Persuasive Advertising : Evidence-based Principles

Chairman Emeritus, Ipsos ASI took an interest in the book starting in November 2006. Over the next three years, he guided me towards the interests of practitioners, provided access to unpublished findings from the files at Ipsos ASI, and greatly improved the organization and clarity of the writing. He was merciless when I lapsed into academic bafflegab. He added examples and provided access to people in the advertising field. His contributions had a profound influence on the book. Dr. Sandeep Patnaik, Research Director at Gallup & Robinson, took the lead in evaluating the principles by analyzing "quasi-experimental data" on tested print ads. We were initially uncertain about the value of this project. As it turned out, this original research proved to be immensely valuable. There was a close correspondence between the results of the quasi-experimental and experimental analyses. The book also presents previously unpublished commercial research. Dave Walker, Senior Vice President, Global Research Director for Ipsos ASI, analyzed data from tested TV commercials. He also helped in summarizing the findings from these data. Although I never met him, I owe much to David Ogilvy. He translated his knowledge into guidelines that were easy to use. In 1994, I started with Ogilvy's guidelines and began the development of a decision-support system for advertising. This led to the conclusion that the guidelines needed to be refined so as to provide a more complete description of the actions that advertisers can take, as well as the conditions under which these actions apply. I refer to these as principles. I tried to trace the historical development of the persuasion principles. When I discuss historical facts prior to 1930, it is safe to assume that they came from Presbrey (1929). Historical facts from 1930 onwards are from a variety of sources. In many cases, it was difficult to trace the stories to their origins. Many historical facts came from the Internet, often from a number of alternative sources, and these are not cited specifically. Cynthia Cronin-Kardon, Jean Newland, and others at the Lippincott Library, University of Pennsylvania, tracked down papers no matter how obscure the source or how incorrect the citation. This involved well over 2,600 papers, which were then entered into a data-base, a task that relied on many, and in particular,

This book translates knowledge about persuasion into evidence-based principles. Useful knowledge about persuasion has been obtained over the last 100 years from the experience of advertising experts and from empirical studies in advertising and other fields including psychology, consumer behavior, law, mass communication, politics, and propaganda.

The principles in Persuasive Advertising provide understandable and easy-to-access guidance for all types of advertising. Including still media such as print and Internet, and motion media such as TV, streaming video, Internet, and radio. They also apply to other types of persuasive communications such as management reports, speeches, and press releases.

Wharton School Professor J. Scott Armstrong spent over 16 years on this book. In recent years, he was assisted by Gerry Lukeman, Chairman Emeritus of Ipsos-ASI and Sandeep Patnaik, Research Director at Gallup and Robinson. Altogether, more than 80 people contributed to Persuasive Advertising by obtaining relevant studies, analyzing data, editing and reviewing, and surveying researchers to ensure that the book correctly summarizes their findings.

Persuasive Advertising summarizes findings from about 3,000 empirical studies and 50 books. It also presents new findings from previously unpublished studies. .

Along with the AdPrin Audit software on AdPrin.com, Persuasive Advertising enables advertisers as well as agencies to quickly and inexpensively identify ways to improve ads – or to determine which of a set of ads will be most effective. For example, it typically requires about an hour for an experienced user to obtain a persuasiveness index for a print ad along with a list of ways to improve the ad.,

By using these principles, advertisers can improve their creativity and effectiveness.

