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Emotional Branding: The New Paradigm for Connecting Brands to People

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Emotional Branding is the best selling revolutionary business book that has created a movement in branding circles by shifting the focus from products to people. The “10 Commandments of Emotional Branding” have become a new benchmark for marketing and creative professionals, emotional branding has become a coined term by many top industry experts to express the new dynamic that exists now between brands and people. The emergence of social media, consumer empowerment and interaction were all clearly predicted in this book 10 years ago around the new concept of a consumer democracy. In this updated edition, Marc Gobé covers how social media helped elect Barack Obama to the White House, how the idea behind Twitter is transforming our civilization, and why new generations are re-inventing business, commerce, and management as we know it by leveraging the power of the web. In studying the role of women as "shoppers in chief, "and defining the need to look at the marketplace by recognizing differences in origins, cultures, and choices, Emotional Branding foresaw the break up of mass media to more targeted and culturally sensitive modes of communications. As the first marketing book ever to study the role of the LGBTQ community as powerful influencers for many brands, Emotional Branding opened the door to a renewed sensitivity toward traditional research that privilege individuality and the power of the margins to be at the center of any marketing strategy. A whole segment in the book looks at the role of the senses in branding and design. The opportunity that exists in understanding how we feel about a brand determines how much we want to buy. By exploring the 5 senses, Emotional Branding shows how some brands have built up their businesses by engaging in a sensory interaction with their consumers. Emotional Branding explores how effective consumer interaction needs to be about senses and feelings, emotions and sentiments. Not unlike the Greek culture that used philosophy, poetry, music, and the art of discussion and debate to stimulate the imagination, the concept of emotional branding establishes the forum in which people can convene and push the limits of their creativity. Through poetry the Greeks invented mathematics, the basis of science, sculpture, and drama. Unless we focus on humanizing the branding process we will lose the powerful emotional connection people have with brands. Critics hailed Emotional Branding as a breakthrough and a fresh approach to building brands. Design in this book is considered a new media, the web a place where people will share information and communicate, architecture a part of the brand building process, and people as the most powerful element of any branding strategy. Most importantly, it emphasizes the need to transcend the traditional language of marketing--from one based on statistics and data to a visually compelling new form of communication that fosters creativity and innovation.Allworth Press, an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, publishes a broad range of books on the visual and performing arts, with emphasis on the business of art. Our titles cover subjects such as graphic design, theater, branding, fine art, photography, interior design, writing, acting, film, how to start careers, business and legal forms, business practices, and more. While we don't aspire to publish a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are deeply committed to quality books that help creative professionals succeed and thrive. We often publish in areas overlooked by other publishers and welcome the author whose expertise can help our audience of readers.

362 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2001

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About the author

Marc Gobé

12 books4 followers

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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
Profile Image for Tami.
Author 38 books85 followers
November 16, 2008
There was a time that if you had a product, someone would buy it. You didn’t have to worry about reaching your target audience, how the packaging would make people feel, or how the product would make the consumer’s life better. People were eager for new products so if you had something to sell people would line up to try almost anything.

Today, we have choices. So many choices. If you go to your local Wal-Mart looking for a toaster, you’ll find dozens of different types. Each has a variety of different features that make each product unique. Trying to figure out which is right for you, depends upon your toasting needs.

The same goes for any product or service that you sell. In order to get consumers to choose your company when they go looking to buy, you have to serve their needs. To do so, you have to know your target audience and have a firm understanding about what they want.

Emotional Branding explores the buying patterns, needs, and belief systems of a variety of different demographics: the boomers through to the millennials, various minority populations, women, and the gay community. The book looks at how color, packaging, sound, scent, etc can be used to produce certain feelings. Put together properly, this information can help craft products and their associated advertising campaigns to suit the appropriate target audience.
Profile Image for Dmitry.
1,236 reviews93 followers
April 6, 2024
(The English review is placed beneath the Russian one)

Книга, конечно, ужасная. Возможно, более правильно было бы сказать, что книга ужасная для маркетологов, нежели для всех остальных читателей как таковых. Я хочу сказать, что возможно обычные люди, которые никаким образом с маркетингом не связанны, найдут эту книгу интересной. Но с точки зрения маркетинга, книга совершенно пустая. В ней нет ничего, кроме похвалы в отношении известных брендов. Эти постоянные восхваления известных брендов настолько фальшивые и пустые, что когда я только купил книгу, я бросил читать, даже не дойдя до середины. Читая книгу во второй раз, я хоть и дочитал до середины, но понял, что смысла в этом не было никакого. Книга не содержит никакого объяснения эмоционального брендинга, а просто пересказывает рекламные акции и позиционирования различных брендов.

