Study: Ads Driven By Emotion Are Important

This week’s Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group© blog looks at the two different types of advertising copy – rational copy rooted in features and benefits and emotional-based copy that can be used to build brands.

Key takeaways:

• According to Binet and Field, the rational approach to advertising (relevant and useful targeted activation) works together with the emotion-based approach that “creates positive feelings and associations” via broad reach ads that are “interesting and enjoyable.”
• Emotion-based creative builds stronger brands and generates greater business outcomes.
• Scientific studies of consumer response reveal greater engagement with audio narratives versus video storytelling.
• Emotions guide and simplify our decision making: Positive emotional responses lead to a positive evaluation of choice.
• According to authors John Kearon, Orlando Wood, and Tom Ewing, ads should build familiarity, create positive emotion, and make things easy to process.
• Podcast listeners prefer funny and entertaining ads but say they are more likely to hear rational podcast ads that communicate features/benefits.
• Grainger is a business-to-business brand whose audio creative does an outstanding job with an emotion-based creative approach in their “The ones who get it done” campaign.