MARKETING AND PERSUASIVE
COMMUNICATION
LECTURE 1: INTRODUCTION (CH. 1 & 2)
What is persuasion?
A sender’s attempt to change a receiver’s beliefs, attitudes, and behavior
(rough definition)
Ex. VU wants you to behave a particular way when visiting the campus and lectures, a friend asking
you to go to the movies and gives arguments for it, etc. => persuasive communication
We use it all the time, convince people, want to make people like us, it’s very common
Persuasion involves the persuader’s awareness that he or she is trying to influence someone else. It
also requires that the “persuadee” make a conscious or unconscious decision to change his mind
about something
Definition Perloff:
“Persuasion as a symbolic process in which communicators try to convince other people to change
their own attitudes or behaviours regarding an issue through the transmission of a message in an
atmosphere of free choice.”
- A symbol is a form of language in which one entity represents a concept or idea,
communicating rich psychological and cultural meaning
o Symbols are persuaders’ tools, harnessed to change attitudes and mold opinions
- Persuaders must intend to change another individual’s attitude or behaviour and must be
aware (at least at some level) that they are trying to accomplish this goal
- People persuade themselves to change attitudes or behavior
o Inducing people to alter attitudes they already possess
- There must be a message for persuasion, as opposed to other forms of social influence, to
occur.
- Self-persuasion is the key to successful influence, then an individual must be free to alter her
own behaviour or to do what he wishes in a communication setting.
o a person is free when he has the ability to act otherwise—to do other than what the
persuader suggests— or to reflect critically on his choices in a situation
So: The key attributes of persuasion are that it operates as a process, not a product; relies on
symbols; involves the communicator’s intent to influence; entails self-persuasion; requires the
transmission of a message; and assumes free choice
1
,Persuasive communication is:
- Broader than marketing communication
o You can also persuade your friends
- Foundation of most marketing communication
o Most promotion is in a way persuasive communication
o Ex. Marketing, advertisements, people talking to you
Marketing communication is persuasive communication, but also:
- Attention, awareness (memory effects)
- Consumer choice behavior (e.g. biases)
- Branding
- Targeting strategy
- Media influence (online and offline)
Examples:
- Which elements determine a commercial’s effectiveness
- Can we influence people outside of their awareness (passive, subliminal)
- When do you need evidence and arguments?
- How do people persuade themselves?
- Is there such a thing as a charismatic leader?
- What do we have in common with Pavlov’s dog
Contemporary social media persuasive message effects are unique in that they:
- Can involve simple catchphrases
- Diffuse more quickly and widely than previous technologies
- Enable others to participate in meaning conferral
- Are capable of mobilizing individuals across national boundaries
APPLICATION AREAS:
- Corporate sphere
o Marketing com, but also:
Sales, negotiations
Motivation, leadership,
Online campaigns, influencers
- Public sphere
o Health communication (quit smoking, veganism, healthy foods, detox)
o Politics, societal debates (winning votes)
- Individual sphere:
o Relations
o Education, family life
2
,LEARNING GOALS (1)
Knowledge about theories and research on persuasive communication
- What works, what doesn’t
- Why/how does it work
- How do we know?
Skills to systematically analyze persuasive messages and predict their effects
skills to be able to persuade people (not because you understand the knowledge that you are
more persuading but you notice it more when other people try to persuade you more)
LEARNING GOALS (2)
Being able to analyze persuasive effects of
- Sender characteristics
- Message characteristics
- Receiver characteristics
- Context characteristics
+ their interactions !
Example: advertisement with a lion that looks like it’s wearing a wig
Eye-catching and unusual, intriguing, makes people stop for a moment
Shampoo is so good that it even tames the lion’s hair (lion is a wild animal, can’t be tamed,
but this shampoo is different = underlying message)
Lion is in the driest place on earth but the hair is still flawless
Example 2: advertisement about a guy sitting on his bed with a gun against his head (blurred a bit)
and alcohol near him
- It’s an ad from Lego
- “kids shouldn’t watch too much tv”
- The ad is too negative
- You get a negative feeling about Lego, you associate negativity and danger, suicide with Lego
- Damaging for the brand reputation
- Negative change in attitude
PRACTICAL USE
You will be able to predict whether a message is effective
You will know whether and how someone is trying to persuade you or others
You will be able to persuade others more effectively
3
, LEARNING GOALS (3)
Being able to conduct scientific research on persuasion effects
- Designing an experiment
- Measuring responses
- Testing effects
Or at least: thoroughly understanding how researchers study persuasion effects
SCIENTIFIC APPROACH
Why do we need it?
- People often do not understand their own beliefs, attitudes and behavioral motives
o Let alone those of others
o We often do not know why we do things
o Why did I sign op for this course? Why did I get out of bed for a drink yesterday? Why
did I drink too much?
- We need objective evidence to understand why people change their behavior
- How do we get this evidence?
- Trying to understand the mechanisms behind persuasion is different from persuading
someone
Question: do you generally think good looking people are less or more intelligent people?
= self-report measure
We attribute positive characteristics to people who are considered generally more attractive
(Halo effect)
Ex. We think they’re smarter, successful, trustworthy, more outgoing, nicer, etc.
o Effect: more positive responses, credible, reliable
o Effect: more persuasive
o Effect: better (paid) jobs, nicer parents,…
We’re not aware of our own prejudice
This is why we run experiments!
- We can manipulate the independent variable
o E.g., good vs. less good-looking
- We can measure its effects on the dependent variable(s)
o E.g., perceived intelligence
= controlled studies that take place in artificial settings
4
COMMUNICATION
LECTURE 1: INTRODUCTION (CH. 1 & 2)
What is persuasion?
