My name is Lily Ducharme, and as a rising junior at Clemson University majoring in Marketing and Brand Communications, I was thrilled to spend my summer internship with Rizco, gaining hands-on experience at a dynamic brand-led marketing agency. The immersion was an invaluable lesson that I cannot wait to take with me into this industry.
In my favorite marketing class, Marketing and Society, we learned about the AEC Model – an effective marketing strategy that helps form memorable and emotional connections to your brand to foster loyalty. AEC stands for Attention, Emotion, Connection, and I was instantly drawn to this concept and the research behind creating a successful brand. While companies spend years mastering the science of branding, I was introduced to the core of it in just one 45-minute class. After beginning my internship at Rizco, I saw this model unfold through their brand, company principles, and team. They help clients elevate their brands and build lasting relationships through intentional storytelling and deep industry expertise.
In previous blogs, including What ‘Branding’ Means (and Why It’s More Than Just a Logo) and the recent Think Like a Media Company: Content Strategies to Build Your Brand, Rizco has explored the intricacies of branding and the strategies for building it. Now, this AEC model connects the how behind it all. The brand is a business’s foundation, creating meaningful audience resonance. Storytelling across multiple platforms is key to expanding brand awareness. Once a strong brand foundation is in place, the focus shifts to turning casual viewers into loyal, engaged customers.
A strong brand starts by capturing your audience’s attention, presenting an emotional resonance, and building a lasting connection aligned with client values. Understanding this model can help increase a brand’s engagement. Consumers must feel connected through the brand’s stories, as well as their brand values. If you look at Nike, for example, they don’t just sell shoes; they sell empowerment. The emotional hook keeps their customers connected to their brand. This is the basis of the AEC model.
- Attention – The goal is to capture attention with incentive salience. Providing cues linked to rewards is highly motivating for consumers. Whether learning something, gaining a sense of empowerment, or feeling understood, people become drawn to these rewards and need more.
- Emotion – Positive emotions are satisfying to consumers, and as they search for brands, they’re drawn to brands that offer a memorable feeling, one that keeps them coming back. The reward paired with emotion deepens engagement and builds anticipation for the next interaction.
- Connection – Tying the emotion to the brand is essential for consumer retention. Presenting a reward creates value for the consumer, which ultimately connects them to the brand. It creates an irresistible pattern as the consumer subconsciously follows this model.
At Rizco, I noticed the team applies this model to every level of their company. They capture attention in the community and on social media to engage their audience and clients. They create emotional resonance by bringing their clients’ brand vision to life from their website to social media and every brand asset in between. And they build lasting connections by delivering impactful results every step of the way, which keeps clients returning.
And in today’s digital world, social media plays a critical role in that mix. From my Gen Z perspective, it’s not just a place to scroll for fun; it’s where we seek authenticity and form real connections with the brands we trust. We want to see real people, hear their stories, and share their values. We stop to watch a video, we feel something, and we follow. It happens almost mindlessly. Whether we realize it or not, we subconsciously use the AEC model to decide which brands to engage with. Leveraging this model can help brands grow their client base and foster loyalty.
As I continued my internship, I saw that the AEC model isn’t just something I learned in class. It’s a lens for understanding how brands connect with people and how people connect with brands. It’s how they go from being just another post in the feed to being something we actually connect with.
Ready to build a marketing strategy with Rizco that captures attention, sparks emotion, and creates lasting connections?
