Audience Motivation in Advertising

Lately, I had the rare privilege of doing a project on the “Future of Advertising” for a print medium. While reviewing literature on the subject, I stumbled on an interesting prediction in one of the “Genius” Chapter Excerpts, which reads thus: “The entire system, at present, for creating…ads is based primarily on assumptions. In the future, the blind criteria for creating…ads will be deemed obsolete- no ad will…run unless it is determined with certainty that the ad has sufficient message power to register persuasively in the subconscious minds of most customers.”

During the 1950s, the target audience assumed the centre stage as emphasis in advertising shifted focus away from the product. What variables motivate people? Does advertising affect behaviour? What deep down inside, do people want from a product? To answer these questions, advertising researchers have had to seek help in biology, psychology, psychophysiology, anatomy, communication theory, cultural anthropology, psychoanalysis, etc.

It is very true that we are biological and have genetic predispositions to regard certain stimuli in a certain way. We have had biological urges for millions of years, which advertising now takes advantage of when using psychological appeals (Richard F. Taflinger 1996). However, we have the most complex social structure on earth, which permeates and affects every aspect of our lives.

Contemporary research may be broadly categorized as: Laboratory Studies and Econometric Studies. While laboratory studies look at the effects of ad cues on cognitions, intentions, etc., econometric studies cover the effects of advertising intensity on consumer behaviour (R. Chandy, G. Tellis, D. MacInnis and P. Thaivanich 2001). Psychology in advertising has long been exploited as a potent means of selling a product or service. It is therefore important that advertising professionals understand the underlying concepts that affect human behaviour if they must help their clients better sell their products or services.

Psychological appeal, according to Taflinger in his book, Taking Advantage, is a visual or aural influence on one’s subconscious mind and emotions. It implies that doing what is suggested, e.g. buying the product or service is likely to satisfy a subconscious desire. Though advertising researchers posit that there is no verified list of needs that are most important to children, routine observations have shown that play would occupy the most important position of any such list. Various research efforts also indicate that sentience (i.e. the need for sensory expression), affiliation (the need for cooperative relationships with others), and achievement (the need to accomplish something difficult, including competing with adults) are the next most important needs for most children (James McNeal, Kids as Customers, p.190).

The Elaboration Likelihood Model is a theory, which states that there are two routes to persuasion and these routes may influence a person’s belief structure based on the cognitive processes that take place at the time of persuasion (J. Gresko, L. Kennedy and J. Lesniak 1996). The routes are defined as the central and peripheral routes. In central processing the attitude change is more likely to be permanent, while information processed peripherally is subject to later change.

An ad has to attract attention. One way in which it does this is by appealing to consumers’ emotions, such as fear, love, pleasure, vanity, etc. For example, scarcity produces fear that you may miss an opportunity to buy a product. Consequently, the advertiser hopes to “scare“ the audience enough to produce a change in attitude, like buying his product, changing your lifestyle, etc. (webserve.govst.edu 2003). The association technique seeks to link the product with something that is already desired by the intended consumers. Sex, for example, is considered basic and one of those good things which people already desire. However, of the many human desires used in ads, sexual associations have received the most criticisms, especially by religious and women’s groups (govst.edu).

I find the market age concept interesting. In their research paper, “What to say when: Advertising Appeals in Evolving Markets,” Chandy et al submit that market age is crucial to understanding the inverse relationship between motivation and ability to process ads. For a particular product or service, one market is considered older than another if the product or service has been around and enjoyed advertising longer in the first market than in the second market. Market age therefore refers to the length of time that a product or service has been available and advertised in an identified market. It is believed, for example, that when consumers are already aware of the product, and have pre-existing attitudes toward it, they are less motivated to process information about it. In reality, they may negatively respond to argument- focused ads due to satiation, boredom, or irritation (Petty and Cacioppo 1979).

In the context of market age, according to Chandy et al, what the above belief suggests is that argument- based ads would persuade more in younger markets than in older ones, because consumers would be more motivated to process their content. Motivation may be defined as the extent to which consumers are interested in and willing to stretch themselves in an effort to process information in an ad with respect to its relevance to their personal goals (R. Chandy et al). Emotion- based ads rarely contain factual information about a product and as such they have little or no effect on consumers’ perceptions of risk.

While emotions may convey warm feelings and effect favourable brand attitudes, attitudes formed by such processes may not result in choices of products about which consumers have little information. When consumers lack product knowledge, emotional ads may distract them from critical product content (Moore and Hutchinson 1983). In that situation, consumers are not likely to commit product information to long- term memory. However, in older markets, where motivation is lacking but product knowledge abounds, emotion- based ads may get consumers’ attention and assist with retrieving prior product knowledge from memory. Persuasion is the changing of attitudes as a result of presenting information about another attitude (Gresko, Kennedy, Lesniak 1996). Meanwhile ability refers to the quality of knowledge consumers have about a brand and its usage. There are several techniques of persuasion, e.g. authority, which posits that people will respect the opinions of someone who is deemed to have a lot of knowledge on the product. If motivation and/or ability to process the message are low, consumers rely on the expert as a peripheral cue and conclude that the brand or service is bound to be good as long as it is endorsed by the expert (Petty et al 1981, etc).

Expert endorsers may be more effective in younger markets than older ones because in younger markets, category and brand knowledge is limited (R. Chandy et al).What if product knowledge is high but motivation is low, for example with older markets? It is believed that cues such as comedy, comfort appeals, sex appeals, scenic beauty, surrealistic visuals, and aesthetic claims might come handy. It is also believed that audience members tend to be more easily motivated and persuaded by a communicator they perceive as sharing everything in common with them than by a communicator who seems dissimilar (S.H. Britt 1978).

Other techniques of persuasion include, invocation of curiosity and doubt, ego involvement and forewarning, attitudinal inertia, etc. (Stuart Henderson Britt, Psychological Principles of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour: Lexington Books, 1978, revised 1996).

I would like to conclude by grouping our needs as follows:
Basic needs- Food, Activity, Surroundings, Sex, Health, Security, Economy
Approval from external sources- Religion, Science, “Best People,” “Most People,”
“Average People”
Needs for belonging- Intimacy, Family, Groups
Needs for space or territory- Neighborhood, Nation, Nurture
Growth needs- Esteem, Play, Generosity, Curiosity, Creativity, Completion
(Source: webserve.govst.edu).

Advertisers often associate their products or services with many of the above human needs, wants and desires. These appeals in advertising, according to Taflinger, do not have to make sense. However, they are very effective. So should we continue to produce ads in an atmosphere of blind criteria?