Credible and incredible uses of Psychology in advertising pitches

Institute of Advertising Practitioners in Ireland, 23-3-2011.

Dr. Kenneth McKenzieStrategic Planner, Motiveworks.

ken@motiveworks.ie

Outline

• A bit about me.• Maturity (1970s-1980s)• The rush for the new.

About me

• BA (Mod) Psych, 98.• PhD (Pol Sci, 00-4).• Lecturer in Psychology, TCD School of Medicine

(03-6).• Social Psychology researcher (SPR) UCD Geary

Institute (06-8)• Business Psych (R&D), Pearn Kandola (08-9);• SPR, UCD School of Public Health (now)• Research Associate, School of Psychology, TCD

(now)

Why?

Psychology in advertising: Maturity

• Stanford VALS & counterculture (1970s)• Hidden: peer review; grey literature (not even).• Agres and the emotion wheel (1984)• Petty & Cacioppo’s ELM (1984)

Psychographics, VALS

• I am often interested in theories.• I like outrageous people and things.• I like a lot of variety in my life.• I love to make things I can use every day.• I follow the latest trends and fashions.• Just as the Bible says, the world literally was

created in six days.• I like being in charge of a group.

Emotion wheel

ELM

Rush for the new

Neuromarketing: P300 wave

Neuromarketing: Reorienting

Short vs long termism

Problems

• Expensive. • Trivial truth. • Ecological validity.

– Public health research on eating in front of the TV (lab set up).

What we do know

• Priming works• Persuasion (Cialdini)• Identity formation & lifestyle goods (Dittmar). • Dual systems cognition: hearts and minds.

To sum up…

• Freud can be used (but not as much as he is!).• We’re like magpies with shiny things.• Trivial truths abound.

Thanks to

• Sandra Alvarez, PHD.