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If you don't think that the tone of ad copy matters, check this out! 😉

Changing people's behavior is easy once you change their belief, and this little map can help you figure out what your communication should look and sound like to achieve its goal effectively.

Start using this framework to get more clarity in your thinking and campaign planning:
1) What are your consumers' current beliefs regarding your product category or social issue?
2) What are these existing beliefs making them do or not do?
3) How is that different from what you want them to do or not do?
4) What beliefs would make consumers act the way you want them to act?
5) What type of message would change their mind? What sort of proof do you need to provide for your message / proposal to be accepted?
6) How can you incorporate all your answers to Q. 5 into a communication campaign?

TNS is one of the world’s top insight and consultancy groups. One of the tools they created for improving brand management work is this little framework called the Consumer - Brand Relationship Model. As you can see, emotion is at the heart of this relationship, in the sense that it exerts an unconscious force over our choices and is continuously in play when it comes to how we respond to brands.

Good use of symbolism will help build a strong brand, as it can communicate emotion more deeply than words or narrative. Whether it is aware of it or not, every choice the brand makes includes symbols that consumers will notice - the feel and vibe of packaging, the choice of colors, fonts and shapes. For example, different packaging colors evoke different feelings and thus create different product expectations.

So, how should you use this framework? Well, when you're helping an agency partner to better understand the brand you're representing, you can answer the questions focusing on the brand:

1) What are the features of the product? What consumer needs do they satisfy?

2) What social values does the brand hold? How are they aligned with the social identity of the consumers? How does the brand help people say something about themselves?

3) What symbols is the brand using? How are consumers perceiving them? What emotions do they prompt?

When you're working on creating or building a new brand, answer the questions focusing on the consumer:

1) What are the consumer's functional needs? What should the product features be to solve those specific needs?

2) What are the consumer's identity needs? To what groups do they belong? What social values are important for them? How can the brand adhere to those social values?

3) What symbols do consumers value? What are their emotive expectations for the brand? What sparks an emotional reaction from consumers? How can the brand integrate those symbols in its look and feel, at each consumer touchpoint? How can the brand spark the same emotions within the consumer at all touchpoints?