The psychology of advertising allows you to plan the colors of the packaging and the entire marketing envelope of the product in such a way as to target the needs of specific consumer groups as accurately as possible. In some industries, it is slowly becoming a market standard.
- What is the psychology of advertising?
- The influence of colors on consumer behavior
- How to adjust the message to the recipients?
- The psychology of advertising and the needs and concerns of customers
- Neuromarketing and the psychology of advertising
What is the psychology of advertising?
The psychology of advertising is used by the world's largest corporations. In order to compete with them, it is impossible to avoid reaching for such tools to some extent. It is used to prepare campaigns, do market research, shaping the image and in many other situations. What kind? About it below.
The psychology of advertising determines the tendencies and habits of customers and potential customers. It allows you to forecast behaviors, predict them and influence trends. "...One recent experiment found that people generally prefer products shown in commercials for which they had just glimpsed a few minutes before, even if they do not remember seeing them at all ...”Daniel L. Schacter, head of the psychology department at Harvard University once remarked. The experiment he describes took place in the 1990s. Many of the tools on which the psychology of advertising is based have only been used for several decades. The registration of eye movements of website visitors or the analysis of searches - these are commonly used tools today, impossible to use until recently.
The influence of colors on consumer behavior
The psychology of advertising is a broad topic that allows you to explore such small areas as, for example, the influence of colors on customer behavior. There is evidence that the decision to buy a product is made by the consumer within the first 1.5 minutes from the moment he sees it. Interestingly, in 62-90 percent. it depends on the color of the package. This is because the human brain registers color faster than text or complex graphics.
Numerous studies have shown that red stimulates the appetite and raises blood pressure. It is no coincidence that elements in this color can be found in the logos of most fast-food restaurants. Food marketing it also uses other associations. Gold suggests a high-end product, blue takes away your appetite, and yellow attracts attention and cheers you up. This can be used by designing packaging encouraging to buy, and even brand branding (e.g. blue packaging of dietary products). An example of combining marketing and knowledge about colors can be light purple, which in the Polish chocolate world is associated with the Milka brand.
How to adjust the message to the recipients?
Adjusting the message to the recipients can start, for example, by segmenting it to different age groups. It is the psychology of advertising and, more generally, of human behavior that gives knowledge of what matters to people of all ages. It is based on this knowledge marketing segmentation. Middle-aged people actively use search engines. Meanwhile, the younger ones are more likely to look for work or movies directly from the social media level. Therefore, the former are easier to reach by means of Google Ads. Millennials and the younger Generation Z are sensitive to traditional advertising. Nevertheless communication channels such as Instagram or TikTok can be a great place to reach them with native or sponsored advertising. On the other hand, seniors use the Internet less often, and they use Facebook and Google rather than newer platforms. They can still be reached through advertising in a daily newspaper or on television.
The psychology of advertising and the needs and concerns of customers
The psychology of advertising allows you to understand what individual customer groups really want and do not want or fear (pain points). There were famous ones marketing strategieswhich did not bring results because they matched the recipients' needs or did not respond to them at all. The legendary copywriter Claude Hopkins in one of his books mentions his first success with his carpet flooring ads. Earlier, the manufacturer referred to the technical specification in advertisements, hoping that the hard data would appeal to buyers.
Hopkins noted that polishing machines are bought almost exclusively by housewives. The jargon did not go to them, and the technical details were boring for them. Hopkins offered them polishers with a handle made of various types of colored wood and enclosed it with an interesting story about how a cargo of wood from sunny India flows by ship straight to their homes. The color of the wood did not play any role in the product's effectiveness, but for the aesthetically focused ladies of the house it proved to be crucial. This is how the psychology of advertising can work in practice.
Neuromarketing and the psychology of advertising
The psychology of advertising also uses neuromarketing. It is the knowledge of how stimuli affect the consciousness and the subconscious. It is based on the results of scientific research. Some of them reach very deep layers of the human body Psyche and surprise with sophistication. Others describe the basics of how the human body works - the dilatation of the pupils at the sight of an attractive photo, or the sense of satisfaction felt along with a pleasant memory.
The psychology of advertising allows you to use the connotations of color, smell or sound as sales support. Consumers' emotions can also be influenced by specific words or syntaxes that make them happy or, on the contrary, cause anxiety. The conversation about ethical boundaries in neuromarketing has been going on for a long time. Technology giants in particular are constantly moving them, influencing customer behavior like never before. It is important to be aware of these rules whether we intend to use them or not.