The communications and marketing industries are rapidly changing, and for professionals working in these fields, understanding consumers, businesses and societies is paramount in order to remain one step ahead of the curve.
Industry pros are well versed in platforms for effective messaging such as social media, TV, news, out of home, sponsorship, etc. However, the platform is just one small part of effective communication. When creating campaigns with impact, it’s important to consider each step – the message, the medium and the messenger.
A sound understanding of a few psychological tactics will greatly enhance your understanding of audiences, their needs and how to best reach them – so here are our top three tips to create impactful campaigns.
Pre-Suasion
Robert Cialdini’s theory of pre-suasion refers to the process of arranging for recipients to be receptive to a message before they encounter it. The pre-suasion technique relies on a strong persuasive appeal, but Cialdini emphasises the importance of skewing your audience’s attention in the right direction before conveying your message to ensure maximum impact.
A fundamental aspect of pre-suasion and influence is building trust and relationships. Cialdini suggests identifying commonalities as an effective way to foster connection with consumers. This can be done through promotion of shared interests, common values and beliefs, geographical location and so on. This will create a unique bond between an organisation and their consumer, creating loyalty and effectively pre-suading them to purchase.
Emotional storytelling
Academics often state that human memory is story-based, so what method could be more effective at creating a lasting impression than adverts with an emotional narrative? The power of storytelling allows viewers to connect with your communications, making consumers more likely to remember both your organisation and message, share this content with family and friends, and buy your products.
Polish online e-commerce platform Allegro is a good example of the effectiveness of capturing emotions through video advertising, having produced countless ads utilising the emotional storytelling technique. Allegro has received huge international success with advertisements such as ‘English for Beginners’ generating approximately 18.5 million views on YouTube. The success of Allegro’s advertising techniques comes down to the emotional connection it forms with viewers through the power of storytelling.
Scarcity
The scarcity technique links to one of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs – esteem and status. When a product is limited it becomes rare, exclusive and luxurious. By acquiring a rare or limited product, people feel a sense of esteem and status from their purchase, creating the connection in their mind between your organisation and their fulfillment.
This technique has seen amazing results within the tech industry, particularly in relation to pre-sale. A prominent example is Samsung. During its pre-sale of the Galaxy tablet S7+, it gave away a keyboard, an accessory usually sold separately, with every purchase of the new tablet. This kind of approach drives consumers to purchase the pre-sale tablet as the deal is limited and exclusive, and will ultimately fulfill their sense of esteem.
Through effective utilisations of these three simple techniques, organisations can significantly enhance the power behind their message, increase sales and help fulfil their customers’ needs.
If you want to know more about some of the complexities of this fascinating subject, check out some of these recommendations:
- ‘Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade’ – Robert Cialdini
- ‘Influence: The psychology of persuasion’ – Robert Cialdini
- ‘Brand–Consumer Storytelling Theory and Research: Introduction to a Psychology & Marketing Special Issue’ – Psychology & Marketing
Arabella Walton
