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By Simran Kaur Takhi 

We live in a world dominated by capitalism. Turn on the TV and wait for the next Coca Cola ad. Wait for a bus and spot the promotion for the latest blockbuster as you  board. Walk to  your local shopping centre and see how many billboards you pass.

It is commonly thought that the success of major companies has advertising at its heart and the psychology behind advertising plays an integral part in the thriving of capitalism. Psychology is built on finding out why people behave the way they do and identifying the conditions needed to best predict behaviour. In the case of advertising, marketers need to rely on psychological research and theories that predict the best way in which consumers can be persuaded to buy their goods and services.

Professor Robert Cialdini is credited as a world renowned psychologist whose theories regarding how to master the art of persuasion have been used by companies across the globe to advertise their goods and services. Here are a few ways in which psychological principles have been applied to advertising and marketing.

 Social proof through celebrity endorsements

Different companies have different celebrities attached to them.  For example, actor Kevin Bacon for EE and musician Iggy Pop for Swift Cover. The reasoning behind the use  of celebrities is simple: peer influence. We are highly influenced by others and like to live our lives in accordance with social norms. If we know that people like a new film, for example,  through word of mouth or pictures of film tickets uploaded on social media, we trust that the film is worth seeing. We interpret social proof  to be synonymous with quality. Throw a well known celebrity into the mix and the element of trust is intensified.

Commitment and Consistency

The commitment and consistency principle works on the idea that we all have an inherent need be consistent when we commit to something. When we are committed to something, we are more likely to follow it through and  whilst doing so, are given a degree of satisfaction. In terms of marketing, therefore, signing up to a coffee company’s loyalty card logically fuels the need to be consistent in buying coffee.

Scarcity

The idea behind scarcity is simple – the rarer an item or service is, the more we attribute value to it. This logically follows the fact that brands often use tactics that emphasise that their goods or service are in low supply in order to increase interest. It’s apparent that, as consumers, we really don’t like the thought of missing out; scarcity can make us feel that we have a loss of freedom. The success of this principle can be shown by the number of companies that essentially scaremonger you into noticing that there is  a ‘last chance to buy’ or to make sure you invest ‘whilst stocks last’.

Reciprocity

Reciprocity can be thought of as mutual kindness. If we help and provide something to others, it logically follows that a favour will be granted in return. By consumers being initially provided with something of value for a good or even no price, this make them more inclined to tap into and invest in a product or service.  Companies work on this principle for customers to gain a sense of loyalty which can drive sales. If companies provide  a good deal in that consumers initially gain something of high value for little or for free, customer will feel more inclined to invest in something further.

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