Download fear eppeal

Special issues :
fear appeals
http://fearappeals.com
Fear Messages
• Research results are
inconclusive in
predicting how fear
works on target
audiences.
• ‘It depends’ - on
circumstances, past
communications,
available channels, etc.
• Several theories attempt
to explain and predict
how fear ‘works’.
Curvilinear model
• posits that fear can persuade up to a threshold of
tolerance, beyond which it becomes counterproductive.
The ‘parallel response model’ (Leventhal,
1970)
• proposes that emotional and cognitive factors act
independently to mediate behaviour.
• emotional factors affecting internal attempts to cope
with the threat (e.g. by rationalizing or rejecting it),
and
• cognitive factors will determine the behaviour change.
The ‘expectancy-valence model’ (Rogers, 1975)
• states that the effectiveness of a fear-arousing
communication is a function of three variables:
• The magnitude of the threat
• The probability of its occurrence, and
• The efficacy of the advocated protective response
These three factors work together to
produce a level of protection motivation
(people have “a promotion-bias” and “a
prevention-bias”)
consumers
“threat
appraisal”
and the
“coping
appraisal”.
Protection
motivation
theory (PMT)
is influenced
by a
The threat appraisal
• assesses the severity of the situation and examines
how serious the situation is.
• (e.g. Primary prevention: taking measures to combat
the risk of being a road statistic – driving in the speed
limit to prevent road fatality)
The coping appraisal
• is how one responds to the situation.
• The coping appraisal consists of both efficacy (do you
believe that carrying out the recommended behaviour
can remove the threat) and self-efficacy (believe in
your own ability to execute the recommended course
of action).
Effectiveness of fear is inconclusive
• A majority of studies show a positive
relationship between fear arousal and
persuasion (Higbee, 1969). Specifically,
fear appeals:
• can raise awareness of an issue and bring
it to the forefront of people’s thoughts;
• Can make people re-evaluate and change
their attitudes;
• May be successful in stimulating an
intention to change behaviour sometime
in the future
• In some cases immediate behaviour
change takes place shortly after exposure
to a fear communication.
Effectiveness of fear is inconclusive
• Young adults (Breen et al, 2003)
– Have unrealistic optimism about the
effects of negative behaviour portrayed in
ads
– Believe the ads apply more to others than
themselves
– Are more influenced by social threats than
physical threats
Effectiveness of fear is inconclusive
• Research supports the use of fear
appeals HOWEVER
• Research has been narrowly focused on using
experiments in laboratory settings to ask specific and
short-term questions.
• Resulting answers can be useful in the short term,
however, many questions about the complex behaviour
being studied are not answered.
• Outside of the laboratory there is less control and
wider effects on fear messages.
WHAT QUESTIONS ARISE FROM THE
‘OVERUSE’ OF FEAR AND PUNISHMENT
IN SOCIAL AND HEALTH BEHAVIOR
CHANGE STRATEGIES?
MARKETING PROVIDES A RUBRIC FOR
Marketing’s approach
What will our client do with the message?
• Outside the laboratory, audiences cannot be compelled to pay
attention to an ad, than changing behaviour such as drive
safety, or give up smoking.
• Arguable campaigns such as TAC-safety riding-etc, that
employ extreme fear, undermine the whole notion of
voluntary behaviour – the ads literally say accept our message
or ‘you’re a bloody idiot’.
• Recent focus group research has revealed that some audience
segments enjoy gory road safety ads in the same way as
horror movies.
What benefits will they get from it?
• Voluntary behaviour is benefit driven.
• What reward does a fear appeal offer? And,
by extension, is being upset, scared and/or
discomfited much of a reward.
• Ex : I saw it once, and I tried to forget
How will it affect our brand name?
• In commercial marketing ads influence brand
recognition and quality.
• Social marketing organizations have their
equivalents of brands; they have an image and
reputation with the public.
• How do fear appeals affect this reputation
• Do claims that are felt to be exaggerated, or at
least not to reflect people’s everyday experience,
discredit the communicator?
Marketing’s approach
How will it affect their feelings for
our product.
• Fear messages say something about the
absolute risk of the behaviour being
addressed, but also imply things about the
relative risk of other behaviours.
• Eg. In road safety, road use is only one
source of danger in people’s lives (and
danger is only one source problems).
• Social marketers design is social products
(ideas) more with a problem focused (than
needs/wants focused).
• What about fun?
