How to Use Principles of Consumer Psychology to Increase Advertising Response

Consumer Psychology

Persuasion lies at the heart of successful advertising and marketing campaigns. In attempting to persuade individuals and groups, advertising agencies and social psychologists face the enormous difficulty of changing attitudes. The following technique achieves attitude change by manipulating the underlying beliefs.

Changing Beliefs.

Although consumer attitudes are notoriously resistant to change, this technique achieves it through switching the focus of its attack away from the attitudes themselves and onto the underlying beliefs. This can be done in a variety of ways. The most difficult approach is attempting to change currently held beliefs, as human psychology dictates that even if our beliefs are inaccurate or inconsistent they are always strongly held and resistant to change. In order to influence beliefs, advertisers use images and statistics that appeal either to emotions, such as fear, humor, or guilt, or to the consumer's intellect, through factual evidence and examples. In this way, the technique is able to present the audience with an alternative view of reality - one that is not supported by their currently held beliefs. Many consumers will remain suspicious of these new concepts and will reject the advertiser's information, many others however will amend their beliefs in order to understand and 'fit in with' their new perception of the world.

Another approach adopted by this technique is to change the importance of beliefs, rather than the beliefs themselves. It is easier to strengthen or weaken an existing belief than it is to change it. The most successful method of using this strategy is to strengthen beliefs with which the consumer already agrees, either by supporting them with factual evidence, or by using everyday examples with which the audience can identify. Many advertisers take this technique one stage further and reinforce additional beliefs, which are unlikely to meet with consumer resistance as they do not conflict with existing beliefs. The strategy of manipulating current beliefs, either through reinforcement or undermining, is far easier and more likely to succeed than attempting a wholesale change of basic beliefs, and is therefore the preferred option of advertisers.

The difficulties involved in attempting to change existing beliefs are evidenced by the failure of such apparently sensible and factually supported campaigns as those designed to deter smoking, or to discourage drink driving. Even consumers who are aware of the inaccuracy or incorrectness of their beliefs will tend to become defensive about them if they sense that they are being attacked or criticized.

The techniques used by advertisers are designed to avoid this conflict; either by reinforcing the beliefs of those consumers who already hold a positive view about their product, or by the subtle offering of an alternative set of beliefs to those whom they wish to convert. For example, advertisers of food and drink are aware of the existing consumer belief in the importance of a healthy, balanced diet. They can reinforce this belief, and gain an advantage over their rivals, by emphasizing that their brand contains vitamin x, y, or z, or is sugar free, or any other health related benefit that will build upon the audiences currently held beliefs. This is also an area that is useful for demonstrating how advertisers can change a consumer's beliefs without causing a negative, defensive reaction. For instance, rather than blatantly stating that milk is a healthier option than soda, the advertiser may present images and factual examples of the potential health risks posed by soda, and compare that with equally graphic and persuasive evidence for the health benefits of milk. In this manner, the advertiser avoids a head on conflict with consumers' existing beliefs, and offers them an alternative reality with the opportunity to feel as if they have made up their own minds on the issue. The last point is of vital importance, irrespective of the technique used. However they go about it, and whichever attitudes or beliefs they wish to change, the advertiser must always present their ideas in such a way that the consumer is unaware of any influence or persuasion. The audience must be left thinking that they have made their own decision.

The primary means of ensuring that the consumer remains ignorant of the advertiser's persuasion is to remove the need for cognitive thinking. The following technique achieves this by dividing products into those that require a lot of cognitive thought, and those that require very little.

The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM).

In describing their Elaboration Likelihood Model, Petty and Cacioppo (Communication and persuasion: The central and peripheral routes to attitude change, 1986) suggest that there are two routes to attitude change: the central route and the peripheral route. The central route is concerned with a rational, cognitive approach to attitude change; while the peripheral route is concerned less with cognitive thought and more with the association of pleasant thoughts and positive images. ELM offers advertisers the possibility of changing attitudes through either of the two methods, depending on the type of product they are dealing with. The peripheral route encourages consumers to consciously, or often unconsciously, focus on superficial images and 'cues' in order to influence their attitudes and decisions, without any serious consideration of the advert's message content. In contrast, the central route encourages the audience to employ cognitive activity and to consider the issues and arguments contained within the advertisement before reaching a decision, or making a purchase.

