Brands are a Form of Self-Expression

In the context of a life being lived with all its doubt and certainty, happiness and sadness, it might seem trivial to talk about what part brands play in these engrossing privacies. But we must look there because it's around the doubt and certainty, and within the happiness and sadness, that brand stories must truly reside. And when we think about how we can attract extremely distracted people to our sainted product, we have to think about how it can contribute to their enchanting dramas, how it might find a place within their deeply personal sense of identity, how it can make the journey of their lives easier, better, happier, or somehow more fulfilling.

Looking at how brands affect our subconscious thoughts and feelings provide refreshing insights for all marketers who want to better understand what makes you, me, and the rest of the world tick. Not just for profit but for the sheer fun of getting to know ourselves and our customers as human beings. We are not Affluent Singles, or (my favorite horror) DINKS, meaning Double Income No Kids. These kinds of pigeon holes are artificial designations, known as “segmentations,” to make marketing seem easier, but they lump us into amorphous masses that simply do not align with the way we think of ourselves, our families, or friends and neighbors.

How customers feel isn’t simply important to the marketing and sales department. Chief executives and their financial counterparts have a vital interest in customers' feelings. It is the job of everybody in your company to court customers who have feelings that could turn him or her into loyal converts for your brand. That is why the most important answer you might ever seek is the answer to the title of my new book: How does it make you feel?