In 2004 Kevin Roberts wrote Lovemarks: the future beyond brands. It was
admired by many as a breakthrough in marketing thinking but was also
controversial because of its surprisingly obvious thesis: that emotional
connections are at the heart of sustained relationships between
producers, retailers, and consumers.
While many companies were using the language of war in their marketing
(target, penetrate, ambush), Roberts was using the language of love
(mystery, sensuality, intimacy). He explained in simple terms what
people are often loath to admit: we make decisions with our emotions
over our reason. Lovemarks described the journey by which brands could
move from consumer respect based on intellect, to consumer love based on
emotion-and in return gain loyalty beyond reason. In 2010 Advertising
Age magazine named Lovemarks one of their ideas of the decade, while
noting that the roadmap for brands to achieve Lovemark status was still
not entirely clear.
Loveworks: How the world's top marketers make emotional connections to
win in the marketplace adds to the original Lovemarks by showcasing
real-world business examples and outlining the roadmaps followed by
several world-renowned brands to achieve Lovemark status: Procter &
Gamble, Toyota, Visa, General Mills, Miller, T-Mobile, and Lenovo are
just a few examples of businesses winning in the marketplace through the
application of the Lovemarks theory, maintaining laser-like focus on
making and sustaining emotional connections with consumers. Loveworks
features 20 case stories from clients and markets worldwide in widely
varying categories. My book shows that Lovemarks thinking
works-anywhere, anytime. All it takes is having the brains to implement
it, the guts to see it through, and an abiding faith in emotion as your
compass, says Brian Sheehan.
