Can You Achieve The Same Emotional Brand Connection In The Digital Era?

Last week I was at a very interesting event which brought together senior marketers from all industries and focused on the digital marketing journey. All the fascinating speakers and discussions, a particular topic struck a chord. The keynote speaker Amanda Rendle, Former Global Head of Marketing at HSBC was talking about how marketing campaigns have evolved. She told us “Marketing used to be much simpler. A campaign could be a one page media plan. But on the flip side, we didn’t know the customer so well.”

Agreed. We didn’t have the reams of data we have access to today, giving us swathes of customer insight so we can enhance the customer experience and produce targeted marketing. But I question whether marketing ‘back in the day’ had something that is much harder to replicate today – that emotional brand connection. How do you get that connection with customers when everything is moving to digital? Consumers are hard to pin down, they have so many choices/distractions. How do you ensure the experience still feels “human”?

Land Rover quite honestly nailed it on the emotional connection with their ‘Love from Land Rover’ idea. So compelling that I would, without hesitation bring that story up in dinner conversation. And that advocacy marketing is key. I’m not even that into cars but now I would think about a Land Rover next time around.

Intrigued? Well in brief, four university friends from New Zealand had listed their worn out, beaten up 1957 Series I Land Rover (‘The Landy’) for sale on an auction site after owning it for 15 years. They wrote about all the adventures they’d had with it and how sorry they would be to part with it on the listing. The team at Land Rover in New Zealand saw the advert and got in touch with one of the four friends’ wives to let her know they would give ‘The Landy’ a ground up mechanical restoration, and bring it back to its former glory. And, on Valentines Day, they reunited the four friends with their new / old vehicle.

A brilliant marketing opportunity for Land Rover – they could not have had a better story. And what a strong emotional connection they created. Take a look.

It’s much harder for brands to connect with customers in the digital era. Partly that’s because customers want the personalization and interaction without the creepy factor. Customers want it on their terms but they also want the emotional draw. Brands that get that balance right are winning.

SASHA QADRI, EDITOR AND PRESENTER - GDS GROUP