Measuring Emotion -- Lovemarks, The Future Beyond Brands

8/9/2019 Measuring Emotion -- Lovemarks, The Future Beyond Brands

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MEASURING EMOTION—LOVEMAR

Lovemarks [are] the next evolution in branding [they]

are about building and strengthening emotionai bonds

betw een brands and consumers.

get their share of attention. Escalating

shortage of time, stress, and the bewilder-

ing array of choice all contribute to in-

creasing the power of emotion.

Also, consumers nowadays understand

how brands work and, most importantly,

how brand s are intended to work on them.

Loyalty cannot be bought for money, but

it can be for love. Lovemarks, as de-

scribed by Roberts, are "super-evolved

brands," which maximize their connec-

tion with consumers hy creating strong

emotional bonds.

strong emotional bond

reinvigorates loyalty and creates advo-

cacy. It transforms the competitive con-

text and places Lovemark brands in a

"category-of-one."

The key definition of a Lovemark then

is that it is a product, service, or entity

that inspires "loyalty beyond reason." We

all have our own Lovemarks and feel

we have a unique relationship with them.

We feel they are highly personal, but there

are likely millions of people having the

same kind of relationship with them.

Lovemarks transcend brands. They de-

liver beyond expectations of great perfor-

mance. Like great brands, they sit on top

of high levels of respect, but there the

similarities end. Lovemarks reach the heart

and gut, as well as the mind, creating

intimate, emotional connections. Take a

brand away and people will find a replace-

ment. Take a Lovemark away and people

will mourn its absence. Lovemarks are a

relationship, not a mere transaction. You

do not just buy Lovemarks, you embrace

them with passion.

The core model developed by Roberts

{2004) is the Lovemark grid (see Figure 1).

To create a Lovemark marketers need

to build not just respect but to overlay

onto that a loving and close relationship.

Lovemark high love is infused with three

intangible, yet very real, ingredients: mys-

tery, sensuality, and intimacy. There is noth-

ing more personal than intimacy and love

If anything is to evolve into a Love-

mark, it must touch directly on the per-

sonal aspirations and inspirations of

consumers:

• commitment,

" empathy, and

• passion.

The mystery component of a Lovemark

keeps you guessing, keeps you intrigued,

and keeps you going back for more.

Lovemarks:

BRANDS

Low Love

High Respect

LOVE

PRODUCTS

Low Love

Low Respect

o

lU

a.

A

U l

K

lovennarl?/5

High Love

High Respect

FADS

High Love

Low Respect

Figu re 1 The Lovem ark Grid

• give birth to great stories;

• bring the past, prese nt, and fut

together;

• tap into peop le's dream s;

• celebrate myths and icons; and

• inspire.

Sensuality is also critical. The senses

also a fast-track route to touch hum

emotions, so it makes sense that the c

cial elements of design, sound, scent, t

ture, and flavor—things that app

directly to the senses—will influence yo

responses over and above the more "

tional" product arguments (better, stro

ger, newer, cheaper, etc.).

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO MEASURE

LOVE AND RESPECT?

Human behavior is heavily influenced

emotions, not solely by reason. Consu

ers are often highly emotional and in

itive in their behavior, operating throu

the emotional centers of the brain, d

tated by their "heart" or "gut feel" a

often independent of conscious contr

They operate on autopilot, pausing on

when the emotional radar identifies som

thing loved or different.

If the foundations of consumer beh

ior are emotional, so it follows that t

strongest foundations of the consum

brand relationship are similarly em

tional. Here are some opinions from

field of neuroscience:

"The essential difference between em

tion and reason is that emotion lea

to action while reason leads to conc

sions" (Calne, 2000).

"Over 85% of thought, emotions, a

learning occur in the unconscio

mind.... To put it simply our reaso

ing strategies

re

defective" (Damas

1999).

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MEASURING EMOTION—LOVEMARKS

Over 85% of thought, emotions, and learning occur in

the unconscious mind . . . To put it simply our reasoning

strategies are defective.

and some are implicit, operating at the

level of unconscious feeling (Cramphom,

2004). Brands arc coded in memory on a

cognitive and emotional basis (Gordon,

2006). It is emotional somatic coding rather

than reasoned argument that determines

whether w e take notice of brand s timulus.

Heath (2001) also argues that "brand

decisions are not wholly rat io na l.. . how-

ever hard we think about a decision, we

can only make that decision via an area

which interfaces with our senses, emo-

tions,

instinct and intuition. We are phys-

ically incapable of making decisions based

on purely rational thinking."

