Should You Use Fear In Your Advertising?
Ever notice that nearly everything you see on the news or read in the papers is something BAD that’s happening?
Do you know why these companies do it?
I can tell you one thing, it’s not because they think the story is interesting or that stuff like that happens all the time.
It’s simply because…fear in advertising sells.
For example, believe it or not crime went down about 40% or so throughout the 1990's and continues to stay lower now than it used to be, but because of the media you probably still think crime is running rampant don't you?
People today are afraid to let their children go just a few feet from them in fear that they might get picked up and stolen by some random stranger.
I hate to tell you, but it’s not that more people are getting abducted today…it’s that more stories are covering these abductions.
Here’s another example – the swine flu.
The entire country (I’m referring to the U.S.) has been in shock and awe the past few months, just sitting there waiting for something to happen (badly) with this new strain of flu.
Ummm…the last time I checked, one person died. And it was a 2 year old cute little baby who had an immune system which wasn't fully developed.
But hold on a second…I think they forget to mention the simple and less-known fact that thousands of people die every single year from the regular flu, and that less people died so far because of the swine flu and than from the regular flu?
Hmmmm…
Here’s some homework for you
The next time you’re watching the news, do me a favor and count how many fear based stories their are compared to how many inspirational, uplifting stories.
I can guarantee you, there’s going to be a minimum of 5 negative stories to every 1 good story.
I haven't read the paper in years or ever watch the news because of this. I seriously don't want to learn about what happened to a little kid getting shot and dying.
That’s not my idea of an interesting story to read because it makes me sick. I realize that these things happen, but I don’t want to be inundated with these stories every second of my life.
And THIS Is Why Fear In Advertising Works
The reason the news is so negative is for one simple reason: human beings LOVE to hear bad things happening.
I know it sounds cruel but it’s 100% true.
When we’re scared we enter the “fight or flight” response which triggers a whole slew of hormones to be released in our bodies, and over time you can actually learn to become kind of addicted to these hormones.
While this may or may not be the actual reason why fear advertising works, it’s certainly a plausible one. After all, many things in advertising are things we can't explain.
The question is – do you want to scare people into buying the product you’re writing about, or do you want to give them a little love and tell them the benefits instead?
Both ways work, although many people say fear is the ultimate motivator.
However, I personally don’t like playing on the fear emotion TOO much because I feel a little guilty. That'st just me. Maybe I’m too morally conscious.
After all, we have fear based advertising all over the place and the last thing we need is more of it.
Tags: fear in advertising