Overlay
Let's talk
Emotive Brand
Get in touch: [email protected] 510-496-8888

Hello!

Category: Emotion is the Strategy

The Belief Gap: Why Most Transformation Efforts Fail Before They Start

Posted on by Emotive Brand

Most transformation efforts fail for a simple reason: leaders focus on perfecting the strategy while ignoring how their people feel about change. This is the belief gap between ambitious plans and the people who must make them real. The companies that succeed? They close this gap first by understanding the emotional side of transformation. The result is faster adoption, stronger cultures, and the momentum needed for real impact.

The uncomfortable truth most transformation efforts refuse to acknowledge: The companies that achieve real impact—the exits, IPOs, and winning cultures everyone wants to join don’t start with strategy decks. They start with understanding how people feel about the current direction, leadership, and what’s possible.

The Fatal Flaw in Traditional Transformation

The old playbook is seductive in its simplicity: Analyze the market, identify opportunities, craft the perfect strategy, then roll it out with communications and change management. It feels logical, measurable, and controllable.

It’s also why 70% of transformation efforts fail. (McKinsey)

The problem isn’t with the strategy itself—it’s with the assumption that people will embrace change simply because the logic is sound. But humans aren’t rational actors. We’re emotional beings who make decisions based on how something feels, then justify those decisions with logic.

When leaders skip the emotional groundwork, they’re essentially asking people to believe in something they had no hand in creating. The result? Resistance disguised as “practical concerns,” passive compliance instead of passionate commitment, and strategies that look brilliant on paper but die slow deaths in conference rooms.

The New Formula: Ambition → Belief → Momentum → Impact

The companies that crack the code understand a fundamental truth: Ambition without belief is just wishful thinking.

Real transformation follows a different sequence:

  • Ambition (your strategic vision) must be grounded in
  • Belief (emotional buy-in from your people) to create
  • Momentum (accelerated adoption and execution) that drives
  • Impact (the outcomes you actually care about)

Skip the belief-building phase, and your brilliant strategy becomes expensive PowerPoint slides gathering dust.

How to Build Belief Before Strategy

This isn’t about getting “buy-in” for predetermined plans. It’s about understanding the emotional landscape your strategy will need to navigate, then co-creating something people can genuinely believe in.

Emotional Audit Before touching any strategy work, dig into how your people really feel about change. This goes deeper than engagement surveys or town halls. You need to understand:

  • How do they feel about the current direction and leadership?
  • What past transformation efforts left scars that still affect their willingness to embrace change?
  • What successes created confidence they can build on?
  • Who are the informal influencers who could become champions or blockers?

This isn’t just data collection—it’s understanding the stories people tell themselves about why things work or don’t work in your organization.

Co-Creation, Not Communication Here’s where most leaders go wrong: They disappear for months with their strategy consultants, then return with finished plans and wonder why people aren’t excited.

The new way involves key voices in shaping the strategy itself. When people help build something, they don’t just understand it—they own it. This doesn’t mean decision-by-committee; it means strategic input from the people who will make it real…like bringing in regional sales leads early to flag go-to-market barriers leadership might not see, or engaging implementation teams in shaping how a new platform rollout is phased etc.

Culture starts shifting during strategy development, not after.

Universal Engagement The final phase isn’t just about communication, it’s about helping every person see their essential role in the bigger story. The finance person needs to understand how they contribute to the vision just as much as the sales team does.

When everyone becomes a strategy evangelist, transformation accelerates exponentially.

The Belief Multiplier Effect

Companies that embrace this approach don’t just see faster adoption, they see compound benefits:

  • Reduced Change Fatigue: When people feel heard and involved, they’re more resilient to the inevitable pivots and adjustments
  • Accelerated Innovation: Teams that believe in the direction are more likely to take smart risks and contribute breakthrough ideas
  • Cultural Magnetism: Organizations with strong belief systems attract top talent who want to be part of something meaningful
  • Market Momentum: Internal belief translates to authentic external expression, creating brands that customers genuinely connect with

The Choice Every Leader Faces

Culture doesn’t change because you announce a new direction. Culture changes because people feel connected to something bigger than themselves.

So before you invest in your next transformation effort, ask yourself: Do you know how your people really feel about change? Are you building on solid emotional ground, or are you constructing another beautiful strategy on quicksand?

This isn’t just data collection. It’s understanding the stories people tell themselves about why things work or don’t work.

Because ambitious strategies without belief never create the momentum you need for real impact.

Five Surprising Brands That Embrace Emotion

Posted on by Emotive Brand

Looking for a quick hit of strategic inspiration? A dose of oxytocin in brand form? We found five examples that are hitting the mark by moving people. Emotional connection for the win.

