There’s always an emotional connection with what we wear, eat, or see. It could be a simple gift presented by our beloved or, at times, a fashion statement inspired by our favourite icons.
Who would otherwise think that a little under-$100 street-style shoulder bag would become a wardrobe staple and a head-turner at many celebrity dos in 2021? From English model and actress Rosie Huntington-Whiteley—best known for her work for lingerie retailer Victoria’s Secret—to Danish fashionista Pernille Teisbaek, actor Megan Fox and supermodels Gigi Hadid, Hailee Bieber, and Emily Ratajkowski, many popular figures were sighted with the JW PEI Gabbi bag that’s made from vegan leather and sourced from recycled plastic.
The reason why the humble purse featuring scrunchie-style straps took off is its distinct minimalist 90s’ vibe with functionality and a highly photogenic colour palette. Most importantly, it’s a fun and stylish mood bag—just like a croissant with chocolate and a bit of attitude.
When it comes to buying or selling a product, emotions often form the basis to trigger one’s perception, build a connect with the user or influence one’s buying decisions. Be it diet, dressing or lifestyle, a product becomes an ‘influencer’ when it is pushed as a mood enhancer, especially if the brand also has an emotional connection.
A happy family in a Coca-Cola advertisement or winning moments in a cricket match in a Cadbury’s advertisement can easily connect with the consumer. A life insurance marketing campaign to secure a family’s future can be a beautiful rendition of a relationship or the death of Apple CEO Steve Jobs can make millions stand outside Apple stores to pay homage to the tech visionary. Nike’s shoes under its campaign ‘Just Do It’ triggers cultural leadership. An emotional connection resonates in the strong and independent woman of Gucci or exploring the world with a Louis Vuitton suitcase.
Emotional factors inspire brand loyalty, says a Deloitte study titled ‘Exploring the value of emotion-driven engagement: The dynamics of customer loyalty’ that was released in May 2019. “Emotional connection requires developing two-way relationships between brands and customers that mirror human relationships. Knowing what data is okay to use (and when) is vital to building and maintaining trust with customers. Customers also expect a consistent, contextually appropriate experience of brands across all interactions,” the study noted.
The pandemic effect
At a time when people are spending more time dwelling on the negative, daily grooming rituals can be a way to feel better, say experts. Just brushing your hair or applying gel can make you feel better. Getting dressed up first thing in the morning can increase your motivation to do more things during the day. “If you dress up in formal attire while working from home, it will help you transition into work mode and improve productivity,” says Tithi Haria, a clinical psychologist based in Mumbai.
That’s why, ‘mood marketing’ or utilising emotionally triggering content in marketing became dominant during the pandemic. “Mood marketing is all the more crucial now, but an interesting fact is that people are no longer into sale-oriented conventional methods of marketing. It needs to last longer in people’s memory than a boosted ad on Instagram or a billboard,” says Anuja Deora Sanctis, founder and CEO of Filter Coffee Co, (FCC) an integrated digital agency working with brands such as Nykaa, L’Occitane, Bioré, Yakult, Protinex, Kiehl’s, Belief, L’Oreal, Starbucks, Nature’s Basket and Forest Essentials, among others.
One such campaign that really connected with the audience was in association with the French Beauty brand, L’Occitane En Provence, shares Sanctis. A post-Covid healing series coined as #SelfcareSunday was developed, in which FCC collaborated with experts and lifestyle influencers to give the audience something to look up to during the pandemic, something related to skincare, haircare, hygiene, DIY at home, holistic healing and much more to keep them engaged and connected.
Social media and technology are the biggest enablers for mood marketing. We tend to believe what we see. If we look at colour coded marketing and how colours impact brand perception, a good example will be the instant messaging app and service Snapchat. The bright yellow colour scheme combined with a quirky interface captured the imagination of youth and made it an overnight sensation. On the other hand, social networking platform Instagram revisited its brand colours when it realised that it was not a photo app anymore and had evolved into a community representing a new breed of influencers and content creators.
“Colours make or break brands and are too important to leave them to chance. It’s a mix of scientific approach to colour psychology fused with lean experiments to validate how customers respond to brand choices like colours. Rise of the digital makes the decision even more complex where colour choices have to cater to a comfortable and accessible digital experience on screens and at the same time have a distinct appearance,” says Robin Dhanwani, founder of Parallel, a product design and innovation studio based in Bengaluru.
Consumers also understand the importance of a balanced approach towards one’s physical and mental health and that it’s difficult to achieve one without the other. The food industry is seeing rapid growth in products claiming mood boosting properties. There is constant emerging research on the relationship between nutrition and mental health. Yet, one’s emotions can be influenced by many factors such as stress, poor sleep, environment, genetics, mood swings and nutritional deficiencies, among others.
Some brands are now coming out with specially-curated ‘mood diets’ to take away pandemic-related stress. For instance, Marriott Hotels’ menu includes banana walnut cake, pan-seared salmon, seasonal fatty fish steaks with tomato basil, dark chocolate mousse, granola parfait, and more.
The idea is to have a long-term mood-boosting food for a long-term impact on one’s mood. “The Mediterranean diet, for instance, contains good-quality fatty fish, extra virgin olive oil, nuts, fruits, etc. If included in the diet, it gradually benefits the body, and one starts developing a liking towards it. It will work towards improving your mood and overall feeling of well-being,” says Himanshu Taneja, culinary director, south Asia, Marriott International.
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