RUNNING HEAD: Psychological and Advertising Tactics Used By Businesses 1

Psychological and Advertising Tactics Used By Businesses

Shilen Britton

South Lyon High School

December 11, 2023

Abstract

The intention of this paper is to examine the effects of advertising and psychological tactics that

businesses use on their consumers. Since we, as consumers, have to make decisions all the time,

I am interested in the effects that advertising and psychology has on our decision making process

everyday. As I have gathered and analyzed information regarding consumer behavior, I have

decided to study the ways in which businesses utilize advertising and psychological tactics, and

the true effect they play on consumers. Even though consumers have personal and social driving

factors, the advertising and physiological factors are the most influential, and they are the factors

that the businesses have the most control over. Through research and analysis, I have found

many factors such as product appearance, emotional connections, or advertising strategies play a

huge role in the decision process of consumers. Thus businesses can affect their consumers by

connecting to the consumers, altering the appearance of a product, or marketing or advertising

strategies. Understanding both the consumer's mind and the strategies that businesses utilize is

important because it is the driving force of our economy.

Intro

One's mind is constantly at work as they shop. Businesses are constantly working to find

different strategies and tactics to convince consumers to buy their products. For instance,

walking into a store, or even shopping online presents the consumer with many decisions to

make. So how does one make a decision on what product or brand they will choose? The

consumers may not notice it, but the businesses take control of every advantage they have to

make one purchase of their product. The purchases made by consumers ultimately are a result of

the advantages companies have in knowing consumer psychology and advertising techniques.

Consumer Emotion

Emotions often play a huge role in what connects a consumer to a specific brand or

product. One thing that consumers seek is the need to feel important and experience positive

feelings. Maryville, a well known national university explains this by saying, “Marketers can

appeal to a consumers’ self-esteem by making them feel important” (2023, para. 8). How a

consumer feels about a product is determined by the emotion associated with that brand or

product. The way a consumer perceives a certain brand or product as it either has a positive or

negative effect on their emotion which will eventually influence their decision-making progress.

As a result, the consumer's emotional reward is a large influencing factor in the decision-making

process. Consumers will always be drawn to the product or brand that gives them positive

feelings and makes them feel important. To add on, as consumers make their purchases,

emotional factors can contribute to their decisions in other ways as well. Humans may seem in

control over their emotions, but as Murry, a principal of a consumer psychology practice in New

York City explains, “The fact is that the human mind does not have access to information about

the processes involved in its decision making. Awareness of the mental machinations that
RUNNING HEAD: Psychological and Advertising Tactics Used By Businesses 4

produce specific behaviors is an illusion that makes us feel like we are in control” (2016, para.

8). As one is making a purchase they think that they are in control of that purchase, yet the

emotions of the mind are what drives them to make that purchase. The subconscious of our

minds reacts to the emotions we are feeling in that moment which in all makes the final decision

for the consumer. In order to explain this unconscious behavior, we create narratives that keep us

confident. Together, Murray and Maryville exhibit the importance of emotion, and the impact it

has on consumer decision-making.

Advertising

A large influencing factor that drives consumer decisions is the use of advertisement.

Advertising can stem from television, posters, online ads, to many more. Advertisements have

the same goal for each company, and that is to stand out over the top of their competitors to make

the consumer buy their product. Tally, a former publisher and mentor for the Huffington Post

contributor technologies states, “Though the techniques and media have continued to evolve, the

core concept of standing out still remains the same” (2021, para. 7). Businesses will use many

ways to make sure they stand out. Each business uses different advertising techniques in order to

gain an advantage over one another. Using different tactics is the reason why brands and

businesses are able to get you to buy their products. A highly effective tactic that creates a

craving for a product is repetition. As one sees a product over and over, their want for that

particular product increases. In the article written by Benjamin Christie it is stated, “One can

build identity awareness through repetition” (2023, para. 6). By seeing and hearing the same

advertisement over and over, it tends to lead to a consumer making a purchase. The repetition

and consistency of advertisements make the consumers think that they actually want that

product. Repetition is also such a key in advertising because there are countless opportunities
RUNNING HEAD: Psychological and Advertising Tactics Used By Businesses 5

and places to advertise. Looking at Figure 1, the places

for advertising have expanded tremendously. As time

has moved on, social media and technology have

become a very important piece in today's society. With

this new addition of technology and social media, the

expectations of advertising have grown tremendously.

While brands and businesses are already advertising

through print media and in person, they now have the

ability to influence consumers through different platforms online. Whether a consumer is

shopping online or not, they can not avoid advertisements. No matter where they look on their

phone or computer, they are faced with the constant influence from advertisements. No matter

the age of the consumer or the generation they were born in, the use of social media and

technology has increased. In the article by Stephanie Harlow, she finds that, “Pretty much every

Gen Z consumer uses social media in some way, with an average of 2 hours and 51 minutes

spent on social media each day. Millennials aren’t far behind either, clocking in at 2 hours and 34

minutes” (2023, para. 7). Based on Harlow’s findings, businesses should be able to figure out

and understand that the medium of advertising is very important. Often the way in which they

advertise and the effort they put in has a big deciding factor on the decisions made by the

consumer. Overall, the impact of advertising and the ways in which businesses advertise is a very

deterring factor in the consumer’s mind and success of the businesses.

Unethical Tactics Used by Businesses

Businesses have one goal in mind and that is to make a profit. They will use everything in

their power to make sure your money becomes their money. Businesses will go to any extent,
RUNNING HEAD: Psychological and Advertising Tactics Used By Businesses 6

and will use many unethical tactics to persuade you to buy their product. These tactics are often

seen as manipulation. In the article, “Are You Marketing or Manipulating? Let's Find Out” Saba

Tekle puts the word manipulation into easy understanding:

They use misleading, confusing or untrue statements to promote themselves or their

products — thus, playing with consumers' emotions misleadingly and deceptively. Sadly,

consumers are likely to accept false information because of their strong desire to improve

their way of life. This is manipulation. (2022, para. 7)

Oftentimes companies will put out misleading information that consumers buy into. A common

example of this is when different shops will claim to have the ‘best in the world’ of whatever

main product they sell. Most people know that these statements are untrue, but they still end up

buying the product. This is because these misleading statements and information play with the

consumers mind and emotions. Someone in that exact moment may be looking exactly for what

the business is selling, and the deceiving words are what the deciding factor is. To add on, Telke

builds on unethical tactics used by businesses, and says, “For example, many online gurus or

self-publishers flood their followers or target audience with fake engagements, exaggerated

income reports, bots, borrowed dishonest ads, etc. You see gurus selling deceptive strategies or

courses on making quick money online or becoming millionaires” (2022, para. 14). All of these

fake reports or fake engagements seem to be illegal, but are all legal tactics that take advantage

of consumers. They use these strategies because they play with the consumers’ emotions. