Heuristics can be described as mental shortcuts that are used to solve problems or make probability judgments. They are generalizations aimed at reducing the effort required to think critically about a situation. They can either be effective or irrational when making judgments or coming to conclusions. There are three types of heuristics which include availability heuristics, representativeness heuristic, and anchoring and adjustment heuristics. However, most advertisements and commercials use availability heuristics to influence the buying behavior of consumers.
The availability heuristic normally happens when one attempts to make judgments concerning the frequency with which certain things occur. Interestingly, even though heuristics are not rational, they are usually not always wrong. They are generalizations where many situations occur that result in accurate outcomes or end up with good decisions. However, even though the outcomes can be favorable or positive, there is still the feeling that it was not achieved through logical or rational means. When a person uses heuristics, they risk ignoring essential and crucial information and instead overvalue information that is less relevant to the situation (Kim & Yang, 2019). The use of heuristics has no guarantee that things will work out well even when they do. The decision is usually made for the wrong reasons instead of using logic. It is a type of mental shortcut without any logic or rationale to support it.
Availability heuristics happens when individuals depend on their memories to remember easier and non-complicated things more than others. Commercials use different types of heuristics to compel consumers to make decisions in their favor. The availability heuristic is a mental shortcut that is premised on the ease with which an individual can think of something. Sometimes advertisers will identify a specific problem and sell it in an advertising campaign. The problem is of more importance than the product itself. It is easy for people to forget an advertised product because they are bombarded with many advertisements.
However, it is not easy to forget an advertisement that is repeated over and over again. The image of such an advertisement easily becomes imprinted in the memory. Repetition imprints the product or brand into the memory, but still, the most effective advertisement is one that identifies a problem and provides a solution (Kim & Yang, 2019). Consumers do not actively think about the problem, but advertisements bring it to their attention.
For instance, the Sensodyne toothpaste TV commercial highlights the problem of sensitive teeth (OzLand TV, 2019). It is a problem that is experienced by many people, but they do not actually think about it. What the Sensodyne TV commercial does is that it bring the tooth sensitivity problem to their attention (OzLand TV, 2019). It does this by consistently making consumers aware of the problem such that they are more likely to buy the toothpaste the next time they are in a store. The TV commercial goes ahead to paint a graphic picture that the problem is real by featuring a dentist talking about the problem. It even shows the name of the dentist to make the problem look real. The image easily gets imprinted into the memory of the consumer and brings the problem to their attention. In this manner, the advertisement uses availability heuristics to convince the consumer to buy the product.
Insurance companies also use availability heuristics in their advertising campaigns to convince consumers to buy their insurance products. The commercials cover a wide range of products, including pet, health, or home insurance. Such advertisements use specialized language like “if disaster strikes.”Consequently, the message of disaster striking at any time is imprinted into the memory of the consumer, who now becomes more aware of impending disaster and its consequences (Nazlan et al., 2018). It makes them take measures to avoid such a thing from happening to them. The message increases the perception of the event actually happening and leaves them helpless. It does not matter whether it is their pet getting injured or the house burning down. The message makes them feel that the event is almost inevitable.
For instance, there is an insurance commercial by Allstate Mayhem that shows a sports referee trying to escape a mob of fans by deliberately driving through shrubs and fences using his car. Even though car insurance policies cover accidents, the commercial shows that there are certain circumstances that can damage your property. However, what the commercial means is that when such circumstances happen, the company will pay for damages. Such a scenario paints a clear picture to consumers that they can avoid loss in the event that unforeseeable events occur to them (Nazlan et al., 2018). It compels them to take the cover to avoid losses when disasters strike.
Many advertising campaigns and commercials use availability heuristics to influence the buying decisions of consumers. They do this by consistently repeating the commercials over and over again so that the image is imprinted in the memory of the consumer. Consequently, they can influence their buying decision because they can easily remember the advertised products or brands. Additionally, availability heuristics can present a problem and offer a solution to influence a consumer’s buying decision.
References
Kim, J. K., & Yang, H. C. (2019). Effects of heuristic type on purchase intention in mobile social commerce: focusing on the mediating effect of shopping value. Journal of Distribution Science, 17(10), 73-81.
Nazlan, N. H., Tanford, S., & Montgomery, R. (2018). The effect of availability heuristics in online consumer reviews. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 17(5), 449-460.
OzLandTV (2019). Sensodyne Repair & Protect TV Commercial 2017 [Video]. YouTube. Web.