Have a Lovely Wednesday, Dear Future Customer!
by Lauri Kinkar
When J. Paul Peter and Jerry C. Olson construct in their book Consumer Behaviour & Marketing Strategy a so-called wheel of consumer analysis, they differentiate between two kinds of consumer reactions to advertisements: the cognitive one, which is based on rational thinking, and affective, which is based on emotional state of mind. Hence, each marketing message directed at a group of people should have a corresponding focus.
In marketing there have been plenty of more or less scientific studies which look closely at how different target groups react to advertisements. A more recent scientific one which connects to the theory by Peter and Olson was published by the university of Washington.
Relying on their study the authors claim that in case of those people who are rather sceptical about commercials and all kinds of marketing communication (thinking that it’s all a lie and manipulation anyway), a message directed at emotions works better. The reason for that is the active reaction that is created by the emotional undertone and therefore does not go unnoticed.
In the field of mobile advertisements which often work with a surgical precision it is a common belief that only highly informative messages serve their purpose. Now it seems that we should not forget the emotional side and why not just wish your customers a happy birthday once in a while.