Re: The Power of Persuasion-Derrick

The element of persuasion is never an easy thing to do. When I was reading through the other posts I immediately thought about the car crash and smoking campaigns.


From my research, I've found that trying to persuade a particular kind of audience really depends on who the audience is and the kind of content that you'll be presenting. I've found that typically to persuade an audience, first you need to get their attention or present something that's meaningful to them. When I'm designing, trying to target a particular audience, I try to use an emotional appeal and facts. Now, let me explain my logic for this.

When I say an emotional appeal, I'm talking about something that will grab the attention of the audience and make them feel some type of way. It could be a humorous campaign that will make them laugh. Maybe a shocking campaign that will almost scare them to act. Maybe something sad to make them cry etc. Basically, I want the audience to feel what I'm trying to execute, usually without much text. The image will convey the meaning. If it's the right audience, they'll interpret the message as intended.

 

Now, let's get the facts right…. Hahah. On a serious note, on the flip side of emotion, we have seriousness. Some people can't handle the shocking images and some people don't get emotional about certain things. There are people who just want the the numbers. Often saying exactly what you're trying to say will get the audience's attention. (With stating the facts, advertisers may also use an emotional message).

The most important factor in an effective campaign is addressing the right audience. Some ways to make a boring or difficult task easier to digest and initiate in a campaign for me would be to pull some kind of emotion out it. I'd find some humor in it to lighten the mood and get people talking about it. For you, trying to get people to recycle, maybe paint them a picture of the office or wherever you work to demonstrate how things would look if no one recycled. That would definitely get their attention.

For project one, some strategies that I used to pull my audience was researching the market at my competitors and seeing who their audience is and trying to compare that way. In developing the project, I actually got my inspiration from things that I actually want to do. I've changed my company to Vogue Magazine. I always to know why they won't start their own retail store, where they could sell their own high end clothing or other designer clothing. So that inspired me. Typically, for inspiration I think about how it relates to me first then I do some research on the market.

Hope this helps.