Zaltman (2003) further elaborates that

consumers do not think in well-reasoned,

rational, and linear ways and therefore

cannot easily explain their thinking and

behavior. Memory is a construct built out

of the metaphors and stories along with

the new experiences that are committed

both consciously and unconsciously, and

also commends metaphor elicitation as a

method to capture less conscious emo-

tions and feelings. Our own experience as

discussed later is that both metap hors and

brand storytelling are excellent tech-

niques to unlock the core meaning of

brands, along with a number of other

techniques to get at more implicit associ-

ations with brands.

A COMBINED APPROACH TO MEASURE

LOVEMARKS

The challenge for us in researching Love-

marks was to find new ways to measure

emotion. Most quantitative research exam-

ines what can be measured, the functional

"The wiring of the brain f

emotion—the communications from the

emotional to the rational are stronger

than the other way round" (LeDoux,

1996).

Kevin Roberts (2U02) argued that "We

now accept that human beings are pow-

ered by emotion, not by reason. Emotion

and reason are intertwined, but when they

conflict—emotion wins every time. With-

out the fleeting and intense stimulus of

emotion, rational thought winds down

and slowly disintegrates. Emotion is an

unlimited resource. It controls our ratio-

nality, our decision making.... But cur-

rent efforts to measure emotion just don't

cut it. They take the frameworks created

for the rational mind and try to apply

them to the deep mysteries of emotion.

No wonder it's tough to isolate effects.

No wonder it's tough to interpret re-

sults." And he concluded with this chal-

lenge to the market research industry'':

"Stop counting the fingers on yuur hand^—

feel your heartbeats "

EXPLICIT AND IMPLICIT BRANDING

EFFECTS

Neuroscience suggests that ideas result-

ing from advertising and other experi-

ences with brands are held in long-term

memory as "somatic markers" (Damasio,

1999). They collectively form a disorga-

nized, incessantly modifying, sometimes

interconnected network of all the person's

ideas, knowledge, intuitions, and feelings

about the brand at a single point in time.

Some are explicit and may be retrievable.

factors, rather than seeking to discove

the unseen.

In particular we needed ways to mea

sure mystery, sensuality, and intimacy a

well as love and respect for brands, an

to assess whether Lovemarks tie into m ea

surable business results. Hence quantif

cation of emotions was an imperative.

It is important therefore in identifyin

Lovemarks that we are able to measur

both implicit, emotional, and unconsciou

effects and explicit, more conscious, an

rational effects. o this end, we draw upo

the following broad model of levels o

consciousness in identifying areas of que

tioning and imalysis (Lannon and Coope

1983). This points up the importance o

social and cultural levels that interact wit

the purely emotional and rational (RESC

(see Figure 2).

BETA TESTING

We started with qualitative research usin

consumer workshops in early 2003 to de

velop

the measurement techruques.

his

w

followed

b y

questionnaire developm ent an

quan titative beta testing in the second qua

ter of 2003. The sam ple size for the Beta te

was 300 in the United States for tw o diffe

ent product fields including car and cere

Rational

Emotional

Social

Cultural

Awareness

•

Knowledge

Experience

Relationships

Sensory Images

Feelings

Display

•User Imagery

OK/Not OK

Language

•Values

Meanings

Figure 2 Layers of

Consciousness RESC)

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ME SURING EMOTION—LOVEM RK

brand s. Following the beta test we have ap-

plied this research to a wide variety of cat-

egories from financial services t o magazines

across most of the major continents of the

world, which suggest that Lovemark theory

has global application.

Tlie main objectives for the beta tests

were:

• to establish for what proportion of

users the brand being measured was

a Lovemark,

* to estimate the increase in sales volume

when the number of users for whom

the brand is a Lovemark increased, and

to provide insight into critical dimen-

sions on which the brand needs to

strengthen the brand-consumer relation-

ship to achieve Lovemark status.

We use self-completion computer-interface

interviews for these purposes, either re-

cruited from an online panel or re-

cruited offline where necessary. The beta

test fieldwork was done entirely online.

