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Emotional Branding – 7 Indian Brands Tapping Into Emotions

You can’t ignore emotions. Joy, fear, anger, optimism, frustration, boredom – there're a myriad of them. According to Robert Plutchik's psychoevolutionary theory of emotion, we’re capable of 8 emotions: rage, fear, grief, disgust, surprise, anticipation, trust, and happiness.  Plutchik's "wheel of emotions" gives us an insight into some of the well-known emotional layers. 

Emotions and brands - How are Indian brands driving brand loyalty with emotion?

Savvy marketers have been tapping into human emotions to make connection with their audience and turn it into long-lasting relationships, since the advent of marketing. Emotions play an important role in consumer decision making - it's not an assumed notion but a proven fact. 

Here's a rundown of 7 Indian brands that have tapped into human emotions and are making long-lasting relationships with their consumers. To get inspired from 100+ successful global campaigns, check this marketing course.  You might also like to check how Indian brands are leveraging the power of content marketing

1) Dabur Vatika

Their Brave and Beautiful Campaign salutes female cancer survivors. The ad shows a bald woman who’s just recovered from cancer. She’s survived the disease but not confident of how her neighbours or colleagues would look at her. Then we see her getting ready for her first day at office after the treatment. She ties a head wrap first but then removes it. She looks at herself in the mirror after wearing a saree – with doubt written all over her face. Then a small bindi act by her husband gives her the needed support to go out into the world. She enters office with apprehension and what happens next might leave you with tears. Not tears of sadness but of hope. One doesn’t expect a campaign of such sorts from a hair shampoo and oil brand. But Dabur Vatika has done it!

2) Birla Sun Life Insurance

This ad will melt your heart. Called Khud ko kar buland itna the commercial plays out like a short film. The clip that runs for over 3 minutes features the story of a father and his autistic son. It’s got all the emotional ingredients right – the husband has lost his wife, his son has autism, to add more to his woes he loses his job just when he plans to get his son enrolled in an autism-specific school. As the ad concludes we see the father-son duo laughing and having fun moments together – thanks to Birla sun Life Insurance. An example of subtle marketing that packs an emotional punch.

3) Fortune

Ghar ka Khana – 3 words that make everyone say yes and wow. Most of us have fond memories of homemade food. Whether it’s mom cooked dal or gajar ka halwa – the taste of home cooked food lingers on the palate…on…and on. The ad shows an old lady carrying a tiffin climbing up the hospital stairs to meet her grandson. She reaches just at the moment when the nurse starts feeding her grandson with a spoonful of bland and tasteless khichdi ( guessed looking at the grandson’s expression).  The grandmother requests the nurse to feed him home cooked dal. But the nurse says no, saying bahar ka khaana (outside food) is not allowed in the hospital. It’s not the first time we see her requesting the nurse. But every time her requests are met with a curt no. However, one day the grandmother brings 2 tiffin boxes and gives 1 to the nurse. What happens after the nurse eats ghar ka khaana – you don’t have to guess, right? The grandson’s expression while eating the home cooked dal is to watch for. 

4) Havells 

A son can’t see his mother in pain. It’s a universal fact. Created along these lines, this heartwarming yet simple ad shows a woman, her little son and a crying baby in a construction site. The woman is making rotis in an open area and every time she flips them she burns her fingers. The boy sees this and goes to a place nearby where construction materials are stored. He takes out a box of Havells’ cable and makes a pair of tongs by bending the cable.  We see the mother using the tong to make rotis and serving them with a smile to her son. The ad concludes with the voiceover “Havells. Wires that don't catch fire."

5) Titan Watches 

What do you gift a man who’s spent nearly half of his life inspiring students? A Titan watch and memories that are worth cherishing. It tugs at the heartstrings without going emotionally overboard.

6) Naukri

Hari Sadu. H for Hitler, A for Arrogant, R for Rascal and I for Idiot. An ad that many remember to this day word by word. Most of us must have gone through that phase of being stuck with a boss like Hari Sadu. There’re very few ads that hit the pain points of their target audience and this is one of them. Hit the pain point and give the solution. 

7) ICICI Prudential Life Insurance

Bande Acche Hain, by ICICI Prudential, celebrates men who care, protect and love their family. The ad showing different situations – which are funny, moving and true. There’s a general perception about men – they’re often forgetful, usually unaware of what’s happening around them, can’t keep things clean and so on and on. But this ad in a way breaks that perception.  Here’s one of the situations - it’s dark and the husband is going out of station with his bags on the taxi roof rack. We see his wife coming out of home with his wallet that he forgot to take (which is a common problem with men!). The taxi starts to move but we see the man asking the driver to stop. He waits till his wife reaches inside and switches on the light. And the best part is – he does it without letting her know. Small things that mean a lot – good men do it and they do it without making any fuss.

 

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