Consumer Psychology: Perception, Cognition, and Persuasion

Consumer Psychology Fundamentals

Perception is the process by which we receive information through our five senses and assign meaning to it. For an advertisement to be effective, it first must be noticed.

Key Factors Driving Perception

• Exposure
• Selection and Attention
• Interest
• Relevance
• Curiosity
• Recognition

Affective and Cognitive Responses

Affective responses mirror our feelings about something: anger, love, fear, hate. Affective describes something that stimulates wants, touches the emotions, and elicits feelings.

Cognition refers to how consumers search for and make sense of information, and learn and understand something.

Association means using symbols to communicate. It is the primary tool used in brand communication.

Persuasion is the conscious intent on the part of the source to influence or motivate the receiver of a message to believe or do something.

Behavior is the action response.

The Creative Briefing Process

A successful brief must be clear, coherent, and single-minded, focusing on the core challenge.

Essential Briefing Components

• The company and the competition
• The problem to solve
• The (smart) objective(s) / challenge(s)
• The target audience / Buyer persona
• The Value proposition and the message
• The timing
• The mandatories

Brief Characteristics

• Identifies communication objectives, as distinct from overall program objectives.
• Is clear and coherent.
• Is single-minded, with a real focus.
• Contains information and insights that will assist the creative process.
• Is based on client survey, research, and interviews.
• Provides enough detail to enhance everyone’s understanding of who the audience is and what pain they want to avoid.

Applying the AIDA Model

The AIDA model outlines the stages a customer goes through:

AIDA Stages

1. Attention: Create awareness. We have little time to get the attention of the customer or prospect; you must make an impact!
2. Interest: Once we have caught their attention, we must provide enough information to capture their interest.
3. Desire: The customer incorporates the product into their imagination and begins to interact emotionally with it.
4. Action: Motivate action; the customer wants to buy the product.

Media Calculation Basics

• Impressions = Reach × Frequency
• Total Cost = (Total Impressions ÷ 1,000) × CPM
• Reach = Impressions ÷ Frequency
• CPM = Total Spend ÷ Impressions