Advertising has recently discovered the power of purpose. Purpose-driven brands are all the rage. From green planet campaigns to promotions focused on diversity and community care, it seems our products and services have become the afterthought.
Does all of this new focus on purpose mean you should never discuss your brand’s performance, price or features in advertising? No. Promotional advertising still exists in the Participation Age, but those critical promotions won’t be effective without first stemming from a passionate core purpose. As Bill Johnson said, “Your heart will take you where your head won’t fit.”
Although, these finding don’t eliminate all previous marketing models, this dramatically changes the age-old marketing funnel. Instead of placing “share of mind” near the top of the funnel, we have replaced it with “share of heart.” Instead of “share of wallet” at the bottom, we measure “share of fans.”
Going back to the way the consumer brain shops for a spouse, consider how this applies to the new marketing funnel. Let’s call our shopper “CB,” for short. If CB is shopping for a man in her life, she will need to see one first. We call the brand visibility of our man, “share of voice.” A better name might be “share of visibility.”
After meeting several brands of men, one stands out as somebody she likes. We don’t know why she likes him. In fact, most studies of human mating rituals prove that she doesn’t know why, either. She just feels something for him. We call this “share of heart.” This emotional connection relates to her identification with our brand’s purpose and values or the common tribe they both belong to, but the processing takes place at an unconscious level.
When she gets excited to learn that he is smart and likes kids, we call this, “share of mind.” This correlates to the features and benefits of our brand that are easy for consumers to articulate because they are processed at the conscious level. However, in studies of spouse selection, people often tell researchers they want certain characteristics at a share-of-mind level, but usually choose a spouse with completely opposite characteristics, defaulting to the decision made at the share-of-heart level.60 However, certain minimum characteristics must be present in order to pass this filter in the mind of CB. After she falls in love and tells her friends about her wonderful new brand, we call this “share of fans.” Posting positive comments about her new man to friends socially shows love. This is how brand loyalty becomes a marriage.