Over recent years, the rise of emotion has been undeniable. The following five brands—across diverse categories and including one of Emotive’s own clients— offer proof that the era of emotion has arrived. Can you feel it?

1. Unlocking the potential of those who advance the world.

Boston Consulting Group (BCG), global consulting firm.

Many brands claim to be human-centered, but few actually are. BCG’s succinct yet powerful premise—supporting the leaders who move us all forward—is inherently emotional and deeply human. And it’s refreshing to see that emotion and humanity is injected throughout the brand, even in how insights are presented.

Acknowledging the unique challenges of leadership today, and rather than preaching from on high, BCG presents expertise in a relatable and trustworthy way by inviting chief executives to “Hear from Fellow CEOs.” Their CEO Moments of Truth YouTube videos attract hundreds of thousands of views each.

The brand is also emotionally bolstered by fostering strong, ongoing relationships with past employees, referred to as alumni and considered part of the BCG family. BCG’s Alumni Program includes a learning library and events to connect current and past employees.

We get the impression that, through and through, BCG walks the walk in “unlocking the potential” of the people it serves and employs. Good feels all around.

2. Clean feels good.

Clorox, multinational manufacturer of consumer and professional products.

Clorox’s latest campaign, “Clean Feels Good,” pivots from the science of disinfecting to the emotional upside of cleanliness. They teamed up with a neurotech firm to measure and show how the everyday act of cleaning–far from a mere burden–is for many people a proven way to boost mood and foster a sense of wellbeing.

We notice that spot-on (or off) expertise, as seen in their online database of practical cleaning tips, is balanced with touches of emotion throughout the Clorox website, as in, “Follow our tips to save time, money and possibly the day.”

More than ever, Clorox positions itself as a health and wellness company that exists to help people thrive–not just kill germs. They don’t just grab attention by challenging expectations, they earn engagement and loyalty by highlighting a source of joy hiding in plain sight.

3. Powering the inclusion economy.

Katapult, leading omnichannel lease-purchase platform.

Spanning B2B and B2C, Katapult, an ecommerce-focused FinTech company is one of Emotive Brand’s clients–and an example of how feeling elevates brand in any sector.

With empathy and optimism, Katapult challenges the dreary status quo of retail purchase plans, dominated by predatory rates and gatekeeping via credit scores. A friendly, buoyant brand identity showcases a fresh point of view: Seeing the good in people is good for business.

For retailers, Katapult encourages openness to overlooked, unfairly excluded consumers. For shoppers, Katapult opens doors to major purchases, central to quality of everyday life but too often out of reach. We enjoyed the collaboration, and the chance to help level a playing field tilted for too long.

4. / Keep your options open.

Red Hat, leading provider of enterprise open source software solutions.

In an interesting twist, Red Hat’s recent marketing humanizes AI to show its potential flaws and differentiate the company’s offering. The result is a message that connects emotionally–as opposed to relying solely on the kind of forgettable AI technology proof points in which we are all now drowning.

The campaign ties back seamlessly to the compelling, central brand premise–creating better technology with open source. Rather than a bland functional claim, the concept of openness infuses the entire brand with purpose and feeling: Open source, open culture, open to possibilities.

As Red Hat explains on their site, “Red Hat exists not only as an enterprise software company but as a catalyst for change, built on the belief that open unlocks the world’s potential.” We appreciate the tight connection between the functional and emotional, a hallmark of the strongest brands.

5. Own the dream.

Rocket Mortgage, major online mortgage lender formerly known as Quicken Loans.

Rocket Mortgage’s recent rebrand is a dramatic example of leaning into the power of emotion. While homeownership is treated as a numbers game by most companies in the industry, Rocket has opened the door to deeper connection with prospects and customers.

They now show up with warmth, humanity, and recognition that what they offer is more than home loans—it’s the fulfillment of a deeply meaningful aspiration for most people. The brand shift is especially powerful in an uncertain economic climate, when many are doubting their belief in the classic American dream.

Visually and verbally, the new brand tone is clear, from a more approachable logo, simpler data identity system, and a voice of understanding and encouragement for customers making big financial decisions.

Even in small moments, Rocket finds ways to engage. The online application funnel feels helpful and human, like when they explain that “prequalified” is just “another way of saying ‘let’s estimate what you could afford.’” After all, in a lengthy transaction as emotional and momentous as buying a home, a little empowerment at each step likely goes a long way.

Emotion Makes Ambition Real, Even in Cybersecurity

Posted on by Emotive Brand

Every day, Emotive Brand works to amplify and make real the bold ambitions of visionary reinventors. Leaders with the courage and creativity to change businesses and brands, categories and culture—for good. So we were thrilled to partner with Silverfort, and rise to the challenge of transforming an industry on which all other industries now depend.

