1. Association. This
persuasion technique tries to link a product, service, or idea with something already
liked or desired by the target audience, such as fun, pleasure, beauty,
security, intimacy, success, wealth, etc. The media message doesn’t make explicit
claims that you’ll get these things; the association is implied. Association
can be a very powerful technique. A good ad can create a strong
emotional response and then associate that feeling with a brand (family = Coke,
victory = Nike). This process is known as emotional
transfer. Several of the persuasion techniques below, like Beautiful
people, Warm & fuzzy, Symbols and Nostalgia,
are specific types of association.
2. Bandwagon. Many ads
show lots of people using the product, implying that "everyone is doing it"
(or at least, "all the cool people are doing it"). No one likes to be
left out or left behind, and these ads urge us to "jump on the bandwagon.”
Politicians use the same technique when they say, "The American people
want..." How do they know?
3. Beautiful people. Beautiful
people uses good-looking models (who may also be celebrities) to attract our
attention. This technique is extremely common in ads, which may also imply (but
never promise!) that we’ll look like the models if we use the product.
4. Bribery. This
technique tries to persuade us to buy a product by promising to give us
something else, like a discount, a rebate, a coupon, or a "free gift.”
Sales, special offers, contests, and sweepstakes are all forms of bribery.
Unfortunately, we don’t really get something for free -- part of the sales
price covers the cost of the bribe.
5. Celebrities. (A type
of Testimonial – the opposite of Plain
folks.) We tend to pay attention to famous people. That’s why they’re
famous! Ads often use celebrities to grab our attention. By appearing in an ad,
celebrities implicitly endorse a product; sometimes the endorsement is
explicit. Many people know that companies pay celebrities a lot of money to appear
in their ads (Nike’s huge contracts with leading athletes, for example, are
well known) but this type of testimonial still seems to be effective.
6. Experts. (A type
of Testimonial.) We rely on experts to advise us about
things that we don’t know ourselves. Scientists, doctors, professors and other
professionals often appear in ads and advocacy messages, lending their
credibility to the product, service, or idea being sold. Sometimes, “plain
folks” can also be experts, as when a mother endorses a brand of baby powder or
a construction worker endorses a treatment for sore muscles.
7. Explicit claims. Something
is "explicit" if it is directly, fully, and/or clearly expressed ordemonstrated.
For example, some ads state the price of a product, the main ingredients, where
it was made, or the number of items in the package – these are explicit
claims. So are specific, measurable promises about quality, effectiveness,
or reliability, like “Works in only five minutes!” Explicit claims can be
proven true or false through close examination or testing, and if they’re
false, the advertiser can get in trouble. It can be surprising to learn how few
ads make explicit claims. Most of them try to persuade us in ways that cannot
be proved or disproved
8. Fear. This is the opposite of
the Association technique. It uses something
disliked or feared by the intended audience (like bad breath, failure, high
taxes or terrorism) to promote a "solution.” Ads use fear to sell us
products that claim to prevent or fix the problem. Politicians and advocacy
groups stoke our fears to get elected or to gain support.
9. Humor. Many ads use humor
because it grabs our attention and it’s a powerful persuasion technique. When
we laugh, we feel good. Advertisers make us laugh and then show us their
product or logo because they’re trying to connect that good feeling to their product.
They hope that when we see their product in a store, we’ll subtly re-experience
that good feeling and select their product. Advocacy messages (and news) rarely
use humor because it can undermine their credibility; an exception is political
satire.
10. Intensity. The
language of ads is full of intensifiers, including superlatives
(greatest, best, most, fastest, lowest prices), comparatives
(more, better than, improved, increased, fewer calories), hyperbole
(amazing, incredible, forever), exaggeration, and
many other ways to hype the product.
11. Maybe. Unproven,
exaggerated or outrageous claims are commonly preceded by "weasel words"
such as may, might, can, could, some, many, often, virtually, as many as, or up
to. Watch for these words if an offer seems too good to be true. Commonly, the Intensity
and Maybe techniques are used
together, making the whole thing meaningless.
12. Plain folks. (A type
of Testimonial – the opposite of Celebrities.) This
technique worksbecause we may believe a "regular person" more than an
intellectual or a highly-paid celebrity. It’s often used to sell everyday
products like laundry detergent because we can more easily see ourselves using
the product, too. The Plain folks technique
strengthens the down-home, "authentic" image of products like pickup
trucks and politicians. Unfortunately, most of the "plain folks" in
ads are actually paid actors carefully selected because they look like
"regular people.”
13. Repetition. Advertisers
use repetition in two ways: Within an ad or advocacy message, words, sounds or images
may be repeated to reinforce the main point. And the message itself (a TV commercial,
a billboard, a website banner ad) may be displayed many times. Even unpleasant
ads and political slogans work if they are repeated enough to pound their
message into our minds.
"Prudential :
always listening always understanding"
14. Testimonials. Media
messages often show people testifying about the value or quality of a product,
or endorsing an idea. They can be experts, celebrities, or plain
folks. We tend to believe them because they appear to be a neutral third
party (a pop star, for example, not the lipstick maker, or a community member
instead of the politician running for office.) This technique works best when it
seems like the person “testifying” is doing so because they genuinely like the
product or agree with the idea. Some testimonials may be less effective when we
recognize that the person is getting paid to endorse the product.
15. Warm & fuzzy. This
technique uses sentimental images (especially of families, kids and animals) to
stimulate feelings of pleasure, comfort, and delight. It may also include the
use of soothing music, pleasant voices, and evocative words like
"cozy" or "cuddly.” The Warm & fuzzy Introduction
