How to Evoke an Emotional Response from Consumers

Humor is one of the quickest and easiest ways to get recognized and generate a response from consumers. However, in the grand scheme of things, that response is short-lived. Some of the most memorable marketing material of all time created epic emotional responses out of viewers and you can do it too. All it takes is a few essential ingredients to bake up a perfect marketing recipe.

Get to know the Wheel of Emotions.

Robert Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions will tell you exactly what elements of emotion you need to generate the right emotional response from your customers. For example, want to create feelings of love? Use elements of joy and trust in your marketing material.

Ask a question.

Asking the right question can create any emotion you want it to. If you’re targeting fear to promote children’s car seats for example, ask “Will your child’s car seat withstand a 40mph impact?”. If you want to target optimism to promote children’s car seats, ask “Have you met the car seat of your baby’s dreams, yet?”

Use the right colors.

Every color touches on a different emotion. It is essential to have a color scheme in your marketing material matching your intended emotional response. If your entire branding strategy targets a specific emotion then make sure every piece of marketing material you release follows the same theme and profile of colors. That goes for your organization’s social media accounts like Instagram and Pinterest as well.

Use statistics.

Statistics are a great way to trigger emotional responses because they provide proof to consumers that makes them think twice about a topic. If you’re trying to promote car seats and you give out shirts or bumper stickers that say, “Every 33 seconds a child is involved in a car accident” with your logo, parents are going to consider checking you out. It works.

Powerful images.

This may be a trickier tool for some businesses depending on the industry. However, for many industries there is always something or someone that can be used in an image to trigger an emotional response. For example, in the fitness industry images of epic sports achievement work great. Veterinaries and animals shelters can use meaningful images of animals. Insurance agencies can use images of natural disaster aftermath or car accidents. There’s something for almost everybody.

Use emotive words.

Emotive words make all the different because not only are they more persuasive, but they catch people’s eyes every time. If you want to create a sense of urgency, use “proven,” “instantly,” and “left behind.” Stimulate fear with words like “concern,” “victim,” and “beware.” Evoke happiness with “magical,” “sensational,” or “heartfelt.”

Another quick tip: Use a different font color for the emotive word(s).

Manipulate quotes.

Make your audience feel something with a meaningful quote. No matter what you sell, you can associate your product or service with a good quote. Pick something broad but impactful. Target feelings of urgency with “One day or day one. You decide” (Anonymous). Use a quote to trigger fear, for example, “You don’t drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there” (Anonymous).

Here at Dobbs Global, we have hundreds of thousands of promotional products that are fully customizable to accomplish that perfect emotional trigger you’re going for to promote your organization. Browse our online catalog and never hesitate to reach out with further questions.