Advertising Models

1.     AIDA Model

The acronym AIDA stands for Attention, Interest, Desire (or decision), Action, and it is one of the founding principles of most modern-day marketing and advertising. In fact, it's often said that if your marketing or advertising is missing just one of the four AIDA steps, it will fail. And it will fail hard.

Where Did AIDA Come From?

American advertising and sales pioneer Elias. St. Elmo Lewis, a legend inducted into the advertising hall of fame in 1951, coined the phrase and approach.

 

1.      ATTENTION - The First Step of AIDA

Also called "Awareness," this is the part often overlooked by most advertisers today. It's just assumed that people will find the product or service as interesting as the client does, but that's rarely the case.

Sadly, so many ads jump straight to Interest, and thus bypass Attention, that the ad is doomed to failure. An ad can be as clever or as persuasive as you want, if no one sees it, what's the point?

To attract the attention of the consumer, the best approach is called disruption. This is a technique that literally jars the consumer into paying attention.

2.      INTEREST - The Second Step of AIDA

Once you've got their attention, you have to keep it. This is actually trickier than the first step, especially if your product or service is not inherently interesting to begin with (think of insurance, or banking products).

If you're writing direct mail, don't bore the reader with dozens of pages of heavy text.

Keep it light, easy to read and break up the information with unusual subheads and illustrations. This should not be hard work, after all, you're taking up your prospect's valuable time.

3.      DESIRE - The Third Step of AIDA (sometimes called "decision")

You've grabbed their attention, and you've kept it. Now, it's your job to create desire. You must turn the story you've told into one that is not only extremely relevant to the prospect, but also irresistible. Infomercials actually do this very well, by showing products in dozens of different situations.

Example: "Sure, it's a nice frying pan, but did you know it can also cook a whole roast chicken, and do sides at the same time? And it can make dessert too, plus it's easy to clean and takes up no counter space." You keep layering on the facts, mixing in some character and persuasiveness, until the viewer or reader has only one conclusion - "this thing is definitely for me!

4.      ACTION - The Final Step of AIDA

If the consumer is still with you at this point, you have one job left to do. It is, of course, the most important job, and is often referred to as "closing the sale." 

After demonstrating the product, and convincing you that you need it, they close the sale with an amazing offer. This is the Call to Action (CTA). They'll start out with a high price, chop it down again and again until it's a third of the original price, and then give you a two-for-one deal and free shipping. You're officially on the hook at that point.

2.    Hierarchy of Effects Model Steps

The steps are defined as below:

1. Awareness: This is the most crucial step and the starting point for purchase. Brands must make sure that the consumer is aware of the presence of your brand in a particular product segment.

For example, if Tina wants to buy a toothbrush, and you as the marketing manager of Colgate wants her to buy your brand’s toothbrush, you have to make sure that you advertise well so that she is aware of the existence of such a brand for toothbrushes.

2. Knowledge: This is where your product will be evaluated against other brands by the consumer. Make sure enough (positive) knowledge is available about your product – through the internet, retail stores and the product package itself.

For example, now Tina, aware that there is a Colgate brand will try figure out what unique features and benefits you are offering over any other brand like Colgate and Oral-B.

3. Liking: This is where the consumer builds a liking to your product. This is where your product is being considered for its emotional benefits; be sure to make them prominent.

For example, now Tina has evaluated the pros & cons of buying a Colgate brush but might not like the colour of it, or might feel that this brush is for the elderly. As the marketing manager of Colgate, you have to make sure that these features, that leave emotional impact, are taken care of properly in the marketing communication program.

4. Preference: By this time consumer may be convinced to try out your product, but may like other brands of toothbrush too. So what is it that will make her prefer Colgate over the other brands? These points of differentiation or unique selling points need to be highlighted to make sure that the consumer likes your brand more than the others in her consideration list.

For example, Tina now may be actually considering buying a Colgate toothbrush. But is she thinking that she’ll buy it to try it only or is she thinking that the next buy will also be a Colgate brush?

5. Conviction: This is the stage where the doubt in consumers’ minds about buying the product of your brand needs to be converted into action. Marketers can aid in this step by giving out free samples, test drives etc. This step should also decide if the consumer will stick to your brand i.e. actually buy your brand, or switch after testing the sample.

For example, Tina tried the brush you gave her for a month and then when time came to buy one, she bought an Oral-B one. Make sure that doesn’t happen and that trial builds loyalty. Incorporate such unique features in your brand that will encourage purchase.

6. Purchase: The last and the most crucial stage of the consumer buying cycle is the purchase. You need to make sure that purchase experience is easy and perhaps even enjoyable for the consumer. Some of the ways to encourage purchase is by keeping simple and multiple paying options, making the product available easily, easy to understand usage instructions, offers etc.

For example, now that Tina has decided to buy your brand after trying it out for a month, make sure she knows where to buy it from and how she can pay. You may also give her a tube of toothpaste free to delight her.

The main aim of this tool that serves as a marketing communication tool is to encourage consumers to go through the six steps that end in purchase of product. It is not necessary that consumers always go through all the six steps but the aim is to land a purchase.

Hierachy of Effects Consumer Behaviour Stages

Lavidge and Steiner further grouped these six stages into three main stages of consumer behaviour:

1. Cognitive

2. Affective

3. Conative

1. Cognitive: Also called the “thinking” stage, this is where the consumer gathers knowledge about the product and becomes aware of it. This can be said to be a rational step where pros and cons, product specifications etc. of a product are evaluated.

2. Affective: Also called the “feeling” stage is when the consumer starts developing a liking for the product, and may even develop strong positive (or negative) feelings toward it.

3. Conative: This is the “behaviour” stage of the process. This is when the consumer, after weighing the pros and cons, and deciding his/her preference actually buys the product.

The model is named so because of the fact that the buying process is a step by step process where the number of people willing to participate at each level keeps decreasing. Say you started with 10 people who are aware of your brand; 5 people who considered buying it and only 2 of those 10 actually bought the product.

3. Innovation Adoption Model:

This Model is evolved from work on the diffusion of innovations. This model represent the stages a consumer passes through in adopting an innovation—innovation such as a new product.

Like the other models, this model says potential adopters must be moved through a series of steps before taking some action (in this case deciding to adopt a new product). The steps preceding adoption include awareness, interest evaluation, and trial.

The challenge facing companies introducing new products is to create awareness and interest among consumers and then get them to evaluate the product favourably. The best way to evaluate a new product is through actual use so that performance can be judged.

Marketers often encourage trial by using demonstration or sampling programmes or allowing consumers to use a product with minimal commitment. After trial, consumer either adopt the product or reject it. The decision in favour of making an evaluation is likely to be influenced by information available from various sources including advertising.

Evaluation is a major step towards the adoption of the product/service.