Exploring emotional triggers in advertising

Abstract

Emotions play an important role in our lives as they enhance almost all our challenging moments with delightful or dreadful aspects. Emotions from past experiences help us determine the value of the choices we analyze when we are faced with decisions. Therefore, they play a significant role in marketing and can be used to influence consumer behavior. Emotional marketing seeks to influence the emotions of customers to build deeper, more enduring relationships. Brands try to use various emotional triggers such us happiness, humor, empathy, fear, anger, or even sadness to impact customer’s emotional responses. Therefore, these emotions are associated with the product that is being promoted and its brand. By triggering emotions, brands can establish lasting impressions that can go beyond the product itself, resulting in stronger and more durable relationships with customers. While questionnaires have traditionally served as the primary means of gathering data for many years, the development of facial expression analysis software introduces a completely new dimension to research. This research involves recording participants' facial expressions through iMotions software, which helps us gain valuable insights about their emotional reactions when exposed to different advertisements. The research conducted a detailed analysis of each advertisement individually to identify the emotions most strongly evoked and determine the emotional triggers that may have contributed to these reactions. The questionnaire has been used as an additional source of investigation. Facial expression can give us important information about what someone is feeling, and, in that way, we can measure emotional responses and predict future behavior. The research found that advertising with clear, persuasive language and visual impact are the most effective at engaging audiences. Advertisements like Chupa Chups and JBL headphones show that humor and smart metaphors stimulate good emotional responses, while socially concerned advertisements like Ecovia effectively use empathy and understanding. Companies that can use their ads to create strong emotional bonds with their target audience are more likely to see increases in consumer advocacy and loyalty. A balance between originality and effectiveness can also be achieved by experimenting with creative designs while keeping messaging clear. These insights can be used as a roadmap for brands to create impactful advertisements and achieve higher brand loyalty.