If you’re happy and you know it … will you click? Data shows consumers remember and engage with emotionally resonant ads. It’s not just about making consumers happy. They’re drawn to content and marketing campaigns that are funny, foster a sense of belonging, and tell compelling stories. Here are five key stats on why marketing through emotions matters and what advertisers should keep in mind.
Key stat: 96% of EMEA YouTube consumers say high-quality video content must have emotive aspects, according to YouTube’s Why We Watch 2.0 report.
What it means: Viewers consider both emotive and technical markers important to video quality, though slightly fewer (92%) say technical markers are important.
Emotive content captures consumer attention, tells a compelling story, is original, teaches something new, is personal, enhances everyday life, is authentic and relatable, is relative to interests, or is otherwise engaging, per YouTube.
Viewers over 35 tend to value trustworthiness and storytelling in emotional content, while younger viewers prioritize creativity and personal relevance, per YouTube.
Key stat: 55% of EMEA viewers across all platforms make content choices that create a sense of belonging, per YouTube.
What it means: Creating an emotional connection with consumers doesn’t only mean inciting feelings of happiness or sadness. It also means making consumers feel like they belong to a community. One way to do this is to make sure marketing content represents a diverse audience to foster a sense of belonging. Marketers can also build their own communities by creating Facebook Groups, sponsoring events and activities, and communicating with consumers in comments on social media.
Key stat: US Gen Zers are split on whether or not social media helps with emotional health, with 45% saying it has a positive impact, and 37% saying it has a negative impact, according to data from The Harris Poll.
What it means: Brands need to be aware that Gen Zers seeing marketing content on social media may already be in a negative emotional state. This is especially true for women, who are more likely to report negative emotional health effects from social media than men, per The Harris Poll.
But it also means that social media content that resonates with consumers in a positive way can be particularly attractive. Dove has consistently created body positive social media campaigns to elicit good vibes on the platforms.
Key stat: 90% of consumers are more likely to remember ads that are funny, according to Oracle.
What it means: Brands can boost campaign impact by making people laugh. Liquid Death and e.l.f. Cosmetics did this with their recent Corpse Paint collaboration, which was both funny and an unexpected partnership from two brands known for being on the cutting edge of marketing.
Content that sparks emotion and creates a sense of relevance is more likely to be remembered, according to YouTube. So funny campaigns can also benefit from staying up to date and playing off of contemporary trends and memes.
Key stat: YouTube ads that make people feel highly pleasant emotions led to a 40% increase in consumers saying the brand was worth paying more for, according to a Google and Ipsos study reported by Tracksuit.
What it means: Positive emotional associations are good business. While inclusive, funny, and sad ads also resonate with consumers, brands that make consumers feel good can potentially price products higher.
Mastercard found something similar in a study that showed that its sonic branding played at checkout boosted consumer trust and made people 80% more likely to return to the merchant utilizing the sound.
“I think these extra layers of touchpoints are really just going to help with, again, recall an emotional connection. Next time you're reaching for a payment method, you're going to be like, oh yeah, this makes me feel better, so I'm going to use it,” our analyst Suzy Davidkhanian said on our Behind the Numbers podcast.
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