Current Topic: Advertising

We’ve probably all been there; for months, you’ve been looking forward to watch a new movie that just came out. When you’re about to see the movie, though, your friend who just saw it tells you how it ends. Well, when that happens to me, I tend to get angry because I assume the movie will not be as fun anymore. Sounds logical right? If you already know the outcome, then why still watch the movie?

We might assume that it is because of this reason that the publishers of the movie ‘Avengers: Endgame’ communicated the following warning to fans upon the release of their movie: “When you see Endgame in the coming weeks, please don’t spoil it for others, the same way you wouldn’t want it spoiled to you” (Kooser, 2019).

Media in every form bombards us constantly with messages promoting green, environmentally responsible products that consumer goods companies want us to buy. Many of those products have a sticker price significantly higher than traditional, less eco-friendly brands and products. Exactly how much of a premium are today’s consumers willing to pay in order to live their values as responsible earth inhabitants, and how do producers approach them with an attractive marketing message? In short, how do our products avoid fading into the trees in a sea of green products? 

We all know stories that show us a conflict followed by a solution. These are called reversal stories.Conflict reversal stories in advertising can help consumers understand product benefits. The stories present obstacles and solutions that consumers themselves might identify with. → If consumers can connect with the story, they can connect with the brand. However, when the conflict in such a story is for example a hurricane, this has a more positive effect on products like furniture or clothing than it would have on experience products like a pain killer. Want to know why? Then read our latest article!

Let’s try an experiment. Close your eyes and imagine someone running through your field of vision.

I’d bet your imaginary friend was running from left to right. How do I know? Because we are subconsciously conditioned to expect left to right movement. When our expectations aren’t met, this can create subconscious friction which in turn can affect our evaluations.

Want to know more about this interesting phenomenon and how you can use it to your advantage? Keep reading.

A couple of years back I was browsing through my Facebook feed when I came across an ad from a brand selling high-end watches, promoting one of their new products. At first, I barely glanced at the ad, I didn’t care, it was just another ad.

Here’s when it became interesting.

A few days later- as I was sluggishly reading my Facebook feed- I came across this same ad. With the same copy, offer and image. There was not a slight change in the ad and yet my response was very different.

What had changed? The difference was that I realized two friends I look up to had liked the ad. Therefore, I decided to give it a chance.

To make a long story short. I ended up reading the ad, watching the 25-second video, reacted to the ad (I’m sure I gave it a heart), and finally clicking on the ad.

So what happened? Simple: We like the things that are liked by the people we know. Keep on reading to discover the psychology that lies beneath this interesting phenomenon.