This book is supported by the AdPrin.com site: http://advertisingprinciples.com/  

"Persuasive Advertising is a guide for all who commission, design, or evaluate advertisements. This book translates knowledge about persuasion into evidence-based principles. Useful knowledge about persuasion has been obtained over the last 100 years from the experience of advertising experts and from empirical studies in advertising and other fields including psychology, consumer behavior, law, mass communication, politics, and propaganda. The principles in Persuasive Advertising provide understandable and easy-to-access guidance for all types of advertising. Including still media such as print and Internet, and motion media such as TV, streaming video, Internet, and radio. They also apply to other types of persuasive communications such as management reports, speeches, and press releases. Wharton School Professor J. Scott Armstrong spent over 16 years on this book. In recent years, he was assisted by Gerry Lukeman, Chairman Emeritus of Ipsos-ASI and Sandeep Patnaik, Research Director at Gallup and Robinson. Altogether, more than 80 people contributed to Persuasive Advertising by obtaining relevant studies, analyzing data, editing and reviewing, and surveying researchers to ensure that the book correctly summarizes their findings. Persuasive Advertising summarizes findings from about 3,000 empirical studies and 50 books. It also presents new findings from previously unpublished studies. Along with the AdPrin Audit software on AdPrin.com, Persuasive Advertising enables advertisers as well as agencies to quickly and inexpensively identify ways to improve ads, or to determine which of a set of ads will be most effective. For example, it typically requires about an hour for an experienced user to obtain a persuasiveness index for a print ad along with a list of ways to improve the ad. € By using these principles, advertisers can improve their creativity and effectiveness"--Provided by publisher This book translates knowledge about persuasion into evidence-based principles. Useful knowledge about persuasion has been obtained over the last 100 years from the experience of advertising experts and from empirical studies in advertising and other fields including psychology, consumer behavior, law, mass communication, politics, and propaganda. The principles in Persuasive Advertising provide understandable and easy-to-access guidance for all types of advertising. Including still media such as print and Internet, and motion media such as TV, streaming video, Internet, and radio. They also apply to other types of persuasive communications such as management reports, speeches, and press releases. Wharton School Professor J. Scott Armstrong spent over 16 years on this book. In recent years, he was assisted by Gerry Lukeman, Chairman Emeritus of Ipsos-ASI and Sandeep Patnaik, Research Director at Gallup and Robinson. Altogether, more than 80 people contributed to Persuasive Advertising by obtaining relevant studies, analyzing data, editing and reviewing, and surveying researchers to ensure that the book correctly summarizes their findings. -- Jacket "Professor Armstrong's groundbreaking book is a must-read for anyone in the advertising business. All effective advertising starts with understanding consumers and what motivates them. This book provides a powerful and comprehensive compilation of those consumer truths. Buy this book. It's marketing gold."--Linda Kaplan Thaler, CEO & Chief Creative Officer of The Kaplan Thaler Group, bestselling co-author of The Power of Nice and The Power of Small "Scott Armstrong has shown that persuasive advertising is not a mystifying, amorphous art to be admired, but a clear, hard science to be understood. Anyone interested in how advertising works would be a fool not to learn what this book teaches."--Robert B. Cialdini, author of Influence: Science and Practice "A unique combination of quantitative research, anecdotal evidence and common sense. David Ogilvy would have enthusiastically added this book to his recommended list for anyone in the advertising business." Dr Max Sutherland, author of Advertising and the Mind of the Consumer "We now have the facts. There is no other book that comes close to Persuasive Advertising. Written in a convincing and accessible style, the book is also engaging and entertaining."--Rik Pieters, Professor of Marketing, Tilburg University, The Netherlands "Clear writing that is provocative! Armstrong's dislike for platitudes is apparent. For certain, Persuasive Advertising is one of the top three books on advertising ... ever."--Arch G. Woodside, Professor of Marketing, Boston College "This book is a remarkable exemplar of turning evidence into action."--Jeffrey Pfeffer, Professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and co-author of Hard Facts, Dangerous Half- Truths, and Total Nonsense: Profiting from Evidence-Based Management "Many people claim to have advertising principles Kenneth Roman, former Chairman of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, author of The King of Madison Avenue: David Ogilvy and the Making of Modern Advertising and of How to Advertise "This fascinating collection of smart rules and when to use them is truly persuasive!"--Gerd Gigerenzer, Director at Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin "Scott Armstrong has provided all of us with a rich handbook to guide our efforts to use persuasive advertising efficiently and responsibly."--Philip Kotler, S.C. Johnson Distinguished Professor of International Marketing, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University "The volume of evidence sifted to produce this book is mind boggling. It is a resource that every advertiser can dip into regularly to maximize effectiveness and help avoid traps for the unwary." But this is the first time they have been systematically developed from experimental evidence. If you want more effective advertising, read this book."--Malcolm Wright, Head of School of Marketing, University of South Australia "Persuasive Advertising promises to be not only an essential part of the toolkit of advertising professionals but also a standard reference work for scholars. Simply put, this is a landmark achievement."--Daniel J. O'Keefe, Owen L. Coon Professor, Department of Communication Studies, Northwestern University Written by a leading authority, this book is a comprehensive and definitive guide to advertising that incorporates a vast amount of research and expert opinion. It draws upon the evidence to establish principles that can be applied to achieve successful and effective advertising and evaluates all of the relevant attributes and aspects of this.