Functional and emotional benefits of brands

Brands can evoke strong rational and emotional responses in those who come into contact with them. This translates as ‘a powerfully held set of brand beliefs’. To be successful brands must create a relationship with key audiences by meeting both functional and emotional expectations at all points of interaction. The brands consumers choose can reinforce their self-image and generate social acceptance... think iPhone, Absolut, Prius. A consumer will pay a premium for a brand that can help them make a social statement. Brands can also put people in touch with likeminded individuals... think Harley Davidson.

Car manufacturers are experts at combining the rational and emotional. BMW and Mercedes for example, are all about build quality and engineering excellence. BMW however focuses on performance while Mercedes focuses on reliability. They have built brand strength by leveraging their functional excellence into an emotional resonance in the minds of consumers. How do they do this? BMW transforms performance into a form of emotional aggression. Mercedes translates reliability into a form of emotional reassurance.

These functional and emotional associations which are assigned to a brand by its customers and prospects are known as brand attributes. Brand attributes can be either negative or positive, and can have different degrees of relevance and importance to different customer segments, markets and cultures.

Identifiable product features are referred to as ‘functional benefits’. Some brands are easily differentiated by their functional benefits. Where functional benefits aren’t easily identifiable or differentiated, marketers often rely on ‘emotional benefits’. Let’s look at an example.

You’re a middle manager and you need a new car. Your first considerations are likely to be based upon functional benefits: reasonable performance, 2.0 litre engine, fuel economy, reliability, four doors, golf clubs must fit in the boot, must have an iPod connector, must fit in your garage etc. You have a choice of around 12 Japanese, French, German, English and Italian cars. All look much the same, have near identical specifications and capabilities and will meet your requirements admirably. Six of these cars are priced below $40,000, five are priced below $50,000 and the BMW is $65,000.

How can the BMW brand command a premium price level when on paper it has almost identical specifications and performance as the other less expensive cars? The difference lies not in superior functional benefits but in the emotional and self-expressive benefit of having a clearly identifiable high performance luxury brand that will sit in your driveway and be the envy of neighbours and friends.

When owners drive their BMW, they are rewarding themselves with an emotionally engaging experience that satisfies their desire to be part of an elite group of drivers and owners that seek something different and better.

Emotional benefits are often closely linked with self-expressive benefits. For example, does it feel better to buy a recognised and proven brand of baked beans or the No Frills generic brand? It feels better to buy the proven brand even if it has been proven that the contents of both are identical. Doesn’t it?

Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and joint founder of BrandSynergy in Singapore.

View some of Heywood’s work on www.heywood.com.au

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