Our research shows that computer self

completion interviewing has many advan-

tages and gives better quality responses

for these purpose s. Lovem arker mea-

sures of consumer emotion, adapted from

qualitative in-depth techniques including

word and picture associations, guided

dream s, bubb le pictures, etc., work

very well in the interactive computer-

interviewing environment. Also, in the

absence of an interviewer, consumers

feel more spontaneous, more honest,

and willing to tell us things they may

not say in front of an interviewer. We

therefore get closer to measuring real con-

sumer feelings and emotions. The inter-

face allows us to explore emotionai or

sensitive issues and gain rich detail via

fuller open-ended responses (analyzed by

psychologists) and is ideal for projective

techniques.

The techniques developed include newly

constructed scales for measuring emo-

tional, social, cultural, and functional re-

lationships between consumers and brands,

and specially constructed projective tech-

niques to generate deeper and richer in-

sights into emotional relationships. We

then use statistical analysis to determine

Lovemark volumetrics and the interrelated

influences of emotional and functional

drivers on Lovemark status and purchas-

ing intention. We then do psychological

analysis looking at the main category and

brand motivations and the strengths and

weaknesses of brand relationships. A com-

bined qualitative-quantitative type of ap-

proach is an important weapon in the

measurement of emotion.

THE PATHWAYS MODEL

Figure 3 (Cooper and Pawie, 2005) shows

the model we have developed for under-

standing and measuring the role of emo-

tion in consum er-brand relationships. The

pathways model demonstrates how brand

messages are routed through two path-

ways, one rational and one emotional,

and how these are integrated through the

executive function of the ego.

From this, the current consumer-brand

relationship can be defined with specific

emotions that depend on the sociocul-

turai context. In Figure 3, the key meth-

ods we have described for understanding

the process and which meclianisms they

tap are shown to the right. They are

brought together in the analysis of the

brand relationship and current consumer

action.

The output is feedback into the brand,

indicating which emotional and rational

factors need to be dialed up, introduced,

or reduced to enhance the brand relation-

ship and create a Lovemark.

MEASURING THE CONSUMER-BRAND

RELATIONSHIP

Lovemark research uses various inter-

active techniques to diagnose the nature

of the consumer-brand relationship. T

first step is for respondents to be in t

frame of mind that brands are like pe

p l e some people you are passionate abo

some you love, some you just like, som

you are indifferent to, and some you a

tively dislike. Respondents a re then ask

to sort brands into these categories an

also to rate each on the degree of respe

they have for it. Visual association is th

used to further diagnose the nature of t

relationship. The relationship types w

use here are adapted from those d

scribed by Foumier (1998) and range fro

visualizations of passionate love throu

family love to more practical and trusti

relationships and finally to more sup

ficial, hostile, or temporary relationship

This generates a position for each bra

on the Lovemark grid described abo

proposed by Roberts, based on ratings

love and respect. Figure 4 shows an e

amp le from the U.S. cereal mark et fro

which we can clearly see that Cheerios

a Lovemark, strongly loved and

spected, whereas most other brands

this market are merely bran ds,

spected but not particularly loved, or a

produ cts, neither strongly loved n

respected.

The key further question for Lov

marks research is why the relationsh

with Cheerios is so strong, and what oth

brands should do to boost their emotion

connection with their consumers and the

fore achieve volume increases.

In measuring the emotional proces

shown above in the pathways diagra

there are two routes we tak e. First, we a

respondents for emotional and visual

sociations with each brand being test

and these are fed into the structural eq

tions that model what is happening in

executive function of the ego . Seco

we use projective techniques as an in

to psychological analysis of what is dr

ing the brand equity.

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MEASURING EMOTION—LOVEMARKS

BRAND

MESSAGES

^ ^

EMOTIONAL

AROUSAL

RATIONAL PROCESSES/

RESPECT

Comparison

Analysis

Evaluation

STRUCTURAL

EQUATION

MODELING

SEM)

4

CONSUMER-BRAND

RELATIONSHIP

Specific Emotions

Feel ings

Att i tudes and Values

ACTION

Shaped by

Social and

Cultural

Norms

EMOTIONAL

PROCESSES/LOVE

Somatic Markers

Neural Connections

Long Term Memory

Unconscious

FEEDBACK LOOP

Emotional Expression

Rational Inputs

SELF

REPORTS

VISUAL

IMAGES

Figure 3

The Pathways to Brand Relationships M odel

LOVEMARK ELICITATION AND

PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES

After intimacy and mystery, sensuality is

critical in building a passionate relation-

ship.

All five senses influence how brands

are perceived. Current concepts of brands

pay full attention to the rational and sym-

bolic but often overlook their sensory, ex-

periential, or synaesthetic aspects (Cooper

and Branthwaite, 2002).

