Integrating Brand Strategy And Positive Psychology

Emmanuel ProbstNovember 12, 20193 min

Barbara Frederickson is a leading researcher in the field of social psychology and positive psychology. That is, she studies love and other positive emotions such as joy, inspiration, and pride, through the lens of social science, rooted in research studies, hypothesis, and data. One of the ways she suggests we can cultivate positive emotions is by creating positivity portfolios. Each portfolio is made of mementos, images, gifts, music and objects that evoke a specific positive emotion such as joy, pride and amusement. Participants typically spend two days creating the portfolio, and the rest of the week looking through it. One of the many contributors to this book, Anna Lucas, studies positive psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. As such, she chose gratitude as a theme for her current positivity portfolio. Overtime, Anna has assembled numerous positivity portfolios, each looking at a different positive emotion. Anna told me the exercise permeates throughout her day and her whole week. The portfolio makes it easier and faster to prime herself with positive emotions. Each time she needs a boost, she can look back at her positivity portfolios and enjoy the memories they evoke.

Case Study: How Spartan Race Delivers Authentic Happiness Through Positive Psychology

Spartan Race organizes obstacle course races that challenge people to get out of their comfort zone and push their physical and mental limits. Before showing up for a race, you train for it “like a Spartan,” weeks, sometimes months in advance. Spartan organizes classes that are aimed at preparing people physically while fostering a community. Racers also receive nutrition advice and are encouraged to shop for Spartan Gear. Upon completing the race, you receive a medal: tangible proof that you challenged yourself, acquired the necessary skills and achieved your goal. Today, Spartan Race organizes over 200 events a year, each race gathering up to 10,000 participants. Spartan race hits on all three dimensions of authentic happiness: it delivers an instant pleasure through a challenging workout that feels immediately rewarding. It helps people experience flow through its training and nutrition programs, in preparation for the race. Finally, it fosters a community of like-minded individuals that share their achievements, making their success all the more meaningful.

How Can Your Brand Implement Positive Psychology?

Ask yourself, how your brand can contribute to fulfilling the following four quests:

Pleasure

How can you deliver something that feels rewarding immediately and helps your customers savor the experience over time?

Flow

Help your clients acquire new skills and achieve new goals. The key is to set goals that feel challenging for most people but are still attainable. Before finding success with Spartan Race, founder Joe De Sena lost millions of dollars trying to launch Peak.com, which was meant to become a hub for extreme adventure. As it turns out, not many people are willing to trek 350 miles or more through the Sahara or climb Mount Everest.

Deep Satisfaction

We are not just talking about good customer service and managing call waiting time here. How will your product or service make a long-lasting positive impact on your customers lives?

Meaning

How can your brand and its products help people make their lives more meaningful?

You will find many more case studies and tips in my new book Brand Hacks: How to Grow your Brand by Fulfilling the Human Quest for Meaning.

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