The Happiest Brands In the World

Some brands do more than just make us buy them. They make us love them.

Choosy Moms choose Jif.

Unless your mom used Skippy in which case you probably do too. The same way you buy Tide laundry detergent even if ALL is on sale.

Crest over Colgate, Brawny over Bounty, brand loyalty is a personal thing. But preferences aside, some brands do more than just make us buy them—they make us love them.  “A brand that creates emotional joy is a rare thing,” says Pierre Chandon, a professor of marketing at international business school INSEAD.

These products provide either hedonistic or symbolic value to the customer, says Chandon, meaning they just feel good or create an emotional attachment to the brand itself, something he likens to religion for many.  “People align themselves with a brand that reflects what they see when they look in the mirror,” he says. Whether it’s Nike, Target, Heineken or Starbucks, Chandon says, “For many, the brands of the products we use are how we show people who we are.”

Happiness Tactic No. 1: Make Us Feel Like a Kid Again

“Certain companies know that they have something—a classic label, a certain smell or taste or feel—that make people remember their childhoods, a time people relate to being happy and worry-free,” says Richard Laermer, CEO of Richard Laermer PR and author of Punk Marketing. Called Proustian Memories, these psychological occurrences are something the marketers of “happy” brands have taken full advantage of–think Johnson and Johnson, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, Campbell’s Soup and Coca Cola.

“There’s not a person alive who can hold a can of Coke and not have a fond memory,” he says, but Campbell’s Soup is the ultimate nostalgic brand on the market. “Campbell’s instantly creates the sense of childhood, of coming inside after a cold day—but most of all being loved,” Laermer says. Campbell’s, founded in 1869, uses marketing campaigns to remind us of its history of providing fast, healthy comfort food.

And we’re more than happy to stock up.  The company’s “Mmm Mmm Good” slogan keeps Americans smiling as they purchase nearly 3 billion cans of soup each year.

Happiness Tactic No. 2: Make Us Feel We’re Part of Something Bigger

Some brands evoke the happiness of childhood while others lift the spirits of consumers by helping them to feel connected to a global good. “The happiness of ‘happy’ brands starts at the top,” says Ned Russell, managing director of Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness. “These are brands aligned with a purpose. It’s not something you need an MBA to understand—more a promise, or a mantra of virtue. Those virtues are built into the product and the experience,” he says, “and the consumer feels as If they are as valuable of a part of that experience as any.”

Are you a Mac or a PC? Mac users proselytize for the company in part because they feel like they are a part of the company says Russell, supporting the underdog in a battle against the perceived giant computer companies; the same tactic used by bad boy Virgin Atlantic against the big boy airlines. The result? Fierce loyalty.

Similarly Prius drivers belong to the club of environmentally-friendly front-runners. Those who are changing the world one mile at a time. “In helping consumers to support something they believe in by making a purchase, brands with a mission are making their customers happy people,” Russell says.

But what about when a company’s very mission is happiness? Take Zappos.com, the online shoe retailer that built its business on massive inventory, free shipping and real-life-human customer service. The company’s David Hsieh has put a premium on happiness since the very beginning, even writing a book about the experience, Delivering Happiness. The result, Russell observes, is a customer base who doesn’t just buy shoes because they need them, but shops at Zappos because the entire experience is a positive one. Order a pair of sneakers and the box arrives in days. It’s bright yellow and covered in the world “happy!”

Happiness Tactic No. 3: Help Us Escape

Apple does a lot of things for a lot of people, but Marian Salzman, CEO of Euro RSCG Public Relations, credits the firm for helping consumers everywhere escape. “Plug in, check out,” she says. The ubiquitous earbuds are a sign to those around you that you’re busy, she says, “that you’re somewhere else,” while the iPhone and iPad and portable laptops actually enable us to be “anywhere at anytime” thanks to portability, wireless internet and Skype. “I look at my kids on their iPhones,” she says. “And at the same time they’re sitting on the couch in Connecticut, they’re talking to a friend on Skype in another country.” For them, Apple has given them a ticket to the whole wide world.

For others, the escape is more physical. For work-at-home freelancers and stay-at-home moms, the place to congregate is the Starbucks—whether it’s the early morning coffee run or the mid-afternoon Frappuccino pick-me-up. “For a big population of people, women in particular,” says Salzman, “Starbucks is their clubhouse, and often the difference between losing her mind at home or not losing her mind at all.” Consumerism overload aside—Laermer likens Starbucks to a foreign bazaar (“It’s too noisy! They’re hawking books and trinkets and even the music they play.”)—for a certain demographic, Salzman sees it as a much-needed escape, and one that makes people very, very happy.

Happiness Tactic No. 4: Let Us Help

When Facebook makes a formatting change, or alters its privacy settings, their 800 million Friends are the first to complain. In fact, it seems like nearly 50% of posts on Facebook are about Facebook. “But we forgive them just as fast,” says Russell. “I think deep down consumers get that Facebook is listening. That Facebook is trying to be innovative, and they may not always get it right. But when they get it wrong, they let us tell them. And most of the time, they listen.”

The same can be said for other brands people feel passionately about. When companies make us feel we’re being heard—and our input is a part of the innovation process—we feel valued, he says, and so we make allowances for not-so-perfect products. J. Crew, which has sprung from mail-order obscurity in recent years to become what Salzman calls the “Barney’s of Main Street U.S.A.” uses Facebook to engage customers in an ongoing dialogue about its clothing. The company’s nearly 400,000 Facebook fans regularly give the style destination feedback on sizing, design and colors.

So—do you like your iPhone or do you love your iPhone? In the wake of Steve Jobs’ untimely passing this week, Salzman reflects on the outpouring of love for the Apple founder. “I think we’re going to see a bit of a Princess Diana effect in the way people are going to shop. For marketers, there’s a new standard being set. It’s no longer ‘I want you to like me,’ it’s ‘I need you to love me,’” she says. “and that’s a crazy bar to raise.”

Meghan Casserly - Forbes