You may think that marketers and advertisers have been using the emotions associated with products since the start of last century. There is nothing new in using consumers’ emotional responses to products to make great advertising that appeals at an emotional level.
But the real trick is to understand exactly which features of the physiological sensory journey prompt which emotional reactions. How do the individual elements of the journey build up to create the final emotional response and why do these elements have that overall emotional effect?
It is also helpful if you understand what makes a good emotional journey. How does the journey build up? It will have its highs and its lows, but how should these interact to produce the best consumer experience? Are there elements of the journey that are, by definition, negative or positive, or, with the right juxtaposition, do certain ‘negative’ emotions emphasize the positive and improve the consumer’s overall reaction?
In our experience at The Marketing Clinic, we have often found that brand owners over-focus on and have an oversimplified view of the positive elements. They ignore the sequencing, intensity, and nature of the whole emotional journey, which may deliver an overarching positive effect that is emphasized and thus enhanced by the occasional ‘negative’ aspect.
This is quite a leap. Many brand owners think they understand the emotions associated with their products. But do they really understand which elements of their product prompt whichemotional responses and why?
They may know how consumers respond to their products, but do they know what a ‘better’ response might look like, and how to make a product to evoke that better response?
This is where we can learn from Alfred Hitchcock and his use of the blue and green scripts. Hitchcock’s green script was his map, the emotional narrative of the movie. the blue script, the stage directions, lighting, sound etc which served as simply the way to deliver it.
Brand owners too need to understand their green script first and then focus their energies on how they deliver the best emotional journeys for their consumers.
Great things rarely happen by accident
When I attended the wedding of some close friends, we all filed out after the ceremony into the gardens for the traditional photographs and confetti throwing. The photographer then escorted the happy couple for a walk to the nearby venue where the next stage of the celebrations would continue. However, he did not take them directly to their destination.
Unbeknown to them, he had checked out an alternative route. While apparently casually chatting away and snapping a few informal additional shots, he led them past spectacular backdrops, framed superb pictures, and caught them unawares every time. The couple had no idea what was happening until they saw the pictures, which were breathtaking.
It did not happen by accident. The photographer knew exactly what he wanted to achieve; he then scouted out and devised the route. He knew how he wanted to frame each shot, knew where he had to be positioned as they walked into each frame, even where he needed to direct their attention and when. He knew exactly what he wanted to achieve first – he had his green script – and then he set out a plan to achieve his blue script.
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Chris Lukehurst is a Consumer Psychologist and a Director at The Marketing Clinic:
Providing Clarity on the Psychological relationships between consumers and brands
