By Vanessa Doll
Many agencies’ brand-building philosophies utilize Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and Charles O. Russell’s Theory of Congruence in their strategy work, overtly or subtly. These two theories, revolving around logic and human psychology, converge and diverge throughout the early stages of consumer discovery. While Maslow’s theory of human motivation focuses on human needs, Russell’s philosophy emphasizes the importance of logical reasoning and critical thinking. Wielding both can help CPG food brands create more effective messaging and connect emotionally with their audience.
Maslow’s ‘Hierarchy of Needs’ in CPG Food Branding
Maslow’s theory of human motivation, often called “Maslow’s hierarchy of needs,” suggests that humans have various desires that they strive to fulfill, each in order. The hierarchy platform is basic physiological needs such as food, water, and shelter. As one moves up, other desires, such as safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization, come into play.
Understanding what needs your target audience has at each level, particularly how far along they are in their journey of self-actualization, can influence the messages that appeal to those needs. For example, your better-for-you CPG food brand may be aspirational if your consumer is evolving their self-esteem through a health and fitness journey. You can speak to this need for belonging to a community or results of self-esteem with an inspiring and knowing tone of voice.
Connecting Consumer Needs to Brand Messaging
Tapping into their “level” by making an intelligent connection will draw in the ideal consumer, so it’s good to analyze your brand and where it may meet the needs within Maslow’s hierarchy. The more clearly a brand understands the emotional need behind a consumer decision, the more effectively it can shape messaging that feels relevant rather than simply promotional.
“I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke” is the brand’s most successful campaign because it spoke directly to the desire for love and belonging to a generation experiencing similar “needs.” The campaign connected a familiar product with a larger emotional idea, demonstrating how brands can create meaning by understanding what their consumers are looking for beyond the product itself.
Russell’s Theory of Congruence and Brand Consistency
On the other hand, Bertrand Russell’s philosophy emphasizes critical thinking and logical reasoning. Russell believed logical reasoning and rational thought were essential for making informed decisions and solving complex problems. He also believed humans are prone to irrational decisions due to emotions, biases, and faulty reasoning.
According to this theory, people are more comfortable engaging with a product or an environment that maintains consistency. Successful marketing and branding thrive on this theory; the more a brand can create a universal world, the more comfortable the consumer will be with the brand (aka LOYAL).
Balancing Brand Consistency With Flexibility
From a consistent or notable color palette to a distinct tone of voice, every touchpoint with the brand should maintain some level of consistency, then flex within the appropriate environment. On-shelf may need to be more claim driven, where social can be a little more irreverent, but neither should conflict.
The trick is to find the balance between disruption and mass appeal for any brand. Consistency gives consumers something recognizable to hold onto, while flexibility allows the brand to behave appropriately in different environments. When those two things work together, the brand can feel cohesive without becoming predictable.
The Role of Human Psychology in CPG Food Branding
Starting with a basic understanding of these philosophies will help any brand builder get closer to the hearts and minds of their consumer (and yourself!). Maslow gives us a way to think about the human needs behind consumer behavior, while Russell provides a useful lens for consistency, logic, and familiarity.
The strongest brand strategies can use both perspectives without overcomplicating the work. Understand what your consumer needs, create an emotional connection that feels meaningful, and build it within a recognizable brand world, so crack those books.
Interested in the role of emotions for brand building? Check out this article.
For more on the basic psychology behind Maslow and Russell’s theories, https://www.simplypsychology.org/ does a decent job of toplining similar topics.
Vanessa is Partner & Director of Relationships at Freshmade. From bar owner to account lead, strategist to agency owner, she’s spent years in the trenches with leading CPG brands modernizing and optimizing their positioning to maximize growth.
Freshmade is a CPG Branding and Strategy Design agency focusing on food branding and package label design. We design for digital, from campaigns to websites, and have an in-house photography studio. Our goal is to accelerate growth for our clients through mouthwatering, thoughtful brand building and design. Notable clients we have designed CPG packaging for include Bolthouse Fresh, Evolution Fresh, Hartz, Publix, Mastronardi (Sunset), Annie Chun’s, Factor, and many more