The importance of ELM to advertising agencies and social psychologists lies in the fact that consumers tend to employ a greater level of consideration and cognitive thought in important situations than in unimportant ones. Therefore, when marketing unimportant or trivial everyday products, advertisers can concentrate on using the peripheral route to persuasion. This often involves the use of colorful, pleasant images, humorous or popular subject matter, or the sponsorship of celebrities. However, for products that are either expensive or important for some other reason, such as family health, the advertiser is required to convince the consumer by means of factual evidence and persuasive argument.

ELM is also useful to advertising agencies for the information that it provides them about consumer motivation. Psychological studies have shown that a consumer's motivation tends to be higher when considering products that are of a high personal relevance, either because of cost or importance. In these situations, where a wrong decision could have severe potential consequences, either financial or emotional, the consumer is more likely to base their decisions and attitudes on central routes, carefully considering the arguments and analyzing all the available facts. On the other hand, people are less motivated to process issues that have little or no impact on their lives, and tend to spend very little time or conscious effort examining the facts, relying instead on persuasive suggestions and imagery.

This technique also provides an explanation for why some attitudes persist throughout a consumer's lifetime, while others are less stable and more prone to change. Research has found that attitudes based on central routes endure for a longer period of time, are more resistant to counter-persuasion, and show greater attitude-behavior consistency than attitudes induced by peripheral routes. When people participate in central route processing, they support their decision with mental arguments and constantly seek to reinforce them, thus strengthening their attitude. These findings can be seen easily in real life, where people's attitudes on topics such as religion, politics or abortion, which they have thought about and justified a great deal, are very persistent and resistant to change. At the same time, their attitudes toward the type of soap they use, or the brands of cereal they eat, are relatively indifferent and can be changed easily. This model, therefore, is easily applicable to products and services that have a high personal importance, as well as those that are relatively trivial. For example, agencies that are marketing important or expensive goods, such as cars, home improvements, or child safety equipment, are best served by an advertising campaign that focuses on providing factual evidence and well founded arguments that will convince the consumer that the product is the best and safest choice, based on their cognitive considerations. In addition to gaining the consumer's custom on that particular occasion, the resistance and longevity of attitudes based on the central route of persuasion can ensure that the consumer will return for future purchases. For example, a customer's relationship with Nike will be longer and possibly more profitable to the company if the customer buys Nike shoes based on quality and reliability arguments rather than simply because Michael Jordan wears them. Peripheral routes, however, can still act as positive reinforcement to a message that is expressed centrally, although they are not the initial means through which the message is processed and comprehended. A central message that a consumer agrees with, and facts that support his or her views, will have a stronger impression if an individual who is generally regarded as credible and relevant delivers it. For example, a basket ball player is likely to be effective in endorsing athletic shoes, but not in endorsing automobiles. On the other hand, a nationally recognized auto expert would be successful in endorsing cars, but not athletic shoes. Either of them, however, could successfully be used to endorse fast food restaurants.

By using the peripheral route to persuasion, advertisers are relying on the effectiveness of what social psychologists term 'cues'. These cues are mental shortcuts that, if utilized correctly, can convey an advert's message without the need to engage the consumer in any form of cognitive thought. The following technique is based upon the influence that can be exerted by a using the right cue for the occasion.

The Cues of Life.

Based on the work of Robert Cialdini (Influence: Science and practice, 1980), the Cues of Life model describes how persuasion may be achieved by using six general Cues of influence. These Cues operate as mental short cuts, and are effective in many different situations, especially when the consumer is not using careful, considered thought. This technique, therefore, is suitable for advertisements that wish to pursue the peripheral route to persuasion, but is of little use to those who require a central route.

Known by the mnemonic CLARCCS, the six cues are comparison, liking, authority, reciprocity, commitment/consistency, and scarcity. Comparison is similar to group persuasion, or the bandwagon effect, and is an extremely potent weapon in the advertiser's armory. The question, "Everybody else is doing it, why aren't you?" can exert a powerful effect upon consumers, especially in regard to products that are of little importance to their life. Human psychology suggests that no one likes to be left out, but that everyone is driven by the need to belong. Therefore if an individual observes his or her friends, family, or peer group wearing a certain brand of trainer, eating a burger from a particular store, or drinking a specific bottle of beer, then there is enormous internal and external pressures on them to conform. To the advertiser this is a godsend, and if they can successfully convey the message that their product is the one that a certain group should choose then their sales could snowball, with little further effort required.