Thanks to Silverfort, cybersecurity will be safer, more thoroughly secure, and never the same. Lucky for us, their leadership team understood that when you challenge the status quo, you have to bring everyone along. That in revealing new possibilities, you must not only explain how they work but why they matter, especially in crowded B2B and tech spheres.

Innovation meets appreciation

At Emotive Brand, we believe that when you honor the people behind the tech—and build a brand that elevates their role—you can unlock something powerful: belief.

That’s exactly what happened when we teamed up with Silverfort. The team at Emotive felt it right away.

Silverfort isn’t just another cybersecurity company. They’re revolutionizing the space with a true breakthrough, called Runtime Access Protection (RAP), that centers identity as the lynchpin of cybersecurity. It’s an absolute paradigm shift. But like so many transformative technologies, the hardest part isn’t necessarily the innovation. It’s helping people understand and believe in it.

Identity security has long been overlooked as the very backbone of cybersecurity. And the professionals who manage it? Often underappreciated, fighting quiet battles in the shadows of flashier security priorities. Silverfort saw that. And we did too.

Together, we built a brand that said: not anymore.

Expansive technology needs expansive strategy

We set out to do what brand strategy does best—take a complex, technical solution and turn it into a movement. A story. A promise. We shifted the narrative from what identity security has been (an afterthought) to what it can be: comprehensive, continuous, and finally worthy of the spotlight.

To get there, we infused the brand with emotional clarity. The resulting verbal identity reflects Silverfort’s intrepid spirit of discovery—how they found a way to completely reimagine identity security, delivering the technology identity security professionals deserve.

Pivoting away from fear-based category tropes about dark, looming threats, the voice and underlying brand strategy take care to validate and uplift these essential teams.

In tandem, we created a new visual identity that feels alive—ambient gradients, adaptive forms, and a striking aura of protection that surrounds any environment, any user, any system. It signals optimism, not fear. Momentum, not maintenance. Progress, not patchwork.

All told, our work with Silverfort encompassed a wide range of services and deliverables, from a corporate narrative to brand positioning to website design. But make no mistake—we weren’t checking boxes. Every element serves a bigger purpose.

Belief is the foundation

The heart of the Silverfort brand is belief—not just in their technology, but in people. The identity and security professionals who’ve kept enterprises afloat without recognition for too long. The ones who understand how deeply fragmented and fragile identity systems have become. The ones who finally see a solution that speaks their language and elevates their purpose.

Of course, Silverfort’s employees are the ultimate believers. Previously focused on the features and benefits of their technology, they now rally around deeper reasons to believe in the company and its future–serving the people battling on the frontlines against cyber attackers, and challenging the status quo to “find a way” to do the impossible.

No doubt, Silverfort has always been supremely innovative.

But today, when they show up in the world, they’re not just making the technical case—they’re making the emotional one, too. Their new brand validates and galvanizes, igniting the kind of connection that turns potential customers into believers and believers into champions.

Because belief is how transformation takes root.

And that’s the work we love most.

How Belief is Transforming the WNBA and the Culture

Posted on by Emotive Brand

Sometimes, brand and business strategy align with cultural change—moving us all forward and proving impossible wrong.

Look no further than the WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association).

Back in 1996, 25 years after Title IX became law, the NBA launched the WNBA as interest in women’s basketball surged. That year, the Olympic women’s basketball team won gold, led by Lisa Leslie.

The growth of the sport for women was like a breathtaking fast break. A dynamic and unstoppable transition. The kind of moment that gets everyone up on their feet. Hyped.

“We got next” was the tagline, and it caught fire.

As a brand and business, the NBA saw a chance to expand not only the fan base but the game of basketball itself, leveraging existing assets.

Of course, a vision for a successful women’s sports league—or any business or movement—isn’t a ticket to success. You need wholehearted, gut-level, feel-it-in-your-bones belief. From athletes, employees, fans, investors, media, and sponsors.

Emotional Barriers to Belief

At the heart of the WNBA is a deeply held belief in the power and importance of women as full human beings capable of greatness in all forms.

The league wasn’t just selling a product–and they had the talent for that. They were selling progress–which requires shared belief. Headwinds persisted.

For one, media coverage lagged. Audiences were not hearing the players’ stories, maintaining an emotional distance as a huge barrier to fanhood.

After all, when you think of Michael Jordan, you don’t picture a list of stats, except maybe the number six, his national championship tally. No, you appreciate the totality of the legend, shaped by personality and history.

It may come to mind that Jordan didn’t make Varsity his sophomore year in high school. You might remember his iconic flu game in the 1997 finals, The Shrug, winning a championship on Father’s Day after his own father’s murder, his singular high-flying style of play, and so much more.

