World Brand Congress 2010: "Brand equity can be boiled down to 'emotional anticipation'," says Crispin Reed 

According to Reed, the stronger the anticipation for a brand; the bigger its competitive advantage.

On the final day of the three-day World Brand Congress 2010 in Mumbai, Crispin Reed, managing director, Brandhouse spoke about "Feelings you can't ignore -- the role that emotion plays in branding".

Reed has a well-rounded perspective on brands, having worked in leading global advertising and design agencies, brand consultancies and on the client side. During the discussion, he attempted to illustrate how heightening anticipation can be used in a marketing context.

He shared the example of Galaxy, the milk chocolate by Mars. Research showed that mothers often indulged in the chocolate in the few minutes they had to themselves after a long, tiring day and before planning for the next day.

Through research, it was found that women hid these chocolate bars in salad boxes at the back of the fridge, and even among their underwear. It was not because they wanted to keep the chocolate away from their husbands or kids; but for the anticipation around that special moment for themselves.

Drawing from these insights, the company redesigned the packaging of Galaxy to a smooth, silky appearance with just a hint of the bar being seen in one corner. The chocolate earlier came in the shape of flat squares, which was also altered to give it a more feminine, wavy look.

Reed shared that brands are thus about the "anticipation of emotional benefits"; so, in effect, brand equity can be boiled down to "emotional anticipation". Therefore, the stronger the anticipation; the bigger is the competitive advantage of the brand.

According to Reed, gone are the days of the Unique Selling Proposition (USP), as coined by Rosser Reeves of advertising agency, Ted Bates. The focus should now be on driving "emotional competitive advantage".

Related to this is "proprietary emotional benefit", a term coined by Brandhouse founder, Mark Wickens. This is when a brand owns an emotional benefit, which the consumer can't get from any other brand. "It is a unique statement of 'something good the brand helps me say about myself by using it' that actively supports the consumer's self-model or aspirational self-model. A brand has a proprietary emotional benefit when people are driven to seek it out, because they perceive a better emotional outcome than competitors deliver," said Reed.

At the heart of any brand with an "emotional competitive advantage" is a strong "brand story". Examples of this are brands such as Apple, Nike, Ben & Jerry's ice cream and Dove, which have clearly defined brand stories that are told across all touch points. For example, Apple's story is about technology being cool and simple; Nike's story is that sports is war without bullets; while Dove promotes the 'real beauty' ideology.

Reed concluded by quoting banker JP Morgan who said, "A man makes a decision for two reasons, the good reason and the real reason". "I, therefore, urge marketers to go beyond the reasons that consumers state, and try and identify the real reason of what drives them," he said.