Written by LaTricia Morris, Branding Agent
LaTricia Morris is The Brand Revivalist, founder of Ox & Iron. She helps legacy-driven entrepreneurs cut through the clutter and create bold, unforgettable brands. With a focus on purposeful design and strategic messaging, LaTricia crafts brands that connect deeply with their audience and leave a lasting impact.
Injecting emotion into your marketing is a boss move you don’t want to miss. Emotional branding remains a potent force at a time when bombarded consumers instinctively filter and ignore as much marketing as possible.
With an incredibly low barrier to entry into entrepreneurship, those who stand the test of time are the ones who realize as soon as possible that strong brand positioning and resonant messaging are virtually non-negotiable. Can you “spray and pray” that your marketing connects? Sure. But we propose a better plan.
Countless companies have dedicated massive budgets to hiring strategists with the savvy to break down and categorize the emotional drivers that influence brand choice. This is not a wheel we should be fighting to recreate but rather one that should become a key part of the machine that moves our marketing forward.
Introduced in 2017, Forrester’s Brand Energy framework identifies three key dimensions that contribute to a brand's energy:
Emotion: Forrester's research indicates that nearly 50% of a brand's energy is derived from the emotions it evokes in consumers.
Salience: Accounting for about 30% of brand energy, salience measures how prominently a brand stands out in consumers' minds. It encompasses both brand awareness and the lasting impact of positive emotional experiences associated with the brand.
Fit: Contributing approximately 20% to brand energy, fit assesses the relevance of a brand to consumers' needs and its alignment with their personal identities or values.
By focusing on these dimensions, this framework helps companies build strong emotional connections, enhance their prominence, and drive revenue.
Below is a brief overview, coupling this research with my own experience, but I’m certainly interested in hearing yours.
Let’s break these down.
1. Trust
Trust is the backbone of any brand, but you don’t earn it by slapping “honesty” and “integrity” on a forgotten core values page on your website. People trust what they see and experience.
Doing good, honest business is surely the most obvious point in maintaining trust. Yet, in the bigger picture, one of the key questions to answer is whether your company consistently sets and delivers on expectations.
Every interaction with your brand sets an expectation. Your visuals, messaging, pricing, offerings, and virtually every touchpoint layer onto that.
If my branding looks cheap, thrown together, or inconsistent, you might struggle not to laugh me out of the room when I slide a $25,000+ contract in front of you. You are not going to take me seriously.
Conversely, if I market myself as elite, in-demand, and top-tier but hand you a proposal for a $1,200 web build, I’m likely going to strike a solid chord of distrust deep in your gut. You know there’s no way I can deliver the caliber of work you want behind your company and afford to live off of that. We can’t help but think, “Something doesn’t add up.”
Why? Because our brains are wired to detect discrepancies. When expectations and reality don’t align, trust is lost, and you better believe the battle to get it back is going to be painstaking and costly.
Brand trust isn’t about being likable. It’s about being solid, predictable, and aligned. (And yes, this also applies to out-of-the-box brands we expect to show up with something new, different, and utterly shocking. Predictably unpredictable is a thing.)
Your brand should make sense, visually, verbally, and financially, before you ever make a pitch.
2. Belonging
Humans are social creatures and have a deep need for connection. Brands that create a sense of belonging often retain a loyal customer base because customers are connected to each other, in addition to the brand.
People buy more than products. They buy into identity, connection, and a sense of place. The strongest brands don’t just sell; they embed themselves in the lives of their customers.
Cue up Harley-Davidson as a prime example. Beyond their distinct design, this company organizes events and rallies that bring riders together, creating a sense of camaraderie and shared identity. You won’t see a biker gang mixing Harleys with foreign crotch-rockets. Harley riders don’t switch between brands or readily accept what, to them, is an imposter in the world of motorcycles. They own the brand in the most personal sense. Owning a Harley means something, it signals identity, connection, and status within a strong, rebellious culture that takes to the open roads in its very own lane.
Apple plays a similar game. While other smartphone brands claw for market share, Apple has diehard loyalists clamoring for their latest releases. People don’t just own Apple products; they swear by them.
That’s branding with belonging. It cements identity, creates exclusivity, and fuels consumer loyalty. When people see your brand as part of who they are, they don’t just buy, they ink you into the narrative of their own personal story.
3. Joy
There’s a saying that people don’t often remember what you said, but they’ll almost always remember how you made them feel.
In a world full of stressors, noise, and bad news demanding people’s attention, encountering joy is refreshing and memorable.
This one can be difficult for a brand to inspire, particularly when people are inclined to pull away from marketers’ attempts to manipulate through emotional triggers. However, when you can meet them with a moment that leaves them with a true smile, you create a lasting memory.
The key here is having a good understanding of your target audience.
Do you actually get them? What really makes them smile?
Are they a hero archetype that readily identifies with stories of incredible triumph against adversity?
Are they a lover archetype who’s ever the sucker for the romantic moments of life?
Case in point: we can look to companies like Patagonia, which help people connect with the joy and adventure of exploring the outdoors. Or how about companies like Coca-Cola, which lean heavily into images and ads of people enjoying life and having fun?
When we say joy, ask yourself: in what ways can you help people associate your brand with loving life a little bit more?
