decision to buy Cosmetics

Did You Know? 

Did you know that the most expensive commercial was created by “Chanel”?

Its price was 33 million dollars, 3 million of which were given to Nicole Kidman, who was cast in the clip.

It is estimated that media owners ad revenue worldwide grew by 24.3 percent as the market recovered from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. At that time the global ad revenue reached 772.4 billion U.S. dollars.

By 2026, the market is expected to cross the one trillion dollars mark.


Psychology of Marketing 

Every marketer needs to understand how and why people think and act the way they do. If you can understand the few thumb rules people follow in decision-making, you can use them to your advantage.

Centered on the 6 persuasion techniques discussed in the book by Robert B Cialdini we aim to find the persuasion technique that appeals the most to the audience, mostly youngsters between the ages of 18 to 22. The reason to choose that specific age group is that they dominate the consumer market most of the time and are also more open or 'malleable' to change. The participants will be given a few examples of advertisements to choose one of them that is attention-grabbing and the one that appeals the most to them. Likewise, the questionnaire-based research will be conducted on a maximum number of people in the selected age group. 

With this, we are expecting to find out and analyze what kind and form of advertisements are attracting the consumers and, by this to draw a conclusion of what persuasion forms are drawing the consumers most among all of the six persuasion principles. 

The young adults of today’s world will soon saturate tomorrow's consumer market. Advertisers need to know how to appeal to them to sell effectively. In this world where marketers are burdened with an influx of theories, tactics, and strategies, it is hard to know which one works best. Hence, there is a need for a study that tests all tactics and finds out their effectiveness. Ciadini’s persuasion techniques created a ruckus in the advertising industry. While all of them have been proven to be useful, which one should marketers focus on? 

Research Data and Results

Table 1

Figure 1

The graph shows that "Social proof" is the most effective persuasion technique for young adults between the ages of 18 and 22. This means that young adults are more likely to be persuaded by advertisements that are from sources they perceive to be peers.

Figure 2

Young adults, the future consumer giants, felt most susceptible to the "Authority" persuasion tactic in ads, according to the data collected for this study. Experts and trusted figures swayed them more than appeals to liking, reciprocity, scarcity, or social proof. So, marketers for this age group, lost in a sea of strategies, should prioritize featuring authoritative voices to hook their fickle attention.

Figure 3

Young adults, the marketing world's future gold mine, are most easily swayed by the "authority" persuasion tactic, according to a study. Think doctors in lab coats or respected scientists. These trusted figures trumped appeals to like, reciprocity, scarcity, or even social proof, leaving marketers targeting this fickle bunch with a clear directive: prioritize featuring authoritative voices to grab their attention.

The results shown in the graph highlight a significant gap between "authority" (scoring 40) and the next most effective techniques, "commitment" and "social proof" (both at 35 and 30, respectively).

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