Emotional Responses to Sustainability Appeals in Advertising: Possibilities for Understanding Brand Equity in Banks

Abstract

Companies have adopted green advertising in response to consumer demands for environmentally responsible practices and as part of their efforts to secure a competitive advantage. Moreover, banking institutions are known to employ emotional appeals to strengthen their brand equity. However, poorly executed campaigns may hinder consumers from forming emotional bonds and, consequently, from developing customer loyalty. Although previous studies have examined the relationships among corporate social responsibility, emotional advertising and brand equity, there remains a paucity of research linking these three dimensions. No prior study has empirically analysed this phenomenon through neuroscientific methods. This exploratory study aims to fill this gap by comparing individuals’ implicit and explicit emotional responses to two bank advertisements: one with a sustainability appeal and another without. For this purpose, the skin conductance levels and explicit emotional perceptions of university students were measured. The results indicated higher levels of emotional arousal in response to advertisements with a sustainability-focused narrative, consistent with the explicit data. This pattern was observed in both average skin conductance levels and peak responses. The findings provide relevant practical insights for marketing professionals in the banking sector, as they highlight the potential of neurophysiological methods to objectively assess and monitor brand-building strategies.