What practice best builds brand-audience emotional connection?

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Bridget Evans

Global Head of Business Marketing · Spotify

Using audio

Bridget Evans says using audio is the answer, because it draws out feeling and adds an element of trust between the brand and the consumer.

The answer starts at 9:56.

Peter Giorgi

SVP of Brand Marketing, Partnerships and Creative Excellence · Rocket

Beautiful creative

Peter Giorgi says the work needs to be relentlessly crafted and beautiful, reasoning that people prefer to watch and engage with something beautiful rather than something thrown together.

The answer starts at 22:04.

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Kate Rundell

Board Member · Association Of National Advertisers

Showing real humans

Kate Rundell says simplifying the message and showing real humans is probably the biggest thing, arguing it avoids boring stock B2B footage, jargon and product specs.

Aditya Vempaty

VP of Marketing · MoEngage

Putting customers first

Aditya Vempaty says putting customers first is the practice: make the customer the hero in case studies and put their logo first, not the vendor's. He calls it a fundamental mindset of supporting them first.

The answer starts at 13:54.

Michael Ungaro

Owner

Telling your story

Michael Ungaro says the practice is telling your story, because your story is what sets you apart—there's no shortage of seafood restaurants, but a family-owned story makes people want to check it out.

Tom Ruwitch

Storytelling Standout - Biz Growth Strategist / Guide · Story Power Marketing

Curiosity

Tom Ruwitch says curiosity is the skill he tells marketers to develop, because great storytelling is about evoking the prospect's own emotional journey with empathy, not telling your own story.

Doug Zarkin

Chief Marketing Officer - Take 5 · Driven Brands Inc.

Removing 'customer'

Doug Zarkin says removing the term “customer” was one of the most meaningful shifts he led at Pearl, because a customer wants service while a patient wants care.

Elizabeth Maxson Martinet

Chief Marketing Officer · Contentful

Sincerity

Elizabeth Maxson Martinet says sincerity is the way forward for creating an emotional connection, along with anecdotes and humanized experiences.

Dawn Dawson

Chief Marketing Officer · Mortgage Solutions Financial

One-to-one experiences

Dawn Dawson recommends creating experiences that are one-to-one as much as possible, saying that as AI increases efficiency it isolates people more and they need opportunities to connect.

Lucinda Barlow

Senior Director, Head of International Marketing (APAC, EMEA, Latin America) · Uber

Relatable storytelling

Lucinda Barlow says humor, relatable storytelling and tension are what embed in people's memories and build a long-term brand association, unlike rational proof points or promos, which don't stick.

Lara Hood Balazs

Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President, Global Marketing · Adobe

Empathy

Lara Hood Balazs says empathy—deeply knowing customers, including unspoken wants and needs—maps back to resonating with consumers; she says empathy breeds trust because you fall in love with customer problems, not solutions.