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What Brexit teaches brands

Just over a month and a half on from the Brexit vote, we’re no clearer on its implications for UK business or our own pockets (although those of us heading abroad on holiday have had our first clue at the currency exchange counter!).

Whatever your politics, one thing that was abundantly clear from the result was that the power of emotional appeal beat intellectual argument hands down, no contest.

The Brexit campaigners took a lot of the principles that we apply to brand and corporate PR campaigns – charismatic spokespeople; arguments that hit you in the gut; use of insight to craft arguments that appeal to an emotional ‘truth’ for your audience – and used these to impressive effect.

From using Boris and Farrage to appeal to the disaffected voter, to tapping into people’s hopes and fears to make its case, the Brexit campaign proved by far the most persuasive. It took what was initially the underdog into a sustained lead and ultimately a victory. The rational economic arguments and data of the Remain camp didn’t stand a chance.

This serves as a strong reminder that knowing your audience and how they think inside out in order to create an emotional hook wins every time for brands. Think Marmite ‘Love it or hate it’, Sport England’s ‘This Girl Can’ and our very own Gruffalo campaign for Yorkshire Tea. All highly successful in terms of commercial impact or behavioural change and all based on tapping into an emotional truth.

If you want to win the hearts and minds of consumers, go for the heart, not for the head.