You don´t need to be a hippie to be happy - the science of happiness by Tal Ben-Shahar

Emotions used to be looked at as "fluffy" and feminine (in a negative way). People could not understand them, nervously holding on to logic. Left brain thinking was considered the only Truth and of higher status than right brain hippiness... Marketing has therefore for long tried to sell to the rational brain, by talking, talking, talking about the practical, physical benefits of stuff. "98% fat-free" and "The ultimate device" are still headlines out there...

This is changing. Emotions have slowly taken a seat in the board rooms, and "we have to create an emotional connection with our consumers" have been expressed by men in suits several times. Even if this most times have meant that the brand gets decorated with hearts and the word "love", we are on the way to lifting the product into people´s lives and hearts, and not just as an add-on they 'need' because it´s 'good for them'.

The greatest insight in my concept Love Branding is that we don´t buy a new car to get a new car - but because we want to feel good. We don´t need a new pair of shoes, so simply telling us these shoes "should be purchased because they are good" won´t make us hand over the credit card. People buy, not to get more things, but to fill a void. What kind of void, is for us as marketers to figure out. THAT is true consumer insights.

Happiness is one of the six core emotions in humans, and now it is thoroughly researched, for all those logical people who still refuse to see the value of emotions in branding, advertising and marketing, to be convinced. Tal Ben-Shahar, author of the lovely book Happier teach happiness at Harvard, and I found this video on a special website on "romance and brain", created for Valentines: http://forum-network.org/series/romance-and-brain. Enjoy :)