Emotional Appeals in Advertising

Emotional appeals are the exact opposite of the rational appeal. While rational appeal involves a deliberate reasoning process, emotional appeal aims to stir up emotions which are below the level of consciousness.
Emotional appeals are used by advertisers to excite the target group with the use of the emotions in the communication, thus directing them to make a purchase of the product or offering. 

Some of the emotional appeals are listed below. Let's take a quick look at the emotional appeals used in advertising.

FEAR APPEAL:
Fear Appeal is the most commonly used appeal when it comes to advertising a product. The greater the level of fear generated in a communication, the greater is the effectiveness of the message.
Fear appeal is particularly used when you want your target audience to start using your product or offering.
Fear Appeal is used is certain ways. At times advertisers show that since an individual is not using a particular product and hence he is losing friends, social status, job, position.
For example, Himalaya Sparkling white came up with a campaign where in they showcased that a girl with yellow teeth is often mocked by her friends. (Ref: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEZpR9IsZtg)

If you wish to stop certain behavior/habit of the target group fear appeal works the best. Usually used in Public service announcements. A Don't Drink and Drive initiative by BMW came up with this brilliant ad with a hard hitting copy.



Fear Appeal is also used in selling across the mutual funds and life insurance commercials. 
However research states that at times extremely great fear appeals are lesser effective as compared to moderate fear appeal.

SEX APPEAL:

Sex appeal is used to a great extent in India when it comes to contraceptives, deodorants, lingerie and likewise . A study showcased that when sex appeal is used in advertisements men could recall the illustration however could not associate the brand with it. When it comes to using sex appeal the interpretation of the same differs from region to region and culture to culture.
Several brands like Wildstone, Engage Deodrants, Slice are using sex appeal to promote their products.

HUMOR APPEAL:

Humour appeal is used to sell FMCG products or durable goods. However it is suggested that using humour appeal to sell products like mutual funds, insurances or other serious products should be avoided.
However some financial institutions have made use of humour appeal in a brilliant way. ICICI came up with a commercial which had a imaginary character named Chintamani. A remarkable campaign executed with a strong punch line "No Chinta only money"
(Ref: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUrQpr5zcPg)

There are certain advantages of using humour appeal. It leads to considerable brand recall. It creates a positive mood  and lead to the mental registration of the humour used in the ad leading to favorable association with the brand.

Humor appeal is used in chocolate brands, namkeen, soft drinks and likewise. 
The legendary Suresh Ramesh Campaign executed by 5 Star makes use of humor appeal. (Ref: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3352Gric7M)
Kurkure also makes use of humor appeal in its commercials with the use of their strong punch line "Tedha hai par mera hai" (Ref: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO52OsNOCE0)

My next blog will be regarding the basics of Direct Marketing. So stay tuned!

Rational Appeal in Advertising

Let's talk appeals! To be precise Rational Appeal which is used in advertising to a great extent.

Rational appeals are particularly directed at the thinking process of the target audience. Rational appeals are used by the advertisers intentionally or consciously. The main aim to communicate through rational appeal is that the individual is likely to get the functional benefit if he/she is going to consume or utilize the product.

The ads with rational appeal is always effective and fruitful. Following are some buying motives which are usually considered as rational motives.

High Quality:
When ever it comes to consumer durable products or electronic gadgets, quality plays the key role. Communicate the target audience that the product or the offering you have is of apex quality and you have done your job. Many a times a consumer will buy a product because of the good quality and not merely because of the style or the fashion statement.

Example: Tata I-Shakti Dal talks about unpolished dal which is better in quality as compared to the lustrous polished dal. In this particular commercial Sanjeev Kapoor highlights the superior quality of the product/offering (Ref: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntEYYw_sI-M)

Low Price:
At times low price can be a major factor. At times people think that the products which are available at a lower cost will be similar to the reputed products. They also have this rationale that their reason of purchasing the lower price product will be accepted as good one by his social group.

Example: Big Bazaar has been running Wednesday Bazaar, a day in the week where in there are heavy discounts on many products. So during Wednesday Bazaar, people may buy a local ice cream brand rather than buying a Baskin Robbins since the local ice creams may be available at a lower price (Ref: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pmWGaxwmyY)

Long Life: 
Durability is a factor which is sought by everybody. Hence one more factor which is likely to appeal to the rationale of your target audience can be the durability of a product/offering.

