Advertising is a way of communicating in an effort to encourage a target audience for making buying choices about a particular service or product, and sharing information to viewers (Ahmed & Ashfaq, 2013). In today’s fast-paced world, advertising is considered a significant and crucial component for the economic development of businesses and marketers. Marketers have always had a way of adapting to transforming business demands where creation of novel advertisements is concerned. Although this manner of communication greatly increased in the 20th Century due to industrialization, not many businesses took advantage of this fact at the time.
The advertising landscape is currently more challenging than in the past because consumers are now more prone to tune out conventional types of advertising such as television commercials. In reaction to this, most commercials are now quite high in energy (Puccinelli & Wilcox, 2015). When consumers watch distinct types of media such as television, the substance of the media usually leads them to experience different emotions. Notably, the main purpose of advertising is to have an impact on consumer purchasing behavior. This paper will, therefore discuss an already designed effective story for a television commercial, focusing on how it would affect viewers in terms of emotional and behavioral responses. It will then analyze the techniques used to achieve these effects, drawing conclusions regarding the implications and outcomes of the findings.
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Discussion
The Ford Mustang Mach-E advertisement presented is a good illustration of an effective story for a television commercial. People’s lives are a compilation of stories. They are a reflection of people’s values, beliefs, and the way they see themselves and the world (FMC, 2019). Stories make individuals link emotionally with others, whether they are getting to know a new friend or on their initial date. Similarly, stories are able to assist brands in linking with the target audience on an emotional level (Puccinelli & Wilcox, 2015). Emotional branding is actually an advanced marketing strategy used by most companies today, which assist in both customer retention and sales. Now more than ever, individuals are interested in the story behind the brand and develop firm preferences for certain brands depending on the stories they are telling (Ahmed & Ashfaq, 2013). The Ford Mustang Mach-E advertisement has done exactly that; narrating the story of the new all-electric SUV to be included in the sports coupe.
Evidence indicates that emotions play a big part in consumers’ buying behavior (Puccinelli & Wilcox, 2015). For instance, the emotional reaction brought about by an advertisement has a bigger influence on the consumer’s intention to buy the product than the substance of the advertisement. The emotional appeal of storytelling surpasses rational facts in almost each situation. In fiscal products, marketing funds usually began with the rational facts such as statistics and its returns. However, the tide appears to be transforming where companies now opt for a memorable narrative rather than any mention of historical return (Ahmed & Ashfaq, 2013). Though the Ford Mustang advertisement mentions a few rational aspects of the new model, marketers have started the commercial by narrating a story about how the organization came to be. This serves as a reminder to the target audience of how far the company has come and how long it has served its consumers, in turn triggering the buying intent.
There are various techniques that marketers and businesses use to achieve the effects of emotional and behavioral reactions to a given product. Two techniques that the commercial presented has used are familiarity and social imaging.
Social Imaging
Commercials usually have influence on how viewers see things around them. Through various forms of advertisements, viewers are given an idea of how a user of certain products should be or is (Puccinelli & Wilcox, 2015). It sometimes indicates the social class the user of a product belongs to, their attitudes and lifestyles. In the case of beauty products and luxury cars, this idea is superiorly applicable. Recent studies reveal that among the most influential concepts spread by the media is society’s view of prestige and beauty (Ahmed & Ashfaq, 2013). Luxury cars with beautiful women and handsome muscular men standing next to them are perceived everywhere. And as the impact of media heightens, the pressure to clutch to such principles also increases (Puccinelli & Wilcox, 2015). The feeling of insecurity, obsession, and the need to be someone in the society is most likely to trigger buying of beauty products and luxury cars.
Ford is a great illustration of social image that has solely been created by commercials. There are obviously other competing automobile companies today like GMC, Chrysler, RAM, Lincoln, and Chevrolet (Ahmed & Ashfaq, 2013). However, through its careful advertisement placements, Ford Company has gained the attraction and attention of millions. They have not only managed to identify how the lifestyle of an ideal consumer of their product is, but are also aware of where they hang out and live (FMC, 2019). Ford’s products have always been affordable to and by any class of people. Their Ford Mustang Mach-E advertisement is a subconscious message to viewers that this new model is only for the stylish and wealthy. It specifically states that it is meant for a new generation of Mustang owners. Since its introduction to the market, the Mustang version has been afforded by the wealthy in society (Puccinelli & Wilcox, 2015). The company’s new model is now more of a social status rather than a transportation convenience.
Soon after redesigning the Fiesta, Ford Company realized it had to find a way to reach young consumers in 2009. It expected the compact would lure a generation of drivers who were purchasing their very first car and figured a giveaway would generate buzz (FMC, 2019). It is here that the company launched the Fiesta Movement, a campaign which sparked chatter on social media. The driver-generated content also became the foundation for Ford’s TV spots and print advertisements (FMC, 2019). Similarly, clients can now access the Mustant Mach-E reservation website to make a deposit for this new model anticipated to be introduced to the market in 2020.