Начало у книги наиболее скучное, особенно для тех читателей кто живёт за пределами США, ибо первая глава посвящена демографическому обзору населения США, далее идёт такой же обзор женской части населения США которое рассматривается с точки зрения покупателей, а далее идёт тема ЛГБТ сообщества, которое, как и женская аудитория, рассматривается в качестве потенциальных покупателей (возможно в российском издании, темы ЛГБТ и нет, ибо я читал новое англоязычное издание этой книги). Суть сказанного можно уместить в одну фразу – относитесь с уважением к вашим покупателям кем бы они небыли. Если кто-то думает найти в книге анализ поведения покупателей (женщин, представителей ЛГБТ и пр.), то его тут нет. Всё что пишет автор, это очень поверхностные и общие размышления основой которого является важность уважительного отношения к клиентам, т.е. клиентоориентированность. Опять же, это не является чем-то новым в маркетинге, а даже является самоочевидным.

Далее автор будет цитировать исследования из популярных книг по поведенческой экономики/социальной психологии, как например, исследование, в котором люди чаще покупали французское вино, если в магазине играла французская музыка или замечание, что люди существенно реагируют на запахи, вследствие чего магазины любят использовать приятные запахи с целью привлечения покупателей, как например, запах свежей выпечки или запах кофе. Как видите, это очевидные вещи, ради которых не стоит писать книгу. Всё что пишет автор - крайне поверхностно и без какой-либо теории.

Чем дальше продолжалась книга, тем более малополезными становились темы. Где-то после середины (книги) автор начал просто пересказывать позиционирование брендинга, т.е. как потребители воспринимают тот или иной бренд. Например, как потребители воспринимают бренд Victoria's Secret. Меня особенно поразило убеждённость автора в том, что Benetton искренен в своей скандальной рекламе. После этого момента я понял, что автор просто транслирует идею или идеи что стоят за брендом без какого либо критического подхода. Ну, какой человек может на полном серьёзе рассуждать о том, что Benetton заинтересован в решении социальных проблем, а не используется эти социальные проблемы (в своей рекламе) чтобы привлечь внимание публики к своему бренду (путём выпуска скандальной рекламы, т.е. путём скандала). Какой пример не возьми из книги, обязательно наткнёшься на высокопарные слова автора о гениальности того или иного изображения бренда. Такой подход мало того что бесполезен, но и крайне скучен.

The book is, of course, terrible. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the book is terrible for marketers than for all other readers as such. My point is that perhaps ordinary people who are not, in any way, related to marketing will find this book interesting. But from a marketing perspective, the book is empty. There is nothing in it but praise for famous brands. These constant eulogies of famous brands are so fake and empty that when I first bought the book, I quit reading before even reaching the middle. Reading the book for the second time, though I did get to the middle, I realized that there was no point. The book does not contain any explanation of emotional branding but recounts the promotions and positioning of various brands.

The beginning of the book is the most boring, especially for those readers who live outside the U.S., because the first chapter is devoted to a demographic overview of the U.S. population, then comes the same overview of the female part of the U.S. population, which is considered from the point of view of buyers, and then comes the topic of the LGBT community, which, like the female audience, is considered as potential buyers (perhaps in the Russian edition, there is no LGBT theme, since I read the new English edition of this book). The essence of what I said can be summed up in one phrase - treat your customers with respect, no matter who they are. If someone thinks to find in the book an analysis of the behavior of buyers (women, representatives of LGBT, etc.), it is not here. All that the author writes is a very superficial and general reflection, the basis of which is the importance of respectful treatment of customers, i.e., customer orientation. Again, this is not something new in marketing and is even self-evident.

Next, the author will cite studies from popular behavioral economics/social psychology books, such as a study in which people were more likely to buy French wine if French music was playing in the store or the observation that people respond significantly to smells, which is why stores like to use pleasant smells to attract customers, such as the smell of fresh baked goods or the smell of coffee. As you can see, these are obvious things that are not worth writing a book for. Everything the author writes is superficial and without any theory.

