Mindshare finds ways to improve favorability among the movable middle with emotion-driven advertising

Goal

Uncover new strategies for impacting consumer perception and elevating ad effectiveness on streaming TV

Mindshare is a global media agency that drives outsized value for clients by leveraging innovative strategies and new technology. Through its research arm, NeuroLab, Mindshare is able to challenge assumptions and validate marketing strategies with proper experimental design.

Mindshare sought to explore how emotional context influences consumer perception and drives brand metrics, using both qualitative insights (written responses) and quantitative data (ratings in favorability, brand perception, and post-exposure intent).

At Mindshare, we’re dedicated to staying ahead of media and technology trends. Contextual targeting has become a hot topic in programmatic TV ad buying, both for ensuring brand safety and capturing viewer attention. To test this concept, we partnered with Wurl and their BrandDiscovery solution, to leverage their advanced technology for aligning ad emotions to programming, on a scene-level. This approach allowed us to analyze the impact of both resonant and dissonant contexts with greater accuracy.

Terence Scroope

Executive Director, Head of Data Strategy, North American
Choreograph

Solution

Mindshare’s NeuroLab conducted a study using Wurl’s BrandDiscovery to measure the effectiveness of emotional alignment in driving brand KPIs

To evaluate how emotional alignment impacts ad performance, NeuroLab used Wurl’s BrandDiscovery solution to produce an emotional scorecard. The scorecard measured eight core emotions: anger, anticipation, disgust, fear, joy, sadness, surprise, and trust. They then showed over 1,900 participants the creatives within TV programming that had either resonant, neutral, or dissonant emotional contexts. Participants were surveyed both before and after watching the ads to understand the ad’s role in impacting brand awareness and brand impressions.

By evaluating different emotional contexts—resonant, neutral, and dissonant—Mindshare tested the hypothesis that resonant contexts enhance brand favorability, while dissonant contexts generate negative attention (i.e. grab attention but harm the brand’s image by feeling out of place or disruptive).

Results

Findings revealed that emotional alignment boosted brand favorability, while misalignment diminished it

The study revealed that emotional alignment indeed has an impact on brand favorability and perception. Ads in resonant emotional contexts boosted brand favorability, with 12 out of 16 measured brand attributes showing positive changes in ratings. This was particularly true for the “movable middle”—consumers who came into the study neutral to the brand. Among this group, 60% of respondents felt more favorable towards the advertised retailer after seeing the ad in a resonant context. This finding highlights the potential for emotional targeting to break through to new customers.

Conversely, dissonant emotional contexts triggered negative attention. The number of negative comments about the retailer doubled when the ad clashed with the surrounding TV programming. In the qualitative portion of the survey, respondents who had seen the ad in dissonant contexts described the ad as “inappropriate” and “in bad taste,” with some saying it made the information harder to recall and others noting it reduced their likelihood of purchasing from the retailer. These findings highlight that emotional alignment not only boosts brand favorability but also protects against damaging brand perception.

In advertising, it’s always critical to find ways to stand out. The BrandDiscovery study revealed that while both resonant and dissonant emotional contexts can help grab more attention, resonant contexts portray the brand positively, while dissonant contexts—where the ad clashes with surrounding content—can generate ‘negative attention’ and harm brand favorability. This was reflected in higher favorability in resonant contexts and a 2X increase in negative comments when ads appeared in dissonant contexts.

The bottom line? Get your contextual alignment right, and you can drive brand KPIs. Miss the mark, and you risk losing ground.

Terence Scroope

Executive Director, Head of Data Strategy, North American
Choreograph

Footnotes:

¹ Wurl + Mindshare: January 2025, resonant ad group, favorability change for the movable middle
² Wurl + Mindshare: January 2025, resonant ad group, rating of attributes to this question, “When thinking about [the retailer], which of the following best describes your impression of it?”
³ Wurl + Mindshare: January 2025, dissonant ad group, responses to the question “Without thinking too much about it, what are your initial emotions or feelings about [the retailer] while watching the video?”

Mindshare is a global media agency within GroupM, focused on driving business growth through data-driven insights, innovative strategies, and cutting-edge technology. Specializing in media planning, digital transformation, and consumer engagement, Mindshare helps brands maximize their impact in a rapidly changing marketplace.

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