There have been legends, dynasties, icons, and game-changers in the WNBA who remained in shadow. Media outlets, investors, and sponsors didn’t have the level of belief to elevate them.

Case in point: You probably don’t know that the Houston Comets are one of only five domestic professional franchises to win four straight titles.

The lack of belief undermined the vast potential for growth now being unleashed.

It can take time to establish roots and grow, but a single seed of belief holds multitudes. Its spread turns daring vision into new reality.

A New WNBA Era Built by Believers

While the arrival of Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese supercharged the ascent, the WNBA had already been rising. Without a foundation of belief already established, the 2024 season would not have broken records.

For example, it was partly the glory of Maya Moore, Minnesota Lynx star from 2011 to 2018, that inspired Clark and Reese to see and believe in their WNBA dreams.

In turn, Moore credits another of the WNBA’s all-time greats for putting her on the path to greatness, saying, “That’s where I got my passion for the game, watching the WNBA on TV. Cynthia Cooper, Raise the Roof, We Got Next, I was into all of it.”

A lack of belief perpetuates itself. But so does the presence of belief. It builds.

Business is booming. In 2024, Deloitte forecasted women’s sports would bring in $1.3 billion. They were wrong—short by over half a billion, with the WNBA as a huge contributor.

The media is catching on. Last year, the WNBA signed a media rights deal for $2.2 billion over 11 years. At $200 million per year, that’s four times the value of the previous contract, with room to add more media partnerships. So that number will go up.

Sponsors are cashing in. For example, in 2023, New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu, owner of numerous collegiate and WNBA records, became the first women’s basketball player with a unisex Nike signature collection. During the 2024-2025 regular season, the Nike Sabrina 2 was the second most worn sneaker by NBA players. That’s right–NBA players.

 

But here’s another stat. Around age 14, 40% of girls quit sports, with body dissatisfaction among the top cited reasons.

The WNBA serves as an antidote, showcasing fierceness and athletic ability in women of diverse sizes, ethnicities, and shapes. All of whom take up space unapologetically. On the court and off.

What happens when more girls believe in themselves enough to stick with basketball, or any pursuit they have a passion for? We’re finding out.

Next is now. Believe it.

 

Image: Caitlin Clark, playing for the Indiana Fever in 2024 (Photo credit: John Mac)

Culture Transformation: Give Your Employees a Reason to Believe

Posted on by Emotive Brand

The Unspoken Truth

Feel the weight of it. In conference rooms across the world, leaders unveil visions meant to inspire, yet faces remain blank, hearts unmoved. This isn’t just a momentary disconnect. It’s the emotional void where transformation goes to die.

When 30% of your people feel invisible and 65% feel their contributions evaporate into thin air, they’re not just unhappy—they’re unreachable. The most brilliant strategy means nothing to a soul that doesn’t believe.

Belief Matters When Stakes Are High

We stand at the edge of a new emotional landscape. The old certainties have dissolved into air. Promotions are fewer. Pay bumps are smaller. IPOs are on hold. The promise of financial upside isn’t doing what it used to.

And your employees are paying attention.

As Carolyn Moore, a Chief People Officer coach who works with high-growth leaders puts it:

“Employees need a reason to believe.
And if you don’t give them one, they’ll go.”

 

She’s right. Your best people don’t just want to feel appreciated. They want to feel their work is meaningful, that it’s leading somewhere, and that it’s worth staying for. Without that belief, they’ll start weighing other options, whether they’re actively job-hunting or not.

The Beautiful Barriers We Build

What gets in the way isn’t bad intent. It’s leadership focus in the wrong place:

  • Values with no follow-through. When values live on posters but not in practice, people stop trusting what you say.
  • Inconsistent leadership. Mixed messages from the top fracture belief and wear people down.
  • Cultural noise. Endless initiatives, shifting priorities, and overuse of the word “transformation” make it hard to know what really matters.
  • Emotional blind spots. Most organizations don’t know how their employees actually feel, and even fewer know what to do with that insight.

The Power of Emotional Clarity

Belief isn’t built through behavior metrics. It’s built through emotional clarity.

At Emotive Brand, we use an approach called Emotional Acceleration. It’s a way to move people from understanding what you’re trying to do to believing in it enough to act.

It starts with a simple question: How do people feel right now? Not what they are doing. Not what they are producing. What are they feeling?

Through an Emotional Audit, we identify the gap between the emotional experience people are having today and the one they need in order to connect, align, and commit.

From Belief to Belonging

When you create reasons to believe, something extraordinary happens. People who moved through days on autopilot suddenly awaken to possibility. Teams that operated from obligation begin to move with purpose.

Belief isn’t soft. It’s strategic.

