Fear Marketing

Often in advertising companies will use fear to convince people to buy their product or service. The idea of fear marketing has become really big since companies have seen how people will practically run out to get a product or service if they are scared they will be caught without it and somehow find themselves embarrassed or even in trouble if they don’t have this product.

One company that has recently started doing fear marketing is DirecTV. They have started a new campaign called “don’t be” and they show commercials on TV of all the horrible things that could happen to you if you don’t get DirecTV and in the end they say “don’t let that happen to you” or something along those lines.

They’re using the fear of all these horrible things that could happen to you scare you into going out and buying DirecTV. It seems that the “don’t be” ad’s are working well for Directv since they have 6 of these commercials running right now since they first started the ad campaign a few years ago. The other thing these commercials have going for them is that they’re funny, which is another appeal to them. Simply doing a fear commercial could freak people out so this campaign is a good mix of funny and fear. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2WM0W1PPU0

-Mare

Fear is an interesting emotion because it affects all of our thought processes and reactions. It is often used in marketing because it is a unique marketing tool in order to make consumers loyal to a particular product or a service.

It is motivating because it grabs the attention of consumers by combining “credible threats with doubt and uncertainty.” Two companies that use fear to motivate sales are the fast food companies Chipotle and Panera. They use the technique of presenting customers a false and misleading view of modern day agriculture because they are trying desperately to separate themselves from other fast food restaurants such as McDonalds. Specifically Chipotle, which has a slogan of “Food with Integrity,” uses fantasy based portrayal of what modern day agriculture really is. A common thought customers have is that “If I don’t make a decision now, our world will become dark, and dreary with chickens getting puffed up with injections, and cows being locked in metal boxes.”

The general thought is that people watch videos relating to the abuse of animals when they are being raised for food processing reasons. Chipotle uses the disgust and fear people have of these ideas and use them in their advantage, saying their way of processing the food is more humane and that they have better agriculture processes. This, in turn, allows people to feel like they should go to Chipotle instead of other restaurants like McDonalds.

-Chatty Charlie

Smoking is a large market, targeted primarily at youth. Constantly in need of new customers as their consumers get older and pass away due to cancer related illnesses. According to the “Center for Disease Control and Prevention” since 2010 it has been shown that approximately 20% of individuals between the ages of 18-24 will become smokers. Many Anti-Smoking campaigns have been created in order to show youth what will become of them if they smoke. Campaigns showing elderly people with emphysema from smoking over the years, unfortunately has been un-relatable to todays’ youth.

Cigarette companies target market 18-24, have the mentality that they are invincible and will not become ill from cigarettes. Recently the US Food and Drug Administration have created ads with individuals closer to the target customer’s age range to resonate with them. Becoming a smoker will cause negative health effects in the short and long term. These new fear ads show the short term effects smoking cigarettes will cause to your health - teeth and skin. Cigarettes are not only a costly item but will take away from youth by causing premature aging and lack of control in your life. Are you willing to lose that control to a pack of cigarettes? Take control of your life and live above the statistic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbmDGr3AEs0

-Mary

WWF uses fear tactics in their campaign to raise awareness of serious issues and to make the threat real and personal.

The combinations of powerful images that make us rethink how our actions are negatively affecting the environment with threatening and thought provoking phrases such as “before it’s too late” reinforces their message with fear. Fear tactics are controversial yet effective because they use shocking methods to spread their mission and provoke an emotional reaction in the viewer. WWF targets issues we do not normally acknowledge in order to make us reconsider how we are treating our environment and its species.

-Shani

Who doesn’t own a cell phone?  It is said that 91% of adults are the heavy users in today’s technology trend.  We use cell phones for everyday usage whether it’s a business call, talking to friends and family, surfing the web, texting or watching your favorite television show Revenge.  

And since many of us are anti-talkers, we tend to text more than actually talking on the phone. This is where cell phone companies are able to profit.  The fear technique is avoiding the overage fees, if you are a heavy user and to purchase a more expensive data plan that will suit your needs.  Also I think the fear is within itself that most of us feel that we can’t live without our cellular devices but even more so that we can’t live without knowing what’s going on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram and that in itself is a fear for users.  Since users feel they need to stay connected it allows the phone companies to lower their prices to reel you in and then increase it.

-KeAnna

Brand Personalities

Do you ever see an image or character and you automatically associate it with a company or product? This is a strategy company’s use called brand personalities. They make their product or brand have it’s own personality so that you automatically associate certain objects or characters with their brand. Not only do they do this to make you want to buy their product but it’s also helpful whenever you see a certain animal or character you usually automatically connect it with a brand.

