{"id":683,"date":"2017-07-20T16:34:49","date_gmt":"2017-07-20T20:34:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/?p=683"},"modified":"2017-07-21T08:52:19","modified_gmt":"2017-07-21T12:52:19","slug":"the-brand-is-an-emotional-connection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/?p=683","title":{"rendered":"THE BRAND IS…AN EMOTIONAL CONNECTION."},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”2_3″][et_pb_video admin_label=”Video” src=”https:\/\/youtu.be\/j5DCh_4g6h4″] [\/et_pb_video][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n

PRESS PLAY>>TO VIEW THIS MONTH\u2019S WELCOME VIDEO<\/p>\n

THE BRAND IS\u2026AN EMOTIONAL CONNECTION!<\/p>\n

I always enjoy attending the National Speakers Association Annual Convention. Not only is it educational and inspiring for those of us who speak professionally, but I\u2019m always impressed at how the principles of talking to an audience is in total sync with branding to customers. The importance of a relevant message, well-prepared, and on-target is critical in an effective, creative presentation. The same holds true with branding a product or service to the right target customer.<\/p>\n

One of the critical steps is to make sure that you create an emotional connection with your audience\/customer. I always make the point in my branding presentations that unless you have a relationship with your customer, you have no brand. Seems simple and yet it\u2019s so often overlooked as marketers seek to gain or create market share. Walking through some of the few remaining shopping malls verifies this premise as one can pass by store after store without having any emotional feelings (or awareness for that matter) for the store and the products it sells. Many chains believe that all is necessary is to have a prime physical location, a robust website, a mobile app, and product to sell in order to capture market share. That\u2019s why so many of the chain stores in the country are downsizing or disappearing all together. They failed to realize that they have to communicate effectively with their customers in a language that builds a relationship that endures. Bill Bernbach, the advertising agency legend, identified this when he said that \u201cIf you stand for something, you\u2019ll find some people for you and some people against you. If you stand for nothing, you\u2019ll have nobody for you or against you.\u201d It\u2019s critical to establish who you are (the truth of the brand) and why your brand will enhance a customer\u2019s life or well-being (the heart of the brand).<\/p>\n

As I look at chains like Sears, Circuit City\/HH Gregg, Rite Aid, Kmart, Limited, Rue 21 and many others who will soon be forgotten completely, it becomes more apparent that what these brands lack is simply being a brand\u2014they never cultivated a relationship that resonated with their customers. Dr. Leonard Berry of Texas A&M pointed out that you should ask the question \u201cIf my brand were to disappear tomorrow, would anyone notice?\u201d If the answer is \u201cprobably not\u201d, it\u2019s likely that there never was an emotional connection with the customer in the marketing communications, the experience, the service.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why it\u2019s so critical to constantly reach out to the market and gauge the way customers (potential and existing) feel about you and adjust your messages accordingly to insure they will indeed miss you if you leave. Examples of brands that have always done well in communicating the TRUTH and the HEART of their brands are:
\n\"\"Budweiser\u2014while being challenged by the craft brew craze, Bud keeps communicating in a way that pulls at the heartstrings or the funny bones while still emphasizing its King of Beers positioning. Check out their latest epic spot by clicking on https:\/\/youtu.be\/huQrvmrJbXk<\/strong><\/a> for the best Independence Day message this year.<\/p>\n

Hallmark is in the emotional connection business. So, it\u2019s not surprising that the company also has a \"\"reputation for marketing that connects as well. Through its Hall of Fame movies, the Hallmark Channel and other specials, the company lives up to it \u201cwhen you care enough to give the very best\u201d. Check out one of their best spots by clicking on: https:\/\/youtu.be\/7-eYeiQn5YU<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Subaru has differentiated itself from the other car companies recently with its love campaign. While most other carmakers are shouting about factory rebates, dealer incentives, and \u201cname the brand\u201d-a-thons, Subaru has identified the important events of our lives and how our car is a part of them. Love the family, love the car. Check it out at: https:\/\/youtu.be\/b_O4CeZ7cmU<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Publix is not just a grocery store. To most families in Florida and now the Southeast states, Publix is part \"\"of our lives. Where shopping is a pleasure is not just a slogan with a company that goes out of its way to give excellent customer service, clean, organized stores, and messages that hit straight to the heart (while still promoting good prices to compete with Walmart). Here\u2019s one of their best: https:\/\/youtu.be\/12bw00SoHOE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"University of Phoenix has grown to one of the largest educational institutions in the country by not only giving access nationwide to its online programs and courses but also by understanding that many people in the workforce would like to improve their current status in life by gaining more education and a specialty. The marketing doesn\u2019t just state that they have classes and graduates, rather it inspires its prospective students to use their brain and make life more meaningful in the process. The result is stimulating their brain by communicating with their heart.
\nClick on this link to view one of their messages:https:\/\/youtu.be\/UabtBNRAc14<\/a>\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

These are just a few of the companies that know that it\u2019s the emotional connection that strengthens their brand position by really \u201cstanding for something\u201d.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/div> [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”2_3″][et_pb_video admin_label=”Video” src=”https:\/\/youtu.be\/j5DCh_4g6h4″] [\/et_pb_video][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] PRESS PLAY>>TO VIEW THIS MONTH\u2019S WELCOME VIDEO THE BRAND IS\u2026AN EMOTIONAL CONNECTION! I always enjoy attending the National Speakers Association Annual Convention. Not only is it educational and inspiring for those of us who speak professionally, but I\u2019m always […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/683","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=683"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/683\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":696,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/683\/revisions\/696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}