Advertising psychology: strategies and characteristics

Have you ever seen an advertisement on television that moved you or stirred your conscience? Do you remember one with special fondness? Surely the answer is yes. In fact, The effect that this advertisement has had on you is the result of the work of advertising psychology.

Why do some advertising campaigns succeed and remain in the memory, while others simply become forgotten? It is neither coincidence nor the result of chance. It is the result of millimeter work that takes into account different variables, factors and peculiarities. So, We explain how Psychology can change the perception of advertising!

What does advertising psychology consist of?

It is an interdisciplinary field of study. A branch of psychology in which joint work and constant work of support and collaboration between departments is essential. A large number of interests and variables that seek to predict psychological consumer trends.

Therefore, advertising psychology analyzes the impact that advertising has on the audienceand from there it formulates which colors have the most impact, which typography works best, in which media the messages resonate best, etc.

These conclusions help psychologists understand the consumption habits of users and establish strategies that will be used to create and design future advertising campaigns.

For its part, it is important to highlight that advertising is not only limited to advertisements in magazines, newspapers, radio, television or the internet. It’s more, It is practically in everything that surrounds us: las a way of placing products in department stores; the color and size of crisp packaging; the price of clothes; the subtlety of words on the radio. Anything that makes a product attractive and steals our attention serves as a powerful means to advertise it.

Not only attractiveness is key to any strategy, but also the desire to be different. All of us, when we buy or consume, seek to distinguish ourselves from others. We want to be recognized as individuals with a particular identity.

Advertising psychology strategies

Knowing the characteristics and consumption acts of people, you can exercise greater persuasion and influence on them through the media. As? If you’ve ever gone into the supermarket to buy “four things” and walked out with a full cart, congratulations! You have been a victim of the techniques used by this scientific branch.

Advertising psychology is mainly nourished by 4 strategies To achieve that effect on the consumer:

Mechanist: through the repetition of an advertisement, slogan or image, the aim is to condition people so that every time they are seen they generate the need to buy them.Persuasive: This strategy seeks to put a product above the others. To do this, it offers information on the special attributes of what it sells and compares them with other competitors. It is nourished to a greater extent by creativity and personal intuition.Projective: focuses on the models, culture and lifestyles of the subjects. It usually presents those products that match their interests or opinions. Sociology and anthropology are also essential.Suggestive: It draws on psychoanalytic techniques to delve into the depths of the human being. It focuses on the user’s anxiety, fear, anguish or stress in order to attract them by generating a “magical product.” A meta-analysis published Psychological bulletin points out that using fear as a persuasion strategy is effective in influencing people’s attitude, intentions and behaviors.

Other psychology strategies in advertising

It is worth mentioning that advertising psychology has advanced a lot in recent decades, so Nowadays there are numerous psychological strategies that help engage the audience to a brand or product. Among the most used we find:

emotional marketing: in which the emotions of the target audience are appealed to influence their purchasing decision. It is an extremely effective technique, since emotions are a strong driving force that drives people’s actions. As detailed in an article published in Frontiers in Psychology, emotional marketing uses people’s emotions and awakens consumers’ emotional needs.Zeigarnik effect: It is the tendency to remember incomplete tasks better. In advertising, the aim is to make the potential buyer feel the need to complete what appears half-hearted. For example, in movie and series trailers, we see this effect.Classical conditioning: It aims for the consumer to associate attributes that are not always linked to the product or service that is advertised. For example, making people believe that a certain men’s perfume will increase the number of sexual encounters for those who use it.Neuromarketing: This branch of marketing bases its advertising proposals on studies of the mind and brain with the aim of having a greater influence on the public. A typical example of visual neuromarketing is ending prices at 99, making it appear that the product is cheaper. This form of marketing is still controversial, since it could, among other things, undermine people’s individual autonomy, as noted in an article published in Harvard review of psychiatry.Cognitive dissonance: is what happens when your ideas, beliefs and behaviors are not consistent with each other and contradict each other. In marketing it is used as a strategy that gives the product a clear utility that the consumer can perceive. This way you feel satisfied and don’t question the purchase.Heuristics: They are mental shortcuts that we use to make decisions quickly. One type of heuristic that marketing experts exploit is anchoring, which tells us that we make decisions based on the first information we receive, that is, we anchor. For example, the first price they give us for a product sets a standard (anchor) for the counteroffers we make during the negotiation.Halo effect: It consists of inferring qualities based on first impressions. For example, we assume that a product is of quality because the first impression it gave us when we saw it was good. Therefore, in the advertising context, presentation is important.Observational learning: We learn about the world by observing how others interact with it. Seeing is learning, we could say. If we see that our role model uses a certain brand, it is very likely that we believe that it is good. Or maybe we don’t even believe it, but, out of our desire to imitate him, we buy what he uses or consumes.