We use association me taph or tech-

niques here and ask responden ts to imag-

ine if a brand was a piece of music what

type of music would it be, and what type

of texture, taste, smell, and color, it would

e

Figure 5 shows the example of the

euf Yorker magazine, which is iconic and

widely loved because it connects strongly

with its target readership. The eiv Yorker

so un ds classical or like jazz. Othe r

metaphors or associations develop a rich

quantified picture. This kind of sensual-

ity profiling is key to understanding

the nature of emotions surrounding a

brand.

Storytelling is one of, if not the most

powerful form of human communication

and a fundamental way by which w

structure and make sense of our lives an

the world aro un d us (Schiffrin, 1996). Th

principal benefits of collecting consum

stories are:

• They contain meaningful experienc

about the roles of brands in our ever

day lives.

• They engage and express emotions

ways that may be censored in inte

viewing; storytelling gives perm i

sion to say things that we otherwi

suppress.

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4.5

4.3

4. 1

3.9

3.7

3.5

3.3

3.1

2.9

2.7

2 5

Wheaties

Total

• Special K

• Honey Bunch

o f

Oats

O i e e r io s

Cheerios

2 4

2 9 3 4

Love

3 .9

4 4

Figure

Cereal Lovemark Grid

• Tliey tell who we are, what we want,

our relationships to brands, and what

we fear.

• They engage us, often as compelling

truths about a brand, which pro-

duce Insights or direct applications to

communication.

• And, of course, they are shared am ong

consumers as powerful word-of-mouth

communications,

irom

influential or in-

spirational consumers passing virally

around communities.

We apply storytelling quantitatively to

diagnose the psychology of Lovemarks,

using Archetypal Story Analysis (ASA).

This is based on the limited actual num-

ber of basic plots used in storytelling and

the combinations among them (Booker,

2004), e.g., Rags to Riches, The Qu est,

Overcoming the Monster, Voyage and

Return, Rebirth, which have been re-

cycled, embellished, and given their own

special meaning to individual brand sto-

ries. To get to our list of archetypal brand

stories, we first conducted in-depth inter-

views to discover which stories genera

in their everyday lives were important

people, and then asked people to tell

stories about brands to assess how th

basic plots figure in their stories ab

brands.

This kind of storytelling approach g

erates many insights about how peo

feel about brands. Here are a few exa

ples from the very many highly perso

and emotional stories people have told

ahout the role a magazine brand plays

their lives:

I find this magazine a compelling r

every week . 1 read it cover to co

even if 1 am not totally interested

the a rticle. 1 feel sh ort-cha nged

finish the issue too soon before

next one arrives.

I often talk about the articles in so

settings, such as meeting up w

friends or at parties ... it is wide

read ... a useful frame of reference

It holds a certain lens up to

world—you could look through t

lens and see the world from a cert

perspective ... that produces a relia

7

0

Figure 5

New Yorker Magazine and Associat ion Metaphor

Technique

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ME SURING EMOTION—LOVEM RKS

insight, a sharp wit, and a standard of

quality that was maintained over a long

t i m e . . . . "

The analysis indicates that the relation-

ship is deeply personal, life chang ing, and

authoritative. The maga zine serves to con-

nect people to society and to relate to one

another, providing identity and purpose

to life. It is also used to upgrade and

express readers' intellectual prowess and

social superiority. Its readers feel passion-

ately about it and are emotionally bonded

to it. Psychologically, the stories show it is

paternal, the father who is advising, con-

trolling, and fun. It is deeply respected

and loved as far as he will allow. In ar-

chetypal terms it is part companion, part

guide, and part jester.

Another example from the cereal mar-

ket shows the power of emotion in that

category too. Stories illustrate how bran ds

can be pleasurably comforting and full of

playful innocence, for example:

"Once upon a time

1

had my first baby

and all the books insisted that this

brand was a great treat. It became her

first real person food. She loved it and

eventually outgrew it, but I still buy it

for myself because I love it so much."

"There was a little girl who w^as very

sick and could not get out of bed and

she didn't want to eat. Her mother

came into the room with a shoe lace

and a big bowl of this cereal. She told

her to make a make a necklace with

the cereals and if she wanted to eat the

necklace after stringing it, it was okay.

This gave the little girl some fun in

bed and at the same time food for her

tummy which she didn't even think

about it.... When this little girl grew

u p

she did the same thing for her

children when they didn't feel good

and as a grandmother did the same

thing. Funny thing, now those chil-

dren are doing it for their own chil-

dren and we all live happy ever after."

