Desire … It might seem simple enough, but it is a big word. It is six letters that refer to the things we want so intensely and deeply — the things we cannot stop thinking about. Making people want something is not easy, but making people desire something is a different thing entirely.
Have you ever wanted something so badly that you cannot stop thinking about it — just because of an ad?
There is an image that keeps playing in your mind, over and over again, making you want it more and more.
That is desire, a concept so complicated when it comes to the human psyche that few people really understand it. We know that it can be powerful and we know that it can be created from thin air.
A sudden desire for something based on something you saw or heard — that is the marketing white whale, the thing all marketers chase and want to achieve.
That is why Alrika Möller from media update is uncovering the secret to creating desire.
Creating desire through marketing — or desire marketing, as some call it — is a different thing from just marketing. It is a concept all on its own.
Marketing involves promoting a product through ads and various campaigns. That is where brands highlight their features and what makes them unique.
It is basically saying: Hi! Here is this thing. It can do all this cool stuff. It is better than other companies' versions of the same thing because of this reason. Ta-da!
Creating desire is about evoking emotions. You make your audience truly desire something when you make them feel real emotions or utilise emotions and situations they can relate to.
Marketing is about facts, stats and features. Creating desire is about making an emotional connection in some way, shape or form.
What is an example of desire marketing?
If you live in South Africa and own any TV or social media accounts, chances are you have seen the new KFC ad.
The ad takes place in Marion Island, South Africa. For those who didn't know (like me), Marion Island is a tiny, unpopulated archipelago located in the sub-Antarctic region of the Indian Ocean and falls under the administration of South Africa.
In the ad, they show a man who is working on the island as a researcher. He gets a video call from family and friends while they are all eating together. From the moment he watches the ad, the man is sad and feels a strong sense of longing.
Another researcher working with him finally reaches out and he reveals the reason for his ennui is the fact that his family and friends were eating KFC. The man is missing KFC!
The two researchers end up obsessing over the KFC in the video call. They then go on a quest to prepare themselves for a long journey to the nearest KFC because they desire it that much.
Why did this work?
Throughout the ad, they only actually show KFC products for 15 seconds in total — I checked!
What they do show is the emotion the man is feeling about missing the finger-licking good fast food. The ad goes into detail about the desperation he and his friend feel when they are literally willing to do anything to get to the nearest KFC.
That is what desire marketing is all about.
For the first minute of the ad, they make you think that he is missing his family and friends. Missing someone so deeply is a feeling a lot of people can identify with. It is a strong emotion.
They then use the rest of the ad to connect that powerful feeling of longing and desperation to do anything to get KFC.
All the emotions in this ad are powerful and also relatable. It is a feeling we know well, and so it immediately made us connect with the ad.
If you want to use desire marketing in an effective way, you need to identify a specific and powerful emotion. Explore some way that your audience may have felt this emotion before or utilise the nostalgia of that feeling.
When you then link the emotion to your brand or product, people will automatically feel an emotional connection, and you will create desire.
There are some really memorable ads out there. Are there any ads that have stood out to you lately? Let us know in the comment section below.
*Image courtesy of Canva