If your employees don’t believe their work matters, they’ll stop investing in it. But when they do? They push further. They stay longer. They build better.

Belief is what turns a bold vision into a shared one. It’s what makes a culture feel like a place worth belonging to. And in today’s talent market, it may be your greatest competitive advantage.

The Courage to Feel

The most profound business transformation isn’t something you implement. It’s something you feel—together.

Will you have the courage to discover what your people truly believe? Will you dare to build your future on emotional truth?

So ask yourself: Do your people have a reason to believe?

Because if they don’t, you’ve got work to do.

Emotional Acceleration: The Fastest Path from Vision to Impact

Posted on by Emotive Brand

At Emotive Brand, we believe that to ignite transformation, visionary leaders need more than a process. You need a propulsion system. A strategic jet pack for navigating unprecedented complexity and disruption. We call it Emotional Acceleration.

As always, change starts with an idea that transcends accepted yet invisible limits. But more than ever, success depends on speed of activation. How fast can you align teams, shift behavior, and inspire action?

You can launch into endless proof points, but unless people can feel it—unless they not only see the path ahead but are deeply compelled to see where it leads—vision remains stuck in the realm of idea, not reality.

Ideas need believers.  This truth lives at the heart of Emotional Acceleration, our approach to transformation. It’s how we move clients rapidly through an evidence-based arc, from nascent vision to lasting impact. Here’s how it works:

 

Illustration of the arc of transformation from Vision to Belief to Momentum, to Impact.

 

Transformation starts with vision

Emotional Acceleration launches from a clear articulation of the power, potential, and meaning of the vision, balancing precision and inspiration.

What are the purpose, values, and beliefs that give rise to the vision? How will this vision shape the future, and for whom? Here, our clients’ boldest ambitions find their footing.

“Emotive’s strategic approach revamped our brand, aligning it seamlessly with our vision for CodeOps. Through collaborative efforts, they crafted our narrative and positioned us effectively in the market.”

—Lesley Rubin, VP Marketing, Crowdbotics

 

Shared belief makes vision real.

Audacious vision must become a shared mission that people can not only see and understand, but feel and own.

We gauge how teams, customers, communities, and stakeholders feel today, and determine the emotional shift needed to cultivate buy-in, alignment, and deeply held belief.

“I’ve been part of a lot of these projects and it’s usually a case of the CMO leading this. Sometimes, the CEO is excited about it, but then it sort of peters out. We have the CFO excited. We have the CTO excited. Everybody’s like, “This is awesome. We can’t wait for a new brand.”

—Dennis Fois, CEO, Bloomerang

 

Momentum builds as belief drives action.

On a solid foundation of shared belief, it’s time to move internal and external audiences to action, motivating new behaviors and choices.

Online or off, in big and small moments, we craft interactions that intentionally shift and reshape clients’ emotional impact on people, to forge connection and loyalty.

“It was an amazing partnership to accelerate us from a start-up to a growth-stage company much faster.”

—Eric Futoran, CEO, Embrace

 

Impact endures and expands.

This iterative, collaborative phase sustains and amplifies transformative outcomes, adapting as client goals evolve and the landscape changes.

We measure essential results, including business metrics and emotional impact, to identify needs for refinement and emerging opportunities.

“Emotive Brand got us right from the start. They were able to understand our technology, our vision for the future, the nuances of what makes us different, and delivered us a brand that launched us and moved us from stealth to exit.”

—Alex Henson, Head of Marketing, Moveworks

 

Emotional Acceleration is dynamic, not linear. It’s flexible, not one-size-fits-all. The path looks different, and unfolds via unique trajectories, for each organization.

Yet the principles of clarifying a bold, differentiated vision, building shared belief, generating momentum through meaningful experiences, and sustaining impact with thoughtful calibration? They apply to all industries, sectors, and objectives–because all rely on the efforts and emotional investment of human beings.

Roundtable with Bloomerang CEO Dennis Fois and CMO Ann Fellman: Part 1

Posted on by Emotive Brand

The Power of Emotion

One of the most purposeful organizations we’ve ever collaborated with, Bloomerang helps nonprofits raise more with the end-to-end giving platform and expert team built for purpose.

This has been a particularly rewarding partnership, with client-agency alchemy arising from a shared belief. It’s the idea embedded in our name—that strategic use of emotion is central to the success of brands and businesses.

At the risk of making them blush, Bloomerang’s CEO Dennis Fois and CMO Ann Fellman are the kind of leaders we call Visionary Reinventors. They have the emotional intelligence and daring to push higher, and look deeper, for the good of their business, people, industry, and the 23,000 nonprofits they serve.

They were gracious enough to sit down with us for a roundtable discussion exploring how emotion is core to driving their tremendous growth.

