How far can sentimental marketing that is keen on "rehashing old stuff" go?

There is a kind of "sentiment" called Jay Chou.

In the minds of many people born in the 80s and 90s, Jay Chou is like a fashion item that has been collected for a long time.

At 12:00 a.m. on June 11, Jay Chou released his new song "Mojito". As soon as it went online, all major platforms were briefly "paralyzed" and the number of readings of the topic on Weibo reached 1.35 billion.

It seems that "sentiment" became popular due to Luo Yonghao's Hammer phone. Since then, the word "sentiment" has slowly fermented and become an indispensable part of many marketing cases.

When doing brand communication, companies will adopt different communication methods based on their own brand positioning. However, with the upgrading of user consumption levels, traditional brand communication models have become difficult to gain consumer recognition.

On the contrary, by appealing to consumers’ emotions through “emotional marketing” and expressing the common values ​​and cultural demands of customers, you can gain more support from the market.

But what is the essence of “emotional marketing”? Is “emotional marketing” still selling well? How to sell?

01. “Emotional Marketing” is Overconsumed

Kodak went bankrupt, and we developed a sentimental attachment to film;

Nokia has fallen into disrepair, and we have developed feelings for bricks;

As lifestyles change, we begin to nostalgia for our past lives.

Whether it is old objects, old friends, touch or hearing, every element has the potential to trigger our nostalgic behavior.

It can be said that the basic nature of human beings is nostalgic, and sentimental marketing is a marketing method that uses "personal idealistic values" as content, "stories" as background, and promotes "sentiments" to attract people who have similar experiences or identify with the communicator's values ​​to discuss on social media.

In the era of emotional consumption, people's consumption psychology is increasingly inclined towards nostalgia, and "emotional marketing" has emerged. It has been sought after by many brands and they have all joined in it.

For example, brands such as Dabao, White Rabbit, and Want Want, which are the carriers of childhood memories for most people, have also embarked on the path of emotional marketing in recent years. Those national brands that we once thought were eliminated by the market are returning to the public eye through various marketing methods.

Emotional marketing can not only break away from traditional promotion models and give people a sense of freshness, but can also easily touch people's hearts and narrow the distance between consumers. As more and more brands turn to emotional marketing, more and more problems are exposed.

1. The marketing levels of major brands vary

Nostalgic behavior has a huge impact on consumption capacity, but some brands blindly pursue immediate interests and ignore the quality of marketing content, thereby lowering the overall marketing level of the market, causing consumers to gradually develop resistance to the marketing behavior of "emotional marketing", which greatly reduces the chances of marketing success.

2. Consumers gradually develop aesthetic fatigue

Nowadays, sentimental marketing is brought out for consumption every now and then, and the public’s aesthetic fatigue is becoming increasingly serious. In such an environment, if you simply copy, it will make consumers bored and will be detrimental to the shaping and maintenance of the brand image. Therefore, brands should either abandon this marketing theme directly or make their brand marketing methods unique.

3. Incompatible brand tone is counterproductive

Many brands, when using emotional marketing, simply follow the trend without truly understanding the characteristics of emotional marketing, which can easily give people a sense that the brand is "old", which is counterproductive. Therefore, before marketing, you should first consider whether your brand is suitable for the emotional marketing route.

It is undeniable that emotional marketing can bring many benefits to a brand, but if a brand just blindly follows the trend and ignores its own brand tone, the brand will not only not be liked by consumers, but will be hated by consumers.

02. Real “emotional marketing” does not require hawking

In the era of emotional consumption, from real estate and cars to daily items, "emotional marketing" methods are overwhelming. Every brand wants to get a piece of the pie and has resorted to "psychological warfare strategies." However, if not handled properly in the actual operation process, sentiment can easily be abused and become a mere formality of hawking.

Apple never sells feelings, but rather shapes feelings: its products have good looks, smooth systems, and good user experience.

Maybe you will ask, how much is sentiment worth?

As we all know, the price of iPhone is far higher than its cost. Many people are willing to queue up all night to buy an Apple phone, but this rarely happens with other brands. Behind this is the brand premium, so feelings are very valuable.

