Many brand owners claim to manage the emotional connection their consumers have with their brand. Yet, when we look closer, what they’re actually managing are functions — features, benefits, and performance metrics—not feelings.
In his book Marketing Myopia, Theodore Levitt urged businesses to “focus on customers’ needs and desires, not on the product itself.” He famously illustrated this with the example: “People don’t want a drill; they want a hole.” But I would like to take that a step further.
Do people really want a hole in their wall? Unlikely. What they want is to hang something meaningful — a graduation photo, a holiday snapshot, a cherished piece of art. What they’re truly seeking is the feeling they get each time they see that image. That sense of pride, joy, or nostalgia.
Let’s break this down:
· The drill is the product!
· The hole is the function!
· The picture on the wall is the physical outcome!
· The feeling of pride or happiness—that’s the emotion!
Here’s the problem: Most brands say they’re targeting emotions, but what they’re actually doing is focusing on functions and outcomes.
· Convenience is a function not an emotion!
· Healthy is a function not an emotion!
Stimulating, relaxing, indulgent are outcomes not emotions!
And here’s the risk: if your competitors can offer the same functions and outcomes (and most can), then where is your point of difference?
It lies in how your brand makes the consumer feel.
I was working with a client recently who makes cook-in-sauces. Their research showed that convenience was the key driver of purchase. Consumers wanted quick, easy meals their families would enjoy, and flavour ranked lower in importance — “they’ll add their own spices anyway.”
Rationally, this made sense. But when you unpack the emotional journey behind the purchase and usage, something deeper emerges:
· Cook-in-sauce is the product.
· Convenience is the function.
· A healthy, tasty family meal is the outcome.
· The sense of pride and fulfilment—from seeing their family enjoy the meal and knowing it was good for them—is the true emotional reward.
So, what will drive repurchase? Is it the sauce saved 30 seconds in prep time, or the one that sparked joy and pride at the dinner table?
Great brand management doesn’t stop at identifying a single purchase driver. It looks beyond—at the emotional landscape the consumer navigates throughout the experience.
Let’s be honest:
· The most beloved family meal might be too complicated for a quick Tuesday tea.
· The most convenient option is probably Deliveroo.
· The healthiest meal gets groans from the kids
Every mealtime is a balancing act of competing needs. The real emotional reward for the cook comes from navigating these compromises successfully. And while many decisions along the way are rational and practical, the journey is emotional — culminating in satisfaction and pride or disappointment and frustration.
When you understand your brand’s role in that emotional journey, you start to see how every element — packaging, ease of use, taste, aroma, texture—contributes to the emotional outcome, not just the functional one.
Yet all too often, we measure the function, not the emotion.
When we talk about managing the emotional journey, we’re not talking about vague sentiments. We mean the concrete emotional highs and lows a consumer experiences from the moment they engage with the packaging, through preparation and use, to the end result.
When you map that journey — and understand how each part of your brand experience contributes to it —you’ll uncover new ways to elevate emotional impact, differentiate meaningfully from competitors, and build lasting consumer preference.
Because in the end, consumers don’t come back for function alone. They come back for how your brand makes them feel.
Chris Lukehurst is a Consumer Psychologist and a Director at The Marketing Clinic:
