What is Brand Excitement and How Do You Accurately Measure it?
In a world experiencing ‘choice overload’, what makes someone feel something about your brand?
That spark of energy, that moment they say, “I love this”.
That’s Brand Excitement.
It’s not just about recognition or loyalty. It’s about buzz, emotion, movement. And while it can feel intangible, it can be measured, if you know what to look for.
What is Brand Excitement?
Brand Excitement is the emotional energy people associate with your brand. It shows up as curiosity, pride, enthusiasm or even urgency to act. It’s what makes people stop scrolling, share your post, try your product, or talk about you without being asked. It’s the feeling that your brand is doing something fresh, relevant, and alive.
You’ll know you’ve created it when your audience isn’t just aware of your brand, they’re energised by it.
Why Brand Excitement Matters
People don’t buy from brands because they understand them. They buy because they feel something. Rational messaging builds trust, but emotion drives action.
For ambitious companies, especially in emerging markets, disruptive industries or purpose-led spaces, Brand Excitement is a key driver of momentum. It gets you noticed, shared, funded, and followed.
It’s also contagious. A buzz around your brand attracts partners, talent, and advocates who want to be part of something bold.
How Do You Measure It?
Brand Excitement isn’t just about likes and followers. It requires a broader view, combining data, context and human insight. Here’s how we measure it:
1. Emotional Engagement
Look at the tone and quality of comments, shares, and DMs. Are people reacting emotionally? Are they inspired, surprised or curious? Sentiment analysis tools can help, but so can good old human review.
2. Brand Momentum Metrics
Monitor growth in branded search, direct traffic, newsletter signups and referral links. Spikes in these areas often follow moments of high Brand Excitement.
3. Community Activity
Are people forming groups, creating content, or running events around your brand? When audiences become co-creators, you’ve hit a new level of excitement.
4. Media and Influencer Attention
Unprompted press, shares by ‘tastemakers’ or industry experts, and unexpected collaborations are signs your brand is generating interest beyond its own reach.
5. Internal Vibes
What’s the energy like inside your team? Are people proud to wear the logo? Are they sharing new ideas unprompted? Internal excitement is often a precursor to external momentum.
Final Thoughts
Brand Excitement isn’t a vanity metric. It’s a signal that people care. That your story is landing. That you’re doing something worth watching. At Hiatus, we design brands that don’t just show up, they shake things up.
Because when a brand is exciting, it doesn’t need to shout. People lean in.
You might also like:
Too many products are marketed like spec sheets.
Faster. Lighter. Smarter. More powerful. More features than the competition. On paper, it all sounds impressive. In reality, most audiences skim straight past it.
The reason is simple. People do not buy products because of what they are. They buy them because of what they fix
If your website looks good but isn’t being found on Google, you are not alone. Many SMEs invest in a smart design, publish a few core pages, then wait for traffic that never really arrives. The problem usually is not the design, it is discoverability.
Most websites don’t fail because the product is bad. They fail because the visitor lands, looks around, and thinks, “What the hell do I do next.”
That moment is often the result of choice overload. Too much text, too many buttons, too many pages, too many “priorities” all shouting at once.
This is where Hick’s Law comes in.
When was the last time you truly looked at your website as someone visiting for the first time?
It’s easy to forget that what feels intuitive to you might feel confusing, slow, or even frustrating to someone else. That’s where a usability audit comes in.
Your website isn’t just a digital shopfront, it’s your best salesperson.
It works 24/7, never takes a holiday, and shapes your customer’s first impression long before they speak to you.
When attention spans are short and options are endless, your site has just a few seconds to make someone feel they’ve come to the right place.
When visitors land on your website, you have less than five seconds to make a good impression.
In that tiny window, they’ll decide whether to stay or go.
And the first thing they read, is your hero tagline, that tells people who you are, what you do, and why they should care. If it’s vague, full of jargon, or simply missing, you’re wasting prime digital real estate.
When it comes to website security, everything valuable stays locked inside, with clear rules on who can enter and when. But just like with real fences, it’s the gaps, the loose panels, rusted locks, and overlooked corners, that become entry points for trouble.
A powerful planning concept our founders learned whilst serving in elite units of the British military, red teaming is a practice used to challenge assumptions, stress-test plans, and uncover vulnerabilities before they’re exploited.
Originally formulated by Robert Metcalfe to describe the impact of networking in telecommunications, Metcalfe’s Law states that the value of a network is proportional to the square of the number of connected users. But in the 21st century, the principle has since been applied to social media, digital platforms, and even websites.
You may not realise it, but at the core of your website and brand is a 'design system,' a method of understanding that helps to harness principles like the Aesthetic-Usability Effect, Jakob's Law, Law of Least Mental Effort, Law of Similarity, Serial Position Effect, and the Von Restorff Effect.
In this article, we’ll delve deeper into how these psychological and neurological phenomena intersect with design systems, reshaping the landscape of your website and brand experiences.
In cognitive psychology, "chunking" refers to the process of breaking down information into smaller, more manageable units – so that they can be recalled quicker.
This concept has significant implications for website design and user experience (UX), as it directly impacts how visitors perceive and interact with your online content.
“One of the most common pitfalls we've observed is the indiscriminate dumping of text onto the website without proper consideration for its relevance or impact.”
If you didn’t realise, your website is the digital storefront of your brand, the virtual gateway through which potential customers interact with your business.
It's a powerful tool for conveying your brand message, generating leads, and driving conversions. However, entrusting the user experience design of your website to lazy or inexperienced marketers can have disastrous consequences.
At its core, choice architecture uses principles from behavioural economics and social psychology to nudge users towards making decisions that align with their goals and preferences.
By strategically structuring options and information, we can guide users towards desired actions and outcomes, ultimately enhancing the effectiveness and usability of your website.
Designing a colour palette for a website is a crucial aspect of creating a visually appealing and cohesive brand experience.
One effective approach to achieving balance and harmony in colour selection is the 60/30/10 rule. This rule dictates that 60% of the colour scheme should be the main colour, 30% the secondary colour, and 10% the accent colour. Here's a detailed guide on how to implement this rule effectively:
In the ever-evolving realm of digital design, the concept of skeuomorphism has emerged as a key principle shaping user experiences. But what exactly is skeuomorphism, and how should it influence your approach to crafting digital interfaces?
In the world of branding and design, making your product or message stand out is a perpetual challenge.
The Von Restorff Effect, also known as the Isolation Effect, is a psychological principle that can be a game-changer for brands seeking to capture the attention of their audience. This intriguing phenomenon offers insights into human cognition and memory, making it a powerful tool for marketers and designers alike.
But how does it help develop your brand? Here’s our thoughts:
Building a compelling website is crucial for an ocean rowing team embarking on a 3000-mile journey across the Atlantic. By choosing a memorable domain name, selecting a suitable platform like Squarespace, customising the design, creating essential pages, sharing expedition information, maintaining an active blog, integrating social media, implementing donation options, optimising for SEO, testing and refining, promoting the website, and tracking analytics, the team can engage their audience, attract sponsors, and provide a central hub for updates and information. Ultimately, a well-managed website reflects the spirit and goals of the expedition, ensuring its success and impact.
About the Author:
Chris is the founder of Hiatus.Design, a mission-driven branding and website design company that works with clients all over the world.
Over the course of his life, he has travelled to more than 60 countries across six continents, earned two Guinness World Records, completed the legendary Marathon des Sables, summited Mont Blanc and unclimbed peaks in Asia, become a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (FRGS), rowed across the Atlantic Ocean and obtained a Masterʼs degree in Business Management (MA).