"As a child I spent hours playing with

my dolls, making a house out of shoe

boxes and ser\'ing my dolls 'Dolly Do-

nuts' ... Every time 1 see a box of that

brand, I think of those happy times."

Another powerful creative technique we

use in Lovemark research is "guided

dreams," which like storytelling can also

readily be quantified. Consumers are asked

to imagine they are dreaming about a

brand and to engage in a dialogue with

the brand. The advantages of this tech-

nique are that it taps into both the left

brain (thoughts) and the right brain (feel-

ings), revealing outer and inner relation-

ships with brands.

The analytic framework here is Trans-

actional Analysis (TA) for examining the

relationships projected, and again pres-

ence of archetypal figures (ASA). An ex-

ample from the U.S. cereal market shows

that the power of emotion is strong in

this category and also linked to health

benefits.

Brand A says: "Hi Remember me? We

used to play togetlier when you were

a kid. How would you like to feel

like a kid again? Why not try a

bowl and see. I bet you'll love it."

The consumer replies: "How could I

forget you? All those ho urs of play-

ing together. 1 took you every-

where, to play in the afternoon, to

watch TV in the evening. Mom let

me take you wherever I wanted.

Yeah ... I would love to feel that

way again "

The consumer thinks: "I'd love going

back to that innocent age. Riding

bikes, playing with dolls, playing in

the sprinkler. I NEED to feel tha

again, even if it is only for a few

minutes during breakfast."

Brand A thinks: "We're going to hav

fun. It's time for her to take a brea

from the rat race and just feel like

kid again. Even if it is only for

few minutes at breakfast."

The consumer replies: "1 love you "

Brand A says: "I care about you.

want to make sure you stay health

and live a long time."

The consumer thinks: "Ahhh, that

sweet of you, We've been togethe

for such long time."

Brand A thinks: "I love you too "

Brand A essentially n eeds to retain i

playful innocence and make sure its user

are grounded in and protected by its magic

Rational or cognitive benefits in the are

of health are also required to justify th

emotional commitment.

We also use Interpretative Phenomeno

logical Analysis (IPA). IPA is based o

understanding consumers, "lived in" ex

perience from their perspective. It is a

inductive, "bottom up" approach that aim

to explore and capture the meanings tha

consumers assign to their experience

through their dreams and the stories the

tell. Successful analyses are both subjec

tive and interpretative (Reid, Slowers, an

Larkin, 2005).

Finally w e use classical Psycho Dynam i

Analysis (PDA). This is based on ana

lyzing storytelling scripts for sym ptom s o

attachment, regression, displacement, pro

jection,

e t c .

in consum er relationships wit

brands as symbols of deep emotions. From

these analyses, creative recommendation

are drawn abo ut how to position bran ds t

satisfy unmet needs or feelings. In apply

ing these approaches, the skills and intu

ition of professional psychologists are used

The psychologist will normally produce

set of analyses based on small subsets, w hic

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are then coded and quantified by trained

analysts.

INTEGRATING DATA INTO THE

PATHWAYS MODEL

Lovemarker research identifies functional

processes mainly through the use of rating

scales to determ ine how hot, wa rm,

or cold consume rs feel about brand s in

terms of trust, respect, performance, and

category specific attributes. We also in-

clude conventional behavioral questions on

buying habits and future propensity to pur-

chase. This allows us to show how emo-

tional processes link to functional processes

via the ego in the relationship pathways

model.

Having taken measures of both emo-

tional and rational processes, the next stage

in the Lovemark research process is to

show how these influences interact and to

identify which process drives love and

which of them d rives respect, using struc-

tural equation modeling.

Structural equation modeling (SEM)

draws inferences about emotion from sta-

tistical analyses of verbal and nonverbal

rating scales and verbal and visual brand

association techniques. It can be used to

identify the quantitative contribution of

functional and emotional factors, and to

examine the effects of modifying compo-

nents of each in What If . . . ? creative

scenario planning.

To measure the strength of the consumer-

brand relationship, we cross-checked which

emotions and feelings as well as func-

tional drivers had an influence on emo-

tional bonding and levels of respect for

brands, if we accept Damasio's (1999)

theory that there are somatic markers,

linked to brands, that are lodged in the

long-term memory and ultimately influ-

ence buying behavior, then the important

thing is to identify the bundle of emo-

tions and feelings that comprise those so-

matic markers. We do this by including a

series of verbal rating scales that captures

the extent to which a brand scores on

emotional and functional factors.