There is no need to elaborate on the image of the Apple brand in the minds of consumers. Its inherent high-end nature may come from the iPhone's arbitrary pricing, Mr. Steve Jobs' obsession with product excellence, and is inseparable from consumers' demand for emotional consumption of the brand itself.

Both Mercedes-Benz and BMW have a history of hundreds of years. In the general impression of people, they are luxury cars and dream cars, and their brand followers span the old, middle-aged and young generations. The stability of Mercedes-Benz and the boldness of BMW have become an unsolvable car complex in the hearts of many people.

The emotional transmission of the century-old brand is the accumulation of the success of Mercedes-Benz and BMW. What impresses consumers is the excellent quality of the products, as well as the years and stories.

Therefore, the way of branding lies in the heart. Real emotional marketing does not require shouting, but rather entering the hearts of the masses.

Consumers are ultimately "living people". What they value when purchasing goods is not only the quantity, quality and price of the goods, but also the emotional satisfaction and psychological identification. Therefore, "emotional marketing" focuses on arousing consumers' emotional needs and inducing consumers' spiritual resonance.

03. Let “emotional” marketing win over “ruthless” competition

Touching consumers with emotion, arousing their purchasing desire, and triggering resonance in their hearts is the highest form of marketing. But it should be clear that sentiment is only a means in the process of sentimental marketing. Ultimately, it is still a commercial behavior.

If we only regard sentiment as a "master key" and do not return to the essence of the product, then sentiment will become a consumable and will inevitably be hated by consumers.

Just like White Rabbit Milk Candy, it can only gain short-term traffic by crossing major industries. Once the popularity is over, it will return to calm and continue to be forgotten by consumers. In fact, the problem is not that there is a problem with the cross-border business of White Rabbit Milk Candy, but that the brand misjudged consumers and did not understand what consumers’ needs are.

Today, consumers’ memories of White Rabbit Milk Candy still remain as “too sweet”, “bad taste” and “not good for health”. As for this public perception, White Rabbit did not take any measures to solve it, but just kept launching new products, which resulted in unsatisfactory sales of the new products.

Obviously, successful emotional marketing has warmth and must "focus on resonating with consumers" in order to gain a foothold in a ruthless competitive environment.

Use effective guidance and persuasion strategies to stimulate a certain emotional memory point in the audience. People will trigger collective memories from this incident and gain a sense of identity when communicating these collective memories with other individuals or groups in society. This is particularly important in the media communication path. Therefore, in the marketing process, effectively combining and utilizing the relationship between existing popular culture and collective memory can affect marketing results to a greater extent.

In addition, you need to have a comprehensive understanding of the target group and market.

On the premise of resonating with consumers, brands need to have a comprehensive understanding of consumers’ inner needs in order to achieve their goals. Before starting a marketing campaign, we should conduct a comprehensive investigation and understanding of the target group, analyze their real needs and behavioral habits as well as those of potential customers, and propose plans based on real phenomena.

Finally, the most important thing is to take action.

Feelings cannot be expressed by a simple slogan. In the marketing process, we must avoid whining. Consumers choose to believe in marketing content because it resonates in their hearts. When they realize that what the brand does is inconsistent with the original idea, the brand image will quickly plummet. Such behavior is like describing a magnificent and luxurious palace, but in the end it is found that all that can be provided is a thatched hut.

04. Conclusion

Whether it is selling feelings or other marketing methods, the essence is to help convert product sales. However, many brands do not work hard on the products, but instead do enough publicity in marketing, so that the products cannot keep up with the marketing, and finally they can only destroy their own reputation.

If emotional marketing is not handled properly, it will appear hypocritical and disgusting. Maintaining your most authentic attitude and level, respecting and understanding consumers, you can gain the respect and favor of consumers even in a impetuous environment. This is the highest level of emotional marketing.

In general, emotional marketing does not mean that a brand can be successful just by finding its target customers and having a slogan. Emotional marketing should return to the product itself. On the basis of excellent product quality and perfect product marketability, it should give people a simple and heart-touching power with delicate brushstrokes, language, and brand image. Only on this basis can brand sentiment become possible!

Author: Brand Front Page

Source: Brand front page (ceozhiku)

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