The story sells the product

New book about the role of emotions in advertising and marketing.

Does the laundry detergent actually clean? Does toothpaste fight cavities?

Consumers no longer want to hear about how great the products are when they watch commercials. Today the story and soul of the individual brands are what is in focus and what makes the consumer place the product in the basket.

No real difference between the different brands

That is the main conclusion of the new book “”Emotions, Advertising and Consumer Choice” by Flemming Hansen and Sverre Riis Christensen.

- The products are more and more alike and basically there is no real difference between the different brands of laundry detergent and tea. They have more or less the same properties and there are very few bad products on the market today. This is why the consumers’ emotions toward the product are much more important than the actual ability of the product, say the authors one of which is professor and the other adjunct associate professor at CBS.

You have to tell a story about the product.

People did not use to have different preferences toward bananas, however now they seem to prefer Max Havelaar bananas. They have positive associations of this brand, because they know the bananas were harvested under sustainable conditions.

- Consumers do not have extra time or focus to think about the different messages they get bombarded with via advertising. The messages have to be direct or the story interesting so it affects the consumers’ identity. When we as consumers have strong emotional reactions to a brand there is a better chance that the brand will sell, the authors say.

The book ”Emotions, Advertising and Consumer Choice” by Flemming Hansen and Sverre Riis Christensen has just been published by Copenhagen Business School Press.