This document was developed by Corporate Excellence – Centre for Reputation Leadership and among other sources contains references to the book Brand Psychology written by Jonathan Gabay, British lecturer and expert in Brand, Reputation and Communication and published by Kogan Page in 2015.

1. In the 21st century, neuroscience agrees with most
of the findings of social psychology in the second
half of the past century: to be able to trust, first it is
necessary to emotionally believe and to have faith
and hope in those beliefs, that is to say, we can
only trust what we believe. Understanding the link
between neural networks and behavioural patterns
allow us to see how brand psychology works.
As we learn more about something and gain broader
experience, our feeling —and need— of purpose
and meaning also increases. According to Jonathan
Gabay, British lecturer, expert in Reputation and
Communication and author of Brand Psychology,
brands make us internalise those beliefs and purpose
and enable us to identify with something and feel
motivated and united.
New relation models
Brands cannot longer depend on traditional
marketing and branding strategies. Nowadays,
people don’t look what a brand does, its benefits,
how it makes them feel or how it identifies with
them... Today the spotlight is on what brands share
with their stakeholders.
Things such as design, logos, packaging, contact
points, promises, experiences or purposes still
are —and will be— important, but at this time
conversations, content, relationships, stories and
reputations carry more weight. Gabay says that
today, authenticity is the more powerful link
between emotional and rational aspects and moves
further away from the false and untrustworthy
promises we have experienced until now.
Why is it easier to trust certain companies and people rather than others? How can
trust be built through our beliefs? How are emotions and logical thinking connected?
What areas of the brain are affected at the same time in both hemispheres?
Strategy Documents
L16/2015
Reasons and Emotions that
Guide Stakeholder’s Decisions
and Have an Impact on
Corporate Reputation
Brand
Book Summaries
This document was developed by Corporate Excellence – Centre for Reputation Leadership and among other sources contains references to
the book Brand Psychology written by Jonathan Gabay, British lecturer and expert in Brand, Reputation and Communication and published by
Kogan Page in 2015.

2. Book Summaries 2
Reasons and
Emotions that
Guide Stakeholder’s
Decisions and
Have an Impact on
Corporate Reputation
People no longer feel addicted and attached to
celebrities, movie stars, athletes and important
business people, instead of that, they now feel
closer —both physical and emotionally— to other
people like them: employees, friends, colleagues and
acquaintances.
Gabay claims that this is not only happening in
the business or commercial field, actually it also
occurs in the personal, professional, cultural or
institutional spheres. Jonathan Gabay defends
that transparency is another basic element that
links emotional and rational aspects by reporting
falsehood and dishonest messages, which are not
coherent with the behaviours stated.
The left hemisphere of the brain
The left-brain is in charge of carrying out logic
thinking, numbers, writing, and language, this is,
the rational elements. Thus, values, rational trust,
mission, promises and personal interests (ego) are
located in this hemisphere.
However, thanks to neuroscience, we know that
deductive or rational thinking begins with an idea
—an emotional belief— that has been assumed
true. From this idea, that principle that socially
has a moral character (we see what we believe), we
interpret and judge different situations. The theory
of reasoned action, proposed by Azjen and Fishbein
within the social psychology field in the 70s and 80s
explained something similar.
Consequently, abductive reasoning (from a fact
to an hypothesis) justifies our actions and ponders
commonly accepted behaviours before issuing
a specific judgement; while inductive reasoning
passes general judgements from particular examples.
On the other hand, new behaviours are easily
acquired through continuous exposure to new
routines and the interpretation of messages depends
more on the context where those messages are issued
than on what they literally say. Again, context and
emotions give meaning to reasons.
The right hemisphere of the brain
The right side of the brain controls feelings, senses,
images or space, this is, it is dominant for emotion.
Beliefs, faith, purpose, expectations or public
interest (altruism) can be found in this hemisphere.
Beliefs are based on a logic premise developed by
stories and conversations (that’s why storytelling
has become so common). Contents show the
brand narrative to stakeholders and lead the way
to share beliefs and faith by telling stories that are
captivating and sustainable over time.
But those beliefs need to be supported or opposed
by the brand values. There are five values that
a brand can give to its consumers or customers,
but also employees, shareholders and the rest of
stakeholders:
1. Functional: what it does for me or to me.
2. Social: what it does for the rest.
3. Emotional: what feelings it makes me arise.
4. Epistemic: anticipated reward for trying
another brand.
5. Conditional: the fulfilment given by living an
authentic experience.
Individual subconscious and general unconscious
mind also play an important role in the right side of
the brain, specially, when it comes to evaluations.
Both rational elements or judgements (related to
introverted functions such as thinking or feeling)
and emotional elements or perceptions (related to
extroverted functions such as intuition) are highly
significant in this regard.
Jonathan Gabay uses the theories by psychologist
Karl Gustav Jung to explain how we link both
sides of the brain when taking decisions and how
«Today,
neuroscience
agrees
with social
psychology:
to be able to
rationally trust
in something,
first you need
to emotionally
believe in it,
have faith and
hope»
Figure 1: From brand features to brand inclusion
Source: Brand Psychology
Brand
Features
WHAT IT
HAS
1900s
Brand
Benefits
WHAT IT
DOES
1930s
Brand
Experience
HOW YOU
FEEL
1960s
Brand
ID
WHO YOU
ARE
2000s
Brand
Inclusion
WHAT WE
SHAPE
NOW

