A Clear Eye.

Where would you say emotion is in this equation?

How does it play a part in what we consider to be truth?

I ask this because I believe that often, the connection we have with a brand (good or bad or none) is emotional (or lack of in the case of none) and then the left-side of our brain backs up our emotional decision up with facts.

Great question Chris. I prefer the word "feeling" to emotion in this context. For example, people may have a certain feeling about the design of a product, package or website, or say, the look, sound and mannerisms of a political candidate, without triggering one of the core emotions, like happiness, sadness, surprise, disgust, anger, and fear.

But I certainly agree with you that man is not a rational actor. Rather we rationalize our decisions to support our feelings, beliefs, etc. and to make ourselves feel good about ourselves and our choices.

Bravos, Tom! Great article. My sense is "we teach people how to treat us." We capture attention when our message has value to the customer. The tone of messaging is important because it helps to convey a deeper level of communication, tone works to evoke feeling.

When talking of perception, I feel there is a lesson in the aphorism "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder".
Left to their own devices, some people will find a "thing" beautiful, some wont, and still others may never take notice.
When neither the "holder" nor the "beholder" have anything at stake, the outcome doesn't really matter.

Unless of course, there is profit, power or fame to be had (or indeed lost) in the number of delighted customers. Marketing reaches out and creates the right conditions for a "Lo and Behold!" effect. That becomes a catalyst for shaping opinion and building momentum. As a paid agent of the owner of the "thing", the Professional Marketer only serves the interests of the owner. So it follows that every legitimate trick ( or treat) in the book is fair game - whether or not the Marketer chooses to use them.

And yet after all is said and done, only some people get beholden all the time. All the people probably get beholden some of the time (say during a national revolution). But all the people, all the time? Not even if the "thing" happens to be a religion. Because Beauty, after all, is still in the eyes of the beholder.