Persuasive Advertising - J. Scott Armstrong [62]
2.3. Scarcity
2.3.1. State that an attractive product is scarce when it is true.
2.3.2. Restrict sales of a product.
2.4. Attribution
2.4.1. Attribute favorable behavior or traits to the target market.
2.5. Liking
2.5.1 Associate products with things that are favorable and relevant to the product.
2.6. Authority
2.6.1 To enhance believability, consider using support from an authority.
2.7. Commitment
2.7.1. Ask customers to make explicit promises.
2.7.2. Ask customers to take a relevant small step, then follow quickly with a directly related second request.
2.8. Reciprocation
2.8.1. Give something to specific individuals when they can reciprocate easily.
1 Remember that the conditions are also described in the Glossary.
2 This commercial is available on YouTube.
3 This commercial is available on YouTube.
3. Emotion
The Philip Morris Marlboro “Mild as May” cigarette campaign, which began in 1924, targeted “respectable women.” By the early 1950s, Marlboro’s market share was 0.25 percent. In December 1954, the Leo Burnett agency decided to change the product’s image from a woman’s cigarette to a man’s cigarette. It selected a masculine figure—a cowboy hailing from the fictitious “Marlboro Country.” In the following 20 years, Marlboro went on to become the world’s most popular brand. Its market share increased to 25 percent—that is, 100 times larger (Twitchell 2000). The effectiveness of the advertising was clear given that it was the only thing that changed. Marlboro successfully tapped into the emotions of its target customers.
Advertisements with emotional elements can affect consumer expectations, which in turn can affect the satisfaction experienced from using the brand. For example, the more people expect a product to make them feel relaxed, the more relaxed they will become.
Once people have become familiar with a brand, advertisers can shift the emphasis from information toward emotion. This was supported by an analysis of customer responses to ads for a toll-free medical referral service. The same ads were used in 23 markets ranging from new markets (8 months old on average) to mature markets (144 months old). Over time, the effects of arguments on “expected referrals” got weaker, while the effects of emotion became stronger (Chandy et al. 2001).
Emotional appeals are often used in motion media. Stewart and Furse (1986) found that 37 percent of their sample of TV commercials used emotional appeals. Emotional appeals are more relevant for hedonic than utilitarian products.
The principles on emotions are organized as follows:
3.1. Emotional focus
3.2. Trust
3.3. Self-expression
3.4. Guilt
3.5. Fear
3.6. Provocation
3.1. Emotional focus
Within any given ad, a combination of rational and emotional content will probably not work. That said, a campaign might consist of some ads with rational approaches and some with emotional appeals.
3.1.1. Do not mix rational and emotional appeals in an ad
While many advertising experts have suggested that an emotional component would strengthen almost any ad, the evidence suggests the opposite.
Rational and emotional appeals can interfere with each other. If you build a mood, don’t spoil it with a rational argument. Imagine that you and your sweetheart are watching a glorious sunset. Now consider how the mood would change if you explained the combination of atmospheric conditions and dust that produced the sunset.
Conversely, if you have good arguments, do not distract people with emotion.
A key issue involves which emotion to emphasize. That depends on consumer knowledge about the product. Scott (1912) offered general advice when he said that advertisers should gradually build upon the target market’s previous experiences: “Nothing is regarded worthy of our consideration which does not relate itself to our previous experience.”
Evidence on the effects of mixing rational and emotional appeals
In an experiment involving donations to “Save the Children,” a narrative description of a victim’s plight