Liking is a cue that applies whenever a consumer feels a connection with either, a representative of the company, the characters or personalities within the advertisement, or to another user of the product. A great many mail order firms have successfully adopted this cue, as evidenced by the fact that the vast majority of people have, at one time or another, purchased goods from a catalogue or home enterprise that was run by a friend or work colleague. The quality of, or need for, the goods comes secondary to the desire to accommodate or please a liked associate. The basis of the sale is liking, and it could be focussed upon anyone involved in the transaction, whether it is the person handing out the leaflet, the celebrity whose face adorns the advertisement, or the friend who purchased the same brand last week. When using this strategy, advertisers are also aware of society's tendency to like physically attractive individuals and the influence that attractiveness can have upon consumers. Numerous psychological, and sociological, experiments have concluded that attractive people exert a greater influence on others, and are considered to be more trustworthy and likeable (Down & Lyons, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 1991). Advertisers certainly subscribe to this belief, and there are very few advertisements that do not include happy, attractive faces smiling out at the consumer from the pages of magazines, newspapers or direct mail catalogues.

The third cue is authority, and it is a mental shortcut that has been used in advertisements since they first appeared. Many products, especially cleaning or household goods, have long relied on the endorsement of the 'man in the white coat' for authority. Just as people trust the word of their doctor, dentist, or optician, so they will happily accept the authority of any official looking individual that endorses an advertised product. This is a prime example of the peripheral route to persuasion in action as, by using an official, intelligent, or authoritative figure to advertise a product, it saves the consumer the trouble of researching or examining the issues, and they simply accept the facts and claims as being true. When used effectively, perhaps accompanied by a list of persuasive facts, figures, and scientific looking graphs, the authority cue is another powerful advertising tool.

Most people are raised to adopt the values and beliefs of good manners. One of these dictates that if someone gives you something then you should return the favor. This is the basis of the mental cue known as reciprocity, and it is a favorite technique of mail order companies and subscription magazines. Ever wondered how these companies could afford to give away free gifts with every first order, or in every second week's issue? The reason is as reciprocity, they give you something and you voluntarily purchase something in return. Such is the influence of this technique that the free gift may be nothing more than a two-cent pen, but the rule is very simple. The company has given something, and it has been accepted, now social convention decrees that the consumer is obligated to give something back. The evidence of the success of this technique is the fact that so many companies continue to use it as their primary marketing strategy.

The Commitment/Consistency cue is also known as the "Four Walls" sales technique. The advertisement poses four questions to the consumer, with the answer to each leading logically onto the next until, at the end of the advertisement, the consumer is all but committed to making the purchase (Cialdini, 1980). This logical chain of ideas comes from the Commitment/Consistency rule, which states that if you take a stand on an issue you must remain consistent with your beliefs. This is a very powerful psychological tactic, although it is more effective when employed by a sales person, rather than in print.

The final of Cialdini's cues is that of Scarcity, which suggests that if a product is rare, has limited availability, or is difficult to acquire, then it becomes desirable. The rule of Scarcity states that rare things are highly valued within our society and advertisers can make use of this concept to persuade the consumer of a product's limited availability. The most common strategy is the use of slogans such as 'one day sale', 'limited offer', 'only while stocks last', or 'first come, first served', which make the product appear scarce and therefore increase consumer interest. Again, the success of this particular technique is apparent from its continued, and widespread, use.

All of the above mentioned cues require little, if any, mental effort on the part of the consumer. This lends the technique to use in the advertising of unimportant, everyday products that can be presented to the consumer via the peripheral route. However, if the product is of sufficient importance for the consumer to engage in cognitive thought or discussion, then the cues do not stand up to close inspection, and their effectiveness is greatly reduced.

Whereas the cues of life model relies on the consumer foregoing the need to think, the following technique encourages the thought process, but claims that an individual's mode of thinking will determine how they can be influenced.

Dual Process Persuasion.

The dual process approach is extremely useful to advertisers, and is based on four assumptions about psychology and influence.

Assumption 1: There are two relatively distinct modes of thinking that a person may employ. Of these two modes, one mode is called the "systematic" mode and the other is called the "heuristic" mode. The systematic mode refers to a person who employs careful and conscious thought; whereas the heuristic mode refers to a person who judges a situation by the superficial images and perceptions. Unlike a person who is in the systemic mode, those in the heuristic mode are thinking only enough to be aware of the situation, but not carefully enough to notice any errors or inconsistencies.

