We’ve all seen the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) End Animal Cruelty commercial, starring Sarah McLachlan and her song Angel. The commercial, an example of an emotional appeal to trigger the cognitive bias of an identifiable victim, haunts us with images of shivering, starving, abandoned kittens and puppies. Most of us change the channel to avoid the pain. (I can’t watch it. I’ll cry for an hour!)
But most of us donate to stop the pain.
Because emotional appeals are a highly effective marketing approach.
Emotional appeals (aka appeals to emotion) are a route to appeal to pathos. Aristotle insisted persuasion must use data from a credible source (ethos), a powerful argument (logos), and emotional appeal (pathos). We are humans, after all, and we have to care to be motivated to change our mind or behavior.
But strict emotional appeals avoid facts and data and rely upon triggering an emotional response in the receiver. Emotional appeals force the receiver to use emotional or affect processing (as opposed to central or cognitive processing).
For most consumers, marketers rely on emotional appeals as a more effective form of persuasion. Cognitive processing (logic) takes time, high interest, basic knowledge, and significant energy to think through the persuasive message. Most receivers do not have: (a) the cognitive ability to process complex messages; (b) the time to process (why time pressure is an effective sales approach); (c) the energy to process (I don’t care, I just want that car!); or (d) basic knowledge to process additional, complex data.
Marketers can (and do) take advantage of this human foible using emotional – or motivational – appeals. To help you sell your widget, I’d like to share the science behind reaching your customers’ hearts.
Motivational Appeals
Emotional appeals include appeals to: happiness and joy, sadness and grief, humor, tradition, pride, connection, anger and outrage, compassion, adventure, popularity, sex and romance, lifestyle and status (including association), youth and appearance, and fear.
Motivational appeals stimulate consumers’ internal incentives – their values, beliefs and attitudes – and their external incentives – through social proof, societal standards, and tribe expectations (others are doing it). The consumer does not buy or engage you for service because he or she thinks doing so makes sense. He or she does it because everyone else is. Because you share their emotional experience.
And considering marketing is becoming increasingly emotional and connection-based, you can set aside the product is better logic for the product makes you feel approach. Consider if the ASPCA had no starving puppy video and only a guy in a suit who says, We need 1.5 million dollars to purchase food, to obtain medical care, and to re-home abandoned and abused animals. If you give us $30, you can save an animal.
Yawn.
The Sarah McLachlan masterpiece raised 30 million dollars in the first two years.
Appeals In Action
Joy: Coca-Cola received over 100,000 positive letters praising their “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke.”
Anger or Outrage: The Run Like A Girl commercial from Always redefined like-a-girl into a positive affirmation.
Appearance: Dove’s Beauty Sketches helped women reconsider self-perception.
Sadness or Grief: Chevy’s Maddie commercial subtly shows their vehicles last a lifetime.
I’m sure your mind is listing commercial after commercial where you had an emotional reaction. There is nothing inherently unethical with marketing and advertising appealing to emotion.
Ethical implications occur when the company behind the feelings offers nothing but those feelings – manipulating consumers or avoiding facts and figures. The trend is to do exactly that.
Therefore, when using emotional appeals, use them ethically. Don’t manipulate your customer or client into choosing you or yours. Ethically use emotional appeals alongside logic, facts, and reasons for buying from you or using your service.
Fear Appeals: An Example
Fear appeals are a subset of emotional appeals. Fear appeals are only effective if the receiver knows (a) she has or is at risk of a serious problem to be solved; (b) believes she can solve the problem (is not hopeless or guilt-ridden); (c) is offered a viable solution (believes the solution will work); and (d) believes she can implement that solution.
If a non-smoker sees a smoking cessation ad, she doesn’t feel at risk and ignores the appeal. If a smoker sees the ad, but thinks smoking is helpful, she will negate the ad as a non-problem. If the smoker who sees the ad feels like nothing works to help her quit, she will ignore the ad (and, in fact, the appeal will backfire). If she is engaged but thinks the solution won’t work, or won’t work for her, the appeal will fail.
Fear appeals can trigger too much fear where the receiver feels hopeless or so fearful, it causes the “freeze” or “flee” (avoidance) responses. So, fear we must carefully craft a fear appeal to ensure a balance between triggering enough fear while still ensuring the receiver feels empowered. One of the most successful fear campaigns was the CDCs “tips from smokers” series–with people who were suffering from lung and throat cancer.
How can you use a fear appeal in your own marketing?
- Establish the problem. A key to marketing a product or service is identifying the problem your product or service solves for the consumer. You, therefore, should already have a list of problems you solve.Example: You sell security systems. Your customers’ problems: feeling safe, protecting their loved ones and stuff. Your product solves that problem. Example: You offer life coaching. Your client is trying to reach a goal – changing careers, losing weight, launching their own company. Your service helps them solve those problems.
- Trigger the problem – make them experience just enough fear. For an effective fear appeal, the listener must know he or she has that problem. So, show a home break-in or the person not reaching his or her goal. Of course, be careful at this step. If the home invasion is a horror movie, you’d be better off launching a film career than selling alarm systems! The break in occurs, and some stuff is missing – maybe the cat escapes, but they find Fluffy in the bushes. Everyone is safe.
- Offer your solution to alleviate the fear. Show how your product or service protects against the fear. The burglars run away from the sirens and lights. The business owner earns a profit. The overweight guy goes for a run. Great.
- Assure the person he or she can solve the problem. If the consumer does not believe he or she can take advantage of the solution (too hard, too expensive, not realistic), the fear appeal will fail. You must empower your listener – ensure he or she believes not only in the solution but also in his or her own power to have that solution. Alarm systems for every budget. Coaching programs that grow with you.
You get the idea!
Now, it’s your turn. What emotional appeals match your product or service? How can you incorporate appeal to emotion in your marketing?
