From love to trust. Why brands need to change their relationship status.
In 2004 Kevin Roberts, the then-CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi, revolutionized the branding world with his book “Lovemarks: The Future Beyond Brands”.
Roberts argued that traditional branding focused too heavily on logic and reason, neglecting the emotional connection between consumers and brands. He proposed a shift towards creating “lovemarks,” which he defined as brands that inspire loyalty and devotion beyond reason.
He believed that these brands would have a greater competitive advantage and achieve long-term success.
Regardless of how you feel about the concept of“lovemarks”, human behavior, and cognitive science validate the fact that most decisions people make are emotional and that people develop an irrational relationship with brands based on emotions and personal experiences.
To love is human
This phenomenon of “falling in love with brands” is deeply rooted in human psychology, where emotions often play a pivotal role in shaping perceptions and influencing decision-making processes.
When I worked as a copywriter in the ad business, looking at the brand from this emotional angle made a lot of sense. Yes, driving promotions was mostly a price point argument, but we had a lot of fun looking for emotional and cultural arguments in our ideas.
This seems like centuries ago, but developing TV, Radio, and Print ideas for brands like Burger King, Bounty, Payless, Pepsi, Taco Bell, Always, or Mountain Dew was as much an emotional challenge as it was a creative challenge.
For the clients, it was mostly a logical argument, for planners a cultural one, and for creatives an emotional exploration.
As much as the concept of love brands impacted my creative years, it’s time for brands to move on to the next stage in their relationship with their customers.
“Love, in the words of William Faulkner, cannot last forever, and even the heartbreak is soon forgotten.”
In the age of meaning crisis, we need more reliable and enduring brand relationships than those born out of love.
We need relationships built on trust.
As much as the emotional allure of falling in love with brands has shaped our creative endeavors, the next stage of this relationship requires a commitment to transparency, authenticity, and a mutual understanding that goes beyond fleeting emotional connections.
Customers seek emotional resonance and a sense of involvement in the brand’s story.
Muhtar Kent, former CEO of Coca-Cola captures the essence of trust well:
“A brand is a promise. A good brand is a promise kept.”
In the pursuit of meaningful and authentic relationships, brands must prioritize honesty and consistency, acknowledging that trust is earned through actions, not just words.
The main problem, though, is that trust needs some love (see what I did there?).
Edelman’s 2023 Trust Barometer found that only 42% of global respondents trust businesses. Unless you managed to disconnect completely from the news in the last 10 years, this is not surprising. Consumers are more aware of corporate scandals, misinformation, and advertising manipulation, leading to increased skepticism toward brands.
Customers, faced with abundant choices and information, seek brands that align with their values and demonstrate a genuine commitment to their well-being.
RunningShoesGuru mentions over 100 running shoe brands on their website. The top 20 brands are so similar in price, quality, design, and durability that it’s not surprising the running shoe market is so evenly distributed: Brooks (25%), HOKA (24%), New Balance (10%), ON (10%), Saucony (9%), Asics (7%), Mizuno (5%), and Nike (5%).* (*data refers to running shoes specifically.)
We know from the paradox of choice theory that having an abundance of options can lead to less satisfaction, less happiness, and a harder time making decisions.
In this brand environment, love is no longer an aspiration for brands but rather a swipe left-swipe right affair for your audience.
In the grand narrative of brand-customer relationships, the evolution from the ephemeral nature of love to the enduring quality of trust signifies a maturation process.
How do brands build trust?
40,000 years ago humans used one tool to develop trust in their newly created communities: Storytelling.
The values and beliefs of a tribe were communicated through stories from generation to generation, building a sense of cultural identity, shared purpose, and continuity that bound individuals together in a collective understanding of who they were and what they stood for.
A survey by Cone Communications found that 87% of consumers would purchase a product based on a company’s values, and a Stackla survey found that 90% of consumers say authenticity is important when deciding which brands they like and support.
Brands can create and share stories that resonate with authenticity, fostering a connection that transcends transactions and builds lasting relationships with their audience.
Just as ancient stories forged bonds among early humans, today’s brands can harness the power of storytelling to create a sense of shared values, purpose, and reliability, ultimately earning the trust of a discerning and interconnected consumer base.
“Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell.” — Seth Godin
Everything is a story.
When brands use storytelling to add value to their audiences, the real hero emerges in every touchpoint, interaction, and word, contributing to the construction of the grand narrative of the brand.
These are some of the brand stories you can share with your audience to build trust.
- Highlight how customers have achieved success or positive outcomes by using your product or service.
- Narrate stories of customers facing challenges and how these challenges contributed to personal or professional growth.
- Share examples of customers connecting, collaborating, or supporting common causes.
- Showcase customers who have used your product or service in innovative or unexpected ways.
- Humanize your brand by showing the people and personalities that make up your customer base.
- Narrate the journey of a customer from discovering the brand to becoming a loyal advocate.
- Encourage customers to share their stories through user-generated content.
- Highlight how your brand and its customers contribute to positive global impacts or social causes.
- Share stories of customers who are passionate about your brand and its mission.
- Highlight customers who have defied expectations and achieved success against all odds.
- Feature multi-generational customers who have been loyal to your brand for years.
Brand storytelling is no longer a nice to have. It is a necessary element that will ultimately enhance your business’s visibility, profitability, and overall impact.
Your brand needs to invest in stories because good stories make you unmistakable.
The Real Hero can help you develop your brand’s stories.
We are a brand strategy studio that helps companies become epic brands.
We believe in the transformative power of stories to create purpose-driven, hero-centric, and culture-shaping brands.
Sign up for our upcoming Brand Therapy events in 2024
