Message Adapted from J. Scott Armstrong Updated Feb 2015 Message 35
Message Adapted from J. Scott Armstrong Updated Feb 2015 Message 35.
Jan 11, 2016
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Message
Adapted from J. Scott ArmstrongUpdated Feb 2015
Message 35
Learning Diary
The lectures follow an experiential learning experience. To make this work properly:1.Obtain a learning diary (paper). A 10 x 13 bound diary is suggested.2.Take the learning diary with you to all of the class sessions.3.For self-learners, use the diary to track your learning progress for all of your learning activities.
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Procedure
Focus on understanding.
Record questions in your learning diary that will help you to apply the techniques or principles, then, after you decide which ones you want to apply, try to answer these from the readings. If not clear, ask others for help.
When working alone, put the lectures in slide show mode and record your answers in your diary.
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How many arguments should an ad use?When should you use many arguments and when should you
use few? What conditions are important? Write your ideas in your learning diary.
People tend to use the average strength of arguments. So Use only strong arguments for high-involvement products (7.1.1)
OK to use weak arguments for low-involvement products because customers assume the arguments provide a well-supported point of view.
Evidence8 laboratory experiments (Alba & Marmorstein 1987)
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What is wrong with this ad?
Write your explanation.
Then click here.
Too negative
“20% penalty for dinners ordered after 7:00 PM”
And the principle is? Write your guess in your learning diary, then click here.
Use positive arguments (7.1.2)
Quasi-experimental evidence: Print ads with positive arguments had 1.6 times higher recall (WAPB)
Typical practice: 86% of print ads used only positive arguments (WAPB) 7Adprin.com
7.1.2 – Use positive arguments– Lanier – Violates
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Consider cultural values for arguments (7.1.3)
Cultural values are persuasive, but effects are weak and due mostly to studies on individualism versus collectivism.
Evidence: Meta-analysis of 67 experimental studies. (Hornikx and O’Keefe 2009)
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How well do people understand ads?
People often race through ads, which lowers comprehension. Even trained speed readers have poor comprehension (Ehrlich 1963).
Print ads are much easier to understand than TV commercials: 80% (Beltramini & Brown 1994) to 46% (Schmittlein & Morrison 1983)
Information that is new to the target market is especially likely to be misunderstood.
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Calculate readability scores for an ad
G = 0.4 * (S+W), where S is the average number of words per sentence, and W is the percentage of words with three or more syllables (ignoring common suffixes such as “ed” and “ing”).
G approximates the number of years of schooling needed to understand the text.
Apply this to an ad for your house ad, an ad for your organization, or a management report. Write a summary of your applications in your learning diary.
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Does simple writing improve persuasion?
Review of 50 studies found only a weak relationship between readability scores and persuasion (Anderson & Davison 1988).
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When should an ad be clearly written?Use simple prose for high-involvement products with strong
arguments (7.2.1)
When you have something to say, say it clearly. But when arguments are weak better readability was associated with lower persuasion. (Chebat et al 2003)
Advertisers (and academics) with nothing to say should not say it clearly.
When messages are complex, they are persuasive only if coming from a high-status source Hafer et al 1996.
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Low status/low expertise sources should communicate clearly
Clarity is highly conditional. When you lack high credibility or expertise – such as students or start-up firms – complex writing is less persuasive and leads to lower evaluations.
This finding conflicts with folklore. In a sample of 110 Stanford undergraduates, most admitted to writing in a complex way in order to appear smarter.
Source: Oppenheimer (2006)14Adprin.com
“If you can’t convince them, confuse them.”
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From seller’s viewpoint, consider:
•long-term relationships with customers
• stakeholders
From buyer’s viewpoint:
Beware of people bearing complex arguments.
The Dr. Fox study:An actor delivered a completely meaningless talk to an audience at a professional conference. He received high ratings for the quality of his lecture. Here is an extension of that study.
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The case of the missing condition
Avoid negative words (7.2.2)
Exception: when target market believes the opposite
“Don’t believe it when they tell you that immigration is bad for this nation of immigrants.”
Possible exception: To gain attention to a problem that you have solved? See the “Lemon” ad next.
Evidence: Our analysis of WAPB print ads found that ads without negative words in the text had 1.3 times higher recall.