3. Book Summaries 3
Reasons and
Emotions that
Guide Stakeholder’s
Decisions and
Have an Impact on
Corporate Reputation
our personal subconscious mind is the result of the
connection between general unconscious mind and
personal ego or personality.
It is true that everyone uses introverted and
extroverted elements when taking decisions, but
the archetypes described by Jung (acquired through
the general unconscious mind and expressed in
personality) define how we identify ourselves with
one specific brand and which elements (thoughts
and sensations or feelings and intuitions) are
more important in our decisions and in previous
perceptions.
After years of experience treating his patients, Jung
collected enough empiric information to claim that
individual perceptions are essentially irrational and
are based on universal or general archetypes that
are shared socially and for which there is a prior
opinion or default position.
Expectation management is particularly important
in brand reputation management. Expectations
represent how strong a person believes in his or
her ability to get emotional rewards (intrinsic
motivation) as material rewards (extrinsic
motivations). Hence, this is a subjective way to
measure self-confidence when achieving the results
expected that, at the same time, depend also on
other people’s actions.
For this reason, surpass standard expectations of
the competitors and the whole market improves
reputation. However, the risk of not being able to
reach those expectations or doing it when that level
is already assumed as a new standard is high and can
be very damaging. Thus, it is important to promote
a constant and disruptive innovation in reputation
management.
The reason can be found at
the cingulate cortex
Why people do what they do? What guides and
establishes our behaviour? By knowing the reason
for human mind means, we know the reasons and
feelings and understand that the link between
both sides guides our expectations, perceptions,
attitudes and behaviours.
However, the amount of information that brands
are storing thanks to the digital world —the Big
Data —or the different algorithms used to analyse
«“Emotions
control
decisions and
search the
logic reason
in the left side
of the brain
(a logos) that
fits with the
emotional
reason
found in the
right side (a
pathos)»
Figure 2: Jung´s map of the psyche
Source: Brand Psychology
OUTER WORLD
INNER WORLD
PERSONAL
Consciousness
Personal
Unconscious
Collective
Unconscious
Consciousness
Personal
Unconscious
Collective
Unconscious
Anima-Animus
EGO
SELF
SHADOW

4. Book Summaries 4
Reasons and
Emotions that
Guide Stakeholder’s
Decisions and
Have an Impact on
Corporate Reputation
that information are almost useless if brands ignore
their stakeholders’ expectations or are unable to
gain their trust.
According to Gabay, human’ search of common
sense goes beyond all the usual questions in
political and corporate field that until now insisted
on asking what, where, when, how or who.
But today, brand reputation and the fact that
people believe in and trust a brand depend on the
decisions where emotional and rational memories
crash. The cingulate cortex, which surrounds and
connects both sides of the brain, is responsible
of shaping the emotions that process the data
related to learning, behaviour or memory and that
anticipate perceptions, attitudes and subsequent
behaviours.
That’s why emotions control our decisions and
look for a logical reason in the left hemisphere (a
logos or argumentation) that is coherent with the
emotional reason that they have found previously
in the left side (a pathos or emotion). On top of
that, everything is supported by an ethos or moral
conviction. These three elements are necessary to
gain a good reputation as a brand. It is with good
reason that Aristotle considered logos, pathos and
ethos the essential conditions for a good speech
that is, at the same time, a project in itself, a reality.
Figure 3: The cingulate gyrus enables the brain´s left and right lobes to perform a wide
variety of tasks
Source: Brand Psychology
cingulate
gyrus

5. Leading by
reputation
©2015, Corporate Excellence – Centre for Reputation Leadership
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lead and consolidate professional reputation management as a strategic asset, fundamental for building value of companies around the world.
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