Example: The Classic Ambuja cement Ad featuring Boman Irani which talks about the everlasting durability of  Ambuja Cement. The wall which stood tall even after multiple failed efforts to bring it down. (Ref: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mVSjBBBHFA)

Easy to use:

Another key aspect which appeals the human rationale. In today's world every body is too busy and seek products which are easy to use. So particularly a washing machine which is automatic or a kitchen mixer which switches off after a pre determined period of time use the easy to use rational mtoive.

Example: Godrej came up with an advertisement for GoodKnight Fast Card. In this particular commercial they showcased the 3 easy steps with which every body can get rid off mosquitoes. A brilliant commercial highlighting the utility of the product in easy steps. (Ref: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_awQeO0o0K4)

Economy:

This motive works the best. Define the economy aspect of a particular product and appeal the target group.

Example: Maruti came up with a campaign "Kitna Deti Hai" which was highly appreciated across the country by the critics. The key message that Maruti aimed to communicate was, for a country obsessed with mileage, Maruti Suzuki makes India's most fuel efficient cars. (Ref: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzW7Sxzkr1Y)

Attributes of a good and distinctive copy

The topic of this blog is probably what your copy writing professor might deliver his lecture on, in his very first copy writing session.
This blog is about the key attributes and features your copy should incorporate to make it hard hitting.
Using a proper headline:
Its always said that a book is judged by its cover. In a similar way your headline is that eye catching point. The headline is where you can draw the attention of your target audience. There are few advertisements which I have found gripping because of their headlines.

For example,  the famous Hindu and TOI war where in Hindu came up with some brilliant ads. Some of them were as follows: Sense not sensational, Read more about political parties and not Page 3 parties. Crisp, concise and to the point that is how you should try keeping it.
 
Focus on your reader:
Though the main aim of the copy is to convey the product details or service offering but an equal importance has to be given to your reader. Using words like "you", "your" and establishes a connect with the reader which is beneficial rather than emphasizing on the product or how to use it steps.
 
Indulge your audience by asking them questions:
Open your ad with a question just to draw in the reader's attention. Once the attention seeking part is done and that the curiosity is created, the reader will then try searching the answer of the question in the headline and will find it the body copy.
 
Take a leap from the introduction to the pitch immediately.
Don't keep the audience lingering at the headline. Every body in the world is busy. Do not spend too much time warming up. If you lose the reader attention you bear the loss
 
Make use of fear appeal:
Fear appeal is the one which is most commonly used by the advertisers. Usually banks, mutual funds, insurance providers are the ones who make use of fear appeal. If it is a safety product then use fear appeal to your advantage. If its an offering of an opportunity use fear appeal such that the buyer will miss the chance of availing a fantastic offer

Make use of flattery words:
Flattery but of course to an extent. Every reader knows that a marketer will end up being flamboyant when it comes to his product.
 
Make use of facts and figures
When you mention key facts and figures in your headline or in your copy it adds credibility to your product or service. 

For Example, You might have seen the print ads or TV ads of Colgate. In Colgate Sensitive Pro Relief advertisement, they make it a point that they always include the fact that 9 out of 10 dentists prefer Colgate and also refer it to their acquaintances

My next blog will be regarding the appeals used in the advertising and are an important aspect of consumer behavior. So Stay Tuned!

ACS - Product packaging for international markets

Every BMMite is well versed with the 4P's of marketing. PRODUCT. PLACE. PRICE. PROMOTION.

These 4P's play a major part for the marketing of a particular product in the market. But another important aspect or rather the important P of marketing is PACKAGING.

Packaging and labeling, two important aspects which every manufacturer/service provider should consider while his product is going to hit the market.

Take a walk across the super market. Every super market holds about 45,000 products. And the ultimate goal of every manufacturer is that my product has to land in my potential consumers shopping basket.

To achieve this goal, what is required is a cutting edge packaging, with brilliant use of colors. Colors which will appeal to the potential customer and will turn him into the products consumer.

Since this is the era of globalization, the protocols of packaging are also to be followed at the global level. In this case what the marketer has to undertake is "glocalisation", which means going global keeping the local essence intact. There are several differences in the marketing environment across the countries.