A sender’s attempt to change a receiver’s beliefs, attitudes, and behavior
(rough definition)
Ex. VU wants you to behave a particular way when visiting the campus and lectures, a friend asking
you to go to the movies and gives arguments for it, etc. => persuasive communication
We use it all the time, convince people, want to make people like us, it’s very common
Persuasion involves the persuader’s awareness that he or she is trying to influence someone else. It
also requires that the “persuadee” make a conscious or unconscious decision to change his mind
about something
Definition Perloff:
“Persuasion as a symbolic process in which communicators try to convince other people to change
their own attitudes or behaviours regarding an issue through the transmission of a message in an
atmosphere of free choice.”
- A symbol is a form of language in which one entity represents a concept or idea,
communicating rich psychological and cultural meaning
o Symbols are persuaders’ tools, harnessed to change attitudes and mold opinions
- Persuaders must intend to change another individual’s attitude or behaviour and must be
aware (at least at some level) that they are trying to accomplish this goal
- People persuade themselves to change attitudes or behavior
o Inducing people to alter attitudes they already possess
- There must be a message for persuasion, as opposed to other forms of social influence, to
occur.
- Self-persuasion is the key to successful influence, then an individual must be free to alter her
own behaviour or to do what he wishes in a communication setting.
o a person is free when he has the ability to act otherwise—to do other than what the
persuader suggests— or to reflect critically on his choices in a situation
So: The key attributes of persuasion are that it operates as a process, not a product; relies on
symbols; involves the communicator’s intent to influence; entails self-persuasion; requires the
transmission of a message; and assumes free choice
1
,Persuasive communication is:
- Broader than marketing communication
o You can also persuade your friends
- Foundation of most marketing communication
o Most promotion is in a way persuasive communication
o Ex. Marketing, advertisements, people talking to you
Marketing communication is persuasive communication, but also:
- Attention, awareness (memory effects)
- Consumer choice behavior (e.g. biases)
- Branding
- Targeting strategy
- Media influence (online and offline)
Examples:
- Which elements determine a commercial’s effectiveness
- Can we influence people outside of their awareness (passive, subliminal)
- When do you need evidence and arguments?
- How do people persuade themselves?
- Is there such a thing as a charismatic leader?
- What do we have in common with Pavlov’s dog
Contemporary social media persuasive message effects are unique in that they:
- Can involve simple catchphrases
- Diffuse more quickly and widely than previous technologies
- Enable others to participate in meaning conferral
- Are capable of mobilizing individuals across national boundaries
APPLICATION AREAS:
- Corporate sphere
o Marketing com, but also:
Sales, negotiations
Motivation, leadership,
Online campaigns, influencers
- Public sphere
o Health communication (quit smoking, veganism, healthy foods, detox)
o Politics, societal debates (winning votes)
- Individual sphere:
o Relations
o Education, family life
2
,LEARNING GOALS (1)
Knowledge about theories and research on persuasive communication
- What works, what doesn’t
- Why/how does it work
- How do we know?
Skills to systematically analyze persuasive messages and predict their effects
skills to be able to persuade people (not because you understand the knowledge that you are
more persuading but you notice it more when other people try to persuade you more)
LEARNING GOALS (2)
Being able to analyze persuasive effects of
- Sender characteristics
- Message characteristics
- Receiver characteristics
- Context characteristics
+ their interactions !
Example: advertisement with a lion that looks like it’s wearing a wig
Eye-catching and unusual, intriguing, makes people stop for a moment
Shampoo is so good that it even tames the lion’s hair (lion is a wild animal, can’t be tamed,
but this shampoo is different = underlying message)
Lion is in the driest place on earth but the hair is still flawless
Example 2: advertisement about a guy sitting on his bed with a gun against his head (blurred a bit)
and alcohol near him
- It’s an ad from Lego
- “kids shouldn’t watch too much tv”
- The ad is too negative
- You get a negative feeling about Lego, you associate negativity and danger, suicide with Lego
- Damaging for the brand reputation
- Negative change in attitude
PRACTICAL USE
You will be able to predict whether a message is effective
You will know whether and how someone is trying to persuade you or others
You will be able to persuade others more effectively
3
, LEARNING GOALS (3)
Being able to conduct scientific research on persuasion effects
- Designing an experiment
- Measuring responses
- Testing effects
Or at least: thoroughly understanding how researchers study persuasion effects
SCIENTIFIC APPROACH
Why do we need it?
- People often do not understand their own beliefs, attitudes and behavioral motives
o Let alone those of others
o We often do not know why we do things
o Why did I sign op for this course? Why did I get out of bed for a drink yesterday? Why
did I drink too much?
- We need objective evidence to understand why people change their behavior
- How do we get this evidence?
- Trying to understand the mechanisms behind persuasion is different from persuading
someone
Question: do you generally think good looking people are less or more intelligent people?
= self-report measure
We attribute positive characteristics to people who are considered generally more attractive
(Halo effect)
Ex. We think they’re smarter, successful, trustworthy, more outgoing, nicer, etc.
o Effect: more positive responses, credible, reliable
o Effect: more persuasive
o Effect: better (paid) jobs, nicer parents,…
We’re not aware of our own prejudice
This is why we run experiments!
- We can manipulate the independent variable
o E.g., good vs. less good-looking
- We can measure its effects on the dependent variable(s)
o E.g., perceived intelligence
= controlled studies that take place in artificial settings
4
