The Drivers of the Persuasion Process in Advertising

In general, there are two ways that persuasion occurs, either through a rational, analytical process or though an instinctive, reactive process.

Key features of the rational persuasion process:
-    active listening
-    active thinking
-    focused on the issue at hand
-    weighs the pros and cons
-    reason and logic are dominant

Key features of instinctive, reactive persuasion process:
-    passive listening
-    may not be thinking at all
-    not focused on the issue at hand
-    don’t analyze the arguments
-    instinct and mindless reaction are dominant

Another way of describing these two routes to persuasion is central versus peripheral. These approaches were first described by John Cacioppo and Richard Petty.

In the central approach, the person actively thinks about and analyzes what he or she is presented. Any influence gained comes from analysis and careful thought. For example, the central approach to a sales pitch would be to list the pros and cons of the situation and to present a clear and logical path to persuasion. A full description of the features and benefits would be appropriate. 

The peripheral route is completely different. Often, no thought is given or, more accurately, the influence occurs automatically, without the awareness of having been influenced.

It’s instructive to review some of the peripheral routes to persuasion because they can be very powerful. One underlying principle is called a fixed-action pattern. This is when a response is automatic and occurs without any conscious thought. Ellen Langer conducted a pioneering study where she demonstrated the impact of adding “because” to a request. In her study, when people were asked to allow a second person to move in front of them in line at a copy machine, the way the question was asked had a dramatic impact on the results. When asked, “Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the copy machine?”, 60% of the people said yes. But, when asked, “May I use the copy machine because I am late?”, 94% of the people said yes. This is a logical outcome given that many people are willing to help someone in need. But when asked, “May I use the copy machine because I have to make some copies?”, 93% said yes. In this last example, the “because” reason was no reason at all, yet it yielded a 50% increase in the results. Lesson – if you make a request always give a “because” reason.

In future posts, we will discuss in detail the many drivers of persuasion and how they can be integrated into successful advertising programs.

Influence is at the center of successful advertising campaigns. We’re AdWise Group – and we’re wise the art of persuasion. AdWise Group is a Dallas advertising agency that specializes in consumer/retail marketing communications and search marketing.

For more information visit us at www.AdWiseGroup.com or feel free to call us 972-418-9600.