How Apple Sells Feelings, Not Features

A quick reminder from our friends at Apple on how to lead with emotional branding (and sell) instead of listing features, using techie gibberish, and presenting screen shots. You'll notice they change it up a bit after the fold, but they always use language that connects their products with feelings rather than performance.

Tile 1: They lead with an emotional message for Valentine's Day, suggesting their products make easy gifts.

Tile 2: The product shots for the new iPhones are artistic, not a list of features or pricing grid. The tone ("say hello") is conversational and friendly.

Tile 3: You're shown a cute dog, and invited to experience being at the live event. They are actually introducing their "Vision Pro" headset, but you aren't slammed with resolution details or other tech features.

Tile 4: "The ultimate way to watch your health" suggests their new Apple Watch Series 11 is about peace of mind and self-care, instead of heart rate sensors.

Tile 5: The Black Unity Band is about shared community and connection, making it a symbol of belonging instead of a product.

Tiles 6 & 7: Breaking from their emotional angle, they cater to the techies by mentioning that iPad Air tablets are now "supercharged" with M3 chips. 

Tile 8: Although the emotional play is more subtle here, it removes the guilt and hassle associated with upgrades. We're not sure what happens to the trade in, but most would assume it gets refurbished and used again.

Tile 9: We're finally offered a bribe of 3% daily cash back to use the Apple Card. This might still be considered an emotional play to some...depending on your individual dopamine hit received with the news. ;)

Entertainment Carousel: Last but not least, Apple associates itself with movie stars and evocative taglines for each show. They're selling feelings (not streaming content) with language that creates curiosity and aspiration including "Happiness is a state of mind", "Who can you trust when it's all on the line?", and "Kindness makes a comeback".

Don't forget, this isn't simply an example of how to brand on a website. It works because the same emotional branding strategy remains consistent across their other channels as well including physical retail stores, direct marketing, social media engagement, print ads, and outdoor advertising like billboards.