Psychological and successful advertising factors

Behind all advertising campaigns there are a series of cardinal decisions on which your success depends. In each of these elections, advertising psychology professionals study, investigate and provide information and knowledge to promote the impact of their work.

In this case, they evaluate a series of psychological and advertising factors that are key and that influence any marketing strategy. Some of them are:

Ad features: The color, typography and images to be used are decided.Repetition: is the number of times the product will be published. This strategy is very effective, despite being one of the oldest. Repetition allows the product to be engraved in people’s memories. And not only that, it also increases the familiarity you have with it.Price: A lower price does not equal a higher number of sales. Although it is an important factor (we already see that the Black Friday fever breaks sales records almost every year), other variables also influence.Channel: is the medium through which the advertisement will be transmitted (radio, television, internet, etc.).Trust: If the product, brand, or service inspires confidence in your customers, it will undoubtedly help increase sales.Empathy towards the consumer: allows us to know the true needs of customers so that they are satisfied by the product or service offered.Appeal to basic instincts: consists of satisfying people’s natural tendency to receive pleasure and avoid pain.

For its part, The psychologist must take into account the consumption trends of a specific age group and also the stage of evolutionary development in which the target audience is.

For example, if we are targeting teenagers, it will be preferable to carry out campaigns on the internet or via smartphone. Furthermore, given their age, it is advisable to send a message that reinforces personal identity, a concept that is especially sensitive, moldable and vulnerable at this evolutionary stage.

Color psychology, essential in Advertising

Advertising psychology professionals must pay attention to the colors used for the campaign, because each one symbolizes something different and, in one way or another, they influence human decisions. For example:

He white gives a sensation of emptiness, purity and luminosity. blue transmits freshness, transparency or lightness; and experts even attribute a sedative effect to it. yellow transmits empathy, extraversion, light and gives joy, vivacity and youth. red It denotes strength, power and dynamism, so it attracts a lot of attention and stimulates the mind. Likewise, it is associated with what is prohibited and danger. green It symbolizes hope, the natural and its effect is equally sedative. brownis also associated with nature and also transmits warmth, comfort and protection. black In advertising it is usually related to wealth, luxuries, respect and exclusivity. Color purple It symbolizes elegance, sensitivity or delicacy. In marketing it is used to give a touch of distinction and luxury to products, especially if they are clothing. orange It is related to various sensations such as hunger, abundance and vitality. Have you noticed that this color is used a lot in food advertisements? This should not surprise you, because, in addition to being associated with hunger, it is a color that easily captures our attention.

Details are important

Advertising psychology cares about even the smallest details. Therefore, this discipline contributes its knowledge of the human mind to improve the influence and persuasion of the people who are the object of these advertising creations.

Details such as color, size, location are relevant in all advertising. When it comes to persuading and mobilizing people to compare or consume a certain product, the smallest detail can make a difference.

We invite you when you visit a shopping center to observe how the products are located, their shape, the label they have, what they say, the…