Emotional steps towards stronger brands

Sammanfattning: Purpose: Emotional Intelligence (EI) has been widely discussed within business performance, but not as much in the context of branding. This paper argues that the use of EI permeates a successful brand building process towards increased brand equity and a stronger brand. Hence, the purpose is to investigate the role of EI in branding, by identifying capabilities of EI in the brand building process. Methodology: Through exploratory research of qualitative character, a multiple-case study was conducted and discussed with a theoretical framework as a basis of analysis. Findings: The paper shows how capabilities of EI could be used as part of every stage in “The strategic brand model” by Melin (1999) and that certain capabilities of EI are most likely to be used in certain stages. The stage of market communication has the possibility to be supported by most capabilities of EI, indicating the possibility of using emotional communication as a key strategy towards brand equity and a stronger brand. The paper also indicates how EI can explain a brand’s share of market compared to its competitors. Original/value: The paper is the first of its kind to combine a concept of EI with an established theoretical framework within branding.