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Saturday, July 4, 2009

Message Content

To get the desired response, advertising as a communication tool should decide what to say. Various names have been given to this exercise – use of appeals, selecting a theme or an idea, identifying a unique selling proposition (USP). In practice, it amounts to establishing some kind of benefit, motivation identification or reason why the audience should thing or do something.

Appeals are broadly classified into three categories:

• Rational appeals
• Emotional appeals
• Moral appeals

Rational Appeals:
These are directed towards the thinking faculty of the audience. Here the functional benefit of the product is high- lighted. Some examples of rational motives are:

• High quality: Consumer durables are expected to have high quality. Many consumer goods are also expected to be of high quality.
• Low price: Purchasing a product paying a lower price which functions as good as or slightly less than the higher priced product is considered to be a rational decision
• Long life: A bulb lasting several thousand hours before fusing off is considered to be a rational appeal.
• Performance: Of a Unicorn on city roads, and the mileage per litre of fuel is a rational appeal.
• Ease of use: As in the case of Videocon Automatic Washing Machine which cleanses, rinses and dries too.
• Resale value as of Honda Unicorn.
• Economy in operating expenses as in case of an electronic regulator which saves electricity and pays off its cost.

Industrial products are sold against rational appeals. Purchases are made more against specifications – technical, physical, chemical etc.

Even when products are purchased on emotional grounds people give rationalization for their purchases.

Emotional appeals: Here the agitated or excited state of mind prompts us to purchase. There is no deliberate process involved. Emotional motives may be sub-conscious too. Emotional appeals could stir up positive or negative emotions which lead to an interest in the product and it purchase.

Labels: categories, classified, content, electricity, Emotional, Emotional appeals, lower, Message, Moral appeals, Rational

by 4Points at 4:48 AM |