The further the book went on, the more unhelpful the topics became. Somewhere after the middle (of the book), the author began to recount branding positioning, i.e., how consumers perceive a particular brand. For example, how consumers perceive the Victoria's Secret brand. I was particularly struck by the author's conviction that Benetton was sincere in its scandalous advertising. After that moment, I realized that the author was simply broadcasting the idea or ideas behind the brand without any critical approach. Well, what kind of person can seriously argue that Benetton is interested in solving social problems rather than using these social problems (in its advertising) to attract public attention to its brand (by releasing scandalous advertising, i.e., by scandal)? Whatever example you take from the book, you are bound to come across the author's high-flown words about the genius of this or that brand image. This approach is not only useless but also boring.
9 reviews8 followers
December 12, 2007
a little bit too hokey and qualitative for me. there is value in quantitative analysis too-- populations behave in a certain way that is predictable, the mind is mysterious but not so much that you can't predict group behavior.
Profile Image for Ivan Martinez.
54 reviews1 follower
November 7, 2019
Una obra maestra. El maestro Marc Gobé que en paz descanse, nos presenta todo lo que el marketing emocional puede hacer por su marca. Lo de hoy es crear experiencias emocionales para encantar a los clientes, llegando a su corazón y emociones. Uno de los mejores libros de marketing del mundo. Una chica me lo vendió a un precio regalado, realmente no sabía que tenía en sus manos una obra maestra.
Profile Image for Randall.
25 reviews
August 7, 2010
Una parada obligatoria para cualquier persona en el mundo del desarrollo de marca y mercadeo en general. Una visión clara y llena de ejemplos de la forma en que las grandes marcas parten de elementos emocionales para construir la relación con sus clientes, desde su imagen corporativa, diseño de sus tiendas y empaques, hasta sus relaciones públicas, estrategias de venta y políticas de comunicación.
Con una prosa clara, Gobé muestra cómo el mercado actual está virando de la razón a la emoción, del producto a la experiencia, de la necesidad al deseo, y cómo las estrategias de marca deben adaptarse y aprovechar las nuevas tecnologías para hacerlo.
Profile Image for arshe aulia.
1 review
October 8, 2007
Al abuot branding is here, its the best book ever...
I find amzing stuff abut brand, when there is emotion, brands comes to life...love it...
Profile Image for Alfonso De.
5 reviews57 followers
July 8, 2011
Para los amantes del Marketing y el Branding, este libro es un joya que no puedes dejar de leer si estás en este medio.
Profile Image for Laila Dimyati.
27 reviews1 follower
September 14, 2011
This book reveals the true meaning of branding, from different point of view. Activating our 5 senses to put what really branding is into our mind.
Profile Image for Ramy Khodeir.
18 reviews17 followers
September 28, 2012
If you are working or planning to pursue a career in marketing better read this book to understand the true meaning of branding & brand management
28 reviews
October 1, 2012
great book for all marketers out there! Very relevant with good content on Gen Y.
Profile Image for Seemy.
892 reviews10 followers
March 3, 2025
Although it’s a bit dated considering the time this book was written vs when I’m getting round to reviewing it / finish d reading it - the content is indeed still very relevant and useful.

If anything the book affirms where the world of branding has gone and where it was going when published - so a good reminder even if not completely updated tor todays times — on what you should be doing to connect your brand to an audience and all that goes with it to consider and mindful of.

To Our Continued Success!
Seemy
Waseem.tv/Blog

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66 reviews3 followers
July 20, 2020
Was a very interesting book about emotional branding and how it is changing the way businesses think and behave (at least some that want to develop a stronger connection with customers lol). To make everything more experiential :) Which is helping in my thesis on doing this for a company.
Profile Image for Robert K.T..
35 reviews
November 9, 2020
You do not have to be reminded you are a digit to a massive enterprise, what we sometimes forget is how we connect with other people, specially customers when selling. This book has a very good outlook on the concepts and steps behind creating a B2C relationship.
506 reviews1 follower
September 10, 2017
This book was invaluable when I was writing my Masters dissertation and 15 years on, I still remember it, which says a lot.
20 reviews4 followers
September 18, 2017
Một quyển sách hay bị dân marketing lãng quên và lãng phí.
Profile Image for Richard Pütz.
125 reviews2 followers
August 29, 2021
A must-read even for all those who believe they are pros in branding
2 reviews
May 6, 2024
This book might have been a great resource when released. I got bummed, however, after purchasing it in 2024 since half of its references and examples are outdated.
Profile Image for Greg.
145 reviews3 followers
December 15, 2008
Never trust a business book where the writer uses an exclamation point every other sentence, or directs you to web sites where he "promises you a good laugh!"
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