4. Fear
Fact: I have an incredible disdain for fear-mongering and FOMO tactics used to manipulate people into buying something they often really don’t need. Even if the item is useful, that type of marketing is enough to set me firmly against the companies using it.
That noted, there is likely a very real risk of your ideal client or customer falling into the hands of the wrong company. There could be an equal risk associated with them waiting too long (or simply procrastinating) on getting the thing done.
Does supply and demand lend to exclusivity or urgency around your products or services? Bringing this closer to the surface in your messaging can work in favor of the consumer rather than as a tactic used against them. It gives them the opportunity to choose for themselves whether they’ll be one of the ones you get to help with your incredible solution.
The core of this emotion, as it presents in your branding, needs to be about helping them avoid a terrible end.
This has to operate in tandem with point one above, ensuring you maintain a position of trust.
Don’t create false scarcity, hoping people won’t catch on. They won’t appreciate it when they do.
However, if there is a real threat or risk involved with them missing out, it’s not unsavory to make sure they’re aware so they can achieve far more desirable outcomes.
5. Love
Love is the strongest emotion of all, and it can create an unbreakable bond between a brand and its customers. Customers who love a brand are more likely to be loyal for life.
What’s a brand you simply sink into and couldn’t imagine your life without?
What companies leave you walking away feeling fulfilled with your purchase, as though you just invested in yourself and/or your family by buying into their brand?
Are there any companies that just feel like they’re there for you when you need them?
Producing a sense of love for your brand comes with you leading with incredible value, showing them a clear path to a life they love, memories they cherish, and the freedom to be a little more of who they are.
Understand, though, that the more you look to build on this brand love, the more intentional you need to be in maintaining it through well-thought-out customer journeys and eyes ever open to opportunities to kindle that love a little more. All it takes is one bad experience for a loyal customer to feel like a jilted lover, potentially creating hurt and anger.
How can you help your target market fall in love with your brand, and what plan do you have to maintain that for the long haul?
6. Comfort
Ever walk into a business and feel instantly at home?
Your mind might jump to Hobby Lobby, your go-to home store, or the candle aisle where you sniff your way to bliss. Yet, comfort in branding isn’t limited to home goods. Any brand can create it by tapping into familiarity and ease.
Hollywood and major brands do this all the time with nostalgia. Think about the endless stream of Disney live-action remakes. Whether you were obsessed with the originals or barely cared, hearing “Oh, I remember that from when we were kids” sparks instant connection. That’s comfort in action.
Nintendo, Lego, and other legacy brands thrive on this. Instead of chasing modern trends, they reignite what people already love or at least have tucked away in their minds. Even as they work to evolve with the times, they consistently tap into something familiar, safe, and always worth revisiting.
People gravitate toward what they know. If your brand makes them feel at home, at ease, or reconnected with something meaningful, they’ll be more likely to associate you with that memory and recall you when it matters.
7. Empowerment
Empowerment can involve making customers feel capable and confident in their ability to use a product or service, but the highest value of empowerment is making people feel confident in themselves. You can achieve this through educational content, intuitive design, and support.
Nike would be an easy example of this, as they mix up their marketing by showing their products worn by elite athletes and everyday people with personal ambitions to feel a little more like them. Their repeated messaging to “Just Do It” inspires people to overcome obstacles, push beyond limitations, and just do the dang thing. This has long positioned them as a brand that makes customers feel capable of achieving more through their products and messaging that moves them to tap into more of their own inner champion.
Mind you, though, your brand doesn’t have to play in athletics to hit these chords. You might be empowering others through education or connections, helping them climb to the top of their industry, get their message to millions, or simply own their day with impeccable efficiency.
Your key to mastering emotions
To master emotional appeal, brands must focus on consistency and authenticity.
Authenticity builds on the genuine encounters people want to have with the world around them. Even where we differ, there’s a sense of security and safety that comes with feeling like we’re seeing you and your brand for who you really are. Contrived emotional triggers undermine trust and erode loyalty. Don’t overcomplicate or try to fabricate it. Just connect.
Continue to do this, and your consistency will reinforce connections over time. Brands that evoke emotions regularly across every touchpoint, from product quality to customer service, create lasting impressions.
How does your company function as a cohesive unit to consistently set and deliver on the expectations that forge your best connections with the people you serve?
Love it or hate it, you can’t afford to ignore it
While there are a number of advantages and risks to weigh when looking to inject more emotion into your marketing, ignoring it in today’s market just isn’t an option most companies can afford. Today’s market demands better connections, less with cold, corporate entities and more with businesses that genuinely help people on their journey to live better lives.
Whether you focus on trust, belonging, joy, fear, love, comfort, or empowerment, tapping into emotion could be the key you need to more effectively move people to action.
Which will it be?
Grow with me
To connect more on building your own legacy brand, be sure to visit here or shoot LaTricia an email here.
Read more from LaTricia Morris
LaTricia Morris, Branding Agent
LaTricia Morris is The Brand Revivalist, founder of Ox & Iron. At the core of her work is the belief in seeing the greatness in others and helping them communicate their true value to the people who need it most. LaTricia specializes in creating brands that are authentic, purpose-driven, and designed to resonate deeply. By aligning identity with strategy, she empowers businesses to stand out and build lasting connections with their audience.
