A “source” often a spokesperson in an ad—may be chosen because they are expert, famous, attractive, or a “typical” consumer
What makes a good source?
The source credibility model
Credibility
Source attractiveness
Source attractiveness: perceived social value of source
Physical appearance
Personality
Social status
Similarity (in terms of personal backgrounds beliefs or attitudes)
Halo effect: people who rank high on one dimension are assumed to excel at other dimensions
Example: good-looking people are thought to be smarter, cooler, happier
The message
Several message elements influence its persuasiveness:
Visual vs. verbal communication of the message
Repetition
One-sided vs. two-sided argument
Type of appeal
Visual communication
Repetition and Two-Factor theory
Repetition can be a double-edged sword
Mere exposure effect vs. habituation
One- vs. two-sided appeals
Rational vs. emotional appeal
Sex appeal
Nude models generate negative feelings/tension among same-sex consumers
Erotic ads draw attention, but strong sexual imagery may make consumers less likely to:
Buy a product (unless product is related to sex)
Process and recall ad’s content
Humorous appeal
Different cultures have different senses of humour
Humorous ads get attention
They’re a source of distraction
They inhibit counter-arguing, thus increasing message acceptance
Fear appeal
Fear appeal
Emphasize negative consequences that can occur unless consumer changes behaviour/attitude
Fear is common in social marketing
Most effective when:
Threat is moderate
Solution to problem is presented
Source is highly credible
Source vs. message
What is said, how it’s said, and who says it…
Which aspect has most impact on consumer attitudes?
The answer seems to be related to variations in a consumer’s level of involvement
The elaboration likelihood model (ELM) of persuasion
Consumers are sometimes likely to elaborate upon info presented in an ad, while at other times, little thought occurs
There is more than one path to persuasion
Central route to persuasion
Peripheral route to persuasion
The elaboration likelihood model (ELM) of persuasion
Central route
Focus on the most central or important information (i.e., the strong arguments or reasons that justify holding a particular attitude)
Requires a lot of thinking (cognitive effort)
Peripheral route
Involves relatively little thought or cognitive effort
Attitude is based on peripheral cues (e.g., source attractiveness, source expertise, background music, etc.)
Central vs peripheral route to persuasion
Motivation to process persuasive communication
Personal relevance (involvement)
Need for cognition
Ability to process persuasive communication
Comprehension of message (knowledge)
Distractions
Repetition
The ELM
The science of persuasion
Exercise
Robert Cialdini describes six basic tendencies of human behaviour that can be co-opted to get people to comply with a request.
Challenge 1: Imagine that the Public Health Agency of Canada hired you to help them design a communication campaign aimed at reducing social gatherings during an outbreak of a new and highly contagious respiratory infectious disease. Choose the most appropriate of Cialdini’s tendencies (and whatever other persuasion tools you have learned about), and discuss how the agency can use them to persuade Canadians to avoid social gatherings.
Challenge 2: Imagine that you have been hired to help the charitable organization Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind (https://www.guidedogs.ca) design a fundraising campaign aimed at increasing donations. Choose the most appropriate of Cialdini’s tendencies (and whatever other persuasion tools you have learned about), and discuss how the organization can use them to persuade more Canadians to donate to their cause.
