Imagine.

You clutch an expensive watch in your hands, one that you’d been eyeing for years; you confidently stride towards the register; your heart pounding in your ears. The rush of this long-awaited splurge is incomparable. You feel excited (and a little nervous), but as you sign the bill, take hold of the silky shopping bag handles, and push through the glass doors to the outside world — you are renewed. It’s almost as if a spell has been cast upon you — or a curse just lifted — and you feel 3 inches taller, 10 IQ points smarter, and a whole lot more attractive. 

As simple as a purchase may seem, the mechanisms behind it are actually part of a much deeper, more powerful reality. With the right emotional marketing, a brand can stir up feelings so profound they seem to take control of both the body and the mind. While it might sound like a fairy tale, it all comes down to science. So, if you will, read along as I share the enchantment of brands and how some seem able to charm and captivate their consumers, sometimes for life.

Confidence

Imagine, one day at a fancy dinner party or perhaps a wedding; a friend, acquaintance, or even simply a stranger glances over at you and says something along the lines of “Wow, you look incredible!” Instantly, you start to feel it. The confidence rushes through you. Your voice grows louder and more sure of itself. You feel good, and proud of your choice of such an excellent outfit or for finally indulging in the brand of clothing you’re wearing. 

Now, research shows that those feelings exist outside of your head and had begun to percolate before you even arrived at the event. Even from the very moment that you peeked into your closet and made your showstopping selection. As you put together a spectacular ensemble with that brand of jacket and this brand of slacks, you actually increased your self-confidence — and as we’ll see a bit later, measurably so.

Power

Brands have an obscure ability to elicit real, profound emotions. They have the power to influence and even dictate our actions too. Much like a beloved film watched time and time again, the philosophical and emotional meanings of brands are developed in the minds of the person watching. We let these brands form beautiful ideas of ourselves in our heads and let them impassion our hearts. Each viewer, or consumer, has unique interpretations of these messages that promote a longevity and continued fascination with what the brand represents.

Over the years, I’ve come to realize that I am not alone in my belief that certain brands inspire their users with seemingly “magical,” even spellbinding powers. It happened to me first when I was seven years old and my parents bought me my first pair of Adidas running shoes—the most talked about at school. As I laced them up and dashed around my street, I was sure that I would become a faster runner. I even remember telling my friends excitedly: “these shoes are so fast!”

Placebo

This belief stuck with me for years. So much so, in fact, that it became the subject of my doctoral dissertation. Upon testing the running times of 200 boys and girls, wearing a fancy pair of brand new NIKE’s against “another,” same pair of shoes with no visible recognition of the NIKE brand elements. In other words, the shoes were identical. But after filling the young subjects’ minds with illustrious features of the NIKE brand, I found that the students didn’t just think they could run faster. They actually did. The students ran significantly faster when the NIKE brand elements were clearly visible on their shoes than they had when the brand elements (on the same shoe!) were disguised. To define this stunning placebo effect of brands, I coined the term BRANDcebo.

Through decades of experience as a marketing professional, I have found that it is actually possible to foster BRANDcebo among consumers, through careful and powerful marketing strategies.

Mirror, Mirror

Not unlike the evil queen in snow white, brands hold up a mirror to ourselves that teach us who we are and who we want to become. They push us to give into the little voice on our shoulder, whispering in our ear to “buy now.” When we are infatuated with a brand, we feel like a better, more confident version of ourselves when we use their products. We see ourselves in these brands and see them as a kind of spell, or at least a tool, to help us reach a sort of self-actualization. We believe that these brands can help us in becoming the version of ourselves that we want to be or finally be how we want to be perceived. 

A brand’s “spell” or the meaning we give it, allows us to project who we are or who we want to become on a brand and expect it to produce the desired effect. Think of a time when someone made a comment on an item or particular outfit choice, like, “I love those shoes you’re wearing,” You might instinctively find yourself saying. “Oh, thank you, they’re Gucci,” Or vice versa, if you see a pair of shoes you like and you mention it to their wearer, you might expect them to name drop. If they don’t share the brand name, you might even ask them to reveal it because you are itching to know what makes the wearer look so exquisite. Of course, it must be the shoes right?

This is only the first page in the story of the spellbinding power that brands can have over their consumers. In reality, as consumers attribute traits to the brands they love, it is up to brands to exercise their profound ability to develop intimate relationships with those consumers. In order for you to achieve this for your brand, I have written in great depth about the BRANDcebo model and marketing strategies to achieve it in my book BRANDcebo. So, if you’re ready to captivate your consumers, buy the book here, finish the story, and start transforming your business into a spellbinding brand.