Estimated reading time: 3 mins.
When you’re building a brand, it’s normal to create something that is safe and what your industry expects. But research has shown that in the long term, building an emotional brand is more effective than building a rational one.
There is something that might surprise you with brand building. The ones you feel something about are quietly outperforming the ones trying to convince you.
IPA effectiveness research consistently shows that emotional campaigns outperform rational ones by almost double in profitability. And over time, the gap widens further.
The reason predominantly comes down to how we make decisions. When we decide to buy a product or a service, we are driven by an automatic and emotional response. We make the initial choice first through this response, and then our rational brain quietly rubber-stamps it.
So, what does that mean for building a brand? Well, it means the feelings your brand builds with your customers matter more than the arguments it makes.
There’s a real pressure that almost every business encounters, especially in the early stages, to prove that all the brand and marketing activity is working immediately.
This pulls a founder or business toward more rational decisions when building their brand. Opting with a safe brand identity, and a tone of voice like the competition. From this, the activity focuses on promoting the brand based on offers, features, and benefits.
These will still all tend to work in the short term, but they will decline very quickly. Because, in the end, rational messages get forgotten by the audience who associate your brand to offers and promotions rather than something they genuinely want to be a part of.
Emotional brand building is much slower to create and implement, but far more effective at building a base of loyal customers who are less price-sensitive and more resistant to competition.
When brand building, marketing that builds emotion with an audience and gets them talking is the goal.
Brands people talk about are those people are willing to pay more for. That’s a powerful dynamic that no discount campaign can replicate.
The best creative work tends to sit in this space. It surprises people, earns their attention and builds real emotional connection. It’s brand building that even AI cannot replicate, because it’s human.
If you’re building your brand, the temptation is to go safe and to explain everything. Your marketing is full of what you do, how you do it, and why you’re different.
But the brands that grow are the ones that make people feel something first, then give them a reason to act. That’s not about being vague or abstract. It’s about leading with being human, having a unique point of view, and creating something worth remembering.
Build the emotional foundation early and resist the pressure for a quick win.
Because feelings outlast facts, and the brands that make people feel something are the ones that are still here and growing.
Find the one true thing – Every emotional brand is built on a single, honest idea that goes beyond the sell. A genuine belief that your business holds about the world.
Be human – Emotional brands sound like people, not a business or AI. Using plain language and having a point a view will help build a real connection with your audience.
Don’t lead with features – It is tempting to just tell people what you do. But emotion tells people how it will feel.
Be consistent over time – Emotional brand building takes time and the brands that win are those who show up with the same energy consistently.
Create things worth talking about – It may be easier to post another AI poster. But sharing raw, authentic content will get people talking, sharing, and feeling.
