Marketing is about making you feel something.
It reminds you of the negative feeling you have right now because a problem is weighing you down.
Then, it casts a vision of the aspirational feelings you could have later if you buy a product or service.
It’s that simple and that hard.
This fact has never been clearer than in the two most recent viral ads by big brands, Volvo and Apple.
Brilliant Storytelling for the Volvo EX 90
Volvo released a new ad that brilliantly took us on a journey of emotions.
In the ad, we watch a young man learn he will become a first-time father. He immediately calls his mom to tell her the news.
As he shares his hopes and fears of fatherhood with his mom, the visuals flash forward to moments in his new daughter’s life that beautifully illustrate all of those feelings. The ad culminates in his daughter’s life being saved by Volvo brake assist as she crosses a busy intersection, almost struck by a distracted driver.
Oof. Tear-jerker.
Watch the ad here if you’d like.
Apple Restores Hearing and Connects a Father with new AirPods
In the latest Apple ad, a father sits on the couch while his daughter plays guitar and sings. We hear her from his perspective, muffled like he has a pillow over his ears.
The longer ad takes us through various moments in her life, similar to the Volvo ad, where Dad misses key moments because his hearing is impaired.
Then, he gets a new pair of Apple AirPods with hearing assistance that allows him to turn up the volume on the outside world to reveal his daughter singing beautifully and him connected again.
What’s with all the girl-dad commercials?!
I’m not crying. You’re crying.
Here is the Apple AirPods Ad
People Hire You Because of Feelings
Even if you haven’t seen the ads, you probably sense the range of emotions and feelings they invoke in viewers.
Most businesses make the mistake of thinking they solve a physical or external problem with their services.
You fix teeth, mow lawns, heat homes, fight charges, etc.
In reality, you help your customers or clients replace the negative emotions associated with those things with positive emotions.
You solve internal problems.
- Fix teeth: Embarrassment > Confidence
- Mow Lawns: Embarrassment > Pride
- Heat Homes: Discomfort > Comfort
- Fight Charges: Fear > Freedom
You don’t need a multimillion-dollar TV ad to show your customers how you help them overcome a problem and the negative feelings it causes.
You just need to understand those feelings and find the right words to express them.
When you’ve done that, it becomes simple to get that message out on your website, social media, print ads, etc.
You can leverage the power of big brand ads on a budget that works for you.
Storytelling Grows Your Business
Finding the right words to take your potential customers on that journey of emotion doesn’t have to be difficult.
Every day, I help small businesses and nonprofits like yours develop their messaging, which allows them to invite their customers into a transformational story.
Using a proven story-based framework, I help you draw out the story points you need to leverage feelings and emotions like the big brands on a budget that makes sense for your small business.
Imagine knowing what you need to say every time you update a webpage, write social media posts, or pay to run an ad.
No guessing, just the right words.
How much could your business grow if you had the right words to motivate your potential customers?
Schedule a Free 30-minute Introductory Call with me, and let’s find out how we can better invite your customers into a powerful story that leaves them wowed and grows your business.
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