Emotional triggers still win in harsh times?

The John Lewis #snowmanjourney integrated campaign

So the nights are drawing in and for the past few weeks we’ve been bombarded with the usual festive TV ads and cheesy Christmas jingles blasting out of our screens.

But this year, instead of targeting our wallets, some retailers have turned to emotional triggers when crafting their festive ad campaigns. Many of the ads we’ve seen are far less factual, price and/or product-led than previous years. The creative strategy and subsequent marketing messages they portray are less about saving customers money, and more keen to engage with the spirit of Christmas – to stir consumers’ emotions and bring back the tradition of the festive period.

I read an article claiming that retailers are likely to be more successful if they market and appeal to people’s emotions at Christmas, as potential consumers are more likely to be moved to action by an emotional response to an ad. I decided to look further in to this – and what better retailer to feature in a blog on emotional festive advertising, than John Lewis.

I heard the John Lewis hype before I actually saw the ad this year – and was pretty eager to see how they’d top last year’s beauty. So much so, I watched it on Youtube (too excited to wait for it to come on my screen mid X Factor).

I am 1 of the 3 million people who’ve watched ‘The Journey’ on YouTube since its debut 2 weeks ago, and it didn’t disappoint. Judging by the social media frenzy it appeared to cause amongst my own Facebook and Twitter community, it had clearly touched the hearts of most people who viewed it. But is ‘emotion marketing’ through traditional TV advertising, enough of a creative strategy to win over the hearts of the nation – and translate into profit for John Lewis in today’s digital age?

As I discussed in a previous blog post, more and more brands are coming to realise the effect of social media platforms, and how promoting online discussions with their customers allows for two-way conversations, ultimately engaging the general public to form a personal and emotional bond with the brand and what it stands for. With this in mind, all power to John Lewis, who ran this year’s ad alongside a huge social media campaign (#snowmanjourney), in which the snowman from the ad appears in different spots around the country leading up to Christmas, and members of the public photographed him and shared them on Facebook and twitter. The response on Facebook was phenomenal, with over 5,000 comments on the first photo posted, suggesting their hometowns for the snowman to visit, and general feedback proving that the affect of the ad had made viewers feel more positive about Christmas.

John Lewis supported their awesome ad by successfully creating a talkability factor around it online, and engaging consumers in their sharable and social content. Encouraging positive conversation about ‘The Journey’ this way allowed John Lewis to tug at our heartstrings, and help us build an emotive connection to the brand. Our social listening software showed that ‘The Journey’ is mentioned every 7 seconds online since its debut on our screens 3 weeks ago. Over 11,000 posts on the topic scatter the Internet per day, and the maximum number posts in one day relating to the John Lewis Christmas campaign was over 49,000.

So for the past 4 years, John Lewis have invested a huge portion of their marketing budget in their seasonal TV advertisement. But to stand out in today’s competitive retail market, especially at Christmas, it takes more than just traditional advertising methods.

The #snowmanjourney campaign has helped John Lewis transcend product status and become a friend to the nation. Consumers and fans have built an attachment to John Lewis that will stay with them year after year, hence their ‘Retailer of the Year’ status 4 years running (Verdict Research 2012). If we are moved enough by John Lewis’ emotional message to get involved in sharing social content on the topic, then they really have gone the extra mile this Christmas.

John Lewis, I think you rock.

Thanks to Sophie Gilrain for sharing her thoughts in this post. Sophie is an Account Manager at the creative agency, McGrath O'Toole.

She's a former champion line-dancer, and a lover all things creative. Find Sophie here on LinkedIn.