Now and Laters  Researchers have investigated how "time horizon" and the emotional versus rational appeal of an ad affect consumers' interpretation of a marketing message. It seems it all comes down to now and laters. Here's what they've found:
When consumers see their time horizon as expansive, they remember and feel more positive toward advertising that is rational.
But when they see time as limited, they are more favorably disposed to and remember advertising that appeals to their emotions.
Further study drills down even further:
- Consumers who see time as expansive prefer ads that focus on achieving positive outcomes.
- Those who see time as limited are partial to ads that focus on avoiding negative outcomes.
Needless to say, the consumer's age plays into this as well: “We find that older adults generally prefer and have better memory for emotional appeals. In contrast, younger adults tend to prefer and have better memory for more rational appeals," the authors report.
...But only to some extent: "However, when time horizon perspectives are [presented as] short, all participants prefer emotional appeals, regardless of age. When ... long, all prefer rational appeals,” they say.
The Po!nt: Focus on your "now and laters" when creating ad copy. Remember that customers basically want to avoid bad things now and approach good things in the future.
Source: "Age-Related Differences in Responses to Emotional Advertisements" by Patti Williams and Aimee Drole. Journal of Consumer Research, 2005. Click here for a PDF of the report.
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