Rational and Emotional Communication

What kind of appeal should the ad have? Rational Emotional Endorsement

Comparative Advertising Explicit – where the identity of competitive products are known Implicit – where the the identity is not disclosed Limitations – consumers don’t like the hard – sell, sponsor misidentification, unsuitable for market leaders

Open ended vs Close ended Where the risk of the message being understood is low, open – ended ads are likely to to succeed and build greater brand attitudes Since consumer generates the beliefs, it is that much powerful. “The consumer is not a moron. She’s your wife.” – David Ogilvy

2 – sided vs 1 – sided ads 2 sided ads are seen to be more credible Consumers appreciate the ‘honesty’ of the company in admitting its shortcomings The –ve points are relatively unimportant, but not trivial Perceived to be negatively correlated to the attribute where the product claims superiority

Inoculative advertising Defensive – when leaders are under threat from upstarts - reactive Premptive – taking proactive action before the threat emerges - proactive

Refutational Advertising It is a preferred approach to market situations in which the advertising goal is to build resistance to attitude change against competitive attack Myth vs Reality Putting the facts straight

Testimonial advertising Communication coming from a source which you admire, respect or look up to and can muster the credibility in the message. They can be celebrities, colleagues, friends or even other customers

Emotional Creative Advertising Rely on emotions elicited through ads to create positive attitudes to product. Product attributes/benefits, if at all are referred to indirectly. Lifestyle advertising (‘Slice of life’ ads)

The use of feelings in advertising is resorted to when audience response feelings is of primary importance and usually little or no information content is involved.

When are feelings ads used? Ads evoking feelings are most likely to be used when consumers have a low level of intrinsic interest in the product category or brand. They do not have or care to have strong brand attitudes

Feelings ads typically have a Evaluative component – influenced by beliefs about the brand ‘Liking’ component – that cannot be explained by knowledge and beliefs The relative importance or % contribution of ‘liking’ will be high when the amount of brand attribute information and association processing efforts are low - Michael Ray and Rajeev Batra

FCB Grid House, child’s education, car Luxury items, Designer wear, Feel Think House, child’s education, car Luxury items, Designer wear, Jewellery Groceries, detergents, fuel Food items, Cosmetics, chocolates H. I. L. I.

Rossiter-Percy Grid Informational -ve motivations Transformational H. I. Search and Conviction necessary L. I. Trial experience sufficient

The Association Process A consumer who feels certain feelings when a brand name is mentioned can remember those feelings much later when the brand is being thought of. Ad-evoked feelings and brand names can and do become linked and associated in consumer’s mind. – Douglas Stayman and Rajeev Batra

Transformational Advertising It involves developing associations with the brand such that it transforms the use experience Two types of associations – the use experience and the user

It must make the experience of using the product richer, warmer, more exciting and /or more enjoyable than that obtained solely from an objective description of the brand. It must connect the experience of the brand so tightly with the experience of using the brand that consumers cannot remember the brand without recalling the experience generated by the advertisement.

For transformational advertising to work, it must have A substantial media budget Maintain consistency over time Closely connect the brand with the advertising

Drama Advertising This advertising dramatises the situation. Feelings are naturally evoked based on the plot and situation.

Humour ads These cannot be used for all situations. If not handled properly, can be very damaging for the product Matching quality of humour to the target audience Diminishes CAs because it distracts from cognitive responses

Fear and anxiety ads These ads directs compliance to remove the fear/threat as depicted by the ad. If the element of fear or anxiety is too much it can be a ‘turn-off’. If the level of is too low it may not motivate the audience to comply with what is being suggested.

Fear appeal ads need 4 conditions to be successful Depicted threat is very likely It can have severe consequences That the advocated behavioural change/action will lead to removal of threat That the consumer can take such action

What affects intensity of feelings? Believability Empathy

Endorsement Advertising Celebrity Expert Satisfied consumer Announcer The personality characteristics of the endorser can get associated with brand imagery