‘Always-on’ doesn’t hit the sweet spot like it once did. The relentless stream of digital content is leaving us fatigued. This can lead to lack of engagement, erode trust and in turn, reduce ROI, as audiences effectively ‘switch off’ from brands' repetitive, churned-out content.
So what can we learn from this as digital marketers?
In my recent blog post, I argued that in the age of AI, human-centric storytelling matters more than ever. In fact, according to GWI, over half (55%) of UK internet users want brands to be authentic, and emotional connection truly matters, with a staggering 43% wanting brands to make them feel valued.
This data showcases the growing need for refined, emotionally-charged campaigns to target consumers' needs on a more personal level, in order to generate sales.
What Do We Mean by ‘Emotionally-Charged Campaigns’?
In its simplest form, emotionally-charged campaigns just means emotional marketing. It makes the target consumer feel something during their browsing and purchasing stages. Therefore, it’s a strategy that uses emotions to make connections with consumers. It can leverage feelings such as happiness, sadness or nostalgia to influence buying decisions and increase brand loyalty.
According to Research and Metric, 95% of buying choices are made subconsciously, driven by the brain's limbic system, which processes feelings, memory, and fast, intuitive reactions before logical reasoning. This fits with the idea that emotion drives purchasing decisions more than logic. People justify with logic, but decide with emotion.
A household name that has really hit the nail on the head with emotive campaigns is Dove, with its ‘Real Beauty’ campaign storytelling, launched in 2004. The reason this worked so well is the way it shifted focus from the product itself, to the emotional connection of the product and tapped deeply into the consumers’ behaviours and emotional needs.
Championing a strong message of self-acceptance and challenging conventional beauty standards to its predominantly female audience demographic, helped the brand drive sales forward. It became a movement in itself and felt truly authentic, relatable and inclusive. It’s an excellent example of utilising emotive storytelling to position a brand and own a core message, so it became recognisable and memorable, and in turn, increased sales.
How Can Brands Utilise Emotion to Convert?
Both naturally emotion-fuelled brands and functional brands, such as financial services or B2B, can benefit from utilising emotion to convert consumers. A good place to start is by ensuring the brand has a clear understanding of their target audience, including their behaviours and interests, a strong value proposition, a robust brand message and a solid call to action.
A common mistake brands often make is using the scattergun approach, which dilutes or confuses the message brands are trying to convey and prevents it reaching the correct audience. An example would be not having a strong brand story or running campaigns that work against the brand values or that come across as inauthentic, as well as trying to target too many emotions at once as part of emotion-led campaigns.
There are a variety of frameworks brands can utilise to tap into emotive trigger points to convert. One example is The Emotional Targeting Framework™ (Talia Wolf), summarised below:
- Customer-First Research: Moving beyond demographics (age, location) to understand customer pains, anxieties, and desires
- Psychological Triggers: Utilising triggers like fear of missing out (FOMO), belonging, or security to influence behaviour
- Value Reframing: Changing marketing copy from "what the product does" to "how it makes the user feel"
- Emotion-Based Testing: Running A/B tests on landing pages, ads, and emails designed to address specific customer feelings rather than just changing button colours
An example of utilising FOMO as a key trigger was a recent campaign we implemented for our client, Buzz Bingo, called ‘Taylor Swift Ticket Frenzy’. We were tasked with earning coverage with a reactive campaign that would generate buzz in the entertainment space.
The aim was to achieve high authority, SEO-boosting links on our key entertainment and regional media. We chose the topic of Taylor Swift and wanted to find out the chances of UK fans being able to attend The Eras Tour.
We researched how many people tried to get tickets in the US and calculated this as a percentage of the total UK population, combined with stadium capacity data. This resulted in 180 coverage placements, generating increased brand awareness and earning linked media coverage.
In contemporary marketing, campaigns that connect with consumer emotions and passions help brands to connect with audiences, with the added benefit of increasing scope to be associated with the news, informational and social outlets customers rely on.
Data from GWI suggests 52% of internet users want brands to be reliable, making dependability the top trust driver. Moreover, 44% want brands to be authentic and 44% expect innovation, signalling that realness plus progress builds credibility. This in itself shows an ever-growing need for emotional signals within digital marketing campaigns.
At ICS-digital, we specialise in building brand awareness that converts, utilising our in-depth global consumer research platform to ensure campaigns are targeted, driving real results.
We also offer a brand tracking service, giving clients the opportunity to track their brand awareness in line with targeted campaign activation.
Consistent brand tracking allows you to demonstrate the impact of your marketing activity, as well as providing genuine consumer feedback on your brand and your competitors to support strategic marketing decisions.
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