 

Emotive Brand:  When you composed the RFP, emotion was front and center in terms of how you thought about success. We’re curious—where does this passion for emotion come from? What was missing from the equation prior to our work together?

Dennis:  My feelings were that Bloomerang fell too much on the empathy side, without any bite or desire or drive or ambition. The opportunity here is to change the [nonprofit] industry, where there’s a scarcity mindset—that you can’t ask for more. They [nonprofits] read bad reports: “Oh, Giving Tuesday was down.” The academia around it is depressing. And so there is this construct of constraints and not abundance. I want to create a bright light of ambition–fast-charging, but also with hope and optimism.

This is a time when we’ve never seen so much generational wealth. There are over 11 million millionaires in the United States alone. We’ve never had this amount of disposable income. There’s literally no reason why giving shouldn’t be going up every year. So this idea for emotion, this passion, needs to come through.

I want to sit on a rocking chair on a ranch when I’m older and reflect that we built a generational company that is looked on as, “They actually shook things up. They were the catalysts for more investment, more technology, better resources.”

But if you connect yourself to the industry and say, “We’re going to do more here,” then you need to bring empathy while also being a bit of a challenger.

Emotive Brand:  I’ve been sitting in a group of management consultants for the past two days, and one of the things that we heard loud and clear again and again was that leaders who are all empathy are the worst leaders imaginable—empathy has to be conjoined with performance for any impact to actually occur.

Dennis:  That’s well said. Yesterday at our kickoff, we talked about the issue that we have–and that’s complacency. We are doing so well. Our retention rates are off the hook. I have never seen anything like it. And you could say, “We are on a tear here,” but if you’re being intellectually honest, you say, “Are the gross retention rates, the fact that your customers don’t churn, because you’re that good? Or is it the feature of a complacent industry?”

If you allow the standards of the industry to define your standards, you’re done. And so there needs to be a perpetual engine, an internal drive to lift and change the industry, to overcome inertia. It’s very easy to forgive yourself for mediocre performance when you’re doing good work.

It’s a wonderful blanket of comfort to say, “Yeah, but I’m working on something really important. I helped that nonprofit. I am doing life-changing work here.” It’s a dynamic that we have to manage.

Emotive Brand:  Ann, amidst all the success that Dennis has just outlined, what did you believe was missing from the brand today or the equation that you were bringing to market?

Ann:  I grew up in B2B marketing. My whole career was tech, and speaking tech. I’d read paragraphs and be like, ‘What on earth did I just read? I have no idea what that said. That means absolutely nothing to me.’

So I’ve always believed that this is not B2B. This is B2H. We are selling to human beings. We are selling to people who have emotions. Whether I’m making a software sale, or buying some consulting, I’m going to be emotional about spending that money. I just am. And so I’ve always been one to say, “Can we push the brand, the marketing, the message to an emotional level, because we’re humans.” We’re not selling to computers–yet.

It’s okay to put emotional color and commentary into your message and how you show up, because it’s more enjoyable. You remember when you have fun doing something. We had a wild kickoff yesterday, talking about some pretty serious stuff. We’re asking people to work harder, do more, and at the same time, we’re laughing and making jokes about poop emojis– [laughter]

Dennis:  Sorry.

Ann:  And so we’re being real human beings with emotion to connect. We’re going to do hard stuff, but we’re going to have joy in that. So when we think about what makes a really good company, yeah, you got to have all the tech, but you’ve got to have a powerful story that connects with humans, right there, front and center.

Emotive Brand:  That’s amazing. We just wrote a white paper about the role of emotion, and the research says it’s even more important in B2B. Maybe because the decisions are big and weighty, and there’s more riding on it.

Ann:  Yeah. You could lose your job if you make the wrong decision–put in some really crappy tech and you end up destroying the teams, their momentum, and morale. There’s so many layers of emotion behind these decisions.

Emotive Brand:  Our experience working with many tech companies over many years is that they undervalue the so-called soft skills and soft metrics that actually drive not just decision-making, but the change and transformation necessary for those companies to show up in the world in a really significant way. It’s interesting how much that’s pushed to the margins, especially in the world of B2B, where to Amber’s point, I think it has the most potential to make a difference.

Dennis:  Yes. This is a really good point. I understand where it comes from, especially when you’re talking about a technology company. Listen, the technology companies are by and large product companies. The goal as you scale is to sell the same product over and over. And if you’re not careful, it creates a very inside-out view—you want to stay very close to the true essence of the product, describe that in the best possible way and get everybody to say the same things over and over again. Obviously, that avoids a real understanding of how people buy, so that’s where leadership needs to step in.
Most organizations want to sell based on the value of change, and you can only sell the change if you have stories.

