Using the Fear Factor as an Advertising Motivator

I was on a VERY long plane ride to Greece this week, a ride that takes 15 hours from San Francisco, so my husband (who is also in the business) and I started chatting. I was in the process of telling him about a VERY memorable and frightening commercial I saw recently (it IS a long plane ride and yes we do have a life…) 

Cut to: A professional woman driving her sedan, on the phone chatting, curling her eyelashes in the rear view mirror, taking notes on her dashboard notepad, maddeningly swerving into other drivers on the road.

She then reaches into the backseat looking for something, while continuing to chat on the phone, swerving and swerving into her horrified fellow commuters.

She then says, “Oh, it’s my exit!!” and as if a young child playing Frogger saw an opening to quickly scamper into the next lane she frantically shoots her sedan across 3 lanes of traffic leaving 5 cars of destruction in her path.

It hit home. I’ve seen it a hundred times in reality.

Did I touch a nerve? A nerve we’ve all experienced? Perhaps some of us have even uttered some “less than pleasing” words to Ms. or Mr. Highway of Destruction?

Who was the advertisement for? You’re not going to believe it, United Healthcare. And it wasn’t for the Destructo Driver, it was for the aftermath of her carelessness.

Bravo, to United Healthcare for capturing the “Fear Factor” in such a quintessential way. We all think we’re great drivers, but what about the other drivers on the road, thank god for health insurance! Do you have a product or service that could benefit from the fear motivator?

Sometimes it’s good to revisit advertising tactics that we may unconsciously forget about. I revisited a book, albeit dated, which made me think about VerticalResponse and how we advertise and thought it might be great to evoke some thoughts for our readers.

Herschell Gordon Lewis, a famed direct marketing copywriter, author of The Art of Writing Copy, wrote about 5 great motivators: Fear, Exclusivity, Guilt, Greed and Ego Gratification. He writes that giving benefits that relate to one or more of these motivators is a required tactic in trying to sell something.

VerticalResponse has one by default. Many businesses need to have unsubscribes managed on their behalf because of federal legislation. They don’t have the time to do it themselves nor do they have the systems in place and want to be in compliance, VerticalResponse to the rescue.

Think about your own business, do you have a piece of software that might save someone’s hard drive from a nasty virus? Does your product protect pillowcases and pillows from millions of dust mites? Does your educational product help a child's speech pattern?

Look, this isn’t about scaring someone into buying, it’s about getting someone’s attention so that they read your message. 

Fear is evoked by a sense of protecting something valuable, so go ahead and grab their attention. THEN focus on the benefits of your product or service, that’s what it’s really all about.

Any good or service that you sell where the product that you have protects one’s business, home, or health and well-being is a good candidate for the “Fear” factor. And by the way, if what you’re selling TRULY accomplishes what you say it does, and you believe in it, It’s not hokey at all.

I’ll be touching on the other motivators so stay tuned.

Comments

[Jeff]

Fear is human nature and effects our decisions on a constant basis. I appreciate your perspective. Thanks for the blog!

[Bob Bandy]

Fear is certaintly a big motivator for all of us. When we work with real estate buyers in Denver, it seems their biggest fears are the whole relocation process. It can be over whelming. In our drip email campaigns, we try to create a relationship of trust, so that they feel like they have someone in Denver they can reach out to. Thanks for your blog!

Bob Bandy
Denver Real Estate & Homes
http://www.bandyhomes.com

[Janine]

Hey Sumana

Good points you raise, I was actually waiting for a comment like this one.

Maybe I should have underscored what you call my "afterthought" in the beginning of my post, however I want to clarify.

Many times products are developed to solve problems, sometimes severe problems. There is nothing wrong with outlining a severe problem to grab attention then tout that you have a solution to this problem.

Dust mites next to your head? A gas leak at home? My point is that whatever the problem is, you shouldn't hold back on outlining the severity, which may instill fear in someone. It's the psychology of advertising right?

I think we both probably agree that there are TONS of messages being blast at us every minute, my point was that IF your product or service lent itself to outlining a benefit that strikes a "feeling" to your users to get their attention, it's ok to use it.

[Sumana]

I personally think it's fine to emphasize security benefits in an ad, but come on.

"Look, this isn’t about scaring someone into buying, it’s about getting someone’s attention so that they read your message. "

A distinction without a difference. The method of getting attention is scaring the viewer or reader.

"And by the way, if what you’re selling TRULY accomplishes what you say it does, and you believe in it, It’s not hokey at all."

Truth in advertising and belief in the product you're selling are prerequsites for ethical marketing, not an afterthought that helps you rationalize scare tactics as non-hokey.

[John Colascione]

wow - very nice article on the fear factor... Best I've read lately and will definetly concider this advice with my next marketing promotion....

[Lynda Keeler]

I just stumbled upon your blog and really enjoyed this post. I'm always looking for ways to communicate our value proposition (for our Delight blog and HipsterCards) and are just now starting to use email newsletters. Thanks for the tips and I plan to check back often.

best,
Lynda Keeler