The use of Emotional Marketing: Google Earth's powerful advertisement.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Google-Maps-Helps-Man-Reunited-with-Family-in-Emotional-Ad-391615.shtml

     I came across this beautiful piece of advertising on my Yahoo home page the other day. Anything that is related to feelings and emotions, family or children, you can bet I will take a look. 

     This is the story of a little boy who was separated by his family on a train, adopted to another country and manages find his childhood home and ultimately his mother and family, with the help of Google Earth and Google Maps, over two decades later. The advertisement starts out with music meant to make you feel empathy and when Saroo Brierley starts speaking, his voice is like butter and you want more. For those of you that have seen Life of Pi, This commercial instantly takes me back to that movie and the way the movie made me feel; emotionally attatched. He tells his story and you see a picture the young boy looking so alone. You see his adopted mother and you can tell she nurtured and supported this boy to become the amazing man he is today. He tells of his childhood memories and how, with the development of technology; Google Earth and Maps, he was able to track down the very train station he boarded with his family so many years ago. He manages to find his childhood home and low and behold, he turns a corner to see his mother. Still waiting outside for her lost little boy to come home. A family reunites and you see this mother hanging on to her son with a look in her eye that is loss and hope at the same time. He vows to take care of her and you see again his adopted mother and know that he has the capacity to love both of them the way only a child can love his mom.

     He describes his idea as a "Needle in a Haystack." Finding his long lost family after being adopted to a country he didn't know, with only childhood memories to guide him. I feel this advertisement was aimed directly at me and those older than I. Perhaps to parents of any age, but the saying "needle in a haystack" takes me back to my childhood days but something I don't hear much of anymore. My generation has the understanding of technology perhaps a little more than those a bit older and most of us are parents so the lost child hits close to home. Some of us have lost parents, or have parents who might start needing us more than we had ever thought and the idea being able to ease their pain hits a certain emotional spot. This ad is very well done. I didn't cry near as much the second and third time I watched as I did the first time, but the emotion is very real and I found my self thinking about the ad at various times for no reason in particular.

     The bottom line is this advertisement teaches what hope, determination and perseverance can do when you have the right technology to go with it. Lifetime dreams can be accomplished with only some thought, and the right program. Google Earth closes this ad with their slogan; HELLO WORLD! Google, you had me at "Hello." 

Lifting A Child's Spirit

Every year Spirit Halloween collects donations for a local children's hospital in which 100 % of the proceeds are given the the Child Life Department of the hospital. Every Spirit Halloween store has posters, commercials on their song list, and merchandise that helps raise awareness for the cause. The hospital for our district is the Seattle Children's Hospital which also happens to be the hospital my son goes to every six weeks. The Child Life Department specializes in the emotional and educational aspects of recovery and coping skills.The catchphrase that they use is "Making the families hospital stay a little less scary." Child Life Specialist are trained to explain things in a way that the children and their families will understand as well as being an open ear for any concerns or fears that the patient or their family may have. The money raised from donations provides families with educational tools that will help their children excel in recovery as well as emotional growth. Spirit of Children directs their advertising to any and everyone who wants to make a difference in a child's life. They offer glow bracelets for a small donation, enthusiastically ring the donation bell which always draws more people in, display your name and donation on the wall, and last but not least, offer empathy as well as sympathy for those who understand the pain of a severely sick child. To make things even easier, they offer a donation spot at check out for online orders as well. The week before Halloween Spirit puts on a fun party at the hospital for the kids in treatment and recovery offering free costumes, face painting, games, prizes and trick-or-treat bags. Spirit of Children does not compete with any other charities, but they do have contests and incentives for employees between districts to see who can raise the most money for their hospital. I personally donate 10% of all my checks earned at that store in honor of my son Ryker because we happen to be one of the families who benefit from these donations. Every doctor and nurse at Seattle Children's have been more than amazing in helping us remain educated and high spirited through our long journey to recovery.