Every great brand evokes some sort of emotion from consumers. Brands spend millions to achieve this passionate connection between themselves and their audience. Carefully crafted campaigns, stunning visual graphics, catchy tag lines, and the promise of satisfaction all contribute to the emotional punch behind our favorite brands.

How do you arrive at the one element of a brand that will hit consumers emotions? Tactics include creating a need for the product or service, focusing the brand on one segment of the marketplace, and being the first.

Microsoft. Microsoft Windows is needed to run almost any non-Macintosh PC. Though it was not the first company to create an operating system for a computer (Apple created the first), Microsoft developed and licensed an operating system that the world has adopted. The incredibly strong brand leads by dominance. Over the past two decades, computer users have learned to both trust and rely on this brand. Introduction of any new operating system, such as Google’s Chrome will find it hard to win a significant portion of Microsoft’s market share.

Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts. Two great, emotional brands. The growing rivalry and ultimate success between these east and west coast coffee brands is that they effectively target very different audiences. Dunkin Donuts is everyday coffee for everyday people while Starbucks targets the indulgence and satisfaction of the “luxury” coffee drink.

Coca Cola. Many people have an emotional attachment to Coca Cola, not because it is their favorite soft drink, but because it was the first. Coke does a great job of keeping the nostalgic and historic aspects of the their brand prevalent in all their advertising and graphics.

Enabling consumers to identify with a brand through emotion will create a stronger bond, resulting in a more loyal customer base. When positioning a brand or its products and services, create a powerful story that will trigger emotion and create a connection with consumers—a strategy that will help the brand to always stay top-of-mind.