Overcoming resistance by simply acknowledging it. Emphasising that they are free to do as they want removes hesitation, increases liking and includes compliance.
Spoofing campaigns or genres of advertising can be a way to generate humour.
Used for warmth and understanding. Can sometimes be offered on more lateral topics to help position a brand.
Casting people in a social role makes them behave in ways expected by this role. Manded altercasting is when a person is placed in a social position orally or textually. Tack altercasting is a more subtle approach, is often created with suggestive imagery to have someone take on the role spontaneously and voluntarily.
Compare a product or brand to something more familiar that people can relate to. Comparisons can be made between between words as well as pictures. Also used to create concise headlines that make convincing sales arguments.
A product’s value is strongly influenced by what it is compared to. Anchoring is a cognitive bias in which we use existing information as a baseline for out new judgements and decisions. Easy to provide an effective fake anchor when the buyers are not experts of the product. Almost impossible to overcome! Everyone falls for it. Even experts such as judges, doctors, etc.
When a brand or product is seen as human-like, people will like it more and feel closer to it. Humans are prone to explaining various events (ex. Forces of nature or animal behavior) by attribute human intentionality, thoughts or needs. When applied we think that the object, brand, product, or animal is actually more like us. More “feelings” a product has the more likely we are to bond with it. People do this naturally but techniques in advertising enhance this effect.
Anti-advertising appears to criticize the product to reach resistant audiences. Further than self-awareness by denigrating the product. Some campaigns have adopted a self-critical viewpoint to reach resistant auticences. Self-criticism to pre-empt the hostile reaction of jaded consumers and celebrate shortcomings of products.
Condensed form of sales argument, a procession of logical points leading to the conclusion that a product should be bought.
Research has shown that we not only consciously prefer attractive people but we associate their appearance with an inherent ‘goodness’ which then reflects directly on the product (also called the halo effect), but attractive faces instantly produce a positive feeling in the viewer. Attractive individuals produce similar physiological responses in viewers to those observed when people are presented with money.
People or symbols that signify legitimate authority trigger compliance and obedience. The perceived social position an individual or organization has in a society, or the recognized expertise someone has in an area of academic knowledge or professional context. Celebrities don't possess any authority in a traditional sense. They are just admired by people and possess social status. Ad agencies manipulate symbols of authority to trigger trust.
An abrupt transition from the serious to the silly or the grand to the common place for comic effects.
Event commercials have big stars, expensive effects and hundreds of extras. In the case of print ads companies hire big stars to showcase their products.
Brand-sponsored content has blurred the lines between advertising and entertainment.
Have more subliminal power then we realize. Most popular advertising devices of all. A mascot can transcend its timeflot and become a global pop culture icon.
Some ads feature words or phrases that pass into widespread use. This can happen by accident or because of a deliberate attempt to write something that catches on. Certain phrases if repeated and are catchy enough can pass into pop culture.
Setting a challenge can be a good way to engage readers and viewers. Writing a headline or endline in the form of a challenge or dare can help an ad cut through.
Flattering the target audience can be effective if you get the tone right. Which is difficult since laying on the flattery too thick can come across as desperate.
Crowdsourcing allows the general public to create the ads. With video sharing and social media, brands have the option of handing the creative reins over to the public. In reality it’s often the method of getting content that grabs attention rather than the content itself.
Aims to change the world on behalf of brands, in either a serious or a frivolous way used in either a serious or a frivolous way. Used in either a playful adoption of tone or a genuine attempt to address a social problem. Some campaigns use the language of crusades while others genuinely attempt to address the issue.
Some ads try and engage our curiosity so much that we cant resist reading body copy, going to a website or looking out for the next one in the series
Sometimes the most important part of a visual can be hidden as a detail. Some ads bury their central idea as a detail in a wide shot.
Disrupting attention gives advertisers an opportunity to reframe and resell an already dismissed proposal. Sometimes necessary to get a person out of theri stable mindset in order to make them open to new information. When targets are disrupted or surprised, their attention is captured and they are then more likely to comply with a subsequent proposal. Also momentarily disables critical thinking.
