6 Surprising Psychological Tricks the Best Advertisements Use Research shows there are universally effective strategies in advertisments. Here's one that uses a bunch of them.
By Thomas McKinlay Edited by Frances Dodds
This story appears in the November 2023 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »
Be honest: Is this the best ad you ever saw? It better be, because it it was made using all the latest science on what makes people buy your product!
Alright fine — it's not actually the best ad you ever saw because we just made it up. Real ads spend lots of money on things other than what's here (like a brand name, strategic colors and fonts, high-quality photos, pithy copy and everything else that makes an ad look and sound appealing). Nevertheless, this made-up ad does illustrate six tactics that research has shown are highly effective at getting people to buy whatever you're selling. Read on to find out what they are.
1. The word "you"
For consumers in individualistic cultures (like the U.S.), the word "you" makes them feel more involved with your brand. In one study, a Facebook post that said, "Maximize your savings!" made people feel 19.7% more involved versus one that said, "Maximize savings!"
2. Negations
Negative-sounding words — like no, don't, or nobody — increase people's engagement. Scientists found that out by looking at over 53 million social media likes, comments, and shares, and confirming their findings with two controlled experiments. Remember that? No — don't forget that.
Related: How to Scale a Marketing Strategy That Works
3. Multiple copies
Don't just show one of your product. Show many! When we see multiple identical products, we perceive them as more effective at the benefit they promise. In one study, people thought an energy shot was 10.7% more energetic after seeing a group of them, versus one shot alone.
4. 99-cent pricing with a discount
Want to make your product seem more affordable? Pricing it with .99 (like, say, $4.99) can work — but it's more effective when used in a promotion and shown alongside the original price. The discount will seem larger.
Related: The Importance of An Effective Marketing Strategy in Reaching Your Business Goals
5. Showing off smallness
If you're a small company, make that known! As part of a series of 10 studies, people were asked to choose between products made by a large or small company — and they consistently believed the smaller company made higher-quality products. (The one exception was for high-tech stuff.)
6. Pick your pet!
People love pets, even in unrelated ads. But pick wisely: Dogs activate a "promotion mindset," where people focus on growth and gains. Cats activate a "prevention mindset," focused on caution and avoiding losses. In one experiment, 24% more people preferred a vitamin brand after seeing an ad with dogs, versus the same ad with cats.
Related: 9 Marketing Strategies for Startups to Boost Growth and Visibility
HERE ARE THE STUDIES THAT INFORMED THE AD ABOVE:
For more details, visit ariyh.com. 1/ Cruz, R.E., Leonhardt, J.M., Pezzuti, T. "Second person pronouns enhance consumer involvement and brand attitude." Journal of Interactive Marketing, 2017. 2/ Pezzuti, T., Leonhardt, J.M. "What's not to like? Negations in brand messages increase consumer engagement." Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 2022. 3/ Vanbergen, N., Irmak, C., Sevilla, J. "Product entitativity: How the presence of product replicates increases perceived and actual product efficacy." Journal of Consumer Research, 2020. 4/ Sokolova, T., Seenivasan, S., Thomas, M. "The Left-Digit Bias: When and Why Are Consumers Penny Wise and Pound Foolish?" Journal of Marketing Research, 2020. 5/ Woolley, K., Kupor, D., Liu, P.J. "Does Company Size Shape Product Quality Inferences? Larger Companies Make Better High-Tech Products, but Smaller Companies Make Better Low-Tech Products." Journal of Marketing Research, 2022. 6/ Jia, L., Yang, X., Jiang, Y. "The Pet Exposure Effect: Exploring the Differential Impact of Dogs Versus Cats on Consumer Mindsets." Journal of Marketing, 2022.
