A company is working on an advertisement campaign for launching a new liquid soap for washing clothes. The advertising consultant suggests that the message (advertisement) should be delivered by a female character likely to appeal to the audience consisting of the consumers (target audience). The choice is between a home maker, a nurse, a popular lady film star and a finance executive.
Select the appropriate character and give reasons for your choice.
1. Nurse
2. Popular film star
3. Finance executive
4. Home maker
The first choice is inappropriate. Nurses, though often seen in white dress, are associated in popular mind with hospitals,injections or othermedical contexts.Themessagewill not register stronglywith the target audience.
For similar reasons, the second answer choice can be excluded. Popular film stars are mentally associated in the minds of audience with romance, adventure, drama, dance and music. A glamorous
filmy character appearing in a domestic scene showing washing of dirty clothes will create dissonance in the minds of audience. They will find it hard to imagine her washing clothes. Her role will lack credibility and will be ineffective.
The finance executive will also fail to create the necessary mental responses in the target audience. They will associate her with accounts, investments, taxes and the like.
The last answer choice is the most appropriate. A home maker will fit the role for people can imagine her washing the clothes as part of her daily chores. She will be seen as knowledgeable about the message. She will carry conviction with the target audience.
A message seeking to change an attitude can appeal to an individual’s intellect or logical faculty. This appeal can be either through the central route or the peripheral route. In the central route to persuasion,theindividual ispresented withthedataand motivatedto evaluatethedataandarrive at an attitude changing conclusion. In the peripheral route to attitude change, the individual is encouraged to not look at the content but at the source. This is commonly seen in modern advertisements that feature celebrities. You are asked to buy a sports shoe because Virat Kohli is wearing it. In some cases, physicians, doctors or experts are used. In other cases film stars are used for their attractiveness.
Uptil now, we have briefly outlined a theory of persuasion. In actual practice, it can be elaborated and refined in many ways. But even in its simple form, it has several applications in many administrative situations. In the 1950s, government launched a community development programme all over the country. Its aim was to change the attitudes of villagers in many areas ranging from agricultural practices to family planning. Its method was called ‘extension’. It tried to persuade people to change their traditional attitudes to things.
At present, government is running numerous economic and social programmes for the poor and the needy. In implementing such programmes, their intended beneficiaries have to be involved. It is necessary to secure their participation by persuading them of the advantages of the programmes. The various aspects mentioned above in the theory of persuasion will have to be taken into account while organizing campaigns to secure peoples’ participation.
Attitudes, Beliefs and Actions
Social psychologists study the relation between an individual’s attitudes, beliefs (or views) and actions. Earlier, social psychologists thought that attitudes of an individual result in compatible beliefs and actions.