Ads can take the form of nature documentaries using genuine or spoof footage. Ranges from naturalistic performances shot with handheld cameras to footage of real people going about their lives.
Words or phrases that can be read in two different ways. Shocking or taboo double meanings can be playfully hinted at. Also can be a source of lewd humour.
Inciting fear to achieve submission and compliance. The use of fear appeals is found mostly in social marketing campaigns (ie, to discourage dangerous behaviors, such as smoking, reckless driving, ect.) Slogans or additional textual info direct the target to the solution to the threat. Downside is if too intense can cause flight, freeze or paralyse. Or total avoidance to feel good from going against authority.
Human brains do not like complexity. Using difficult words and sentences doesn't make you seem smarter. Smooth and automatic processing of information automatically leads to expressing positive feelings. Works for visual, textual and conceptual information.
Multiple step influence strategy. First, ask people to comply with a seemingly small request. Then, a short while afterwards, you ask them a bigger request, which is inline with the smaller one. Starting with small request strongly increases the chances of complying with the bigger request compared to only asking the big request. All about changing people’s attitudes.
Some words are so intrinsically good, it is hard to say ‘no’ to them. God terms are words that imply positive and “good” things. When paired with your product or brand it strengthens the representation of that brand. Any words that strongly activate a need or fear can be used as God or devil terms.
One of the more straightforward, easy to understand, and strongest resistance removing techniques. Implies that no matter what the customer cannot loose.
Some campaigns use concealed cameras to capture the reactions of genuine members of the public.
One of the most widely used techniques in advertising (about ⅓ rd of all ads are intended to be humorous). 75% of humour in ads use incongruity-resolution which involves an unusual, strange or unexpected element in the ad. Can either be distracting from the meaning/intent or increase brand likeability.
Helps people to reach their goals step by step and is part of a broader class of commitment techniques. Requires people to make a plan (intention) about how they will perform (implement) a certain behavior or goal. Planning the action concretely will serve as a cue to act. Getting people to make an implementation intention in their minds while looking at an ad, increases the chance of planning and executing their intention to buy later.
References that make sense only to certain social group are common in social an online interactions. Advertising can use in-jokes, although making them work well can require research. Most successful are those for the advertising industry itself or in recruitment advertising.
Generates humour or shock. Used As a shock tactic to help a charity or public service message cut through. Or it can be ironic.
Even before the rise of digital, ads invited consumers to interact with them. Growth of digital has established ‘interactive’ as a separate category from print, TV, radio, and direct mail. But interaction has always been an option in traditional media.
Deliberate cheesiness to appeal to hip audiences.
Some facts are interesting enough to make good headlines on their own. Facts that are compelling don’t need a twist. Often used well in charity and public service campaigns.
Advertisers (who understand this bias) frame messages either negatively or positively depending on weather the desired behavior should be risk-taking or risk-aversion, respectively. For example if an expensive purchase or investment has to be made a positive focus on the gains will be beneficial. Focusing on loss is best if you want people to choose the status quo, opt for damage control or making sure they pay fines/tuition fees.
Brings together incompatible images, genres and styles. Creates something new. Combing mismatched images can create strong print advertising. Creates strong visuals and can either be silly or shocking.
The more we see it, the more we like it. Research shows that material which is neutral or positive in nature is experienced as more positive upon repeated presentation. Effect is due to an increased feeling of familiarity. Material empty of emotional or meaningful content could become positively laden simply by the means of presentation alone. Unconscious positive effect translates into buying behavior.
Metaphors simplify and play on the emotional and mnemonic shortcuts we have in our brains,used to guide behavior. A good metaphor can move people more than even the best arguments can. What a product or an idea can be compared to has no logical boundary. The metaphor only needs to target the audience’s imagination and emotions. The moment we understand a metaphoric composition, an association is unavoidably created, and because it’s only a mental association, we cannot use our rationality to argue against it.
Products are sometimes linked to their countries of origin. This can also associate a brand with positive national pride. Some campaigns link a product to positive national stereotypes.
