The Persuasive Power of the Media

The media has become an integral part in the lives of many.  Various mediums provide consumers with entertainment and information, but they also have the ability to expose people to products.  Simply exposing people to products is not enough to make businesses thrive; other tactics are needed to convince people to become active consumers.

The awareness of a consumer lies in the hands of advertising

Advertising is a communication tactic that informs people of products.  There is a lot of work that goes into this process because people have different wants and needs and are also persuaded in different ways.  Advertisers take full advantage of the media to show products because it is a space that reaches a large mass.  What some have come to realize is that informing people of a product will not be enough to persuade them to consume that product.  As a result, companies have exerted tons of effort into altering the way in which products are shown in hopes of leading to more purchasing behaviors.   

Choosing a chip flavor persuaded millions

The role of media in persuasion is absolutely applicable to today’s digital media.  The perfect example is Lay’s “Do Us a Flavor” campaign.   In hopes of filling shelves with a new and exciting flavor as well as improving the brand, Lay’s put power in the hands of the consumers.  The first opportunity was for people to submit ideas for a new flavor.  After sorting through 3.8 million submissions, Lay’s narrowed the ideas to three: Chicken & Waffles, Sriracha, and Cheesy Bread. 

As noted in Converging Media: A New Introduction to Mass Communication, marketers are often have the misconception that simply telling people about a product is enough to make them buy it. Simply hearing about new chip flavors is not very interesting, but when it’s up to the people to decide, the process becomes more exciting.  Lay’s raised the level of persuasion by encouraging people to use Facebook and their cell phones to vote for the flavor of their choice and they also featured the celebrities, Eva Longoria and Michael Symon.

Why is this so clever?  How can consumers vote for the taste of a chip that they have never had?  Not only did the public receive information pertaining to the efforts of Lay’s to introduce a new flavor, they were also given an opportunity to participate.  Digital media, specifically online, presented millions with a quick and easy way to become a part of an intriguing campaign. 

The direct effects model may be more credible than people assume

The efforts of Lay’s prove the credibility of the direct effects model.  This model states that media can directly affect the audience.  This model has become increasingly important as millions take hours out of their day to surf the web and utilize phone applications.  Now people have tons of information at their fingertips and can use this information to make informative decisions.  For example, the media has played such a large role in political campaigns. According to a PEW study, about 13% of adults made donations to the candidates.  To show their support, 50% of those adults made a contribution online or via email, and 10% used text messaging.  These contributions are investments in the campaigns for the various candidates.  People have been persuaded through the media and in turn have made contributions by utilizing the media. Political campaigning is only one of many examples.  The media has been used by advertisers to promote products that pertain to sex, health, appearance and much more.  The opportunities for companies are endless when finding ways to use the media as a tool of persuasion.

The role of media in persuasion is vital

Regardless of what many say, the media possesses plenty of power not only to inform, but also to persuade consumers to purchase products.  Media is everywhere.  The challenge is that people significantly vary in their purchasing behaviors.  Framing messages that will lead to consumption is a problem that advertisers must continue to face.  Media does hold the power to persuade, but various tactics are needed to reach the most favorable outcome.