Book Structure
The Advertising Effect – How to Change Behavior is divided into two major parts, and the first section focuses on theories explaining behavior change. The authors explore motivation, habit formation, social influence, and cognitive biases in this section. In addition, the writers describe how they can be applied in advertising to influence consumer behavior.
The second part focuses on the practical applications of behavior change theory in advertising (Ferrier & Fleming, 2014). In this section, the authors explore case studies and real-world examples of successful advertising campaigns that have effectively changed consumer behavior. They also include tips and strategies for creating effective advertising campaigns that drive behavior change.
Book Summary
The Advertising Effect – How to Change Behavior is a marketing book by Adam Ferrier and Jenifer Fleming, printed in 2014. The book examines the principles of behavior change while focusing on how advertising can influence behavior and how marketers can use this knowledge to create effective campaigns (Ferrier & Fleming, 2014). The authors emphasize behavior change as an important advertising concept and how behavior change works to create effective advertising campaigns. They also discuss major factors that influence behavior change, for instance, habits, motivation and social influence.
Furthermore, the authors expound on emotional appeals in advertising by arguing that emotions are a powerful tool for behavior change (Ferrier & Fleming, 2014). They elucidate how emotions can create memorable and effective advertising campaigns. The book also examines the concept of social influence in behavior change, including how social norms and social proof can be used in advertising to influence consumer behavior. Ferrier and Fleming (2014) further discuss habit formation and scrutinize how habits can change behaviour.
The authors explore the concept of cognitive biases in marketing. They expound on various cognitive biases in marketing and how they affect consumer behavior. Some cognitive biases identified in the book include confirmation bias, the halo effects and anchoring effects. The book explains how these biases can be used in marketing to influence consumer behavior.
The authors offer strategies for creating advertising campaigns that promote habit formation. They also emphasize the importance of branding in advertising and how it can influence consumer behavior. In addition, the book confers the concept of brand personality and how it can create a strong emotional connection with consumers. Additionally, the authors discuss the importance of creativity in marketing a product or brand. The book encourages marketers to think when developing advertising campaigns creatively by giving examples of successful campaigns that use innovative and unexpected approaches to behavior change.
Concepts in the Book
The key concepts used by Ferrier and Fleming include behavior change, cognitive biases, emotional appeal, social influence, habit formation and branding. Ferrier and Fleming use case studies to explicate various product advertising theories. The most notable case study in the book is Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign which the company used to promote its beauty product. This campaign used an anchoring effect which is a cognitive bias, to market the products. Anchoring effects occur when people rely too heavily on the first piece of information they receive when making decisions.
In addition, Dove used images of real women of all shapes, sizes and ages to promote their products, body positivity, and self-love. The emotional appeal of the campaign resonated with consumers and helped to change attitudes toward body image (Ferrier & Fleming, 2014). Another case study used in the book is Colgate’s “Two-Minute Challenge. “The authors use this case study to describe the impact of habit formation. The advert involved using reminders, incentives and social influences to encourage the development of the new habit. For example, the campaign encouraged people to brush their teeth at least twice daily for two minutes.
Interesting Quotes and Insights
Ferrier and Fleming use some interesting quotes to give insight into the power of advertisement. For instance, on page 18, they write, “We need to look beyond our industries, our own experiences, our own biases and learn from what other industries and other experts are doing (Ferrier & Fleming, 2014).” Another interesting quote used by the writers is on page 24, where the authors say, “the more we know about how we think, the more we can design an environment that is more conducive to better decision making.” Additionally, Ferrier and Fleming write on page 48, “The way we frame messages can have a significant impact on how people respond to it (Ferrier & Fleming, 2014).” Finally, on page 87, the authors write that advertising that taps into emotion can be more powerful, memorable, and effective in driving behavior change.”
Relevance of the Book to Marketing Management
The book is highly relevant to marketing management, providing insights into how advertising can influence consumer behavior and create lasting change. Ferrier and Fleming argue that advertisers must understand their target audience deeply. In addition, they need to have a depth understanding of their needs, motivations and desires. The authors write that “the most successful advertising is rooted in human behavior and understanding what motivates us to act (Ferrier & Fleming, 2014, p. 34).” This is critical in marketing management as marketers can create advertisements more likely to appeal to their intended audience.
The authors also discuss the significance of measuring the impacts of advertising campaigns in the book, which is relevant to marketing management. The writers note that by measuring the effectiveness of advertising, the advertisers can learn and improve (Ferrier & Fleming, 2014, p. 102). The authors suggest various metrics that advertisers can use, such as ROI, brand awareness, sales and purchase intent, to evaluate their advertising campaigns and allocate their marketing budgets.
Personal Critique of the Book
The Advertising Effect – How to Change Behavior is highly relevant to marketing management and advertising. The book provides practical strategies and uses real-world examples to describe issues. The strategies provided by the writers can easily be replicated anywhere in the world and applied in various advertising campaigns. Ferrier and Fleming provide theories and back them with actionable insights that advertisers can use to create effective campaigns that drive behavior change. The writers do not rely on intuition but provide evidence-based insights grounded in science.
Ferrier and Fleming (2014) emphasize the importance of creativity in advertising and provide examples of campaigns that use unconventional approaches to drive behavior change. This can inspire marketers who want to push the boundaries and try new things. Other readers may also like the book because it provides practical, science-based insights to help them create effective advertising campaigns that drive behavior change. The writing style used by the authors is engaging and simple, and their emphasis on creativity can inspire marketers who want to innovate and stand out from the competition.
I cannot entirely agree with Ferrier and Fleming on ignoring other factors influencing people’s choices and his overreliance on the power of advertising to change behavior. The authors ignore other factors vital in marketing, such as culture, social norms, and personal values.
The authors heavily rely on psychological theories and research to explain advertising effectiveness. This is because these theories do not fully capture the complexity of human behavior and that many other factors beyond psychology influence advertising effectiveness. The book also lacks empirical evidence to support its claims about the effectiveness of advertising in changing behavior. The book relies too heavily on case studies, and more rigorous research is needed to establish causal relationships between advertising and behavior change.
Media Critique of the Book
The Advertising Effect – How to Change Behavior has proven to be a vital book to most marketers and other readers. This is evident by the positive review the book gets online. In the review section on Amazon, most readers give a positive review and see the book as a valuable marketing guide. The reviewers are impressed by the Ferrier and Fleming approach to the issues by providing practical and relevant that illustrates various concepts they presented in the book.
However, the book has also attracted some negative review from a section of readers who claims that the authors relied on outdated examples or case studies. The reviewers also claim the examples provided in the book are hard to relate to if the user is based outside Australia. I agree with the readers who see the book as a useful marketing tool. Still, I also can’t entirely agree with the critics about the case studies used, as some strategies employed by the companies mentioned can be replicated anywhere in the world.
References
Ferrier, A. & Fleming, J. (2014) The advertising effect: How to change behavior, Amazon. Web.
Ferrier, A. and Fleming, J. (2014) The advertising effect: How to change behaviour. South Melbourne, Vic.: Oxford University Press. Web.