Assumption 2: Situational and personality variables affect which mode of thinking a person will employ. People are flexible in their thinking and are able to switch between the two modes, so that sometimes they are systematic and other times they are heuristic. The mode used depends on situational and personality factors. For example, if an advert has a strong personal relevance for a consumer (such as a product they urgently require, or a purchase that they are currently considering) then they will use the systematic mode of thinking. However if a product is irrelevant to them (such as a product that they don't really require, or one that they had no current thoughts of purchasing) then they are more likely to use the heuristic mode of thinking. In addition to these situational factors, there are also individual preferences for particular modes of thinking. Certain people have a natural preference for cognition and like to think carefully about things most of the time, while others exhibit a low need for cognition and typically think as little as possible.

Assumption 3: Persuasion variables will have different effects depending upon the mode of thinking employed. When people are in the systematic mode, certain arguments will be very important and influential to them, such as facts, evidence, examples, reasoning, and logic. By contrast, when people are in the heuristic mode, cues like comparison, liking, or authority will be more influential.

Assumption 4: Influence achieved through the systematic mode is more persistent over time, more resistant to change, and more predictive of behavior than influence from the heuristic mode. When people are thinking systematically, and they are influenced, it is more likely to produce permanent attitude change, precisely because they thought about it more carefully, fully, and deeply. For heuristic thinkers, however, any influence is likely to be short-term and liable to further changes, simply because the influence was not processed deeply or consciously (Booth-Butterfield et al. Simultaneous vs. exclusive processing of persuasion arguments and cues, 1994).

The importance of these assumptions to advertisers is that both the systemic path and the heuristic path are capable of the same level of attitude change in the short-term. The difference lies in the longer term, where systemic thinking produces attitudes and consumer behavior that is more persistent and resistant to change than heuristic thinking.

However, research indicates that most people, most of the time, are in the heuristic mode - thinking only enough to suit the situation. For this reason, and because the peripheral route to persuasion is easier to achieve than the central route, the majority of advertisements concentrate on providing the consumer with cues rather than arguments. If the advertiser wishes to encourage systematic thinking within the consumer, and thereby produce a more long-term and resistant attitude change, there are two factors that may assist them.

The single most important factor in encouraging systematic thinking is the relevance of the product to the consumer, as they are more likely to think systematically about the situation if it is personally important to them. Advertising agencies can accomplish this by customizing their campaigns to target specific groups or communities, and by using ideas and language that the particular group can identify with. For instance, rather than claiming that all their policies are superior, an insurance firm can focus an advertising campaign on promoting the advantages of their policy of car insurance for people over the age of fifty. Immediately, that advertisement becomes personally relevant to every driver over the age of fifty that reads the advert, and they will be more likely to consider the arguments and evidence presented to them. The strength of attitude that is formed by this central route also means that, if a consumer is persuaded to take out his or her insurance with this firm, based on their systematic decision, they are more likely to remain with that company in subsequent years.

The second important factor is comprehension, or understanding. Although it may seem obvious to point out, the fact remains that many advertisements lose their effectiveness because the audience is unable, or unwilling, to comprehend its message, either because it is overly complex or plain boring. It is important, therefore, that the advertiser presents ideas and arguments in a simple, clearly apparent manner, using language that is easily and quickly understood.

Although encouraging the central, systematic route is the preferred option of the advertiser; there are also many benefits from pursuing the peripheral, or heuristic, route. This is especially true of 'disposable', everyday goods, such as clothing, beer, cigarettes, or snacks. In these cases, the consumer is not looking to be persuaded by factual evidence or persistent arguments. What they are seeking in this situation is a product that fits their idea of fun and enjoyment. Advertisements for bars or specific brands of alcohol, for example, offer no systematic reasons for choosing their particular product, but the attractive young men and women, with huge grins, having the time of their life uses the peripheral route to influence the consumer into associating these pleasant images and feelings with the particular brand. There is no cognitive thought involved, but the heuristic persuasion is powerful, and successful, nonetheless.

The persuasive power of cues cannot be overestimated, and the next technique promotes a similar concept in its strategy of consumer influence.

Message Characteristics.

Advertising agencies and social psychologist have long been aware of the influence exerted by messages. Similar to cues, message characteristics have the potential, if adopted effectively, to achieve a high level of consumer persuasion.