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7.2.2 – Avoid negative words unless – VW – Lemon
Note: Though advertisers generally avoid negative words, they can be used for to address a belief among some customers. They can also gain attention if they surprise, as was the case for Bernbach’s VW ad. Why would an automaker call one of its cars a lemon? As the ad explained, a team of inspectors caught this defective car before it left the factory.
7.2.2 - Avoid negative words unless the target market believes the opposite – Continental - Violates
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Here are two ads for the same product.Which had highest recall and why? ___ A: San Raphael toilets. Low profile styling conserves space. The efficient design uses less water – only three and one-half gallons___ B: Vanquish those dragons of the Age of Commonplace.
Write your prediction and reasoning in your learning diary.
A had twice the recall of B.
Concrete words had 1.32 times higher recall (quasi-experimental data on 38 pairs of WAPB print ads).
Use specific words (7.3.1)20
“Specifics Sell”: More on the specific words principle.
Example: In the early 1900s, nearly all brewers advertised claimed “Pure beer.” Cleanliness was regarded as so important. Claude Hopkins’ “live steam campaign” described the specific procedures for making pure beer.” (PA, p, 186)
Strong evidence: Six experiments provide support. Here is one: Products in ads with specific information were 1.8 times more likely to be selected (Yellow Pages lab experiment by Fernandez & Rosen 2000).
In our WAPB quasi-experimental study of 38 ad pairs, recall was 32% higher with specific words (PA p. 187-8)
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Use power words if they fit the product (7.3.2)
Avoid hedges and waffling such as “we think” or “perhaps.”
Evidence from a meta-analysis of 16 studies mostly from research on mock juries for law cases (high-involvement). Who would say “We think that our client may be innocent”? (Burrell & Koper 1998)
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Evidence on power wordsMeta-analyses support the persuasiveness of power words. Here is an example :
Group A: Subjects offered choice of a Lindt chocolate truffle at 15 cents or a Hershey’s Kiss at 1 cent:27% chose a Kiss.
Group B: Subjects offered choice of a Lindt chocolate truffle at 14 cents or a Hershey’s Kiss for free. What percent chose a Kiss?69% chose a Kiss.Source: Shampanier et al 2007
Notice the power of the word “FREE” (Discussed further in PA p.188)
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When should you use passive rather than active sentences?
Active voice helps people to write more clearly, but passive has been found to be easier to understand when the reader can anticipate what will follow (Anderson & Davison 1988).
Use active rather than passive voice, unless the subject of the sentence is obvious (7.3.3)
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Benefits of active voiceActive voice aids clarity about who did what, often helps to reduce words, and produces more rhythmic prose.Passive: “A larger size and great taste are two benefits Pepto-Bismol offers”Write an active version in your learning diary, then click for the actual slogan.
“Pepto-Bismol comes in a larger size and tastes great.”
Slogans with active voice had higher recall than those with same content using passive voice. Bradley & Meeds 2002
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Consider interesting writing (7.4.1)
Especially for low-involvement products.
Famous authors – Sherwood Anderson, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Daniel Defoe, and so on – earned money by writing advertising when they were struggling early in their careers.
Ogilvy said that did not go well. Readers focused on the writing instead of the product.
Weak evidence: Only one experiment here.
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7.4.1 - Consider interesting writing – Drunk driver - Complies
Interesting writing can improve recall, tie into favorable connotations, and enhance the customers’ expectations. - Discussed in Persuasive Advertising, p. 189 Adprin.com
For high-involvement products, use interesting writing only when it supports strong arguments
Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz“At your public library, they’ve got these arranged in ways
that can make you cry, giggle, love, hate, wonder, ponder, and understand.”
“When the lads are piping with all their hearts,you feel you’re marching off to glory.”
Scottish travel ad
Caution: Potential danger if it distracts from the arguments
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AGAIN—DON’T SHOUT!!!!Shouting attracts attention, but not necessarily from the target
market.
It detracts attention from good arguments, raises suspicion -- and reduces quality image.
Google AdWords prohibits use of all caps and exclamation marks in headlines.
Use a calm tone for high-involvement products with strong arguments (7.5.1.)
Evidence: In a lab experiment for banking services (high involvement), a calm tone led to a better attitude toward the advertised service that an intense tone Gelinas-Chebat & Chebat 1996)
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Do not violate tastes (7.5.2) - Violates
Note: Blood stained clothes from a recent war. Readers complained. Retailers complained that the campaign hurt sales.