Ann:  It’s always the phrasing of ‘this thing does blah-blah-blah.’ But no. Now you need to fill in the last piece, which is, so I can do what? Who cares? So I can raise more, so then I can deliver more.

Emotive Brand:  As you frame the success of your leadership team, I can’t help but think that on some level, it’s because there is a greater sense of emotional investment, not just in each other, but in the success. It cannot only be a rational desire for success.

Dennis:  I think what all of us have in common is that it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to be working on a project like this. It’s where unbelievable financial success and outcomes and high quality company-building comes together with a genuine world impact. It’s not a unicorn story where we’re changing the world through AI. No, it’s real societal impact. Normally, you have to pick one of the two.

Ann:  Yeah, we chose the hard path. We chose to push ourselves further.

Emotive Brand:  It’s like a reflection of what you want for nonprofits. The bar raising.

Ann:  We’re choosing to raise the bar, and we’re going to take our teams and our customers with us in that choice.

Emotive Brand:  Yeah. I mean I love the proverbial eating your own dog food, but I’m curious, do you see brand as the mechanism to communicate that to your prospects and current customers?

Ann:  It has to. No customer wakes up thinking about your business every day or your product, unless there’s an absolute problem. So your brand is that positive manifestation of the outcomes, and then you’ve got to put it front and center, all the time.

Emotive Brand:  And so is success in your mind if Bloomerang is always connoted with unlocking that sense of abundance and opportunity? Is that the ultimate kind of emotional unlock that you hope to achieve?

Dennis:  I think so, because if we successfully do what you just said, then you basically blast it through all of the excuses not to grow. Now you’re confronted with your own reality–what is driving you? Well hopefully, it’s that passion for the purpose.

 

Our gratitude goes out to Ann and Dennis for taking the time to reflect with us. Keep an eye out for Part 2 of our conversation, focused on the power of partnership. We’ll look into the alchemy of Bloomerang and Emotive Brand’s stellar collaboration.

The Future Belongs to Those Who Make Us Feel

Posted on by Emotive Brand

As technological, political, and societal shifts accelerate at mind-scrambling speed, not all are lost. A new type of leader is rising to meet this unprecedented moment: Visionary reinventors.

While more traditional leaders are disoriented by growing complexity, visionary reinventors maintain clarity, direction, and unstoppable momentum.

They know that as AI ascends, uncertainty abounds, and culture morphs and even fractures, one thing remains constant–the strategic power of human emotion.

By defining, honing, and owning the emotional impact of the brands and organizations they lead, visionary reinventors forge meaningful and enduring connections with customers, investors, and employees.

This emotion-centered approach empowers a fiercely proactive posture. Visionary reinventors don’t wait for the world to be ready.

These modern leaders move people, markets, and industries above features and functionality to the higher ground of belief, a place of new perspective, where change is not feared–but desired, demanded, and inevitable.

They know that innovation alone does not and can not unleash true disruption. Visionary reinventors understand that today, more than ever, disruption unfolds from an emotional epicenter.

Passionate conviction ripples out, igniting the energy of a movement. What once felt like foundational truth is revealed as dogma, suddenly inadequate and unbearable, making way for new possibilities and deeper purpose.

After all, the elevation of human potential is what makes technology truly powerful. And in ever more saturated markets, how products make us feel is what drives their value.

Consider these two examples, each with a functional and emotional premise.

image-functional-and-emotional-premise-examples

Make no mistake–the emotional framing captures truth. It simply translates the functional premise into the human meaning, painting a picture not of a product but of a better future for people.

This is how visionary reinventors communicate. They don’t convince—they inspire belief. They don’t pull people along—they create a strong emotional current that moves people to alignment and action.

Ideas propelled by emotion have a magnetism and magnitude that can’t be neatly contained in any pitch deck. How they make people feel can’t be replicated by competitors. And once unleashed and embraced, they can’t be stopped.

Emotion’s catalytic role in transformative leadership lives at the core of Emotive Brand’s approach. Every day, we have the privilege of partnering with visionary reinventors to reimagine brands, create categories, and ignite change.

We’ve seen it firsthand. The future isn’t built by those who wait for the world to be ready—it’s built by those who make the world feel ready.

The Business of Transformation is Human

Posted on by Amber Johnson

How we feel matters. It determines—and has the power to transform—how we show up in the world and for each other, and in the end, the type of impact we create. We see it in our work with Emotive Brand clients all the time.

The most rewarding part of strategic writing and design is not spotting our work in the wild—perched on grocery store shelves, splashed across websites, or looming large on billboards. It’s having the opportunity to change how people think and feel about their work. You know, that thing they spend most of their limited time on earth doing.

