We humans like to think we’re highly rational creatures, logically weighing the pros and cons of life. However, we actually make a lot of decisions based on our emotions, including what we buy. MRIs have shown that while evaluating brands, consumers use emotions, including personal feelings and experiences, more than information, like product features and facts.
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This reliance on emotion presents a bit of a communication puzzle. How do you communicate a feeling? How do you tap into those emotions in situations where the consumer can’t directly feel or hear or smell your product?
For example, say you’re selling a car. It’s easy to list out horsepower and MPG and safety features, but before the consumer steps into a vehicle, how do you make them feel how awesome it is to drive your car?
Nissan has a really cool solution: a virtual reality experience that captures the feelings and emotions of getting behind the wheel.
In the “Chase the Thrill” experience, you hop on a treadmill, get hooked up to a bunch of sensors, and become a “rollerblading android” chasing a Nissan Juke. Fast.Co.Create has a great feature on the experience and interviewed one of the creators, who explained, “We saw an opportunity to create an experience for people to feel the excitement of driving and set out to do so an innovative way that would really get their hearts beating.”
You can find “Chase the Thrill” at the Paris Motor Show, where it’s busy communicating those essential emotions, no test drives required.