A new study reveals how brands affect consumers’ emotions and behavior. An index depicting brands’ emotional value highlighted differences between companies operating in the same sector: OP performed better than Nordea, Neste outperformed Fortum, and Tokmanni beat Stockmann, while Finnair bested VR.
The Brands’ Emotional Value study provides new insight into the emotions that various brands arouse in consumers. The results shed light on human experiences, meanings, behavior, engagement, and competition.
For the study, 16 pairs of private- and public-sector organizations, each operating in a different field, were selected. The study was conducted by the Data & Marketing Association of Finland (DMA) and NayaDaya Inc. in collaboration with the market-research company Norstat. The indicator used in the study was the Emotional Value Index (EVI), which was applied to analyze emotions and predict positive, engaged, and prosocial behavior in relation to the brands.
As measured by EVI value, the top five consisted of the travel agency Suntours (Aurinkomatkat), the Tokmanni department store, S-market, the dairy producer Valio, and K-market. The Finnish Defence Forces aroused the most pride, while the police service was admired the most. The companies that aroused the strongest interest among consumers were Aurinkomatkat, the clothing company Makia, and national broadcaster Yle. S-market emerged as the most positive brand, and Makia as the most engaging brand. Conflicting emotions were aroused by fast-food restaurants: Hesburger gave rise to a feeling of pleasure while McDonald’s triggered guilt and regret.
“The most common feeling to identified by the study was mundane contentment, which indicates that needs are met but engagement is likely to be weak. Basic satisfaction actually poses a risk, and brands with emotional intelligence can gain an edge,” explains the CEO of DMA Finland, Jari Perko.
Only a quarter of the emotions were negative, mostly resulting in stagnancy. The most commonly experienced negative emotions were disappointment, contempt, and shame. In some cases, emotions were strongly divided: the brand experiences of Fortum, Mehiläinen, and Stockmann were extremely polarized. Personal experiences greatly influenced the results – for example, the emotional value of Tokmanni increased in line with the customers’ experiences of the company.
“Consumers feeling compassion toward brands was an interesting finding. Compassion promotes prosocial behavior, and it is linked to desire to help. For example, cities and the public health-care center aroused compassion. As for corporate brands, the most compassion was felt toward Stockmann and VR,” says Minna Killström, a customer-experience specialist and a Doctor of Science, Marketing.
“The publication of our study marks the start of a new, more empathic approach to measuring, understanding, and developing brand experiences. Our approach is constructive – the more undesirable the results, the more the company has to gain. We will launch continuous sector-specific studies this spring. Our goal is to generate a competitive advantage for responsible brands and scale the service to a global level,” explains Timo Järvinen, CEO and co-founder of NayaDaya Inc.
Further information:
Timo Järvinen, CEO and Co-founder of NayaDaya Inc., tel. +358 40 505 7745, timo@nayadaya.com
Jari Perko, CEO of the Data & Marketing Association of Finland, tel. +358 40 565 9700, jari@asml.fi
NayaDaya® uncovers the emotional and the behavioral impact of brands and phenomena. Through the groundbreaking insight, it's possible to understand and influence emotional experiences, behavior, and engagement among consumers and citizens. The high-quality data is based on the scientific theory, research, and analytics. NayaDaya Inc. is striving for empathy, to empower responsible brands and organizations to thrive and shape the world. Further information at www.nayadaya.com
The Data & Marketing Association of Finland (DMA Finland / ASML) represents the data-driven business and marketing ecosystem of Finland. Further informationat www.asml.fi.
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