In this long-read, our Marketing Services Account Director Ross Molloy takes a detailed look at why communicators – especially those in B2B – should ignore feelings at their peril. Read on for his research-led insights and practical tips at the end on how you can leverage human connection for your organisation.
“The best thing a company can do is protect its brand. A strong brand is a barrier that protects the business from competition.” It’s a quote that’s been attributed to investor and philanthropist Warren Buffett; whether he said it or not, it’s one marketing and comms teams should always keep front of mind.
And never has it been more the case than right now.
In 2025, companies that recognise their brand is more than just a logo stand to be the big winners. Emotional storytelling is a competitive advantage. By designing communications that evoke joy, trust, nostalgia, humour or belonging, brands can enhance engagement, strengthen recall and, crucially, command premium pricing.
Forging an emotional connection with audiences is not a new trend, but it has been taken to new heights by Nike with its powerful return to the Super Bowl ad scene earlier this year following a 27-year hiatus.
In today’s increasingly crowded marketplace, emotion is the key to capturing attention, influencing decisions and fostering loyalty. A brand now must embody personality, values, promises and trust.
With what was its first commercial for the Super Bowl since 1998, Nike’s return to this strategy with So Win marked a new dawn in brand building and emotional storytelling to a mass live audience. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, Nike has largely relied on direct-to-consumer promotions and digital membership initiatives, but why is this switch, led by CEO, Elliot Hill, important?
Shifting from short-term gains to sustainable growth
After heavily investing in e-commerce and tactical sales promotions, Nike experienced a drop in brand value to $29.8 million in 2024 against $31.3 million in 2023. An over-reliance on passive, targeted media, focused on fact-heavy messaging aimed at converting already-interested consumers, contributed significantly to the decline.
This prompted Nike to choose generating future demand and short-term activation to convert existing demand, rather than choosing one over the other. The shift fuelled Nike’s strategic decision to seize a moment watched by millions, like Super Bowl 59, to reignite its brand mojo.
Showmanship over salesmanship
Focusing too much on features and not enough on storytelling can make the brand feel less memorable and harder to relate to. Branding expert and the founder of ‘eatbigfish’ Adam Morgan described this pitfall in “the extraordinary cost of dull” (Warc, 2023) and explained that uninspiring campaigns require excessive media spend to achieve the same impact as an emotionally compelling one.
Research consultancy System1 echo this in analysis of 1,700 ads across six B2B categories and found that:
- 77% of all B2B creative scores 1 out of 5 for creativity;
- Only 0.5% scored 4 or 5;
- And 90% of content was forgotten within 48 hours.
Content is everywhere and with attention harder to grab now than ever before, brands must be smart about where and when they show their messages. They should aim to show up in the right places, at the right times, when people are most engaged.
Brands winning with emotion
And Nike isn’t alone in playing to how people feel. Many brands across different industries and categories are dialling up emotional communications to differentiate themselves and stand out.
A Town Called Bruce, is a campaign produced by BIG for Serica Energy. Focusing on a close-knit community of over 300 workers and their vital role in national energy security, the film and supporting brand materials use emotional storytelling to spotlight the lives of workers on the Bruce offshore platform, which processes nearly 5% of the UK’s oil and gas production. Designed to humanise the industry and appeal to public empathy and pride, the campaign uses real voices and stories to highlight the risks posed by current government policies to both jobs and domestic energy production.
McDonald’s Famous Orders taps into nostalgia and personal connection by showcasing the go-to order meals of celebrities, making the brand feel more personalised and culturally relevant.
Guinness Presents: A Lovely Day considers a world so polarised and divided with an ad that reframes our perspective on difference and promotes the benefit of finding common ground together. That unity starts with raising a glass, together.
Rory McIlroy’s career grand slam is captured in a long-form social video that re-creates his rollercoaster final Masters round on 13 April when he fulfilled his childhood dream and made history by joining only five other elite golfers who have won the career Grand Slam of all four Majors. The timelapse highlight reel brings you through all the highs and lows, setbacks and near misses, restarts and comebacks on the long 11-year journey to victory since he won his last Major. It’s not just a celebration of athletic excellence: it’s a catalytic sporting moment, one that reignites belief, stirs global admiration, and shows the power of persistence under pressure. A masterclass in storytelling, this video is emotionally led communications in its rawest form – timely, motivational, and unforgettable feeling.
Currys’ social strategy on TikTok zigs when everyone else zags, using original humour through its in-store staff to stand out in the electronics category. It’s distinctive, meaningful, culturally in sync and, most of all, is delivering impressive results, garnering millions of organic views, enabling the brand to reach a much broader audience on TikTok.
Emotion is not restricted to the B2C world. In fact, it can be even more strategically important when applied to longer buyer journeys, where trust matters more than features, capabilities and/or price. The “We Bring Companies & Customers Together” campaign by Salesforce highlights the emotional connections between businesses and their clients, reinforcing trust and success rather than just selling CRM software.
The business case for emotional branding
Emotion isn’t just about making people feel good – it delivers measurable business results:
- Emotional differentiation drives pricing power whereby consumers display 30x higher willingness to pay more (Think with Google).
- Emotive messaging significantly influences B2B purchasing decisions, with a strong emotional connection accounting for 56% of the final decision (Why difference matters for B2B marketers – Kantar, 2024).
- 5.3x higher brand consideration and 12.8x higher purchase intent (Think with Google).
- Emotionally engaging adverts generate 2.4x greater sales impact (ThinkTV).
- B2B buyers are 50% more likely to choose brands they feel connected to (Google & CEB, HBR).
Measuring the impact of emotional branding
Traditional metrics such as message delivery and brand linkage fail to capture emotional resonance. Modern measurement tools quantify emotional effectiveness:
- System1 assesses creative effectiveness through emotional impact and brand recognition.
- Nielsen Neuroscience tracks neurological responses to gauge engagement.
- Kantar’s framework evaluates emotional appeal and audience response.
Takeaways for marketers
- Deliver short-term targeted tactics aimed at converting already‑interested consumers using factual messaging and special offers.
- Support this with ongoing brand positioning campaigns, reputation management and community engagement to create future demand and lasting value. Invest in distinctive brand assets to trigger emotional connections and make a brand stand-out over time.
- Prioritise high-attention environments and moments where prospective buyers are attuned to what you have to say. Use creativity, multiple channels and mixed formats to maximise memorability.
- Implement a robust measurement system to track emotional engagement and its impact on creative effectiveness and brand performance.
- Maintain creative consistency across campaigns to reinforce brand identity and maximise long-term return on investment.