Brands Need to Build Their Emotional DNA to Reach Audiences
Colin Pye
In 1980 the great pop prophet The Buggles once said, "Video killed the radio star" and indeed he was pretty much bang on. Thanks Buggles. Video has brought viewers the gift of everything and you'd be hard pushed to find any statistic that suggests that the growth of video is to slow down.
YouTube alone receives more than a billion visitors per month and MWP reports that 55% of people watch videos online everyday. That's a lot of content demanding consumer attention. Well, we can't rewind, we've gone too far! Brands are struggling more than ever to standout in such a saturated environment. IAB reports that advertisers are spending on average more than $10m a year on digital video, an 85% increase within just two years. Quantity isn't the answer though, adding more content in to the mix only adds noise - spray n pray is a strategy that advertisers can't afford to adopt, especially when each video has to perform across different formats, channels and devices. Video has to work hard and so quality always trumps quantity. Easier said than done right?
Brands have learned that they need to make a deeper connection with it's audience – it's no longer just about product, it's about purpose and values.
Brand video advertising has had to evolve for it to cut though and compete not only for attention but for engagement too. Consumer viewing behaviour needs more than the first few seconds to commit to a full view to the end, let alone a share.
Brands have learned that they need to make a deeper connection with it's audience - so it's no longer just about product, it's about purpose and values. It's about establishing an emotional connection with the consumer, that goes beyond a single one-off engagement - building on that equity over time.
Emotions move people. They inspire people. Emotions are what help brands establish their values to connect with consumers, in fact we know emotions are linked to sales from our research collaboration with Mars, Incorporated. Some brands have strategically moved away from the short term, tactical product-based advertising, to more meaningful content that resonates with its target audience. Tapping in to consumer emotion to make your brand values resonate is what elevates you above the rest.
Storytelling is human, it's in our DNA and has probably been the most effective method of communication we've ever had. Stories engage us and taps in to our emotions, making images more memorable and messages more potent.
Dove 'Real Beauty Sketches' by Ogilvy & Mather for example is more of a short film than an ad, which built on their Campaign for Real Beauty. The video aimed to show women that they are more beautiful than they think they are by comparing two sketches, the first created from describing themselves and the second from strangers. The second sketch always being more flattering than the first. It's a powerful and moving video.
It uses narrative to create emotional tension, has an interesting subject to grab attention, strong happiness and a surprising ending to close the video on a high. The 60 second spot features six guys in wheelchairs playing basketball, revealing in the end that only one of the men needs the chair to play with his friends. At the end of a competitive game, they get out of their wheelchairs to get changed to go the pub for a well earned pint. The brand is revealed in the last few seconds - everything beforehand was a story, an emotional one.
Conclusion
Measuring emotions of your audience isn't a nice to have, it's a necessity for today's marketer. Realeyes measures genuine audience emotions via webcam, automating results, delivering insight within hours not weeks. Our process is simple, you just choose your audience sample and upload your videos to test. Done.