A characteristic of messages that has become increasingly popular amongst advertisers is that of not revealing persuasive intent. When consumers suspect that an advertisement is deliberately designed to persuade them, or change their attitudes, they can often adopt a defensive stance, making them very difficult, if not impossible, to influence. The old maxim 'forewarned is forearmed, neatly sums up the need for advertisers to avoid displaying their persuasive intent, and to simply press ahead with their message. There is, however, one exception to this rule. As previously discussed, it is easier to reinforce existing beliefs and attitudes than it is to bring about change so, in the case where the consumer is already in agreement with the advertiser's message, forewarning can have a positive effect. In this case, displaying persuasive intent allows the consumer to begin what is known as 'self-persuasion', making them more likely to recognize and agree with the messages that follow (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986).

It is generally accepted that well organized messages have a tendency to be more persuasive than those having little, or no, structure. Despite espousing the most persuasive facts and arguments, if an advertisement is disorganized or poorly structured, chances are the consumer will find it confusing and difficult to understand. Worse still, they may leave with an inaccurate or totally incorrect interpretation of the advertiser's intended message. Therefore, the advertising agencies and psychologists who create advertising messages are careful to ensure that, whatever the strength of the message; it must always be well organized and easily and accurately understood.

Unless the consumer has a particular, personal reason for considering the detailed facts and arguments that surround a product, the use of technical jargon, statistical figures and graphs, and scientific evidence is often a major turn off. Although remaining aware of the need to tailor the level of information to the publication, in which the advert will appear, advertisers generally favor the use of examples rather than statistics. Research indicates that examples tend to be more powerful and persuasive than statistics; firstly because they relate more closely to the consumer's personal experiences; and secondly because they are easy to comprehend and require less mental effort (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986). For example, note the number of companies who now use endorsements from present customers to convey the product's benefits to the reader. The use of anecdotes that begin with, "Mrs. X. was glad that she had StayWell health insurance because..." Or "Mr. Y's family are happy that he purchased the DoItAll toolkit because..." persuade the audience by encouraging them to relate the experiences of Mrs. X and Mr. Y to their own circumstances, which is far more powerful than a list of facts and figures.

Message sideness is a characteristic that provides advertisers with a choice of how to present their arguments. Although there are two sides to every story, an advertisement can be designed to discuss one or both of those sides. The difference in marketing terms, however, is that irrespective of whether an advert presents one or two sides, the message will always advocate only one position!

One-sided messages are the simpler, discussing only one perspective and promoting the product on its strengths and benefits, while two sided messages 'consider' the other side in addition to defending its own position. Studies show that a two-sided message is more persuasive than a one-sided message, but only if it sticks to the format of defending its own position while also attacking the competition (Allen, Meta-analysis comparing the persuasiveness of one-sided and two-sided message, 1991). However, in creating the two-sided message, the advertiser makes full use of social psychology to ensure that it appears to the reader as a fair-minded and balanced advertisement. Using the peripheral route to persuasion, this technique encourages the audience to consider the two-sided message as more considered and credible than the one-sided message of rival firms. Also, if the consumer decides to use central processing and consider the message carefully, the combination of defense and attack makes them think even more systematically about the issue and to start questioning the validity of the 'other' side. Thus, two sided messages can provide a two pronged strategy, providing the advertiser's client with double the support because consumers are not only persuaded to favor their products, but are also turned against those of their rivals.

An increasingly popular advertising approach relies on the message characteristic of repetition and redundancy. Repetition is when a company runs the same advert one hundred times, redundancy is when they run ten different adverts ten times each.

Repetition increases consumer familiarity with a product or brand and, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, a feeling of greater acceptance and liking gradually accompanies the growing familiarity. Most of the products that are advertised through repetition tend to be unimportant, less expensive items that encourage little cognitive thought or consideration of their claims. Therefore, although the effect of each single advert exposure is small, with repetition even imperceptibly small effects can build into larger perceived differences between brands, especially if it gets repeated constantly without challenge. The aim of all advertising is to create marginal differences in consumer attitudes and perceptions, and through the use of repetition these small differences can build into larger differences, and can often tip the balance in favor of the advertised brand.

There is also a negative effect of repetition, from the advertiser point-of-view. Research suggests that there is an optimum level at which repetition is effective, but that beyond this level it can lead to frustration and consumer turn off (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986). Effective use of repetition can successfully breed brand familiarity, but with overuse this familiarity can breed consumer contempt.

Redundancy, which is merely presenting the same message but in a slightly different way, can extend the lifetime of an effective message or slogan, thus allowing repetition to work effectively for longer than it normally would. Advertisers use redundant messages to deceive the reader into thinking that they are being presented with a new advert, rather than a recycled version of the one that went before. Again, however, research suggests that advertisers can only utilize this technique for a limited period, before it exerts an opposing influence upon consumers.