What is an Advertising Appeal? How to make your advertising appeal to consumers?

Answer: An advertising appeal refers to the approach used to attract the attention of consumers and to influence their feelings toward the product, service, or cause. It’s something that moves people, speaks to their wants or need, and excites their interest. Often it is the underlying content of the advertisement; think of it as a “movie script”. Don’t confuse this with execution framework, that will be another topic.

An emotional appeal is related to an individual’s psychological and social needs for purchasing certain products and services. Many consumers are emotionally motivated or driven to make certain purchases. Advertisers aim to cash in on the emotional appeal and this works particularly well where there is not much difference between multiple product brands and its offerings. Emotional appeal includes personal and social aspects.advertising_appeal

1. Personal Appeal: Some personal emotions that can drive individuals to purchase products include safety, fear, love, humor, joy, happiness, sentiment, stimulation, pride, self esteem, pleasure, comfort, ambition, nostalgia etc.

2. Social Appeal: Social factors cause people to make purchases and include such aspects as recognition, respect, involvement, affiliation, rejection, acceptance, status and approval.

3. Fear Appeal: Fear is also an important factor that can have incredible influence on individuals. Fear is often used to good effect in advertising and marketing campaigns of beauty and health products including insurance. Advertising experts indicate that using moderate levels of fear in advertising can prove to be effective.

4. Humor Appeal Humor is an element that is used in around 30% of the advertisements. Humor can be an excellent tool to catch the viewer’s attention and help in achieving instant recall which can work well for the sale of the product. Humor can be used effectively when it is related to some benefit that the customer can derive without which the joke might overpower the message.

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Sex Appeal:

Sex and nudity have always sold well. Sexuality, sexual suggestiveness, over sexuality or sensuality raises curiosity of the audience and can result in strong feelings about the advertisement. It can also result in the product appearing interesting. However use of sex in types of advertising appeals can have a boomerang effect if it is not used carefully. It can interfere with the actual message of the advertisement and purpose of the product and can also cause low brand recall. If this is used then it should be an integral part of the product and should not seem vulgar. The shift should be towards sensuality.

Music Appeal:

Music can be used as types of advertising appeals as it has a certain intrinsic value and can help in increasing the persuasiveness of the advertisement. It can also help capture attention and increase customer recall.

Scarcity Appeal:

Scarcity appeals are based on limited supplies or limited time period for purchase of products and are often used while employing promotional tools including sweepstakes, contests etc.

Rational Appeal:

Rational appeals as the name suggests aims to focus on the individual’s functional, utilitarian or practical needs for particular products and services. Such appeals emphasize the characteristics and features of the product and the service and how it would be beneficial to own or use the particular brand. Print media is particularly well suited for rational appeals and is often used with good success. It is also suited for business to business advertisers and for products that are complex and that need high degree of attention and involvement.

Masculine Feminine Appeal:

Used in cosmetic or beauty products and also clothing. This type of appeal aims at creating the impression of the perfect person. The message is that the product will infuse the perfection or the stated qualities in you.

Brand Appeal:

This appeal is directed towards people who are brand conscious and wish to choose particular products to make a brand statement.

Snob Appeal:

This appeal is directed towards creating feeling of desire or envy for products that are termed top of the line or that have considerable qualities of luxury, elegance associated with them.

Adventure Appeal:

This appeal is directed towards giving the impression that purchasing a product will change the individual’s life radically and fill it with fun, adventure and action.

Less than Perfect Appeal:

Advertisements often try to influence people to make certain purchases by pointing out their inadequacies or making them feel less perfect and more dissatisfied with their present condition. These types of advertising appeals are used in cosmetic and health industries.

Romance Appeal:

These advertisements display the attraction between the sexes. The appeal is used to signify that buying certain products will have a positive impact on the opposite sex and improve your romantic or love life. Frangrances, automobiles and other products use these types of advertising appeals.

Emotional Words/Sensitivity Appeal:

These advertisements are used to drive at and influence the sensitivities of consumers.

Youth Appeal:

Advertisements that reflect youth giving aspects or ingredients of products use these types of appeals. Cosmetic products in particular make use of these appeals.

Endorsement:

Celebrities and well known personalities often endorse certain products and their pitching can help drive the sales.

Play on Words:

Advertisements also make effective use of catch phrases to convey the message. Such appeals help in brand recognition and recall and can be quite popular with the youth in particular.

Statistics:

Advertisements also use statistics and figures to display aspects of the product and its popularity in particular.

Plain Appeal:

These advertisements use every day aspects of life and appeal to ordinary people regarding the use of a product or service.

Bandwagon Appeal:

This type of advertising appeal is meant to signify that since everybody is doing something you should be a part of the crowd as well. It appeals towards the popularity aspect or coolness aspect of a person using a particular product or service.

In short we can say:

The form of stimulus used by the adviser is generally referred to as the advertising appeal. The appeal represents those psychological elements of the approach and of the copy that actually motivate trader responds.

There are various types of appeal those are used in advertisements especially in the context of Bangladesh. Those are:

Informational or Rational: It focus on the consumer’s practical, functional or utilitarian need for the product or service and emphasize features of a product or service &/or the benefits or reasons for owning or using a particular brand. (See page: 267).

Emotional Appeal: Who can love as like us. (K pare amader moto valobashte) – GP.

Personal States or Feelings

Social Based Feelings

Bases of Emotional Appeals

Safety Arousal / stimulation Recognition
Security Sorrow / grief Status
Fear Pride Respect
Love Achievement / accomplishment Involvement
Affection Self esteem Embarrassment
Happiness Actualization Affiliation / belonging
Joy Pleasure Rejection
Nostalgia Ambition Acceptance
Sentiment Comfort Approval
Excitement

Source: Reference 01, pg. 269.

Positive & Negative: Everything is positive Vs. Fear, Problem etc.(smoking causes heart disease).

Appeals to Curiosity: Coming soon. It is by the organization by campaign because it takes time.

Aesthetic: Focuses on the physical glory ness. Be the beauty bond only in 6 weeks. In Bangladesh this appeal is used in a high volume.

Ethical: What is right or wrong? Stop ACID.