Marketers and advertisers are recognizing the importance of creating advertisements that foster an emotional connection between the consumer and the brand, but as yet there is little research addressing this topic. This paper presents an exploratory look at how an emotional connection with a brand may be defined, conceptually and operationally, and briefly describes one possible means by which advertising can contribute to the formation of an emotional brand connection. Based on theories regarding self-brand connections and self-congruency, it is suggested that emotional brand connections stem from self-congruent emotional benefits communicated within a message that prompt self-referencing and a strong positive emotional response which lead to self-linked brand meaning.

Introduction

Emotional Connections

Many who address the topic of an emotional connection discuss the construct without clearly defining it (Pawle & Cooper 2006, Lindstrom 2005, Lynch & de Chernatony 2004 Woods 2004). There are some, though, outside the realm of advertising who have delineated an emotional connection construct. Christodoulides et al. (2006) define an emotional connection in the context of online brands in terms of affinity between a consumer and a brand made up of affiliation, care, and empathy. A "shared emotional connection," included as one of the dimensions of a measure of psychological community, is described as a bond between members (Obst & White 2004). However, in this last case, an emotional connection is thought of as developing over time through firsthand experience, which does not correspond to the concept of an emotional connection ascribed to in this paper as more immediate and arising from vicarious experience of the brand through advertising.

One study that does provide a more in-depth characterization of the emotional connection concept in the context of advertising was conducted by Kamp and MacInnis (1995). While these researchers do not explicitly provide a conceptual definition of an emotional connection, the definition that may be derived from their discussion is an affectively-charged, personalized linkage between the consumer and the symbolic meaning of an object or entity. Based on their operationalization, an emotional connection would be indicated by perceived brand relevance; positive, intense feelings attached to the brand; and self-brand image congruity, or the perception that the projected brand image is compatible with at least one aspect of one's self-concept.

Before proceeding further, it is perhaps worthwhile to stipulate how an emotional connection differs from an attitude. Borrowing from the relevant points presented by Thompson, MacInnis, and Park (2005) and Park and MacInnis (2006) distinguishing between an emotional attachment and an attitude, it may be said that an emotional connection encompasses a positive attitude but additionally necessitates an affective component and is inherently tied to one's self-concept. Because an emotional connection is a more specialized outcome of marketing communications, the group of consumers sensing an emotional connection will be a smaller subset within the population of consumers who have a positive attitude toward an advertisement or brand.

Emotional Benefits and Brand Meaning

Emotional benefits are a component of the message that may be communicated either explicitly or implicitly in an advertisement. Researchers have also used other synonymous or related terms such as hedonic (Burton & Easingwood 2006; Chandon Wansink & Laurent 2000), abstract (Homer 2006), or value-expressive (Cho & Stout 1993) benefits, emotional brand values (Lynch & de Chernatony 2004), or aesthetic attributes (Hirschman 1980). Each of these terms carries a slightly different connotation, and therefore different definitions have been applied to what may be considered as variants of emotional benefits. In previous studies, these benefits have been posited as an intangible product attribute (Grimm 2005, Hirschman 1980) that serves the purpose of hedonic gratification (Homer 2006) or satisfying experiential needs (Burton & Easingwood 2006) regardless of practicality (Chandon Wansink & Laurent 2000). The conception put forth by Ruth (2001), however, as "information considered to convey data about affect-laden experiences associated with a brand" (p.99) is most closely in line with the definition of emotional benefits advocated in this paper. In short, emotional benefits refer to communication points entailing the emotional reward of buying and/or using the advertised brand.

Emotional benefits are similar to other aspects of affect in that they are characterized as being subjective (Homer 2006), noninstrumental (Chandon Wansink & Laurent 2000), and holistic in terms of relating more to the overall brand image rather than specific features of the brand (Burton & Easingwood 2006). They are generally considered the opposite of more specific product attributes or benefits referred to as functional, instrumental, utilitarian (Chandon Wansink & Laurent 2000), concrete (Homer 2006), or feature based (Lautman & Percy 1984).

One way to think of emotional benefits in relation to more tangible product characteristics other than dichotomously is hierarchically. Lautman (1991) presents an end-benefit hierarchy in which the end-benefits that may be communicated by advertisers and sought by consumers range from the most basic levels of inherent product attributes and functional end-benefits up to psychological end-benefits associated with consumer values and a "final payoff" described as the life experience facilitated by the product. Using the example of deodorant, the author illustrates that the functional benefit would be simple deodorant protection while the psychological benefit is a feeling of confidence that leads into the final payoff of being able to face intimate situations. As can be seen with this example, the emotional benefits of current interest would equate with the level of psychological benefits.

It has been suggested that the significance of brand benefits is to add value or meaning to a brand (Chiu et al. 2005, Ballantyne Warren & Nobbs 2006). Brand meaning as been defined as a consumer's "dominant perceptions" or total impressions and associations of the brand (Berry 2000, p.129). More precisely, in this paper brand meaning is meant to convey the purpose and promise that a brand symbolizes. For instance, in the automobile category, the meaning of a brand may center around freedom and the ability to travel anywhere across any terrain, safety and the confidence that your family is protected in case of an accident, or luxury and the message of achievement that it communicates to others. Brands may obtain meaning from marketing tactics such as advertisements that provide particular associations for their brands or from individuals that apply their own experiences and desires to these given associations to construct a more personalized brand meaning (Ligas & Cotte 1999, Fournier 1998, Muniz 1997). While the latter is of great importance to consider, the focus here is on marketing sources of brand meaning since advertisers have more control over what is intended to be communicated than the idiosyncratic perceptions and interpretations of consumers.

