Value Focused Appeal
Whereas brand focused and product focused appeals are pretty straightforward in that there's no doubt about what they are and why they work in their particular product markets, value focused appeals are more varied and sometimes more nebulous. Rather than laying some clever catch all definition, the best way to think about value based appeals is by reference to a number of examples. Among the most common types of value based appeal are:
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Do you belong to the jet set? The TV ads for Martini are not about the drink, the taste, the ingredients. They are about a lifestyle, the beautiful people, the skiing in Switzerland and high rollers in Monte Carlo. "Anytime, anyplace, anywhere, there's a wonderful world you can share!" Drink Martini and you belong...you are part of that world! Every person has a view of his place in the world - no man is an island. He knows where and how he belongs and has aspirations as to how that situation might improve. Some marketing communications, like Martini advertising copy, addresses itself to that dream of belonging in a higher social sphere than is available to most.
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People value humour. People enjoy a smile, a chuckle or a good laugh. Using humour can humanise the marketer, making the organisation more approachable, more likeable. Humour is also useful for getting attention. If you think you are about to be bored, your eyes glaze over and you switch off, but if you think you are about to be handed a good laugh you sit up and take notice. Be judicious in your use of humour in marketing communications. Sometimes it's not appropriate - like when you are advertising to raise funds for people who are oppressed in one way or another. Other times it works against you because it's not well executed and comes over as foolish. Sometimes it can trivialise things and make you look lightweight. Sometimes it works so well that it distracts from the product and the audience only remembers the joke! Guard against these pitfalls and humour can work well for you. However it does lend itself better to visual treatment such as TV advertising than it does to print or to banner ads on the Web.
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Ladies, wear Brand X perfume and it will make you more attractive to men. Men, Brand Y after shave lotion will have the ladies swatting the furniture aside in their eagerness to get at you. Car buyers - we've draped a naked lady over the hood of our latest model! Not sure why but it seems to help! See how sexily Brand X jeans come off! There's no doubt about it, sex sells. Again it's about getting attention (who has not seen the posters on every school notice board that go "SEX....and now that we've got your attention the next meeting of the chess club is on Thursday at 8pm.). Most marketing communications that employ sex are based on the enhanced attractiveness of the customer if he/she buys the product being offered.
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We only use recycled paper. We don't exploit - we pay our coffee bean harvesters a fair wage. Our aerosol has no CFC gases. For every tree we cut down, we plant two! Invest in our ethical mutual fund - we have no investments in armaments or other socially offensive businesses! You get the idea and you see it all the time.
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Every thirty seconds, a New York home is burgled - but Brand X Home Security Alarm Systems can protect you! Many horrible things can happen to you - clearly you need Brand X Insurance!
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That girl from Friends uses it in her hair, so it's got to be worth a try! TV stars, film stars, even politicians are wheeled out. Every kind of celebrity from sports stars to well known eccentrics are asked to endorse products and such is the magic of their appeal...people buy!
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