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7.5.2 - Do not violate taste or standards – Pierced body parts, church - Violates
Tastes and standards are often enforced by legal restrictions.- Discussed in Persuasive Advertising, p. 191
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Groupon’s Tibet Commercial (0:30)
Assume you were your group’s executive and your agency proposed this ad. Comments? Write them in your learning diary.
Many people complained about this ad.
Here is the original version. (0:30)
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7.5.2 Do not violate tastes or standards – Organ donation by a UK charity – Violates
This ad for organ donations also violates other principles.
“Becoming an organ donor is probably your only chance of getting inside her.”
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Do not violate tastes or standards (7.5.2.) In your diary, describe ways to avoid taste violations
in advertising.
When you finish, go to the next slide.
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Some procedures for guarding against poor taste in advertising
1. Independent review board (internal or external).2. Copy test the concept or, better, a draft of the ad
with various interest groups.3. List interest groups and anticipate reactions by
using simulated interaction.4. Code of ethics applied by each person on the team.
Firms could use such procedures to protect their clients. Try to apply some of these procedures to your ads.
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7.5.2 – Do not violate tastes or standards - Violates
Tastes differ greatly within a culture, across cultures, and across time. A 1919 Odorno under-arm deodorant ad outraged many subscribers to the Ladies Home Journal so that they cancelled their subscriptions.
“Within the curve of a woman’s arm, a frank discussion of a subject too often avoided.”
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Should ads observe political correctness?
“How many roads must an individual walk down before you can call him or her an adult?” (apologies to Bob Dylan)
“How many roads must a man walk down before you can call him a man?”
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Be cautious about using a personal tone (7.5.3)
Lab experiment on razor blades with strong & weak arguments. 1.When arguments were weak, a personal tone was much less persuasive. 2.When strong, a personal tone was more persuasive. (Burnkrant & Unnava 1989)
Also quasi-experimental data on 46 pairs of ads. PA, p. 193-4.
• recall was 1.11 times higher for ads with personal pronouns and strong arguments than for the other ads
• recall for ads with personal pronouns and weak arguments was about half that of the other ads.
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Use words with sounds that support the meaning (7.6.1.)
Which would be a larger and more powerful car, a1) ___ Bromley, or 2) ___ Brimley?Predict this in your learning diary and explain why.The Bromley – across all languages (Yorkston & Menon 2004)
“The letter r appears to me to be the general instrument expressing all motion.” (Plato)
Tipper et al. (1921), an advertising textbook, said that advertisers should use words where the sounds supported the message.
Specific guidelines are provided of PA, p. 194-5. Apply them to your ads. 41Adprin.com
Use words with sounds that support the message
Advertisers can use word sounds to aid persuasion.Examples:
1) words with hard consonants (e.g., Kodak and Pepsi) are easier to recall.2) words with voiceless stops (p, t, and K) as opposed to voiced stops (b, d, and g) are perceived as smaller, faster. sharper, and more feminine.
Additional guidelines can be found on pages 194-5 of Persuasive Advertising.
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Evidence on guidelines for using word sounds to persuade
Useful guidelines were developed from research– by Klink (2001) in a study in which he asked 265
subjects to evaluate fictitious brand names.– and Yorkston and Menon (2004) in a series of
studies where they presented two brands of ice cream named Frish and Frosh and had subjects sample each (which were identical). Intentions were higher for Frosh.
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Dinner time experiment
Entrees at a restaurant were varied with some having more descriptive adjective, such as
____ a) Grilled Chicken or____ b) Tender Grilled ChickenAssume 100 units of “a” were sold. How many of “b” do
you think were sold? Write your prediction in your learning diary and explain why.127 for “b” (Wansink et al 2001)
In the 15th century, barkers around St. Paul’s Cathedral in London used “elegant language and plenty of adjectives.”
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Use words that enhance the purchasing and consuming experience (7.6.2.)
Common sense? Remember, “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Shakespeare
Additional experimental evidence at PA, p. 196.For example, print ads with adjectives in the headlines had 1.1 times higher recall. (Quasi-experimental analysis of WAPB print ads)
Adjectives are cheap.
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Use familiar words and phrases (7.6.3)
Jaguar built a campaign around the word “gorgeous.” Suggest a more familiar term. In your learning diary, write your suggestion and describe how to find a more familiar word.
