Breaking Down Emotional Motivators in Ads
Breaking Down Emotional Motivators in Ads - An understanding of human needs and their use in UGC ads
The most basic understanding of human needs is perfectly explained by Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs - a theory that puts forward that people are motivated by five basic categories of needs - physiological, safety, love, esteem, and self-actualization.
Consumer behaviour, however, is greatly affected by very specific emotional motivators that fall under either the desire to gain or the fear of loss. Making creatives that circle around and address these motivators brings about a high conversion rate - the human mind really is that easy to please.
Let us break these down further.
The Desire to Gain
We love to feel like we belong but at the same time, everyone desires to stand out. For the longest time, advertisements have tried their best to provide both of these to consumers. UGC ads, being more relatable by nature, probably are the best solution to enhance these motivators in consumer behaviour. Not only do you put across the features of your product that help fulfil specific needs but you also make them relatable enough for people to feel a sense of security even before they purchase the product.
Here are some ads that we feel do a brilliant job of playing around with the desire to gain:
An ad copy with a hook that goes “Why people are ditching generic cereals for THIS” already makes the audience look for their sense of belonging. “What is it that is making everyone buy this product?” and “Why am I only hearing of this?” It is subtle but pretty much foundational.
We are back with ads by hims. These ads address hair loss/hair fall by forwarding the idea of achieving results that help you feel like you fit in. They also do an extremely clever job by using a hook that goes “Why thousands of men are going to hims.” to reassure the normalcy of the pain points being addressed in their ads. Using keywords and statements like " confidence " and “can’t believe how well this has worked“ also instils a sense of security i.e. guaranteed results for a problem the consumer is facing.
Hooks like these are a great way to stop the scroll. It draws attention right away making you wonder whether there is something you aren’t doing right. Another brilliant type of hook that plays around with the desire to gain is highlighting the virality of a product.
This ad from Dream Melatonin not only addresses a basic human need - rest; but also plays a card of standing out as compared to others, thus using the desire to stand out as its base. They try to accentuate how something as simple as an organised sleep schedule may just take you a step closer to success. Kind of reach? We don’t think so.
The Fear of Loss
Loss may be a vague term so let us make it easier for you -the fear of missing out on the good things in life - or however the marketing goes.
This really cool ad that we made for Bummer probably explains it best. The ad calls out the consumer for owning a boring daily wear product vs the best alternative to it and its USPs. It reinforces the idea that if the consumer does not make a decision to change now they will regret it later. And believe me, the inherent fear of being related to something that is not the trend is quite real.