" Product differentiation within any consumer category is important to develop. But consumers may not perceive your product, taken on its own, as truly different. So the problem, and the opportunity, is to really build some kind of emotional connection between the brand and the consumer. "

(my emphasis added)

My problem with this notion is that:

1. It promulgates the idea that a company *can* build an emotional connection with a human being. I question this notion very strongly.

2. It further assumes that such a connection can be built by the unilateral action of one entity, without any particular prior interest or commitment on behalf of the other. I'm even more skeptical about this idea.

Now it may be that this is simply sloppy language, and that he means to say that the company can create an attractive brand, which in turn may induce customers to invest some emotion in their purchasing decisions, but even that seems a bit shonky to me.

For me, this sort of marketing boils down to promising people what they've just told you they want. Isn't that what all the "big dig" is about?

Whether or not your company actually delivers as promised will be the real test of your brand, the only one that really matters, in my opinion, as a customer.