Everything is nothing without trust
In times of crisis, the truism is reborn: emotions dominate reason. But this isn’t true only in bad times. After all, emotional appeal is also the key to market success—as long as you have confidence in the feelings people have toward a brand. Op-ed by Kaspar Loeb, CEO of the Swiss advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi Simko.
Reason leads to conclusions. Emotion leads to action. This is how Donald B. Calne, Professor of Neurology at the University of British Columbia, sums up the results of his research in a nutshell. The proof of his thesis can be seen every day in the financial industry. It is not real economic facts, but the rampant loss of confidence that has led to a gigantic loss on the stock markets, in the balance sheets of banks and for national economies worldwide.
During the crisis, a truism that was bashfully relegated to the background during the economic boom is celebrating its rebirth. It is not cool rationality that drives us forward, but our emotionality.
When clients transfer over 84 billion francs from their UBS accounts to other institutions or under their pillows in just a few months, this has nothing to do with the actual reality of seemingly reliable figures. Rather, what lies behind this is the naked fear of losing the money they have saved over the years in just a few days. The sobriety and quasi-commitment of a balance sheet can no longer achieve anything. "Emotion leads to action..."
The financial industry has a notorious aversion to communicating openly and thus to serving the trust that is absolutely necessary to keep customers and thus their investments in line. This is understandable, as discretion and restraint guarantee business and the Swiss business model. Equally notorious, however, are the regularly recurring distortions, which can often be attributed solely to a lack of souplesse in communication.
They are often light and occasionally careless words, such as those uttered by Hilmar Kopper, former CEO of Deutsche Bank, who told an astonished audience during the economic crisis that it was "peanuts" if the average Joe had to miss out on a vacation because he didn't have the change. Or when the former head of the then still Schweizerische Bankgesellschaft, Robert Studer, whispered in the discussion program "Arena" that the zealous security guard Meili, who saved files from the Third Reich era at the bank from the shredder, still had a "hidden agenda". The damage caused to the bank by these and other statements was measurable in pennies and nickels.
The phenomenon of emotions dominating reason is one of the pillars on which commercial communication is based and which therefore makes a decisive contribution to the success of a brand and the company behind it. It's fascinating how we all subtly post rationalize purely emotional preferences for a brand. I love the enthusiastic paeans to horsepower and acceleration figures for flashy coachbuilt cars chosen for their design, sleek dashboard and brand appeal. When I'm stuck in a traffic jam, I'm always amused by the idea that the Porsche next to me could actually accelerate to 100 km/h in just under 5 seconds.
What is interesting, however, is the fact that we can so accurately suppress the undisputed dominance of emotions in our decisions. While the degree of emotionality can be seen every day in the wildly oscillating stock market charts, we still try to negate this phenomenon with rational sobriety. Terms that are highly emotional are constantly used, but somehow we are not prepared to acknowledge that at the end of the day they are the guiding principle for our actions. It could well be that we ourselves mistrust our feelings because we are less in control of them than we are of our intellect.
It is probably no coincidence that, although commercial communication always plays on the keyboard of emotions, everyday reality suggests that only very simple melodies in a moderate key are in demand, which don't hurt anyone, but don't attract attention and don't move anything.
If you want loyalty beyond reason and thus increased security for the sustainable growth of your brand, you should therefore come to the sober, objective conclusion that emotionality is the key to market success. The only thing missing is trust in one's own feelings.
During the crisis, a truism that was bashfully relegated to the background during the economic boom is celebrating its rebirth. It is not cool rationality that drives us forward, but our emotionality.
When clients transfer over 84 billion francs from their UBS accounts to other institutions or under their pillows in just a few months, this has nothing to do with the actual reality of seemingly reliable figures. Rather, what lies behind this is the naked fear of losing the money they have saved over the years in just a few days. The sobriety and quasi-commitment of a balance sheet can no longer achieve anything. "Emotion leads to action..."
The financial industry has a notorious aversion to communicating openly and thus to serving the trust that is absolutely necessary to keep customers and thus their investments in line. This is understandable, as discretion and restraint guarantee business and the Swiss business model. Equally notorious, however, are the regularly recurring distortions, which can often be attributed solely to a lack of souplesse in communication.
They are often light and occasionally careless words, such as those uttered by Hilmar Kopper, former CEO of Deutsche Bank, who told an astonished audience during the economic crisis that it was "peanuts" if the average Joe had to miss out on a vacation because he didn't have the change. Or when the former head of the then still Schweizerische Bankgesellschaft, Robert Studer, whispered in the discussion program "Arena" that the zealous security guard Meili, who saved files from the Third Reich era at the bank from the shredder, still had a "hidden agenda". The damage caused to the bank by these and other statements was measurable in pennies and nickels.
The phenomenon of emotions dominating reason is one of the pillars on which commercial communication is based and which therefore makes a decisive contribution to the success of a brand and the company behind it. It's fascinating how we all subtly post rationalize purely emotional preferences for a brand. I love the enthusiastic paeans to horsepower and acceleration figures for flashy coachbuilt cars chosen for their design, sleek dashboard and brand appeal. When I'm stuck in a traffic jam, I'm always amused by the idea that the Porsche next to me could actually accelerate to 100 km/h in just under 5 seconds.
What is interesting, however, is the fact that we can so accurately suppress the undisputed dominance of emotions in our decisions. While the degree of emotionality can be seen every day in the wildly oscillating stock market charts, we still try to negate this phenomenon with rational sobriety. Terms that are highly emotional are constantly used, but somehow we are not prepared to acknowledge that at the end of the day they are the guiding principle for our actions. It could well be that we ourselves mistrust our feelings because we are less in control of them than we are of our intellect.
It is probably no coincidence that, although commercial communication always plays on the keyboard of emotions, everyday reality suggests that only very simple melodies in a moderate key are in demand, which don't hurt anyone, but don't attract attention and don't move anything.
If you want loyalty beyond reason and thus increased security for the sustainable growth of your brand, you should therefore come to the sober, objective conclusion that emotionality is the key to market success. The only thing missing is trust in one's own feelings.
