I see a lot of announcements posing as brand communication nowadays. It’s all fairly neutral take-it-or-leave-it stuff. Sometimes I register it, if it is a person I know, but it usually washes over me.
In the absence of good imagery, it is time and / or budget wasted. There is no translation into feeling that engages me and builds resonance.
I have just mentioned two important ideas, Keller’s imagery and feelings.
Imagery is the psychosocial aspect that you project, for instance a woman glowing with a sense of beauty as a result of a cosmetic product, or the happy group of people sharing a soft drink. These are the transformative sense of self or the transformative tribal sense of belonging.
If the consumer associates with the imagery and develops and adopts feelings suggested by the imagery, a brand underpinning has been created. The consumer is more likely to be loyal and allocate budget to the product or behave as the brand manager desires. That feeds into corporate strategy, profitability and sustainability.
This is not a new concept. Thousands of agencies use this as an underpinning for professional creativity and results. It is so fundamental it is in danger of becoming the poster child for overlooking the obvious. So why the boring announcements? There are two reasons: lack of empathy and misplaced empathy.
Empathy is the ability to share and understand the feelings of others. It needs to be built into the imagery is feelings are to become apparent in consumer behaviour.
An announcement is easy. It doesn’t require much understanding of the consumer, beyond Keller’s functional product. It will typically fall into the third stage of the consumer journey, maintaining the relationship. At this point, the consumer will be understood in terms of the transition from imagery to feelings. However, avoiding empathy is lazy. Announcements must reflect existing imagery and must not lack empathy. Even a recruitment ad is an opportunity to communicate the brand.
Misplaced empathy is far more threatening. For instance there is a plethora of funeral and funeral policy ads which show happy people, an inappropriate emotion given the serious nature of death. Although I don’t have figures or potential, my best guess is that these ads underperform and do not generate brand loyalty.
On the other hand, Dove creates extraordinary loyalty with its depictions of beauty brought out in ordinary people. And Coca-Cola persists with its depictions of belonging and happiness in groups. The durability of this brand messaging speaks of the effectiveness of the imagery.
By identifying the appropriate emotion and using it in imagery, feelings will be fostered, spending will grow and loyalty has a better chance of emerging. However, it takes work, not a random shot from a photo library. That work is research, be it in conversation or focus groups.
The shift from imagery to feelings is the shift from symbolic, intangible perceptions of the brand to emotional engagement and loyalty. If that shift is not effective even the most effective SEO will be a waste of budget.
The end goal will be resonance, some degree of loyalty. Once obtained that creates the difference between push and pull marketing. Invest in understanding the shift from imagery to feelings and your brand will produce the returns you need.
*Pierre Mare has contributed to development of several of Namibia’s most successful brands. He believes that analytic management techniques beat unreasoned inspiration any day. He is a fearless adventurer who once made Christmas dinner for a Moslem, a Catholic and a Jew. Reach him at pierre.june21@gmail.com if you need help.