Modification may be required in all the 3 levels of the packaging. The 3 levels of packaging are as follows:

Primary Pack: For example, a labeled tooth paste tube

Secondary Pack: For example, the labeled carton which is going to hold the tooth paste tube

Tertiary Pack: The box which contains a specific number of cartons

Labeling:

Labeling not only specifies the contents of a particular product, but is is also legally essential to mention the same in all the countries. The labeling protocols change from one country to another. The labels are to be modified into the local languages or it has to be multilingual if a particular product is a world brand.

Product names have to be specific. You cannot call a ketch up "Hot chilli" in Saudi Arabia. It needs to be named as Spiced Hot Chilli. Diet Coke a product of Coca Cola did not work in Brazil because the work Diet refers that the product has some medicinal qualities. Coke had to get special approvals and they had to alter the name to Coca Cola Light in countries like Germany, France due to legal restrictions. 

In some countries words like giant pack or jumbo pack are prohibited.

Package Size and Price:

Package size and price have a great importance where the income level is meager. In poor countries make the products in smaller size in small packages.
For example, Sunsilk launched in the concept of satches in India to reach the potential target group with lower income group.

Trade Mark:

I read this somewhere, a country had red circle as their trade mark which was not used in Asia because it drew references with the Japanese flag. A company had yellow flowers as their trade mark which was not used in Mexico where yellow flowers symbolize death. Hence care should be taken while choosing trademarks where in the trade marks don't have any other meaning across the globe.

Color:

Color is one more important factor which has to be considered while packaging a particular product. While in some country white symbolizes purity while in some it is associated with mourning.

Also one more factor has to be taken into consideration while packaging a particular product.The product has to be well protected in the packaging in all sorts of climatic conditions. Quality of the packaging also has to be considered. Japanese attitude about quality includes the packaging of the product. A poor packaged product conveys an impression of poor quality.

Container material preferences also alters across the globe, like the Americans consumer beer in cans where as Europeans prefer in glass bottles.


Hence it can be said that the success or the failure of a particular product depends on the understanding the cultural differences in terms of the factors which are essential for the packaging of the product.

Types of Advertising Agencies

Well, in my previous blog I had mentioned I will be writing about the types of the ad agencies. It took me some while to get my hands on this blog.
This blog is about the types of the ad agencies and the functions they undertake.

When it comes to agencies there are some who know from alpha to omega, while some are the ones who specialize in a peculiar area and serve only the service they specialize in.

Let's take a look at the type of the ad agencies:

• Full Service Ad Agencies:

Well when I mean full service ad agencies they are giants of the advertising world. The ones who cater from alpha to omega. Full service ad agencies are the ones who not only create but also promote the creatives. So basically right from development of the concept with thorough brain storming, to fine execution to proper media placement is what full service media agencies do.
These agencies have multiples departments like the client servicing, account planners, creative, media planners and buyers, production. Well these agencies don't come cheap. They have teams assigned for specific accounts who manage start to end execution of these accounts.

• Specialty Ad Agencies:

While there are giants like Full service ad agencies, there is also a presence of the cognoscenti's!
The ones who are frequently referred as the creative boutiques or most commonly referred as the " A LA CARTE"

• Creative agencies who work for print and television ads- right from the concept. Their forte' is only developing the creatives and not in the media buying or in media placement.
• Media Buying agencies are the ones who specialize the media planning and media buying activities. They are the ones who conduct an extensive research to figure out which media channel should be used to the reach to the target audience in an effective way.
• Digital and social media agencies are the ones who specialize in Internet marketing. They special on running campaigns on social media platforms, create websites, run search and display ad campaigns.

• Category expertise:

There are some agencies who specialize in advertising special category.
Some specialize in advertising products, where the aim is to introduce the product in the market or to create a demand for a particular product in the market. Some specialize in Institutional Advertising. Here the aim is creating a positive image of the institution. Also another type of advertising is Advocacy advertising. This advertising agencies particularly work for a specific cause like polio vaccination which is supported by government or by non profit organization.

• Industry Expertise Agencies:

Some agencies specialise to work for certain specific industries like hospitality, travel, banking, education and likewise. If a business is large, falls in niche then Industry expertise agency will be an appropriate agency to advertise the offerings of the business.