Emotional ads better than hiring Brad Pitt
By Michael Kline

 Do you know that advertising that doubles as an emotional appeal can be far more effective than a lucrative celebrity endorsement? This comes as a big disappointment, as I was looking forward to having Beyonce come to North Conway to play in the sink at The Funky Bubble Bath & Body!  Based on solid research, we’ve decided to forgo the expensive celebrity and think more about emotional appeals.
 
According to a study published in the June 2013 issue of theJournal of Consumer Research, a consumer tends to select products that strengthen emotions closely related to his identity. This means that an emotionally appealing ad can trump one that’s based on a celebrity spokesperson.

A celebrity endorser may be marred by a reputation that can undermine the brand. But this does not happen when you market a product through an emotional appeal. When a specific emotion is used instead of a celebrity, the marketer can eliminate the complications that may arise from the celebrity’s reputation.  
 
The study uncovered that athletes listening to “angry” music are willing to pay more to watch a concert featuring “angry” bands, while volunteers listening to “sad” music are persuaded to go to “sad” concerts. Moreover, an ad displaying anger on a model’s face are found to be more persuasive to athletes, while an ad featuring a sad face are more convincing for a group of volunteers. Environmentalists, on the other hand, are persuaded by an ad that shows a model who is expressing disgust.

 All in all, emotional appeals can be used effectively in marketing. As long as the emotion in your ad elicits a response from the consumer group you are trying to sell to, then your marketing campaign has an excellent chance of goading consumers to buy—minus the exorbitant fees paid to a celebrity to become the face of your product.

The other temptation is to really humanize your product or service; to put a big face on your widget and give it a name. This branding approach is everywhere—M&M’s advertised with limbs and endearing eyes, alarm clocks marketed complete with cartoonish faces, etc. Brand anthropomorphization, or marketing a product by endowing it with human attributes, is a powerful advertising tool. Many consumers positively respond to it. But according to a study published in the Journal of Marketing, it can backfire when the “humanized” product malfunctions.
 
An ad that trumpets a product sporting human attributes can be extremely persuasive to consumers. But if the product malfunctions or fails to meet the consumer’s expectation, the negative reaction is quite strong.
The backlash can be far more overwhelming than a similar product that has malfunctioned but has not been “humanized” in an advertisement. 

So the lesson of the day is to know who your target audience is, and to focus on the emotional needs of that audience. Second, you might want to exercise caution when tempted to turn your better mousetrap into a
cute little guy with a funny name.

A day in the life of a nut case
By Michael Kline


I talk a lot about goals, focus and execution. Of course, I mean for other people, I’m too busy being productive! I have lots of goals, plenty to focus on and productive doesn’t begin to describe my days. 
 
Okay, I’m being a little sarcastic, but also honest. I admit I am a complete nut case, and probably should be heavily medicated, if not locked up for not only thinking, but actually trying to do everything, really well, and at
the same time. I’ve avoided both the meds and a special home, only because our society rewards my lunacy and the unenlightened are even envious. The enlightened, of course, know the truth, but also know I’m finding my own path,
which currently involves multi-tasking while meditating. 

Don’t get me wrong, I have a great life, and I appreciate it every day. I don’t say this lightly, in fact, I think it’s a bit
of a miracle. I thrive on the craziness, the speed at which conversations change topics, the quality and sheer quantity of creative productivity, ideas and solutions that blow through my day like spring tornados through Kansas. I find
it all exhilarating. Issues or topics that come up in my typical day might include – and I’m just thinking of things currently on my mind– getting sponsors, jury duty, socks with bright colored cats, gratitude wine glasses, photographs of hikers, insurance for trampolines is  extra? (I can’t believe we’re talking about trampolines), opening acts, walking across Texas, national parks, cars that will save the earth, necklaces made from  scrabble tiles, white or colored sheets, housekeeper who charges $50 per hour – really? Things that are kind, things are not kind, and lots of things that are surprisingly subject to debate. As weird as it sounds, I’m not making this sh --  up.

I have to ask myself if I am really happy, and is there any depth, meaning, or purpose to it all. If I had to apply any serious concern about the outcome of my various projects, would I be as stressed and frustrated
as everyone else? The answer is yes, yes, yes, yes and no, I really don’t think so.

One of my five or so current careers is teaching seminars. At a rate of four to six seminars a month, I’ve talked about this topic to a couple hundred people in the last year. Many of my students are stressed juggling work, family, house, health, kids, pets, cars, etc. However, it seems that the happiest people have more going on in their life and a lot
less stress. I am not trying to minimalize the plight of the stressed folks who seemingly have less to stress about. On the  contrary, I’m raising the question as to how can some people stress over fewer things, and other people accomplish many things, when we all have exactly the same twenty four hours in a day and
the same number of days in a week.

Most people seem to spend most of their time working on things that are urgent and behind schedule, but that are really not that important. They are being asked to do more for less, with less and would quit their job if
they could afford to. Most people say what they need more than anything else is, time. This is almost getting depressing, isn’t it? The good news is that most people don’t say they need more money, they recognize they have much to be grateful for and they can find their happy place, even if it takes a little effort. 

My conclusion is that no one needs more time. If you’re wasting the time you have now, you will waste whatever time you could be given. If you think you’re not wasting time, think again – how much of your time is spent
doing what is really important to you? How much of your time is spent doing things that are demanding your attention but are not really that important? What a waste of time. By eliminating the so-called urgent work, and focusing on the
important work, I can do more of what matters and still find more free time than I need. 

If you are trying to do more, try doing more for more, instead of more for less. Doing more (of the right things) is worth more, and you should at least eventually, be rewarded more. By the way, I’m not suggesting that it is
better to accomplish more – I’m saying it is better to accomplish what you want to accomplish, once you decide what that is. I’m asking you to relieve the stress in your life, to identify what is really important to you, identify the
path to that goal, and start down that path.  Enjoy the journey, for as Earl Nightingale defined it, success is making progress toward a worthwhile goal.