Emotional Connections in Uncertain Times

I just read Lookin' for Love in All the Wrong Places , a great post by Curt Hanke of Shine, a Madison-based advertising and interactive agency. Hanke's advice to everyone in our industry is simple and compelling: our messages to consumers and customers must strike at their emotional needs in ways that are relevant and authentic if we are to have any chance of driving them to action.

Now, anyone who has studied or worked in advertising knows that the best campaigns in modern history were built on emotional appeals, from "Just Do It" to "You're In Good Hands." Why? Because we also know most purchase decisions are driven by emotion, whether that emotion is greed, lust, pride, fear or love. In the end our emotions overwhelm logic, and we simply back-fill with rationalizations so our left brain doesn't feel completely left out of the process.

Knowing all this, what keeps us from being great communicators now, at a time when there's probably more at stake then ever? Here's what I think we all need to overcome to be great:

• Uncertainty---The times we're living through are uncertain, with the optimism of early January's stock market gains replaced by the resignation that new deficit problems in Greece and Spain will drag down global financial markets again. We have to stop tying our moods and outlooks to what we heard on CNN this morning---that's not healthy! If expectations are the most important drivers of consumer confidence and behaviors, we all have to be committed champions of the future, behaving like we mean it.

• Resource scarcity---From public school districts to Fortune 500 companies, no one has the budget to do things the way they want to, and so anything that feels a little risky (like an emotional appeal instead of features and benefits) doesn't get supported, and decision-makers cluster around the safety of a pragmatic approach. With fewer marketing dollars to spend, that's exactly the time we should be advocating to stand out on the basis of emotion---show our love, reassure the frightened, stand on a principle---in short, be a messaging contrarian by daring to connect emotionally.

• Lack of understanding---It's difficult today to know where the public mood is, and where it's going. Look at the roller coaster ride President Obama's approval ratings have undergone. Are mothers of school children more concerned about the job market or their school district's budget cuts? What can you do to improve your understanding? Use the explosion of new tools to become a more aggressive listener with your markets. Engage directly, substitute conversation for involved research studies, and ask the hard questions. We're awash today in the empathy of shared misery, and that means there's more available honesty in forum, Twitter, and face-to-face. Use it to grow understanding.

We know how satisfying our work is when we're able to strike a cord that makes people feel something, and act on the feeling. So it's up to all of us to become Heroes of Emotional Connections. That's got a nice ring to it.