When it comes to branding and marketing consumer goods, marketers often focus on either functional or emotional messaging. Emotional benefits are believed to be more effective in encouraging interest and building brand connection, but functional messages are seen to have a time and place too. But in recent years, research has suggested that decision-making is complex, and information is more available to consumers than ever before - putting into question the validity of the “functional versus emotional” dichotomy. This study aims at examining whether emotional benefits are in fact better than functional ones. It also suggests other decision drivers - beyond rationality and emotion - that marketers may need to leverage.
NotedSource and Nika Kabiri, JD, PhD, investigate functional and emotional messaging and its impact on consumer purchasing choices.
This white paper explores:
- Effectiveness of emotional versus functional messaging regarding three different products
- Demographic difference in preference for emotional and functional messages
- Potential Impact of other social and psychological influences on decision making
Download "Rethinking the Head and the Heart" today to delve into the data science behind emotional versus functional product messaging.
Meet the Authors:
Dr. Nika Kabiri has spent 20+ years studying how people make decisions in a variety of contexts. She's worked with organizations and businesses of all sizes, across all industry categories, helping them drive strategic growth. Her clients have included Amazon, Google, Microsoft, YouTube, Salesforce, Sony, Oakley, PepsiCo, General Mills, Anheuser-Busch InBev, the Seattle Seahawks, VMware, Zillow, Expedia, Smartsheet, and the Sierra Club, as well as many more. She has also served as an Advisor to Madrona Venture Labs, where she's helped startups get their footing.
Dr. Kabiri is a former faculty member at the University of Washington, where she taught graduate and undergraduate courses on Decision Science. She has a PhD in Sociology from the University of Washington, where her academic focus was on choice theory and institutional analysis. She also has a JD from the University of Texas.
Dr. Kabiri has been a contributor to The Hill, Inside Sources, the Huffington Post and Seattle Business Magazine. She has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Time, Yahoo!, Fast Company, Gizmodo, Voice of America, Forbes, and MarketWatch, among others. Her bestselling book Money Off the Table: Decision Science and the Secret to Smarter Investing is available on Amazon.
Ramy Ayoub, Head of Research at NotedSource, spearheads the company’s initiatives to connect clients with research partners across diverse domains. Ramy earned his PhD in Medical Biophysics from the University of Toronto, focusing on the development of quantitative prediction models using high-dimensional, multimodal data. With his expertise, Ramy is well-equipped to help develop robust technology that streamlines the process of identifying the right partners for client needs.