Familiarity
In business, familiarity refers to the number of product-associated or service-linked experiences that have been accumulated by the consumer. These connected experiences incorporate indirect and direct experiences such as word-of-mouth contact, exposure to commercials, trial and consumption, and associations with salespersons (Puccinelli & Wilcox, 2015). Reviews of literature indicate that knowledge, familiarity, and experience are closely related. The effect of familiarity of a brand can be seen via a process referred as ‘product-class cues’ (Ahmed & Ashfaq, 2013). The product subcategory or class to which a brand belongs serves as a cue in most cases (Ahmed & Ashfaq, 2013). Studies carried on categorization procedures has ascertained the necessity of ‘prototypicality’ as a key determinant of the power of connection between group idea and members of the group.
Prototypicality refers to a gauge of how representative a given brand is of its product group. Notably, brands that are prototypical are more likely to be recalled quickly and more regularly. This in turn results in superior probability of inclusion in the recalled set and most likely to a superior probability of choice (Puccinelli & Wilcox, 2015). A procedure by which brand familiarity may mediate brand preference is when the effect of habitual processing gives the input to assess deductions consumers draw regarding brands. This means that the method naturally gives relative occurrence information which is the foundation for consumer deduction-making (Puccinelli & Wilcox, 2015). Given that brand attitude establishment does not necessarily require open interbrand comparisons, the absolute level of affect yielded by brand familiarity directly influences the degree of brand liking.
Consequences and Implications of Findings
Consumer purchasing behavior and emotions are the techniques incorporated when people or groups of individuals opt for, purchase, use, or get rid of services, concepts, products, or experiences to suit their wishes and needs (Ahmed & Ashfaq, 2013). In today’s world, people have access to the unlimited supply of commercials. However, they desire something entertaining, new, and one that can catch their attention. Boring and monotonous commercials seldom remain in consumers’ minds long enough. That is why marketers and companies choose to use familiarity, social imaging, and entertainment in order to increase advertising effectiveness and convincing consumers to make a purchase (Puccinelli & Wilcox, 2015).
It is observed that there is a constructive impact of these entire variables o consumer purchasing behavior. Of the different autonomous variables or techniques that are available, familiarity and social imaging have the most important impact with regards to the commercial presented. The mental impact that familiarity and social imaging has on consumers generally leads to constructive purchasing behavior and emotions (Ahmed & Ashfaq, 2013). Most consumers are encouraged to purchase a product when they see a commercial of it somewhere. They also feel secure purchasing a product that they have seen a commercial of. Consumers also develop a degree of trustworthiness for a brand they have seen advertisement of (FMC, 2019). Ford Company’s products have been around since 1903, and the organization has been aggressive in advertising.
With time, consumers became familiar with Ford’s brands and through word-of-mouth, their effectiveness, convenience, and affordability has proven trustworthy. Consumers of Ford have been made to feel safe purchasing the organization’s products, thus invoking positive purchasing behavior and emotions (Ahmed & Ashfaq, 2013). Prior to purchasing a Ford company product, some consumers gather information of the new products from commercials, get to know about their advantages and usage, and then make a buying choice based on that. Ford acknowledges that commercials are a very good and effective marketing instrument for yielding more sales.
The automotive sector is naturally split, defined by a hierarchy of companies including original equipment producers, aftermarket parts organizations, resellers, and regional dealership groups (Puccinelli & Wilcox, 2015). Usually, at the brand level, wide marketing promotions will yield interest in particular truck and car models, but very little is done to assist in supporting individual or regional dealer efforts. Brands need a way to link disparate messaging across all touch points and avenues. For the longest time, auto brands have been concentrated on driving prospective consumers through to a point of buying.
Huge advertising spend is placed in conventional avenues to bring awareness to particular auto models and makes together with seasonal messaging and offers (Ahmed & Ashfaq, 2013). Recently, however, most brands have acknowledged the chance to engage consumers past the point of buying, to produce revenue linked to aftermarket upgrades, general car care, services, and improvements Puccinelli & Wilcox, 2015). Social consumers are mainly aspirational, looking to platforms such as Instagram to share their exciting lifestyle and get motivation for what they desire their future status to look like.
Conclusion
Given that consumers in today’s fast-paced world are more prone to tune out conventional kinds of advertising such as television commercials, most commercials are now superior in energy. This means that they are more arousing, exciting, and active for the audience to experience, and appear to be the norm in today’s advertising. The paper has discussed the different methods or variables that companies can use to make their products more appealing, such as social imaging, spending, and familiarity. Consumers watch different kinds of media such as television and the content of this media usually lead them to experience various emotions, in addition to acting on them. The main purpose of commercials is to influence consumer purchasing behavior and emotion.
References
Ahmed, S., & Ashfaq, A. (2013). ‘Impact of advertising on consumer buying behavior through persuasiveness, brand image and celebrity endorsement.’ Global Media Journal , 6(2). Pp. 149.
Ford Media Center (FMC). (2019). ‘ Ford Mustang expands family: All-electric Mustang Mach-E delivers power, style and freedom for new generation .’ Retrieved on 11 December, 2019 from https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2019/11/17/all-electric-ford-mustang-mach-e.html
Puccinelli, N.M., Wilcox, K., & Grewal, D. (2015). ‘Consumers’ response to commercials: When the energy level in the commercial conflicts with the media context.’ Journal of Marketing , Vol. 79, no. 2. Pp. 1 – 18.
