Unlocking Emotional Connections: How Rituals Help Brands Forge Deeper Bonds with Consumers

WARC Advisory, in collaboration with the creative, technology, and media group MSQ, has unveiled a groundbreaking whitepaper titled Harnessing the Power of Rituals: Where Marketing Meets Meaning. This research explores the pivotal role that rituals play in consumers' lives and how brands can leverage these rituals to establish deeper, more meaningful connections.

According to the report, 72% of surveyed consumers incorporate brands into their rituals at least occasionally, while 70% are open to adopting new rituals. Moreover, 39% of consumers feel more positively toward brands that become part of their rituals. These findings highlight the untapped potential for brands to strengthen emotional ties and foster long-term relationships with their customers.

The whitepaper defines rituals as a series of behaviors designed to trigger emotional transformation. By engaging in these rituals, brands can enhance their understanding of consumer behavior, creating opportunities for more meaningful brand-building. The analysis combines data from a WARC Advisory survey of 4,000 consumers across Germany, France, the UK, and the US, along with insights from expert interviews with marketers, cultural experts, and neuroscientists, including Dr. Marcus Collins from the University of Michigan and Sian Davies, Global Founder of The Behavioural Architects.

In addition, MSQ’s agency, Freemavens, used its Texture tool to analyze over 688,000 social media sources and 200 million search data points. They identified eight types of rituals—such as Security, Celebration, Identity, and Connection—across key consumer categories like Personal Care, Alcoholic Beverages, and Finances.

According to Kate Howe, Executive Director of MSQ, the whitepaper shows that “rituals provide more than a window into consumer behavior. They offer a path to building lasting brand relationships by aligning with the emotional transformations rituals create.”

Imaad Ahmed, Head of Advisory for WARC EMEA & Americas, added, “Our research reveals that brands that integrate into consumers’ rituals, even subtly, tend to grow in emotional value. By doing so, they can create experiences that resonate deeply, turning marketing into a meaningful connection.”

The whitepaper also offers guiding principles to help marketers identify and harness the power of rituals in consumers’ lives, providing a roadmap to enhance brand strategies.

Principle 1. Rituals are driven by personal meaning even when providing practical benefit 

One in four people surveyed say that, “creating the rules or beliefs for living my life” best describes the impact of their rituals, and nearly the same number agree that “rituals give my life purpose and meaning.” Rituals are most often connected to mindfulness and self-care, the report finds.

Principle 2. Rituals offer support for the individual in an atomised society 

Rituals are often thought of as something that individuals do to connect to others and create a sense of community, whether through religion, culture, sports, or other shared experiences. While those rituals are just as important today, the data showed how often rituals are used to support the individual. 56% of rituals centre around personal care, or deepening connections with others. Beyond being concentrated in our daily routines, these rituals are focused on nurturing self and relationships. The research finds that rituals are most often carried out inside the home, and twice as often individually, than with friends or family. Also 50% of consumers surveyed involve others in their rituals at least some of the time. 

3. Rituals provide structure and control in a volatile environment 

One of the core functions of rituals is to provide a stabilising mechanism to counteract the forces which may create an individual’s sense of losing control. Of those surveyed, structure (33%), escape (32%) and control (31%) were the top three benefits of rituals. 

4. Rituals create meaning in a world obsessed with efficiency

In a technology-driven culture that is hyper-focused on efficiency, people’s lives are more efficient than ever, resulting in a struggle to achieve a balance between mental and physical health, and overall happiness. In marketing, efficiency is by no means a bad thing. However, meaning and emotion in marketing messages and customer experience can often be lost in the quest for endless automation and efficiency. Rituals can enhance experiences and help to create rules and beliefs in people’s lives, the analysis finds.

Alongside presenting key insights, the whitepaper explores key macro forces and trends that are shaping rituals: Declining faith in institutions, the influence of social media on ritual discovery and sharing, shifting priorities in the post-pandemic economy, and new rituals forming across generational divides. 

While marketing campaigns built entirely around rituals are rare, the report provides case studies of brands that have optimised ritual behaviour to solve a business challenge, from KFC to The Guardian. The study also offers actionable insights for brands wanting to tap into the power of rituals.

The full report can be read here.