The data are subjected to factor analy-

sis and structural equation modeling to

see how each bundle of emotions and

feelings, as well as functional drivers,

interrelate and influence the overall

consumer-brand relationship. This shows

how important emotions are compared

to functional drivers in determining brand

relationships, As noted, the main source

material for this are ratings of how hot

or cold a brand is on emotional and func-

tional factors. We have not assumed Love-

mark theory is correct here but have

allowed the statistical analysis to deter-

mine relationships from the data.

The net result is the description of the

systemic web of relationships that cap-

tures the dynamics that underpin the

consumer-brand relationship. Typically the

main factors that drive love for a brand

are purely emotional, whereas those fac-

tors driving respect are more functional,

performance-related attributes.

Figure 6 is a structural equation model

taken from the car category in the United

States. Factor analysis and structural equa-

tion modeling show the degree of corre-

lation between the factors that in tu

influence each other—in other words, o

der of influence. The thickness of the li

shows the strength of the correlatio

Where no line exists there is a negligib

correlation. The percentages shown a

the degree to which, from multiple cor

lation analysis, each factor influences pu

chasing as measured by future purcha

intention for each car brand.

In this case, the two dominant facto

are intimacy, which influences both lo

and respect, and trust, which main

influences respect. Intimacy is related

how closely in tune the respondent fe

with the brand, how relevant it is to the

and to what extent the brand has gre

stories associated with it that tap peopl

dreams. The intimacy factor is invariab

the most important factor, in terms

influencing purchasing, across all categ

ries we have measured and is, of cour

Wghly emotional. Intimacy in tu rn is driv

by anoth er emo tional factor, my stery

which is about how iconic the brand

i.e., whether it has strong characters a

symbols associated with it. Mystery

influenced by a third factor— passio

open, and easy to engage —which al

strongly influences trust and reputatio

Mystery—Strong

Characters

or Symbols, Iconic Brand

10 %

Passion,

Open

and Easy

to Engage

Strong Identity,

a Leader

16%

Intimacy—I feel in

tune, relevant to me

37

4

Performance and

Handling

Trust and

Reputation—

Reliable, Value,

Safe,

Responsible

25

LOVE

RESPECT

F i g u r e Main In f luences over Emot iona l Bond ing a n d

R e s p e c t f o r C a r Br an ds

March 2006 JDUfHL

DF

fOUERTISIIIB dESEdCI


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ME SURING EMOTION—LOVEM RKS

and

thus this factor has both an emo

There IS strong evidence here that the relationships tha

tional and rational element to it.

his factor analysis

and

other Lovemark

c o D S u m e r s h a v e w i t h b r a n d s

are

m u c h m o r e h e a v i l y

in

studies carried out so far across many

different categories confirm the view

put

f i u e n c e d

by

e m o t i o n a l f a C tO r S

forward in Lovemark theory that the key

factors that iiifiuence love are intimacy,

mystery, and sensuality, and the key fac-

tors that influence respect are trust, repu-

cause there is strong evidence here that

CONCLUSIONS

tation, and performance. The only deviation

the relationships that consumers have with This research was carried out to test th

shown by the research is thai trust and rep-

brands are much more heavily influenced theorv of Lovemarks as put forward b

utation are not normally seen as separate

by emotional factors. But clearly not to Roberts (2004), as well as to develop

factors in consumers' minds. For example,

the same extravagant levels of 90-95 per- practical diagnostic tool to show how

in the structural equation model built for

cent claimed by some. re-engineer brands to convert them in

the cereal case study mentioned earlier, a

Lovemarks.

central factor is trust and reputation com-

^

DOES TOUCHING THE EMOTIONS

The research validates that the facto

bined with honesty and safety. Unlike

•'

IN CR EA SE BR A N D V O LUM E?

identified by Roberts—i.e., intimacy, mv

cars, trust and reputation are fed by strong

It is vital to show that building love and tery, and sensuality as well as trust, rep

brand character and symbols because or

respect for a brand increases its volume, utation, and performance—exist an

sports endorsement in the category.

otlierwise brand engineering to achieve furthermore do emerge from muJtivar

Sensuality as measured by the ques-

closer relationships with consumers would ate analysis as the main influences o

tions on sound (music), touch (textures

be a waste of time. Figure 7 shows how love and respect for brands. The facto

and materials), sight (colors), taste, smell,

much the probability of claimed future overall that have the strongest influenc

and the total sensory experience surround-

purchase increases as a result of consum- on buying intention are the emotion

ing brands has also been shown to be a

ers seeing brands as Lovemarks. factors that drive love, in particular int

major but indirect ir\fluence on love. Sen- Thus the data here suggest that Love- macv followed closely by mystery unde

suality tends to have a direct influence on . .

marks are between 4 (cereals) and 7 times pinned by sensuality,

intimacy and hence, in turn, on love.

