All the Emotions You Need To Know

Passive advertising (advertising that talks at you and you don't need to do anything but not change the channel) is still omni-present. We see it on TV, in magazines, on outdoor advertising. However, none of this has to be passive. Through advances in personal technologies and social media there is now no excuse to just do passive advertising (I just don't understand why people continue to do it at the exclusion of adding a layer of interactivity).

If you're still in the mindset of finding an emotional connection with your consumer then use the chart below. It's from a very smart chap called Robert Plutchick in the 1980s.

If you're still convinced you need to tap into an emotion to change behaviour then you should find this useful. There are a few points I'd like to make about it:

1. Emotions develop as the species develops. The core emotions (the 8 at the top) are the most basic / base. They are the ones we need for survival.

2. The further down you go, the more complex and neunaced the emotions.

3. For more information go to wiki

So hopefully this chart will aid in your discussions around which emotion is best. However, if you really want to make a difference we would suggest you get people to act in some way, not just passively receive a message. We strongly believe this for reasons outlined here and here and throughout this blog! We call it action advertising.

Utilising Game Mechanics: Doing Verses Showing

Many people are currently talking about game mechanics, and the gamification (yuk) of culture. What is it? In a nutshell humans have a desire to play. By playing we test boundaries, we exercise cognitive flexibility, we use our imagination, and we push the limits, all in a safe environment. Therefore we are hard wired to enjoy this activity. A game is a 'play with rules', it's providing structure around the play. The structure can make the play even more fun, and it certainly makes it more practical - people can join in.

Gamification, as I see it is a) taking the rules of gaming, b) marrying it with the innate desire to play, and c) applying it to settings where you want to change a behaviour. This is what is so interesting for advertisers as it closes the gap between what people want to do (play) and what we want them to do (buy).

The techniques have always been used in a cumbersome way (i.e. 'one in every six chocolate bar wins a prize', or 'Happy Hour 5 -6pm') however, by carefully looking at, pulling apart and reapplying gaming mechanics then whole industries of commerce will be reinvented, and passive one way advertising will be made redundant. Currently the US gaming industry, at $25 billion is bigger than the music and film industries put together. It's only a matter of time before advertisers understand why.

However, getting people involved in something, even a game that's fun to play, is difficult and requires genuine human understanding.

The above ad for Melbourne is an interesting one as the promise is there 'Play Melbourne', it's a great platform of which to create many playful interactions.

...and here is a nice post-script, the gamification of news services from Google. You get badges when you digest their news services. WTF. Perceived value has a lot to answer for.