Page 143 - Marketing the Basics 2nd

Message conTenT
The success of implementing the AIDA model depends on the content of the message. Research has shown there are three forms that are proven to solicit a response: rational, moral and emotional messages. Rational messages typically entail comparing the advertised product to another through a demonstration of how the product offers increased economy, higher performance, higher quality or some other feature relevant to the target market.
Messages with a moral are crafted to appeal to the audience’s sense of right and wrong. Appeals to the audience moral code is usually practised by organizations promoting such public services as safe driving, encouraging you to practice safe sex, stopping smoking, sending money to help those in a disaster area, etc.
Finally, emotional messages attempt to stir an emotional response to move consumers from one stage in the buying process to another. Often emotional messages are designed to scare, guilt or shame the recipient into action. The use of airbrushed supermodels for example is known to contribute to mental illnesses such as anorexia nervosa because images of an unobtainable ideal degrades already low levels of self-confidence in adolescent teenage girls.
However, not all emotional messages are negative. Those that appeal to one’s sense of humour, pride or irony are positive messages. Unfortunately there is still lingering doubt that positive messages, particularly those that rely on humour actually translates into sales. Critics contend using humour only entertains and merely distracts the audience from the true purpose of the message, which is to buy. A rather dour perspective, we feel. Online, marketers are learning that unless the content entertains the viewer, even the most informative of messages will be ignored. It’s just too easy to click to another page.
More often than not, the product selected by a consumer was not the one that was heavily advertised, but rather the one that garnished the highest level of brand equity. Shoppers are not as logical as we think. Creating messages that promote a positive image positively affects brand equity. The recipient might not run to the store immediately once they watch a humorous advertisement. But who can forget a good laugh?
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