(cars) more likely to be bought than prod- The key emotional trigger for strength

Using multiple regression we can esti-

ucts and between 1.6 (cereals) and 2.3 ening the consumer-brand relationshi

mate the degree of influence of these dir-

times (cars) more likely to be bought than therefore is to create strong brand int

ferent emotions and feelings toward

brands. This effectively means that mov- macy. The triggers for this are consi

brands. Various claims have been made

ing a brand from being merelv highly tentiv, across different product categorie

that 90-95 percent of decision making is ^

respected to a Lovemark position where the need to make the brand highly rel

ijifluenced by emotion. Does this tum out

it is both loved and highly respected can vant to me (the consumer) and to mak

to be true? 6 ;• h-

substantially increase volume. As such, consumers feel more closely in tune wit

Table 1 shows the extent to which emo-

there really is a future beyond brands. and passionate about the brand,

tional factors influence the closeness of

the relationship. We can also look at the

degree of influence on respect for the brand

that tends to be driven by feelings toward

TABLE J.

more category specific functional attributes j he Inf luence of EiTiotional and Func t iona l Fac tors on

which in

tum

influence trust and reputa- C o p su m er -B ra n d R e la ti o n s h ip s

tion. Respect is primarily functional, but

this we find varies by product category. Cars Cereals Magazines

The results of three studies relating to the _ ,̂ , _„ , ^^^

Emotional processes 63% 75% 85%

categories mentioned previously are shown

in Table 1. This is highly instructive be- R^'^P^i.^fr^^ses 37% 25% 15%

4 6 J O U R I i r i L o r R D O E R T IS IO G f lE S E f lf l C H M a r c h 2 6


10/12

MEASURING EMOTION—LOVEMARK

Cereals

Brand

p = 0 5

Product

p =

0.2

Res aect

¥

Lovemarks

p = 0 8

Fads

p = 0.6

Cars

Brand

p = 0 3

Product

p = 0.1

Respect

V

Lovemarks

p = 0 7

Fads

p = 0 6

Figure 7 Future Purchase Intention Probabilities

The second most important factor

is

mystery—that is, the brand must tap con-

sumer dreams by being iconic and having

great stories associated with it. Sensuality,

although less of a direct influence on buy-

ing intention, underpins intimacy

and a

strong sense of mystery. Sensuality is about

creating

a

rich and full brand experience

by developing brands that touch

all the

senses.

Consistent with Lovemark theory,

the

research also demonstrates that Love-

marks are associated with higher consump-

tion

as

well

as the

positive attitud es and

values described. Boosting love

and re-

spect

to

Lovemark status

can

therefore

potentially increase buying intention sub-

stantially. Hence

the

evidence from this

research

is

that creating,

or

maintaining,

Lovemarks has significant benefits.

The research also enables refinements in

Lovemark theory. Love and respect are not

always orthogonal as Roberts original grid

suggests.

In

practice, depending

on the

product category, they are correlated in

varying degrees with one another. Hence,

increasing love

is

likely

in

some cases

to

increase respect, and similarly increasing

respect

is

likely

to

increase love. This

is

clearly important

to

strategy

and

timing.

In some instances, they can be jointly de-

veloped, but in others it is sensible to build

love

on the

basis

of

respect,

or

build

re-

spect on love. These are m atters of further

testing and elaboration.

The other area

of

development

is to

explore adding further measures that

tap

and measure the social and cultural in-

fluences on love and respect as illustrated

in Figure 2. This has become clear

as we

have explored cross-cultural markets,

where

the

meanings

of

love

and

respect

vary

and

where these influences, particu-

larly the cultural, play important parts

in

the consumer-brand relationship. By deep-

ening

the

measures

in

these ways, Love-

marks can improve

its

universality.

