All of us have a fundamental need to be loved, cared for, and to belong. Numerous psychological studies have demonstrated how crucial these desires are for healthy development in one’s early years. Belonging to a group, according to Maslow’s hierarchy, is amongst the most important human needs. This desire motivates us to seek and form long-lasting connections with other people. It also enhances our sense of happiness, by making us feel like we are a part of something greater than us.
Well before the invention of Facebook, and other online communities, marketers shrewdly promoted their brands by tapping into this basic, hard-wired human need to connect with other people. Ad campaigns across the globe leveraged the consumers’ desire to belong: The strategy was simple. By directing their marketing efforts to human emotions and associating their product with these positive feelings, companies were able to “connect” with most consumers who saw their ad campaigns. The results of this targeted marketing significantly increased brand awareness while simultaneously evoking a strong emotional and positive connection to its product. Coca Cola is one example of a company that used this type of targeted marketing, of associating its product with positive human connection and emotions.
Coca Cola’s marketing efforts transitioned from a more sexual form of advertising, like using pin-up girls, to more universal campaigns that spread positivity, optimism, and a sense of community. Back in 1971, Coca Cola aired the video “I’d like to buy the world a coke.” The TV commercial depicted a diverse group of young people from various countries, holding up a glass bottle of Coca-Cola and singing a catchy jingle:
“ I’d like to buy the world a home
and furnish it with love
grow apple trees and honey bees
and snow white turtle doves
I’d like to teach the world to sing
in perfect harmony
I’d like to buy the world a coke
and keep it company
that’s the real thing
I’d like to teach the world to sing
in perfect harmony
I’d like to buy the world a coke
and keep it company
that’s the real thing.”
source: YouTube.com
Carefully crafted, the ad weaved its product as a symbol of unity, connection, and, ultimately, improvement of the world in which we live. Coca Cola reused the iconic campaign again in 1991 when the hilltop “reunion” ad aired. This time it showed the same group of people, played a modified theme song at the same location. But the now older crowd was joined by a younger generation, and all together, they professed their commitment to the unity of the world that transcended ethnicity and generational boundaries, which culminated in the final verse, “You can’t beat the feeling.” By tapping into the social need to belong, Coca Cola created bonds across countries, generations, communities and, in doing so, reinforced the positive emotional connection between the brand and its consumers. Companies like Coca Cola, American Express, Nike, Airbnb, Apple, and many others leverage the desire to belong to sell their products. This type of targeted marketing still thrives today!
What other primal needs can be used in targeted marketing?
Is the emotional connection to a brand necessary for an effective marketing campaign?
References
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