How Advertising Works
Models of effects help analyze message impact and structure objectives as a series of steps called a hierarchy of effects. One classic approach, the AIDA model, describes the impact on consumers as beginning with attention, then moving to interest, then desire, and finally action. One variation of this is called the DAGMAR model (Defining Advertising Goals for Measured Advertising Results), which begins with awareness, moves to comprehension, then conviction, and ends with action. Another variation is the think-feel-do model of message effects, which presumes that we approach a purchase situation using a sequence of responses. In other words, we think about something, then we form an opinion or attitude about it -- feel, and finally we take action and try it or buy it -- do. This model identifies three categories of effects called cognition (mental or rational), affection (emotional), and behavior (decision or action).
The think-feel-do model is also called the high-involvement model because it depicts a series of standard responses typically found in consumers who are active participants in the process of gathering information and making a decision; they are active thinkers. This standard hierarchy is likely to be found with product categories and situations where there is a need for information, such as high-priced or major purchases, or where there is a lot of product differentiation, as in industrial products and consumer durables. This type of advertising usually provides many product details and is very informative.
In contrast, the low-involvement model changes the order of responses to think-do-feel, with the idea that consumers first learn about a product, then try it, and finally form an opinion. This situation occurs when there is little initial interest in the product or when there is minimal difference between the products, requiring little decision making. It also describes impulse purchasing. A third variation is the do-feel-think model, which explains how people try something and learn from the experience. It is called a rationalization model because consumers typically select from several alternatives and then rationalize their decision by developing strong positive feelings about the product.
With the basic understanding of the relationship between the advertising objectives and how advertising works and the classic models of the consumer decision making process, let’s proceed to the next step -- my own ideas about how advertising works.
As was discussed in previous sections, it is too hard to build one single model to apply to every product in every market situation especially in light of the diversity of possible advertising objectives. However, I am going to assume that the general objective of advertising is to persuade consumers to buy products or services in order to develop a provisional model of advertising. My own model, which I am tentatively calling the Personal Relevance Model (PRM), is a modification of a classic model of the consumer decision making process, the hierarchy of effects model. However, whereas the traditional hierarchy of effects model assumed that consumer behavior was based on gradual transitions between each step, PRM puts more weight on the relationship among steps in the hierarchy effects model. In the traditional hierarchy of effects model, consumers were considered rational subjects acting in the market and were presumed to always purchase through each step like awareness, knowledge, liking, preference, conviction, and purchase. In the PRM model these steps are no longer considered theoretically distinct.
This traditional hierarchy of effects model was effective in describing the impact of the decision making process. In particular, it was successful in explaining the decision making process for high involvement products. However, as was mentioned in the introduction, consumers in the real world are not always savvy enough to rationally purchase products and services. Furthermore, consumers do not normally go through all steps in the traditional hierarchy of effects model when they buy something. As the do-feel-think model -- the low involvement model -- recognizes, sometimes consumers skip some steps or change the order of steps in their own process of purchase. A further problem of the traditional model lies in the changed advertising environment. The hierarchy of effects model has been an effective tool for illustrating the complicated consumer behavior toward both low involvement products and high involvement products. However, the advent of new media that are based on recent technological developments has rapidly changed the advertising environment for consumers. These new media are characterized by increased interactivity, convenience, and customization of information. Given this rapidly changing media environment, the traditional hierarchy effects model can not sufficiently explain consumers' purchasing behavior.
When we consider the effects of product message, another thing we can not overlook is that no one product message can occupy one medium monopolistically. In other word, there is a clutter of messages in any medium and all messages are made to get the consumer’s attention and, ultimately, to persuade consumers to do something-- either to buy products or to get services. The incidence of message clutter is increasing and the media are more competitive than at any time in the past. Two important aims of media planning, effectiveness and the efficiency can not be guaranteed in this media environment even when media planning is thoroughly set up with appropriate reach and frequency. Therefore, in order to proficiently approach consumers with the product message, we need a new theoretical examination and modification of the product message along with an appreciation of the new market environment.
Given the understanding of classic models of consumer decision making process and the new market environment, I am suggesting Personal Relevance Model
The figure above shows the framework of Personal Relevance Model. The PRM is the modification of the traditional AIDA model. PRM differs from the AIDA model in two significant ways. The first is that there is one more process before consumers pay attention to the product message. That is so called the Screening Process of the product message. The other thing is that there are no gradual steps before consumers act.
In terms of the first difference, pre- Screening Process of the product message mainly results from the characteristics of the new media environment. As was discussed in previous sections, consumers are usually exposed to a lot of messages everyday life and it is impossible for them to pay attention to all messages they are exposed to. Consumers have their own message processing systems in their mind. They are willing to get messages through these systems when they think messages might be relevant to themselves. Therefore, in order for messages to be relevant to consumers, messages have to be customized to very specific target markets. There are no more mass marketing tools for products which are aimed to all consumers. Consumers are getting more diversified and segmented. It is almost impossible to group consumers into a limited number of bundles even with demographic and psychographic facts since those facts are too superficial to capture the increased diversity of the market. Hence, it is important to penetrate this process so that advertising works.
With regard to the second, there are no gradual steps in consumers' mind before they purchase. As with the AIDA model, Attention - Interest - Desire - Action, gradual steps are no longer considered valid measures of the new trend of consumer behavior. Rather, these steps occur simultaneously in consumers' mind. Each step usually interacts independently or dependently. It is impossible to determine which step is first and which is next when consumers make a decision to purchase. Attention can affect Action directly without distinct intervening steps of Interest or Desire. We can see this kind of pattern when consumers do the impulse buying. Desire also can create Interest conversely. Desire could be generated without the steps of Attention and Interest. In short, it is no longer possible to differentiate each step given the complicated consumers' decision making process.
The PRM explains how these complicated steps interact to generate consumers' purchase. As you can see, the first barrier to the successful advertising process is making the customized product message for the target market. After you create this product message, you test the target market to see whether or not the message can penetrate the Screening Process. After this process, Attention, Interest, and Desire can influence the decision making process of the target market. The PRM can also be applied to C (Cognition) - A (Affection) - B (Behavior) Model. The C and A corresponds Attention, Interest, and Desire in the AIDA Model. Therefore, CA - B or AC - B combination can be explained in the same way. This at least is my suggestion for understanding how advertising works.