’s “Believe in Something” Campaign

Nike took a risk in this emotional advertising campaign by teaming up with an athlete best known for kneeling during the national anthem in protest of police brutality against African American men in the United States. As a result, half of the country was outraged and burned Nike products in protest. The other half was praising the brand and buying Nike products to support it. Nike, on the other hand, was the talk of the country that year, regardless of which side you were on.

2. Gillette’s “Perfect Isn’t Pretty” Emotional Advertising Campaign

As the Rio Olympics approached in 2016, Gillette released an emotional video highlighting four Olympic athletes. It demonstrated that being perfect, which is loosely defined as Olympic-level athleticism, necessitates a great deal of sacrifice and pain. Even though Gillette only sells razors, which are only vaguely mentioned in the commercial, the brand created an emotional pull in its audience by aligning itself with the world’s hard workers. While viewers are unsure what kind of product features Gillette can provide, they are aware of the brand’s mission. And this will be useful when buyers are ready to buy new razors.

3. Procter & Gamble’s “The Talk” Campaign

When Procter & Gamble released “The Talk,” they were referring to a topic that is frequently swept under the rug in the United States, causing quite a stir among both blacks and whites. It’s a powerful reminder of the importance of open communication in families, as well as the natural protector role that mothers play. This commercial depicted the harsh reality that black families face in the United States, eliciting a wide range of emotions ranging from anger to awe.

4. Lysol “Protect Like a Mother”

Rather than bragging about all the chemicals in their disinfectant sprays, Lysol appeals to their motherly customer base by promising to “protect like a mother.” This message empowers mothers and validates everything they do, likely positioning the brand as one that mothers can trust. It’s a clever yet simple move to instill trust and loyalty in their customers.

5. P&G “Thank You, Mom – Strong”

P&G created an extremely emotional advertising campaign for the 2016 Rio Olympics, emphasizing the role of mothers in our lives. In this video, Olympic athletes recall how their mothers encouraged and comforted them as children, giving them the confidence to compete in the Olympics. P&G is a company that encompasses a wide range of products all aimed at the home, so doing a little emotional branding on the home aspect of their company just as millions of people sit down to watch their commercial from home is a powerful move.

Final Thoughts

Make sure your campaigns follow these emotional marketing examples – they are what give life meaning, purpose, and joy! When possible, strive for positivity. Your marketing campaign can assist in explaining why your brand is the solution to your customer’s problem. If your campaigns are falling flat, try them again, this time with more emotion.