As marketers, we often focus on what we want our audience to think, feel and do. But that’s the wrong way around. We’re hardwired to feel before we think, so the feeling should always come first. Makes sense?
Let’s break it down
According to the Long and the Short of it by Les Binet and Peter Field, a study into what drives advertising effectiveness over both the short and the long-term, emotional campaigns:
- Drive greater behaviour change
- Are more memorable
- Are more likely to be shared
- Strengthen relationships
- Predict long-term success better
The above points are all really important in sustainability campaigns
In sustainability campaigns, we want to seek out an emotional response so people remember it, tell their friends and then do something about it.
So, how do you do this?
In this section, we will reference our work for Greenpeace on the Big Plastic Count Results video. We’d recommend watching it first, and then we’ll explain some of the techniques we used.
1. Get clear on your single message
The first step is to get clear on your single message. What is the one thing you want people to remember? Write it down in one sentence. For Greenpeace, the single message was simple: the government needs to cut single-use plastic.
2. Identify a dominant emotion
Is it frustration, shock, hope, or something else? Pick an emotion that best aligns with your message and resonates with your audience. For the Big Plastic Count video, instead of focusing on stats alone, we tapped into the biggest emotion associated with the plastic crisis: frustration.
3. Create a narrative framework
A narrative framework is a structured way to guide your audience through the story. There are lots of different frameworks you can use. One of the most effective is SPIN:
Situation: Set the stage. What’s the current landscape?
Problem: Highlight the issue.
Implication: What happens if we don’t solve this? Raise the stakes.
Need-Payoff: Present the solution.
Tip: If you struggle to differentiate the situation from the problem, think about the problem first, then zoom out and consider the landscape in which the problem exists.
4. Map out the emotional journey
One trap people can fall into is having one emotion throughout the story. But that’s not how stories work. You want to know what that dominant emotion will be. But you also need to create a terrain around that with the ups and downs of the story. This is really important to plan out before you get to script writing.
In the Greenpeace campaign, we used four different emotions: amusement, frustration, shock and hope. Here’s why:
Amusement: to create an unusual world to draw people in and stop the scroll.
Frustration: to highlight the scale of the problem and how little is being done about it.
Shock: to present hard-hitting stats and visuals about the devastating impact plastic has on the environment.
Hope: to paint a picture of a bold and exciting future.
Final thoughts
- Don’t confuse stimulus with response If you want people to be angry, the person delivering the message doesn’t need to be angry. A sad clown makes people laugh.
- Does your emotional journey build the right associations? Think about the kind of communication you’re putting out into the world, the type of organisation you are, and how you want people to feel, and make sure that everything matches up.
- Think about where the dominant emotion is best placed For the Big Plastic Count, problem was where the dominant emotion really needed to be.
- Negative emotions can alienate or fatigue Negative emotions can trigger people. So be mindful when you’re using them. Especially if you’re trying to shock people. Balance is key.
- Emotions can play differently in different cultures Emotions can play very differently from culture to culture. Your audience might not experience things in the same way as you. So make sure you get as close to that audience as you can.
Photos from the Blue Earth Summit workshop on using emotion in your next campaign
Photos from the Blue Earth Summit workshop on using emotion in your next campaign
Want to master emotion in your next sustainability campaign? Drop an email to bonnie@enviral.co.uk with the subject line ‘Emotion in Campaigns’ to receive a free copy of our workshop booklet – guiding you through a step-by-step process to help bring emotion into your next campaign.