Campaigns based around invented words, which are often inspired by brand names. Many brands enter common speech, sometimes transforming noun to verb Big advertising push can sometimes make a brand seem synonymous with a sector, making everything else seem like an imitation.
Lines that seem to contradict themselves can sometimes communicate a surprising truth. A paradox in an advertising headline can sometimes be explained by a visual.
Subtly compares brands to people. Mostly uses headlines and taglines to humanize a brand.
Basing an ad around a logo might not seem especially lateral, but it can create simple and clever ads.
Focusing on a single feature of a product can demonstrate its over all quality. These ads might result from a planner or creative unearthing a fact that speaks volumes about a product’s overall quality.
Lines that exploit two different meanings of a word, phrase or substitute a word with one that sounds the same or similar. Although adored by young children and tabloid sub-editors, puns are generally disliked in modern advertising. But visual puns are still popular.
Placing a message at the start or end of a block of information increases the memory retention and persuadability of the message. Information presented first only completes with the information that follows, while information presented last only competes with the information presented before it. Information in the middle competes with the information before and after it in order to be retained.
Receiving a free gift creates the social obligation to return it. People have the inherent need to reciprocate after receiving a gift. It is a social norm imprinted on us when we were young. The more people feel that the gift is a personal favor from the giver, the bigger the return. Gifts can be coupons, free samples, bonus points, special discounts, etc.
Shows people and things doing the opposite of what we’d expect. Way of grabbing attention by showing people and things doing the opposite of what we’d expect.
If it’s hard to get, people want it more. Based on influence attempts in which people are convinced to buy a product (or do something) by believing that they need to act before the opportunity is gone.
Self-aware campaigns draw our attention to the conventions of advertising. Ads acknowledge their own conventions since people have become wiser to advertising techniques. Roots in honesty but can also be witty.
People like to believe they are in control of making the major decisions in their lives. Extensive research shows when an influence attempt is felt as being generated from within the target, their internal defences are almost completely surpassed. More effective when people make their self-generated statements publicly, either taped or filmed, and when their arguments are written down.
It’s by far the most used and obvious device employed to promote products. Draws attention but towards the sexual imagery itself causing low product recall. Sex seems to work mainly when the product advertised is directly related to an increase in perceived attractiveness or secuality.
Shocking imagery can be an easy way to make an ad cut through but it can also appear desperate for attention.
People have an innate drive to copy others’ decisions and behavior. We think we are individualistic but we are social animals dependent on others. Easiest and most effective ways to use this technique is simply “90% of X do/buy/prefer Y.” Although simple and transparent it strongly influences consumer behavior.
Once a dominant form of advertising, but most consumers are pretty sceptical about them now. An exceptional twist can make the format engaging. Relies on reviews from ordinary people and have become very important in the age of online reviews.
Spontaneously offering a discount or offering free extras before the sales pitch is even over. Main psychological process that makes this technique work is feeling the need to respond to the negotiations by the seller (similar to reciprocity). Initial offer needs to appear reasonable and recipetant should not have an opportunity to respond to each offer.
People rely on informative cues, such as medals, diplomas, awards, and letters of recommendation to discern whether a source is credible. Uniforms and other clothing cues are a quick way to signal this. Showing those ques in ads gives the suggestion of trustworthiness. Ceritan universal physical cues are used to quickly judge people on certain traits. We are quicker to decide trustworthiness than actraviness.
Some ads feature clever use of type as the main element. A particular variety of visual simile that’s popular in advertising and design agencies is the ‘type ad’, where letters are arranged to look like objects, or objects are arranged to look like letters.
At times primitive but if done well it can make for simple, impactful communication when used well. The ones that stand out are those that have a lot of care put into them.
Brings metaphorical figures of speech to life. Quick gag but can also communicate the benefit without the need for an explanatory line. Creates clean simple ads that stand out from cluttered ads.
A visual simile, or visual echo, presents an object to look like something else. Can sometimes be created by clever photography or cropping. Often used for stand alone ads, but it's also possible to create a campaign out of them.