While benefits at any level in Lautman's (1991) hierarchy may be associated with a certain value or meaning of the brand (Hirschman 1980), the brands that consumers prefer and develop meaningful relationships with are those that are perceived to represent delivery of the rather abstract life goals at the level of the final payoff (Ballantyne Warren & Nobbs 2006, Bennett & Rundle-Thiele 2005, Escalas & Bettman 2005, Lynch & de Chernatony 2004, Orth et al. 2004, Escalas & Bettman 2003, Gurhan-Canli & Ahluwalia 1999, Fournier 1998) and therefore it is this richer form of brand meaning that advertisers strive to impart. Since, as in Lautman's (1991) end-benefit hierarchy, the psychological or emotional benefits are most directly related to the final payoff level, some have argued that emotional benefits make the most significant contribution to the value or meaning of a brand and act as the gateway to the development of deeper consumer-brand relationships (Funk & James 2001).

Self-brand Congruity

While emotional benefits may be essential to imbuing a brand with a deeper level of meaning, it is still critical that these benefits be relevant to target consumers (Keller 1999) to be effective in creating a desirable brand meaning. Thus, as discussed, brand relevance is one of the components of an emotional connection with the brand along with self-brand image congruity. Self-brand image congruity, or simply self-congruity, is based on the proposition that consumers seek out and respond more positively toward brands whose images matches their own self-image (Chaplin & John 2005, Chang 2002, Hong & Zinkhan 1995, Wright Clairborne & Sirgy 1992).

However, the self-concept applied in this matching process may be one's actual self-image (the traits one believes he or she has), ideal self-image (the traits one would like to have), social self-image (the traits one thinks others ascribe to him or her), or social self-image (the traits one would like others to ascribe to him or her) (Johar & Sirgy 1991). Depending on the type of image congruence that is sought, consumers may be looking for brand benefits that fulfill self-consistency needs (actual self-image), self-esteem needs (ideal self-image), social consistency needs (social self-image), or social approval needs (ideal social self-image). It is interesting to note that, based on this description, consumers may be more interested in a correspondence between their motives for brand use and the ability of brands to address those motives than a parallel between the images or personalities of a brand and an individual. Fournier (1998) found support for this notion in her study of consumer-brand relationships, advocating that these relationships are "more a matter of perceived goal compatibility than congruence between discreet product attributes and personality trait images" (p.366). This serves as further reinforcement of the role of emotional benefits and a symbolic brand meaning as conceptualized above that incorporates more than just product characteristics and personality traits.

In summary, the discussion heretofore has identified and delineated the constructs of emotional benefits within an advertisement, brand meaning, and self-congruity which are believed to serve key roles in the development of emotional brand connections. In order to portray more precisely how these constructs may interact to produce an emotional connection between a consumer and a brand, the following section draws on two related theories to lend insight into the process of forming emotional connections through advertising.

Emotional Connection Formation through Advertising

Escalas and Bettman (2005, 2003) have put forth a concept of self-brand connections that encompasses the role of benefits, brand meaning, and a linkage to the self. Self-brand connections are defined as "the extent to which individuals have incorporated brands into their self-concept" (Escalas & Bettman 2003, p.340). These authors assert that brands carry meaning which includes psychological benefits such as self-expression needs, social integration, self-esteem and a sense of personal accomplishment, differentiation and individuality, connecting with the past, and prevailing through life transitions. As previously discussed in the general discussion of emotional benefits, it can be contended that such psychological benefits are emotional in nature and that these benefits are essentially what lend meaning to a brand. Escalas and Bettman (2005, 2003) go on to say that consumers will choose brands that are perceived to hold meanings similar to the content of their actual or ideal self-concepts. These meaningful brands are then used to express, construct, or enhance the self-identity of consumers, consequently incorporating the brand into the sense of self and thus forming a self-brand connection. The implication of this is that the role of advertising in generating an emotional connection with the brand is to infuse the brand with meaning (through communication of emotional benefits) which consumers latch onto in connecting the brand with their self-concepts.

Escalas (2004b) also considered how advertising may influence the formation of self-brand connections by examining in particular the emotional appeal executional strategy of narratives. Escalas describes advertising narratives as ads that tell a story to demonstrate "how products may be used to create meaning" (p.171), and these ads usually evoke mental simulation and encourage consumers to recall similar stories from their own lives through images, music, or more specific cues. The results of the study showed that narratives can be used in advertising to facilitate self-brand connections.

The mechanism by which narratives achieve this effect may be the induction of self-referencing. Self-referencing has been conceptualized as "the process of relating information to oneself" (Meyers-Levy & Peracchio 1996, p. 408). In other words, self-referencing is the comparison or integration of information with knowledge of oneself. There are variations to how this process may proceed including recalling past experiences, comparing the incoming information against one's self-concept for congruence, or otherwise identifying with a situation being described. Chang (2005) has proposed a model by which self-referencing, along with positive affect, acts as a mediator between self-congruency and ad and brand attitudes. In particular, Chang theorizes that self-congruent ad messages prompt individuals to engage in self-referencing, imagining themselves in the situation depicted in the ad, and that attending to these ads also evoke a strong positive emotional response. As a result of these positive feelings and self-referent processing of the ad, viewers have more favorable attitudes toward the ad and the brand.

Conclusion

The creation of advertisements and marketing communications that can generate an emotional connection is becoming a priority among advertisers, but the literature provides little guidance on this matter. A greater understanding of the defining factors of an emotional connection as well as the role of advertising in contributing to this outcome is needed. It is hoped that the theoretical exploration presented here may highlight factors that contribute to connecting an audience with a brand. In particular, it appears to be critical that advertisers communicate emotional benefits that will resonate with the product usage goals of the target market. It is acknowledged that the creation of an emotional connection through advertising is a lofty goal to achieve, but the understanding gleaned from continued research efforts should provide insights to make this outcome a more attainable one.

References