One industry that caught onto brand personalities was breakfast cereals. Specifically targeted to young kids, the breakfast company’s started associating their cereals with characters or animals that would make them more desirable to kids. In many cases you can name the cereal just by seeing it’s mascot without even needing to see a title or a picture of the cereal or anything.

In each of these photos you can see a character or animal that is associated with different breakfast cereals from General Mills, Kellogg, Quaker Oats and Post brands. The reason company's do this is so now when you see a tiger most kids will associate it with Tony the Tiger and want frosted flakes and same with the rabbit and want Trix. It's an easy way for a company to get free advertisements from our natural world around us. 

-Mare

When you look around any college campus and see men and women wearing their Greek organizations letters, what is the first thing you think of? To some, it is parties, drinking, drugs, sex, hazing and paying for friends. However, to others it may mean leadership opportunities, connections, meeting new people, social experiences, philanthropy, ritual and structure.

Though there are many Greek organizations out there, it is how each individual chapter operates that makes brand and identity so important. It is up to each individual to uphold the standards of their chapter. In order to create a good brand personality in any organization one must show dedication and respect to their letters. Respecting themselves and others around them is mandatory. Participating in class, getting good grades, watching what you say and do while wearing your letters, how you treat others, what you post on social media, and how you carry yourself every day (regardless if you are wearing your letters or not) is what gets your ultimate image out there to the people around you on campus. How individuals carry themselves is how Greeks create their brand personalities. Some statistics related to the benefits of Greek life and their positive brand identities would be:

·      Of the nation’s 50 largest corporations, 43 are headed by fraternity men and 85% of the Fortune 500 executives belong to a fraternity.

·      Every U.S. President and Vice President, except two in each office, born since the first social fraternity was founded in 1825 have been members of a fraternity.

·      The Greek system is the largest network of volunteers in the US, with members donating over 10 million hours of volunteer service each year.
·      As Alumni, Greeks give approximately 75% of all money donated to universities.

-Chatty Charlie

Brand personalities allow customers to relate to them on another level. It is important for brands to maintain a consistent set of personality traits in order to increase brand awareness and loyalty. Last semester I interned with a beauty and fashion PR company and we worked a lot with the brand Gloss48.

Gloss48 is an online retailer that finds unique and up-and-coming innovators in beauty and sells them on their website. Gloss48 stays away from mainstream brands and introduces their customers to hidden gems. Gloss48 has a very clear brand personality. Throughout their website they have a cohesive, and laid-back voice, talking to their customers as a friend more than a professional brand tone: “Welcome, beauty junkies.  You are in a judgment-free zone – at least when it comes to your beauty obsessions. To us, a beauty junkie is not only the woman who uses 48 products before she leaves the house in the morning (Get it?!  Gloss48?!), but also the woman (or man – we’re not judging) who gets a rush from a new lip gloss purchase.” Whenever I would write press releases for the brand I would have to try to write in a light-hearted and friendly voice or else it would not make sense with their brand. Brand personality is important because it draws the customer in. When browsing their website I would be attracted to certain items because of their funny little captions about the product. As shoppers we trust our friends more than we trust new brands we have never used before so having a strong brand personality makes the brand seem more reliable.

-Shani

The most recognized brand of all is the Walt Disney company along with their films, television shows, theme parks and merchandise. Disney was as much the public face of his enterprises as was Mickey. Also, The Disney Parks with Cinderella's Castle as center point that is shown at the beginning of a Disney film. Kids and their family can associate to Mickey and friends as friendly and outgoing and their theme parks as the happiest place on earth to have fun and be excited about. In addition when you hear the opening credits in a film or see their Disney princesses’ children are able to associate that with Disneyland or the popular movies. Disney will always be that company that we will love.

-KeAnna

The Rabbit logo of Playboy is one of the most widely recognized and popular brands of the American Market and growing globally. The bunny signifies sexual meaning to the American people.

The logo represents the brand to be shy, vivacious, pouncy and sexy. The bunny is a characterization of a woman’s nature: joyful and joking. Women who are young, healthy, simple – girl next door are who the bunny resembles. The playboy bunny is simply black and white with its market – they do not represent the mysterious woman is lace and a dirty mind. When a man sees the bunny they know they will see a woman unclothed, well kept and happy on display.

-Mary