Anthony Brice

Laying in the pool floating on a yellow blowup mattress, I pondered the purpose of marketing. The warm water tickled my sides, the soft mattress ebbed up and down in response to the motion of the pool. The pool was moving in response to the wind and the joyful splashing of two young adults, courting one another in the deep end. The sun bathed my body in warm tranquil light. An intermittent cloud passed by to offer just enough reprieve from the rays to make for a simply perfect tranquil moment in time. I took in a deep relaxing breath, then suddenly out of nowhere came the word...RELATIONSHIP. Like a bolt the answer was instantly flashed into my mind, all became perfectly clear. Everything is connected.

I saw the interdependent RELATIONSHIP of all that brought the tranquil quality of that moment into existence. The sun, water, wind, sound, motion, sky, joyful youth, clouds and my breath all were in effortless relationship with one another, harmonizing into one moment of perfect tranquility. What was the connection? Everything is energy and I was feeling all this energy in motion. Energy in motion, E-motion! I realized the true power of marketing lies in the effortless influence of emotion in the moment. The perfect influence is as effortless as the relationships which created the blissful tranquility in the pool. The master marketing executive understands this immense power and wields it with the skill and grace of a master pianist. Taking one through the entire range of cognitive emotions, leading you straight to their product where you chose it, effortlessly.

The full spectrum of human emotions as used in advertising has been understood since the 1920’s. Back then the model was attention, interest, desire and behavior. Later, this process was updated and intricately fine tuned. It is now discovered that emotions are the bedrock of the cognitive process and should be the first consideration in the advertising process. Advertising researchers have even discovered each of the five senses have their own memories and associations. Advertising is crazy powerful.

Each time I go to exchange my hard earned cash for any good or service you can be rest assured I am being subconsciously lead by an advertising executive (Pied Piper) who I will probably never know or may even be long buried, but we are inextricably connected and he/she knows how to influence my choice through manipulating my emotions. I love Old Spice products. My choice to use Old Spice shampoo is not only because I like the smell. I have no conscious idea why, but there is an emotional attachment and it guides my choice every time I go to replace my shampoo. Maybe I smelled Old Spice on my loving grandfather when he hugged me? His warm heart and kind voice is forever associated with that smell. I will probably never know why I like Old Spice so much.

I do know everything is connected. Everything is energy. Energy in motion. E-motion is all there is and I am somehow emotionally attached to Old Spice. I tried to change many times but I am drawn back to it. I can’t change brands even if I tried. Why would I? Old Spice feels as good on me as sunshine and a soft breeze on a warm sunny day.

What emotions drive you to buy products? Are you an impulse buyer or are your purchasing decisions planned?

Photograph Credit:
Sabrina Segal