I Second That Emotion

Those of us in the branding business spend countless hours explaining to clients why they need to communicate with their heart not their head. It's vital to relate on an emotional level before trying to sell them with stats and features.

Inspire them. Horrify them. Make them question their current situation/experience. Make them laugh. Make them cry. Ultimately, motivate them to interact with your brand.

If you're selling a Honda DN-01 motorcycle, you don't strictly focus on its "infinitely variable hydraulic mechanical transmission." You focus on its unique road comfort and the feeling of barreling down a runway at 100 mph like Tom Cruise in Top Gun.

A recent article from Neuromarketing features a study by the UK-based Institute of Practitioners in Advertising that finally gives us concrete proof that emotional campaigns are more effective than rational ones.

"Campaigns with purely emotional content performed about twice
as well (31% vs. 16%) with only rational content, and those that were purely emotional did a little better (31% vs 26%) those that mixed emotional and rational content."

The study is featured in the Pringle and Field book Brand Immortality, in which they also explain that emotional persuasion is more successful because of the brain's ability to "powerfully record emotional stimuli" and "process emotional input without cognitive processing."

If I could give this study a hug, I would. Read more here.

Passionate Animation

Check out this super cool, new video for Passion Pit's single, To Kingdom Come, from their 2009 record Manners. It's an amazing composite of animation and video directed by the talented folks at Mixtape Club. Love the mustaches.

Here's the animated video that we recently created for Nooka using the PP song Sleepyhead.

(via Motionographer)

Let's Get Physical

A few years ago, I read Martin Lindstrom's book Brand Sense in which he explains how all of our senses (not just sight) play a huge role in brand experience. Stewardesses wear a unique smelling perfume on Singapore Airlines. You can hear Tic Tacs from a mile away. Starbucks coffee has a particular taste because of the way they roast it. No other mobile device feels as sleek and sexy as the iPhone in your hand.

This promotional package from Red Bull Cola featuring the ingredients is a brilliant way to capitalize on all 5 sense. Created by Design Friendship, this piece is beautifully raw and offers powerful engagement not soon to be forgotten.

(via PSFK)

Happy 4th!

"Sh*tty" Packaging

My wife and I gave a few rolls of ShitBegone toilet paper to her parents years ago as a joke. It was sold at our local bodega in Brooklyn and was hugely popular among the foam dome hat and wallet chain wearing hipsters in our neighborhood.

Last week, Anya and I trekked back up north for a party at her parent's house, and between vodka tonics, I re-discovered it on the shelf. I had no idea they still had it - much less, displayed it like a work of art in their bathroom.

If you're still reading this post, check out this shitastic article from 2002 featuring creator, Jed Ela, explaining how it all started as an art project. His website also claims they've sold more than 150,000 rolls. Gotta love a guy who can turn his sense of humor into a brand...even if it is a potty humor brand.

The Sound of Collaboration

Friends and clients of Release The Hounds probably get a bit tired of me talking about the power of collaboration. Come to think of it, I get tired of hearing myself talk about it. But, by including people in your process (whether it's product development, customer support, sales, etc) you give them ownership in the brand. Or in this case, ownership in the band. And ownership paves the way to loyalty and innovation.

Recently my friend, Mickey, turned me on to this really inspirational video for "I've seen enough" by the Cold War Kids (directed by Sam Jones of Tool). I love the way fans can interact with the song by clicking on the colored tabs above each member to control the instrument he's playing or even mute it. For example, if you click on the blue tab above the guy on the far left, he switches from guitar to xylophone in real time.

Shot in a recording studio against a simple black background, the band played 4 different versions of the song. And as a result, fans can remix the track a ton of different ways.

It would be really cool if fans could record their remix somehow, and send it to friends - or even post it on the band's website to be rated by other fans. That would be a great way to increase portability and community. But, it would also be a lot more expensive, and I'm just happy they pushed it this far.

Check it out and make sure to let it preload.