Using Fear to Motivate News Viewing

Fear. It is the number one emotional sell of television news promos. During rating periods, the pressure to deliver an audience becomes even more acute and "watch or die" promos are showcased in some of the best time slots on the schedule. It is the fallback sell position for most investigative and consumer promos. The station decries a public danger then leaps tall buildings in a single bound to bring the perpetrators to justice. But does fear promotion really work? Does fear motivate viewing?

The cigarette industry has been doing "quit or die" commercials for decades. But recent research shows that aversion selling is not as effective as other less threatening advertising techniques. The study found that threatening messages are often too scary, and the audience just shuts down and blocks out the message altogether. The trick is figuring out when you've gone too far.

 Throat Cancer Ad

Australian Anti-Smoking Ad

I have been unable to find specific studies on TV news audiences and fear, but have been able to deduce some interesting trends by simply looking at how the advertising industry uses this powerful emotion. One thing for sure, this kind of sell now is often the brunt of jokes in the industry. Shows like "The Daily Show" regularly skewer this genre creating big yucks for the audience. Savvy audiences have learned to simply ignore the "watch or die" promos that pervade the airwaves.

 Gravity Kills Ad

If you do a careful analysis of fear in advertising, you'll find that cable and Madison Avenue use fear very differently than local TV news. Their approach is much more strategic. The main purpose of fear is to get your attention. There are few more powerful attention grabbers. This happens because it has been hardwired into our brains since the beginning. When we feel impending danger, we naturally sit up and pay very close attention. When that lion came around on the African savannah, perking up and paying attention meant you might escape being this afternoon's snack. This makes fear a primal shortcut for cutting through the clutter of television advertising.

The real skill in using fear comes AFTER you've gotten the audience's attention. A good dose of fright gets them watching, but you can't stop there. Skilled Madison Avenue practitioners will make a critical mood shift, moving on to other emotions to close the sale. A lot of TV news promos just continue to frighten the daylights out of their customers and never make this critical shift. We put the fear blowtorch to their emotions and burn them to ashes.

 Health Benefits Ad

These type of promos go from zero to terrified in about three seconds and never let up. What is missing is the critical handoff that will provide learning and understanding. Generally, you don't need to use the entire promo to scare people - it is overkill and can shut viewers down. Fear can be used quickly, then you can move on to the next steps.

So what should you do? Take a look at these examples and notice the sophisticated ways they bring about resolution, reassurance, and fun.

-Go for happily ever after.

Use fear to point out the danger, but make the shift to reassurance. Sure, it's dangerous out there, but if you use this product or watch this news report, everything is going to be just fine.

 Office Fire Ad

-Make a clear and obvious shift to a positive tone

Far too many stations spend the whole spot scaring the pants off the viewer, then put an inconsequential one-line resolution at the end.

 Internet Theft Ad

Spend at least half the promo telling your audience that everything will be okay. Watch how they keep the same scary music and ominous tone throughout this promo. They never let up.

 Home Sickness Ad

-Transition the music from scary to soothing. Change the VO from terrifying to tranquil.

 AOL High Speed Internet

-Empower the audience to strike back

Be a vigilante. Give them a scare off the top, then empower them to kick ass and raise hell.

 Color of Fear Ad

-Leave them with a giggle.

Scare them off the top, but then make everything okay by ending with comedy. You can use fear to get their attention, but leave them with a good warm feeling about your product and the ways it can improve life.

 I Love You Virus Ad

-Take the fear to an absurd conclusion

Watch how these spots get your attention with fear, then take the fear so far that they turn it into a joke. They make the scary point but leave you with a fun feeling.

 Poltergeist Furniture

Glad Trash Bag Meteor Shower

-Make it a scary movie kind of fright

Nothing is quite as fun as a good old fashioned horror movie.

 Surprise Ad

That same fear can be harnessed to have a fun scare reminiscent of a childhood matinee.

