Persuasive Advertising - J. Scott Armstrong [43]
Sears Carpet Cleaning is a high-involvement purchase, and customers will think about it prior to purchase. So in this case, the ad seems ill advised.
Evidence on the effects of multi-unit purchases
In four field experiments on alternative point-of-purchase ads in supermarkets, multi-unit pricing raised purchase amounts by 32 percent over baseline pricing. These experiments support the common and seemingly irrational customer behavior of buying a number of units for no good reason. Yes, some people might purchase more units because they think there is a cost-saving opportunity; however, this effect occurred even when further experiments ruled out such an explanation (Wansink, Kent, and Hoch 1998).
Indirect evidence was provided by this lab experiment: Subjects sitting in front of a “wheel of chance” were asked, “What is the percentage of African nations in the United Nations?” The spinner lands on 65. For another group of subjects, the spinner stops at 10. Would this obviously irrelevant information affect responses? It did. Subjects starting with 65 had a median estimate of 45; those starting with 10 had a median of 25. They “anchored” on those numbers even though it was obvious that the numbers were selected arbitrarily. Note however that this was a low-involvement situation (Tversky and Kahneman 1981).
1.5. Distribution
Information about when, where, and how to purchase a product can be important selling points. The distribution channel might allow customers to obtain the product quickly or to experience the product in a showroom. It can help build relationships with customers, which is important both for future sales and for word-of-mouth promotion. In some cases, such as stores at historic sites or museums, the channel enhances the shopping experience. The channel might make customers feel welcome, provide useful advice when deciding on a product, and offer follow-up service. Finally, consumers might enjoy a product more if they obtain it at a store they like.
Another way to enhance the shopping experience is to reduce the customer’s perceived risk. Customers feel more comfortable buying from a reputable store than from an unknown vendor. The perception of risk is one reason the migration to online shopping began slowly. It also helps to explain why shoppers go to Amazon.com, a trusted and established site, even when they can often purchase the same product for less money elsewhere.
1.5.1. Include information on when, where, and how to buy a product
If the target market already knows how to obtain the product, this principle can be ignored.
Inclusion of distribution information in an ad is a common-sense issue that requires no empirical evidence. It has been used in advertising for centuries, such as: “Traveler. Going from here to the twelfth tower, there Sarinus keeps a tavern” from a tablet in Pompeii (prior to 79 AD). That said, advertisers sometimes overlook this principle.
Landmarks and logos were especially prominent in early advertising. Prior to the establishment of national post offices, buildings and houses in many countries had no street numbers; therefore, landmarks were necessary. Even with addresses, landmarks are useful because they reduce the amount of thinking about how to find a location.
Evidence on the effects of information about how to buy the product
We analyzed quasi-experimental data on tested print ads:
Print ads with distribution information had better recall. Our WAPB analysis found 65 pairs of ads in which one ad provided information about distribution while the other did not. Recall for the informative ads was 1.13 times better than the other ads.
We also analyzed non-experimental data in WAPB. In comparison with the industry norms for each ad, the average persuasion