There are many “tangible” brand moments that are under direct control of a brand (the lobby people enter, the ad campaign they see, the packaging on the product they open, etc.) However there are also many “intangible” moments that play an important part in defining the success of a brand.
These are moments when employees of the brand interact with other employees, customers, partners, suppliers, distributor, investors, community leaders, and so on.
Behind every great brand, there are great people talking with important people.
When a brand seeks to move toward greater meaning, it must take every one of its staff along with it.
This is easier said than done as has been evident from the many brands with great advertising but-less-than gratifying customer service experiences.
The goal of emotive branding is to bring the brand’s promise to an understandable and actionable level.
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” (Maya Angelou).
By focusing on simple human emotions – feelings people experience themselves every day – we help clients provide a language and practice that is easily communicated to, and internalized by, their staff.
This approach makes the difference between giving people the mission to be “the best, which often sounds “meaningless” to them, versus asking them to make others feel good about themselves and their choices, which always sounds “meaningful” to them.
A true, credible, believable and organic process
Most important, a brand’s effort to make their intangible brand moments meaningful must be an organic process.
It cannot boil down to presentation decks and posters on the wall.
It must come from a true, credible and believable intent on your brand’s part.
It needs to be part of the brand strategy.
For additional reading on emotive branding, you may enjoy Brand Behavior Drives Business Results.
Emotive Brand is a San Francisco brand strategy firm.