At Emotive, we get to see clients’ faces brighten as we reframe what their company and brand stand for, to illuminate higher purpose and uncover deeper meaning.

When the strategy and creative are right, it’s clear–because sparks of transformation flicker before your eyes. Client teams light up with new ideas to shape all areas of the business. Their energy level and ambition rise. Too many leaders say emotion is intangible. We know it’s palpable.

How people feel matters more than ever, and can tank or propel the success of brands and businesses. Here are three reasons why.

Humans now face constant change and uncertainty.
The seismic jolt of the pandemic keeps reverberating, alongside a push to get people back into the office. There’s the specter of layoffs, political division, and the high cost of living. With technology, epitomized by AI, progressing faster than humans can adapt, upheaval is neverending.

“Change leaves people and organizations feeling confused, vulnerable, and fractured at a time when resilience, cohesion, and collaboration are necessary to perform at the highest levels.”

—Harvard Business Review

 

People are exhausted by constant change. So if you want to spearhead transformation, you have to give them something worth caring about, something they can feel and believe in.

People are fed up with corporate bullshit.
The scourge of shrinkflation. Greenwashing. Planned obsolescence. Employees’ and consumers’ tolerance for being deceived is depleting. That’s why the number of B Corps and Benefit Corporations keeps climbing, along with the popularity of de-influencers and the “right to repair” movement.

“During the challenging year of 2020, only 4.5% of B Corps failed, compared to 12.5% of American businesses overall.”

—Federal Reserve Board

 

Getting ahead of these issues, instead of waiting to be exposed and called out, is not just the right thing to do. By building trust and loyalty with employees and consumers, a proactive approach can save and sustain businesses.

Humans need more than products and paychecks.
Your brand or organization has a golden opportunity to lift people up at a time when all of us are fighting battles that wear us down. Like navigating education and healthcare systems that fall short, being squeezed as part of the sandwich generation, or needing purpose at work but struggling to afford soaring rents as a Gen Zer.

Retention, loyalty, and growth—the aims of transformation programs—are best served through genuine connection and alignment with how people feel and what they care about.

“The human emotions of people working at the centre of a transformation play a pivotal role in its success or failure.”

—EY and Oxford University report

 

At Emotive, we leverage emotion to transform brands and businesses in ways that contribute, even just a little bit, to a better world for people. No mere paycheck can compare.

The Unstoppable Rise of Emotion: Why Leading with Feeling is the Rational Choice

Posted on by Emotive Brand

Wherever humans are present, emotion is a constant. 

It’s the silent force guiding decisions, the vital spark that translates ideas into action. We know it intuitively: the choices that matter most—whether you’re choosing a partner, purpose, or product—aren’t tabulated in spreadsheets. They’re made in hearts and minds.

So why in the world of business do we so often dismiss emotion?

At Emotive Brand, we’ve always believed that emotion isn’t just powerful—it’s essential. Feelings drive loyalty, ignite movements, and deliver measurable outcomes. Our new white paper, The Unstoppable Rise of Emotion, makes the case by showing how strategic use of emotion amplifies impact in ways logic alone never could.

This isn’t just a theory. Emotion has become a pillar of effective leadership, branding, and business strategy.

Why Emotion Is Now Imperative 

As generational and technological shifts redefine expectations, emotion is no longer optional—it’s the ultimate competitive advantage.

Decisions—personal and professional—are emotional at their core. And the data proves it. Reflecting a dramatic shift that began accelerating in the late 90’s, 70% of brand decisions are now driven by emotional factors, and emotionally connected customers deliver 306% higher lifetime value.

Emotion is the key to staking your claim, standing out in saturated markets, and forging real connections in an increasingly skeptical world. 

What You’ll Discover in the White Paper

The Unstoppable Rise of Emotion doesn’t just explain why emotion works. It’s your guide to transforming how you connect, lead, and grow. Download the paper to explore:

  • The Science of Emotion: Why our decisions are rooted in feeling—and what that means for business.
  • The Barriers to Emotion: Cultural biases and structural blind spots that keep organizations from fully embracing emotion as strategy.
  • The Framework for Change: How to rethink impact and embed the power of emotion throughout your brand, culture, and leadership.

The way forward isn’t a feel-good tagline or even a generous injection of emotion into a campaign. Success requires that you lead with feeling—everywhere, all the time.

For Leaders Who See that More Is Possible

The future belongs to those who can connect—not just inform with rational benefits, but resonate through shared humanity. It belongs to leaders who understand that emotion is the driving force behind the most transformative decisions we make.

For leaders who want to build legacies that include but also transcend brands, The Unstoppable Rise of Emotion is your blueprint.

Download the white paper today and reimagine the role of emotion to amplify your impact, deepen relationships, and earn enduring loyalty.