Lost Promo

Vampire Bats Promo

Remember that fear is a powerful tool if used wisely. Crank up the angst at the top of your commercial, but make sure you transition to a resolving emotion that leaves the audience with more than just a feeling of apprehension.

Graeme Newell is a broadcast and new media marketer who specializes in core emotional drivers.  He guarantees that his teasing seminar will immediately increase your news ratings or his workshop is free.  Find out more here.

The Dangers of Building Brands on Oversimplistic Research

Turn on early morning television these days and you will find a zillion lawyer ads. Almost all follow the hackneyed lawyer ad script just like this ad, "Trust us. We will fight for your rights." But this morning I saw one that impressed me. Take a look at this ad.  Sure, the production values stink but the message is custom-designed to resonate with the customer. "When you sue the hospital, it isn't just a grab for cash.  You're saving children."

By focusing on the idea of "litigation as public good," he brings a sense of nobility and trust.  Potential clients looking for an attorney will probably have a lot of trust issues.  He sends the message "you can trust me" without ever using those words.  He proves trust by deed, not by endlessly repeating the phrase "trust me."

Like most advertisers, lawyers have done their research, and they know the hot-button words and phrases that resonate with their customers:  Trust us. Insurance companies will victimize you. Don't be a chump.  But every lawyer has the same research, and most of them foolishly choose the parrot approach to brand implementation. They simply spit back the exact same words that show up in everyone's research.  Everyone looks the same.  This ubiquity creates a brand message that sells the category, not the individual business.  The takeaway becomes, "you should get a lawyer," not, "you should choose me over all the other lawyers."

The same is true for a lot of television marketing.  For the most part, we all have the same quantitative research studies. "What are you looking for in a weathercast?"  "Accuracy, trust, reliability, technology, power."  Just like the lawyer ads, selling these price-of-entry attributes brands you as just another nameless face in the herd.  Just take a look at this example and you'll see a branding uniformity that is poisoning TV marketing.

I do a lot of research work with cable companies and Fortune 1000 types.  Most of them have a finely honed one-two punch of quantitative research followed by qualitative research.  Quantitative research can do a fine job finding out how customers feel about your product,  but it usually does a lousy job of finding out how your brand fits into their life and their own personal identity.  The truth is that most people don't really know how they feel about the weather.  Sure, they will spit the buzz words back at you when you ask them naively simple questions like "is severe weather coverage important to you?"  What do you think they're going to say?  Our feelings about weather are all jumbled up inside of us, mixed in with feelings of family responsibility, annoyance, safety, fashion, fun and worry.

There is a saying in the research business that if you want to find out how someone really feels about something, one of the worst things you can do is ask them. Television has a love affair with quantitative research. It is what we know. We have done it for years and we are very comfortable with it. Quantitative research is important, but it has limited ability to help you navigate the tenuous world of feelings that surround brands.  When there isn't much difference between your product and your competitor's product, that is when qualitative research becomes a necessity.

How did Dove get from something as sterile as soap and cleansing to this ad about the hope and pain of adolescent love?  It was smart enough to know that a quantitative study that asked women about their soap needs would not cut it.

Take a look at this ad for Allan Gray, a South African investment firm.  How did they get from the dry topic of cash flow and quarterly dividends to James Dean?  Good qualitative research.  Do a quantitative study where you ask an investor what he wants in a counselor and you'll get the standard list: trust, smarts, customer service, etc.  By doing a qualitative study, this company uncovered his deepest held hopes and dreams.  Take a look at its web site and you'll see the same adventurer archetype featured prominently.  This is not how he feels about stocks.  This who he dreams he'll be.

So take a look at your own marketing.  Are you parroting back quantitative research buzzwords while showing endless vanity images of your own product?  When was the last time your customers were featured prominently in your marketing?

Graeme Newell is a broadcast and new media marketer who specializes in core emotional drivers.  He guarantees that his teasing seminar will immediately increase your news ratings or his workshop is free.  Find out more here.