Finally, irrespective

of

Lovemarks, this

work

has

proved

to he a

major spur

for developing

a

combined qualitative-

quantitative approach

for

measuring

and

analyzing emotion brand communication

and advertising,

JOHN PAWLE started

his

career

in

market research

in

1978 when he joined Beecham Pharmaceuticals

having graduated

in

social scien ces. H e then moved

to Taylor N elson. H owever

for

the m ajority

of

his

ca-

reer over

15

years

he

worked

for

Unilever

in a

variety

of different operating companies including Unilever

E xport. Unilever Middle E ast Unilever Russia and

Lever Europe and finally

as

global category market

research leader

in

personal care coordinating

re-

search inputs

to

global strategy.

In

January 200 0

Mr. Pawle

set up

new company. Second Sight Inter

national Ltd which specializes

in

providing solutions

to business problems based on global consumer

irv

sight and more recently has cofounded QualiQuant

Internationai Ltd which specializes

in

measuring an

quantifying emotion using computer-based and web-

assisted interviewing.

PETHH

COOPER is a

chartere d psychologist and fellow

of the U.K. Market Research Society. He was previ-

ously

a

research psychologist

at

the Universities

of

Manchester O slo. Paris and London and founded

CRAM International

in

1969

to

apply psychological

methods

to

marketing and advertising research.

CRAM International

is

now

a

world leading research

agency specializing

in

In-depth market s tudies with

a

top-level global team . Dr. C ooper has over

30

years

experience

of

researching consumers across

all

pro

uct fields and globally

for a

wide variety

of

clients

an

has developed many interviewing and projective prac

tices now widely used

in

research.

He

has contribut

many articles

to

ESO MAR MRS etc. highlighting ke

issues

in

contemporary ma rketing market research

and communications.

REFERENCES

BOOKER,

C. C. The Seven Bask Plots. Lond

and New York: Continuum, 2004.

C A L N E , D. Within Reason: Rationahty and H

man Befiavior. New York: Vintage Books, 20

C O O P E R , P., and A. B R A N T H W A I T E . Synaesth

sia: Researching the Power of Sensation. Pr

ceedings of tlie ESOMAR Worldwide Qiinlitati

Research Conference

Boston, November 10-1

2002.

,

and J, P A W L E . Measuring Emotion

Brand Connections. Proceedings of Innovate E

OMAR Conference Paris, 2005.

C R A M P H O R N ,

S. What Advertis ing Testi

Might Have Been, If We H^d Only Known

M a r c h 2 6 J O U H O H L O F H O O E H T I S II I G B E S E H H C II 4


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ME SURING EMOTION—LOVE M RKS

Jourttal of Advertising; Research 44, 2 (2004):

170̂ 0.

, A.

The Feeling

of

What Happens: Body

and Enwlion in the Making of Cousciousness

N e w

York: Harcour t Brace and Co., 1999.

FouRNiER, S. M. "Consumer nnd Their Brands:

Developing Rela t ionship Theory In C o n s u m e r

Research ."

lotiriuil of Consumer Research 24, 4

(1998): 343-73.

. R., Tlic Hidden Power of Adverti^iii^.

Henley on Tham es, UK: Ad ma p Publ i ca t ions ,

2001.

L A N N O N , J., and P. C O O P E R . Humanistic Ad-

ver t ising: A Hol ist ic Cul tural Perspec t ive." In-

ti-rnalipnal journal of Advertising 2 3

(1983):

195-213.

LEDOUX, J. E,

Tlie Einotioiml Brain.

New York:

Simon and Schuster , ]996.

S, K. "Stop in the N a m e of Lov

Speech to ESOMAK Congress, Barcelona, Sp

2002.

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Lovemarks: The Future Beyond Brands.

N

York: Powerhouse Books, 2004.

ScHiFFRiN, D. "Narrative as Self-Portrait: Soc

l inguis t i c C onst ruc t ions of Ident i ty."

in Society/

25 , 2 (1996): 167-203.

GORDON, W . "Out wi th the New, In wi th the

O l d . " International ]ournai of Market

esearch

48 ,

(2006): 7-25 .

R E I D ,

K., P.

S L O W E R S ,

and M,

L A R K I N .

Explor-

ing the Lived Exper ience." Th e Psychologist Jan-

uary 2005.

ZALTMAN, G. HOIK Customers Think: Essen

Insights into the Mind ofthe Market.

Boston , M

Harvard Business School Press,

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Documents

Measuring Emotion -- Lovemarks, The Future Beyond Brands