“Beautiful” was six times more common on Google search.
Ask yourself, can you find any ads that could have used more familiar words or phrases?
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7.6.3 – Use familiar words and phrases
Based on the well-known ad for Wonder Bread: “Builds strong bodies 8 ways!”
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Word play: Good examples
Puns and double meanings can attract attention, encourage thinking, such as to reinforce the message:
“The Church of England: Open Sundays for better values.”
“Great minds like a think.” The Economist
“Buy cheap socks and you’ll pay through the toes.”
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Consider wordplay if it is clearly related to the product (7.7.1.)
An experimental study of magazine ads found that recall was twice as high when ads had puns (McQuarie and Mick 2003).
Quasi-experimental analysis of WAPB print ads showed that recall was 1.25 times higher for ads that used relevant wordplay. However, irrelevant wordplay harmed recall substantially.
Non-experimental data also supports the use of wordplay (PA, p. 199)
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7.7.1 – Use wordplay if it is clearly related to the product
Note: Some copywriters suggest reading an ad aloud a number of times to ensure that it flows nicely. It also helps to ask others to read it aloud. An early 1900s ad for the Lackawanna Railroad (above) holds up well by this test.
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Word play exercise
In 1961, marketing researchers summarized their research about Schaefer beer as the one beer for heavy drinkers to consume when they are engaged in a substantive drinking experience. Use word play to create a tagline in your learning diary.
“Schaefer, the one beer to have when you are having more than one.”
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Metaphors and figures of speech
We are drowning in metaphors (e.g., 86% of print ads), especially in headlines.
Example: “Mercury forced other car makers into the copier business.”
Metaphors are especially persuasive for low-credibility sources and for auditory media. (Meta-analysis bySopory & Dillard 2002)
Do not mix metaphors. Effectiveness drops as metaphors are added.
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Principles for using metaphors
Consider using novel and concrete metaphors that are related to a benefit (7.8.1)(example: “Fly Eurostar to Paris.”)
29 empirical studies with 38 comparisons of literal statements versus metaphors (Meta-analysis by Sopory & Dillard 2002)
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7.8 – Metaphors and figures of speech
Esso Gas – Tiger in your tank commercial (0:31)
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Metaphors and figures of speech widely used in advertising, but . . .
. . .they often overlook key aspects as • only 22% used a novel metaphor and • only 32% used one related to a selling point.(Based on 480 full-page print ads by leading U.S. firms from WAPB.)
Overall, only 16% used a metaphor that was both novel and related to a benefit.
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7.8.1 – Consider using novel and concrete metaphors that are related to a benefit - Complies
Note: Metaphors can be made more concrete by the choice of words as in “Exceptionally soothing cream for upset skin.” Eventually, this phrase was printed on the product.
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Use a single relevant theme – or two –
per ad (7.9.1.) “Cravendale milk tastes so good it is never around
long enough to prove it can stay fresh longer.” (IPA award winner in 2005)
Our WAPB analysis of pairs of print ads found that recall was 1.16 times higher for ads with a single theme (PA, p. 203)
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Evidence from 10 lab experiments.
Example: Belief in benefits was lower when irrelevant information was added to strong arguments (Meyvis & Janiszewski 2002)
Go through an ad for your organization or one of your management reports and eliminate non-essential words, phrases, sentences, and illustrations. Describe in your learning diary what percentage of the words you were able to delete with no loss of content.
Avoid irrelevant information if strong arguments exist (7.9.2)
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Principle for fast-exposure media
Recommend how many words you should put in a billboard on a highway? _____And how many pieces of information? ____Write your answers and reasoning in your learning diary.When using fast-exposure media, keep the message short (7.9.3)
Words Info National advertisers 7 1.2 Local advertisers 13 1.6
Experiment showed that billboard ads with 7 or fewer words had 1.5 times as much brand recall, as those with 8 or more words (Donthu et al. 1993) Adprin.com
Informative illustrations
The … ideas to be expressed [in an advertising photo] must present themselves at first glance.”
Harvey S. Lewis, advertising photographer, 1905
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Illustrations should support the basic message (7.10.1.)
“Now there’s a Dove that smells like this” positioned at the top of a blank page, except for small photo of Dove at bottom with caption, “Introducing unscented Dove.”
