Emotional Branding

To be truly effective and lead to repeat business, a brand must forge an emotional connection with its customers, declares Travis, president of Arian, Lowe & Travis, a Chicago-based ad agency. He cites the remarkable successes of Coca-Cola, Dell and Starbucks as testament to his premise. Of course, what is of true interest to anyone in the advertising business is learning how to create those connections, and here Travis's study falls short. While his writing is engaging, and the author's fictional sidekick, ""Harry,"" is entertaining, businesspeople will be left wondering how exactly they should position their brand and how they should advertise it to create the emotional tie Travis maintains is so important. His examples don't help much: the majority of them come from other books and magazine pieces; there are surprisingly few agency examples. Actually, readers may find the introduction by Richard Branson, chairman of Virgin Atlantic, more valuable than the rest of the book. In five short paragraphs, Branson sums up the issue: ""Nothing seems more obvious to me that a product or service only becomes a brand when it is imbued with profound values that translate into fact... By profound, I mean simple. Everybody appreciates being treated decently. Everybody wants excellence and value. Everyone likes to have fun and to feel part of something bigger than themselves."" Maybe Branson should have written this book. (Oct.)