From Scrolls to Souls: Why Emotion Beats Everything in Branding
In a world obsessed with data, algorithms, and high-speed performance, one thing is quietly reclaiming its power: emotion.
It’s no longer enough for a brand to look good. Consumers want to feel something. A curated feed might stop the scroll, but only emotional resonance creates connection. In today’s saturated market, emotion isn’t just a feeling — it’s a competitive advantage.
Welcome to the era where emotion is the new currency in branding.
The Rise of Feeling Over Flash
For years, marketing was ruled by aesthetics. Brands focused on perfection: clean typography, flawless visuals, minimalist packaging. It worked, for a while. But slowly, a fatigue set in. Sameness replaced innovation. Visuals became empty. And consumers began craving something more real, more human, more felt.
The pendulum is swinging.
Today, brands like Jacquemus, Glossier, Aesop, and Loewe stand out not because they shout louder, but because they whisper with intention. They don’t just look beautiful, they evoke. Whether it’s a memory, a fantasy, or a quiet sense of belonging, they make people feel seen. That’s not strategy by accident. That’s strategy with soul.
Why Emotion Works
Emotion is neurologically linked to memory and decision-making. According to Harvard professor Gerald Zaltman, 95% of purchasing decisions happen in the subconscious — driven not by rational analysis but by emotional impulses. Consumers don’t just buy a product. They buy how it makes them feel.
That is why brands that elicit emotion outperform those that do not. A 2023 Ipsos study found that emotional ads outperform rational ones by nearly 2 to 1 in long-term brand building. It’s not the features that sell. It’s the feeling.
The Brands Doing It Right
Jacquemus turns fashion into a feeling. A runway set in a lavender field in Provence was more than a show. It created nostalgia, romance, and a sense of escape. People didn’t just admire the collection, they felt it. More recently, he launched a campaign inspired by family memories, recreating old photos and sharing intimate glimpses of his life. This approach makes the brand feel personal and inviting, letting audiences connect with his story on a deeper, emotional level.
Jacquemus ready-to-wear spring/summer 2020. Image: Getty Images
Jacquemus’ collection pays homage to his family’s memories and the past, capturing simple, emotional moments in a rural setting. This image, featuring models amidst baskets of potatoes, highlights the brand’s ability to evoke nostalgia and human connection through fashion.
Images from: Jacquemus, Instagram @jacquemus
Loewe makes you feel the story behind every product. Their Home Scents collection is not just about candles; it is about curiosity, playfulness, and imagination. Each candle invites you to touch it, observe it, and even imagine its scent. You can almost taste it just by looking. The colors, shapes, and textures transform a simple object into a full sensory experience. It is more than a product; it is an invitation to explore creativity and delight in the beauty of everyday life.
Another example of Loewe’s mastery of emotional branding is the Perfect Love campaign with Dame Maggie Smith. By celebrating her authenticity and elegance, the campaign resonated deeply with audiences, sending a powerful message that women are not defined or limited by age. It created a profound emotional connection that went far beyond the product, reinforcing Loewe’s identity as a brand that values timelessness, honesty, and human experience.
Loewe’s Perfect Love campaign with Dame Maggie Smith celebrates timeless elegance and authenticity, proving that emotional connection goes beyond products. Photo: Loewe
Loewe Tomato Candle - inspired by the garden, designed for the home. Photo: Loewe
Glossier built a billion-dollar brand not on products but on intimacy, community. Their voice feels like a friend’s text message, their visuals show real people, and they let their audience shape the brand. This approach makes followers feel seen and valued, creating a deep emotional connection that goes beyond skincare.
FOLLOWERS FEEL SEEN AND VALUED
Glossier Campaign, Photo: Glossier
Glossier Campaign, Photo: Glossier
Then there’s Apple. They’ve always sold dreams, not specs. Each product ad is a story about how you’ll feel using their device. Creativity. Freedom. Connection. Advanced technology. And they remain one of the world’s most valuable brands because they know this truth better than anyone: people forget what you said but never how you made them feel.
Apple’s ‘Your Data Is Being Sold’ campaign highlights how personal information is collected and sold by third parties. The ad dramatizes this process with a data auction, showing the risks to privacy. It hits customers’ emotions and encourages them to take control of their data using iPhone privacy features. Photo: Apple
What Emotional Branding Looks Like in 2025
It’s not louder. It’s deeper.
Brands that want to survive in this next era must stop chasing trends and start developing meaning. Emotional branding is not about manipulation or sentimentality. It’s about honesty. Soul. Consistency. And the courage to tell stories that reveal the human experience behind the product.
That might mean:
Showing imperfection
Designing with softness or silence
Letting the audience breathe
Speaking in a voice that comforts, inspires, or challenges
It is less about color palettes and more about tone. Less about selling and more about remembering.
The Strategy of Feeling
Emotion is not the opposite of strategy. It is the most powerful strategy.
At Sánta Media Paris, this belief sits at the heart of everything we do. Because when emotion leads, connection follows. And when a brand connects, it becomes more than a business — it becomes a feeling people carry with them.
In an age where trust is rare and attention is fleeting, branding rooted in emotion becomes unforgettable. It’s no longer about what you offer. It’s about what you evoke.
And the brands that understand this? They won’t just stay relevant. They’ll become iconic.
Final Note
If this made you pause, reflect, or feel something, that’s not an accident. That’s the kind of storytelling SMP Journal was created for.
To explore more cultural insights, creative strategy, and brand storytelling that resonates, subscribe to the SMP Journal and join a global community of thinkers, dreamers, and brand builders.
Because emotion isn’t soft. Emotion is power. And now more than ever, it’s the currency that counts.
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