Marketing’s approach
What about our non-targets who will also see the messages?
• Targeting is an important aspect of marketing: only well-targeted
products and messages can really satisfy customer needs.
• Messages transmitted in the mass media will inevitably each
other people as well s the intended audience.
• Does using mass media breed complacency among older
speeding drivers by implying that deaths on the road are the
fault of inexperienced young drivers?
• Does it cause unwarranted anxiety among other road users
and potentially discourage parents from letting children play
outside, or walk school?
Marketing’s approach
What are our competitors doing?
• Road safety Vs
• Healthy diet Vs
Social marketing communication needs to
consider the balance in persuasion
Instrumental Conditioning (operant conditioning)
• occurs as the individual learns to perform behaviours
that produce positive outcomes and avoid behaviours
that yield negative outcomes.
• Occurs in three ways:
• Positive reinforcement
• Negative reinforcement
• Punishment
Reinforcement
Positive reinforcement
• Positive reinforcement in the form of a reward
• The response is strengthened and appropriate behaviour is
learned.
• Example: Queensland Health’s positive outcomes when giving
up smoking
Negative reinforcement
• Negative reinforcement also strengthens responses so that
appropriate behaviour is learned
• Example: QUIT negative outcomes and punitive measures
We learn to do certain things to avoid
unpleasantness.
• Punishment occurs when a response is followed by unpleasant
events.
Marketing’s approach
Where do we go from here?
• Fear appeals present both creative and strategic
problems. On the creative front, once fear has been
used, there is a need to increase it on each
subsequent occasion to have the same impact.
• At what point does this cross the threshold of
acceptability?
• Does fear build long-term relationships?
Marketing’s approach
What about alternative approaches?
• Fear approaches present considerable costs to the
social marketer. The main benefit is a high profile:
strong emotional messages attract a lot of
attention.
• Other approaches also have a strong emotional
appeal – love, excitement, sex, hope, humour are
all successfully used by commercial marketers.
EMOTION AND BRANDING
EMOTION AND BRANDING
Three factors make emotional messages particularly
persuasive:
• They are better able to gain consumers’ attention
than factual messages
• They encourage deeper processing of the
message and as a result tend to be remembered
better.
• People buy products (and engage in behaviours) to
satisfy not only objective, function needs, but also
symbolic and emotional ones, such as selfenhancement and group identification.
RSPCA - BREAKING THE CYCLE
OF ABUSE
This campaign for the
RSPCA aims to highlight the links
between animal cruelty, child abuse
and family violence.
•Uses graphic images of women
and children who appear to
have been the victims of
violence as part of the strategy
to encourage people to report
any acts of cruelty on animals to
the RSPCA
•The tagline “Tested on animals”
•Ad copy states: “Research has a
shown that people who are
violent towards humans often
start out by being cruel to
animals. Help us break this
cycle”
EFFECTS ON RSPCA’S
BRAND IMAGE
What is the impact of deliberately using a shocking
messages?
• Does it increase or decrease “brand essence”?
• Advertising propositions should be consistent with brand
image.
• Have they been mindful of their reputation when
using fear?
• Could this ad damage brand image. RSPCA’s brand image is
“focused on helping and caring for all animals ‘great & small’.
EMOTION AND BRANDING
(CONT)
Leathar (1980) and Monahan (1995) argue that we should
actively promote positive images about health.
• Positive affect can be used to stress the benefits of
healthy behaviour, to give individuals a sense of control,
and to reduce anxiety or fear.
Messages also need to be sympathetic, supportive and
non-judgemental.
EMOTION AND BRANDING
(CONT)
•The brand is the marketer’s most advanced
emotional tool.
•It combines and reinforces the functional and
emotional benefits of the offering and so adds
value, encourages consumption and loyalty.
•The brand is developed not just using
communication, but the whole marketing mix.
•Successful brands are only part owned by the
company – the customer also has a share.
EMOTION AND BRANDING (CONT)
Evidence suggests that banding may be a particularly
effective way to reach people in deprived communities.
• Working-class communities are often poorly informed
about the objective merits of different products – they
more rely on implicit meaning, context, price, image –
to judge products.
• The symbolic appeal of brands are also effective in
targeting those individuals who do not have the time,
skills or motivation to evaluate the objective attributes
and benefits of particular campaigns.
EXERCISE 5.3
Working in groups, read and discuss the question asked in
Exercise 5.3.