No envy, just pride

Owner’s Pride, Neighbour’s Envy was not just Onida’s iconic tagline, but a strategic measure used by multiple marketers to successfully sell their products and offerings.

Evoking envy or jealousy in consumer minds was considered crucial towards igniting the desire and aspiration to want a product and eventually make a purchase.

But in the digital age, envy no longer holds the sway for brands. A recent study by the UBC Sauder School of Business in Canada points out that envy as a marketing tool can backfire amongst consumers, especially with those having low self-esteem. When marketers use envy to sell products, they could very well end up with a bunch of sour grapes instead of sales and eventually also damage their brand equity and relationships with potential and current customers, says the study. This reverberates findings by the American Marketing Association, which had earlier stated that when consumers try to impress by aggressively displaying a particular brand they possess, others can end up disliking the brand, instead of aspiring to own the same.

Experts feel envy as an emotion has been essential in advertising and marketing.

“It is the basic fundamental need for consumers to want something they don’t have that drives sales. Envy is essential for selling cars, mobile phones and real estate. By using envy, a communication is able to stir an action in a consumer, without which the ad many not produce results,” says Akshar Peerbhoy, COO of creative agency MAA Communications.

There is no better marketing tool than pride and envy, says brand reputation strategist Salin Amanda Lewis, who feels luxury brands specifically need the element of envy. “We are human beings with that sixth sense and to us, ownership is power. To own a new edition of an iPhone is a matter of pride. The incapacity of a consumer to “own’’ is what instills envy. Envy encourages consumers to increase their purchasing power to become the owners of the product. The rest remain non-gratified not by choice, but by force,” says Lewis.

But in the digital era, when knowledge sharing is vibrant across connected devices, envy certainly cannot be the key emotion and marketing tool for brands. Experts feel consumers have loads of information that helps them make informed decisions.

According to Sidharth Singh, co-founder of CupShup, a contemporary creative agency, brands today need to work upon the same tenets of strategy which helped them in creating the “owner’s pride, neighbour’s envy’’ feel in the first place. And this includes assumption and validation. “Earlier, validation would come from a closely knit community. Validation which provided a sense of accomplishment started right from school when a kid used a Pilot pen and a man drove a Padmini. Validation from society was important. Secondly, consumers looked up to role models, but never knew whether they actually used the products they endorsed. You assumed Kapil Dev used Palmolive as he endorsed it. This twin strategy of validation and assumption worked for brands as they created a desire for products and made people buy them,” says Singh. He feels that today, assumption needs to be replaced with credibility and validation should be seen in a wider perspective that includes social media. “It has to be a three-pronged approach – anchor the right emotion, pivot the credibility from a set of users which will help in creating a sense of validation for your target audience’s personality.”

Experts say emotions are important for the marketing of brands. But the best-selling emotions are happiness and delight, says Peerbhoy.

A study by ZenithOptimedia shows brands that help digital natives and millennials achieve happiness stand a great chance of securing strong and productive relationships. Brands like Dove, Coca Cola, etc. have launched campaigns that evoke happiness. Dove’s #SpeakBeautiful and Coca Cola’s Open Happiness campaigns were aimed to instill positivity, peace and confidence amongst consumers and generate joy.

Singh says even if the product remains the same, the anchor emotion needs to be revisited in a periodic fashion. “For example, agents sold LIC policies by evoking fear by stating who will take care of your family in case of demise?. Instead of fear, brands should now anchor the contentment that you get when you secure your family.” Contentment eventually creates happiness.

“Emotions play a crucial role in making purchase decisions. And consumers have become more benefit driven in their purchasing habits. The tables have turned from a brand saying, 'Buy me as I am the best to buy me cause you are the best and I can give you what you want',’ says Peerbhoy.