Emotional branding speaks to consumers’ heart: the case of fashion brands

Abstract

In this highly competitive market, fashion brands struggle to distinguish themselves to increasingly apathetic consumers. To become more competitive, fashion retailers employ emotional branding as a way to engage their customers, addressing the growing trend of consumers' seeking emotional relationships with a brand. Although brand technicalities such as product attributes, features, and facts may be unmemorable, personal feelings and experiences better shape consumers' evaluations of brands. This study illustrates why emotional branding is essential, especially to fashion brands, when developing brand strategies in a volatile marketplace. Trends that support a need for these strategies include consumers' desires for positive experiences, expressing authentic self, achieving warm glow from helping others, and co-creating design or ideas with the brand. We propose a model for emotional branding strategies that focuses on sensory branding, storytelling, cause branding, and empowerment. The case studies we provide for each strategy describe how fashion brands can engage customers through emotional branding.

Pengaruh Emotional branding Terhadap Loyalitas Konsumen (Customer Loyalty) di Perpustakaan Universitas Airlangga Surabaya

“…Dalam industri fesyen, emotional branding telah banyak digunakan untuk mengikat konsumen pada merek. Kemajuan teknologi berdampak pada semakin banyaknya merek dalam pasar yang terus berubah, sehingga masing-masing merek harus memiliki strategi untuk membuat customernya tetap loyal, yaitu dengan cara meningkatkan kualitas pelayanan yang berfokus pada customer atau pemustaka dan sekaligus membedakan dirinya dari merek lain (Kim & Sullivan, 2019). Pada beberapa penelitian terdahulu, hasil positif didapat ketika menguji pengaruh emotional branding terhadap loyalitas konsumen suatu merek.…”

Migrant platformed subjectivity: Rethinking the mediation of transnational affective economies via digital connectivity services

“…For instance, telecommunication companies in the Philippines construct digital media use as vital in Filipino migrants’ being able to perform filial and caring duties (Soriano et al, 2015) and sustain community linkages (Soriano and Lim, 2016). Further, relatable narratives are used by commercial companies to engage consumers (Kim and Sullivan, 2019). Government-led strategies similarly demonstrate the emotionalising of the national family, positioning the nation-state as a family member that needs care and support (Skrbiš, 2008).…”

“…These diverse approaches of connectivity services showcase strategies in emotional marketing, wherein brands enable positive affective experiences among consumers through social advocacy projects and a rewards scheme (Kim and Sullivan, 2019).…”

Naked Consumer's Mind Under Branded Dress: Case Study of Slovak Republic

“…On the other hand, there is one new trend in scientific literature which has not been fully taken into consideration in the context of the time limitation of this research. It is the phenomenon of generational approach to the subjectively perceived sources of brand value across markets and product categories (Kim & Sullivan, 2019;Ladhari et al, 2019;Nash, 2019;Samala & Singh, 2019). Thus, in the light and shadow of contemporary literature there is still space to study socio-cultural specifics in perceived brand value sources across segmentation of generational cohorts.…”