The Making or Faking of Emotionally Significant Brands

Abstract:     
The popularity of 'Emotional Branding' and of ESP (Emotional Selling Proposition) was often based on the erroneous assumption that emotions can be simply 'glued' to brands by means of advertising. This assumption originated in the Classical Conditioning theory (you will recall Ivan Pavlov and his experiments with the salivating dogs). Today, this theory is largely obsolete, and thus abandoned as a means for modeling the human attribution of emotional significance. The unfortunate result of branding efforts based on these assumptions was the ineffectiveness of many branding campaigns.

In other words, this kind of Emotional Branding is faking rather than making emotionally significant brands. It creates look-alikes. The symbolizations, the advertising, the packaging may evoke emotions and impress the untrained eye, but the brand will lack genuine feel appeal to its target consumers.

In the e-booklet downloadable from this site, I set out to present a comprehensive account of why and how brands become (and can be designed to be) desirable even irresistible and achieve emotional significance. This summary outlines the approach in brief but please be aware that most of the theoretical buildup is beyond its scope and that it excludes the many practical guidelines and tips you can find in the e-booklet.

Working Paper Series