Creative That Connects: The Business Case for Emotion

Creative drives outcomes. 

Consider this, the quality and messaging of creative drives over half of your performance. Creative messaging could become even more important as 47% of buy-side decision-makers expect to heighten its focus on attention metrics¹. With the industry shift to ensuring consumers' eyes are on the ad, how do you make sure you’re taking advantage of the consumer's attention? 

There is no one answer, but I believe whether the goal is awareness or action— tapping into emotion gives you a measurable edge. Consumers are overwhelmed with options, but they remember how a brand makes them feel. Emotional creative cuts through the noise, drives action, and builds loyalty in a way that rational messaging can’t.

Emotion-driven creative is the next lever to drive deeper connection, stronger performance, and long-term brand equity. This is about moving from messaging that informs — to storytelling that moves people to act. Emotional advertising isn’t just creative — it’s effective.

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So let’s dig into why emotion is such a powerful tool — and why now is the moment to lean in.

• Emotions are processed faster than logic — we feel something before we even think about it. Humans process emotional stimuli faster than rational ones. That’s your split-second window to create a connection.
• Emotional memories are sticky. People won’t remember your offer or your CTA — but they’ll remember how your ad made them feel.
• Most buying decisions aren’t rational at all — they’re subconscious. Our brains make the decision emotionally, and only afterward do we build a logical case for it. Emotional responses are primarily processed in the limbic system — the part of the brain responsible for memory and decision-making.

According to a Stanford professor, around 90% of our decisions are emotional³. That’s not just for our industry, it’s for everything. If you’re not leading with emotion, you’re missing the moment where decisions are really made.

Emotion captures attention, but personalization makes it meaningful and relevant — aligning creative with individual interests, context, and mindset to drive deeper engagement and action. I want to show some stats that tell a clear story: when we make ads more personal and more emotional, performance follows. 

So whether your goal is performance, awareness, or both — emotional and dynamic creative isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s a competitive advantage; saving advertisers time & resources, messaging users directly, drives better campaign outcomes and allows for testing and iterating.

To wrap up, here are three key takeaways:

1. Emotional advertising isn’t just about storytelling — it’s about connection. Ads that tap into real feelings drive stronger engagement, better recall, and ultimately, more sales.
2. When we pair emotional creative with personalization, results accelerate. Tailoring messaging to specific audiences boosts both engagement and ROAS, especially when delivered across the right mix of screens.
3. It’s not one-size-fits-all. To scale impact, we need to think channel-first — using the unique strengths of CTV, OLV, display, and DOOH — and integrating features that drive interaction.The creative bar is higher than ever. But when we lead with emotion, personalize the experience, and activate smartly across channels — we connect in ways that truly move people.

¹“AMER_MQR_20th_Edition,” IAS, May 2025

²“Digital ads which evoke strong emotions are four times more likely to drive brand equity,” Kantar, May 2024

³“Nielsen Consumer Neuroscience Internal Study FMCG Brands” 2015

⁴Shiv, Baba. “More than a Feeling: The Keys to Making the Right Choice.” Stanford Graduate School of Business, 2017

⁵"2016 Jivox Benchmark Report", August 2016

⁶“Future of marketing: Personalisation guide: How to determine the best creative format for your brand”, Google, May 2023

⁷“The psychology of luxury travel: The key to attracting affluent consumers,” Google, November 2023 

⁸ “How Shoppers Look, Watch and Listen for New Products.” Nielsen, 2015