Purchase intentions much higher in an experiment when the illustration was relevant (Miniard, et al 1991) -- two other experiments found that unrelated pictures harmed effectiveness for high-involvement products. (PA, p. 205-206)
Relevant illustrations had twice the recall for print ads for 18 pairs of WAPB ads (PA, p. 206).
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Jeep - go anywhere - 0:30
This ad complies by showing the benefit. It can be used even when models change and it can be used in any culture.
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7.10.1 – Illustrations should support the basic message – “Torn Ocean”— Complies
Note: In 1957, El Al Airlines put a “jet prop” airplane into service over the Atlantic. It avoided the need to refuel, thus reducing travel time by 20%. This full-page ad showed a photo of the ocean with about 20% torn off to reveal white space. This ad ran only once. That was enough to be successful. Adprin.com
Show the product (7.10.2.)
Only 53% of ads in the top ten U.S. magazines from 1900 to 1920 showed the product.
This jumped to 89% in the 1970’s while irrelevant pictures dropped from 18% to 4%.
Print ads with illustrations of the product and brand name doubled recall. They were especially effective for low-involvement products where recall was up by 5.7 times.(Yellow Pages experiment in Childers & Houston 1984)
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Which dotted line is longer, the horizontal or vertical, and by how much? Write your answer in your learning diary. Then click for the answer.
67Horizontal; 16%
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Emphasize desirable features in illustrations (7.10.3.)
Elongation illusion well-establishedExample: to emphasize large drinks at a restaurant, show
pictures of tall narrow glasses rather than short wide glasses.
Tall & narrow will seem about 20% larger Wansink & van Ittersum 2003; also see Raguhbir & Krishna 1999.
Useful to consumers also: alcoholic and those with weight problems should use tall glasses.
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How much longer is the hallway table?
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Hallway table Coffee table
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Use call-outs to emphasize desirable features Meyers-Levy & Peracchio 1995
Cut-outs also helpful for showing applications in advertising proposals.
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When should you use photographs instead of drawings or cartoons?
When believability is an issue, use photographs/videos instead of drawings/cartoons (7.10.4)
Yellow Pages experiment showed that subjects given ads with photographs selected more products than those given ads with line drawings (Lohse & Rosen 2001).
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Example violating the believability principle.
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Use color to provide information (7.11.1)
Examples:Green: go, on, safeYellow: caution, warning, warmRed: stop, hot, danger, loss, emergencyBlue: cold, off
But color meanings vary by culture.
Informative color led to a much higher likelihood of selecting a product than did attention-getting color in two Yellow Pages experiments. (Lohse & Rosen 2001).
Avoid uninformative colors
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Make elements of an ad reinforce one another (7.12.1)
Headline, brand name, picture, camera angle, logo, tone, copy, font, word sounds, colors, and layout should be consistent with one another.
Our WAPB analysis of pairs of print ads found that those with consistent elements had recall that was 1.4 times higher. (PA, p. 213)
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When should corrective advertising be used?
Use corrective advertising/disclaimers only if they provide information that customers need (7.13.1)
Otherwise it harms comprehension and leads to poorer decisions.
If used, try to avoid negative words.
Experimental studies show that government-mandated disclaimers have confused customers and harmed decision making. We have found no experiments to support mandatory disclaimers. (Green & Armstrong 2012)
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Ideas for Applications of Principles
To learn the principles, use the checklist for creating ads to apply the message principles.
If you are not currently working for an organization, pick something to advertise, perhaps a charity.
If you are in a class, design an ad for yourself as the owner of small advertising agency (commonly called a “house ad”).
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Techniques
In your diary, describe the techniques that you were able to use for your message advertisement and rate your success (e.g., creativity, objective setting)
In your diary, write how you would use simulated interaction to test your message-focused ads.
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Advice on learning techniques
One study found that fewer than 10% of students were successful in applying new knowledge.•This went to 20% if they actively applied what they were taught during a class session.•It went to 90% when they worked with a learning partner and coached each other.
Select techniques to apply
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Follow-up
1. ___ Go through this lecture on your own (It is on the Educational Materials page)
2.___Study Persuasive Advertising pages 180-216 and record your reading time in your learning diary. Highlight techniques and principles that you want to apply in yellow.
3.___ Complete the End of Chapter Questions for “Message” and check your answers against PA.
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