20 people were split into two groups. Half were asked to read the story of an unknown cosmetics brand & product and shown a photo of the store. Half were not given a story or photo. All were then asked for an estimation of the product’s cost range.

Those in the Story Group saw the item as of higher value and were twice as willing to pay for it.

Use the Fairy Tale Framework. Ensure that your brand story has a beginning, middle and end. Add in a conflict and define one easy-to-summarize message (Fog et. al, 2005). This should be told by identifiable characters who resolve the conflict, restore harmony and allow the brand to be valued positively. Add unexpected twists and finish on an emotional high, often the part most remembered (Guber, 2007).

Create positive persuasion, catching consumer interest and convincing through ‘narrative transportation’, where, once immersed in a story, the viewer’s mind alters (Escalas, 2004a). Stories trigger warmer, more upbeat feelings than regular ads, raise brand uniqueness, allow for product features to be conveyed without feeling commercial and are remembered by consumers in multiple ways: factually, visually and emotionally (Rosen, 2000).

165 people were told of a printer maker and split into four 'halo' groups (environment, community, customers or employees) and a control. Each group were then told of its extra efforts in these areas and then quizzed about its Corporate Social Responsibility in general.

People assumed the halo groups to be more socially-responsible in unrelated areas, despite no evidence!

Invest in reputation. 

‍Since we take shortcuts when judging brand character, first impressions matter. Where in society, the environment, with customers or with employees can you foster initiatives that will trigger the Halo Effect?

Spend wisely

‍i.e. investing in employee and community relations has been found to more persuasively impact the judgements of corruption prosecutors than promoting diversity or being environmentally friendly (Hong & Liskovich, 2015).

Consider co-branding.

‍Evaluations of new products are heightened by the presence of at least one high-equity brand (Besharat, 2010). Instead of launching a sub-brand, consider partnering with other brands that complement your values or already make CSR efforts that you aspire to.

‍

274 people were shown 10 t-shirts, split into 4 groups and then asked to rate the shirts on either likeability, casualness, colorfulness or how much it matched with a cap. They were then asked how fun the task was.

Those given the ability to express their like or dislike rated the task as much more fun than the other groups. Simply, we value ways to express how we feel.

Personalization pays.

Bold, scaleable self-expressive features increase loyalty and sales.

Coca-Cola’s #ShareaCoke campaign - switching out the product name for a person’s name - led to a 10% rise in 2014 sales and a 7% spike in Facebook growth.

An Australian store sold 400,000 customized jars of Nutella for $10 each, becoming their top seller.

Tie it back to emotions.

Though there are successes like Kraft Heinz personalized soup “Get Well Soon ___”, with consumers happy to spend five times more, know that personalization has upper bounds on price and has less impact as it becomes more common.

Like Heinz, the smartest brands will tie personalization to underlying product emotions - care and sympathy in this case.

What emotions do you want end consumers to feel? Use personalization to help express these publicly.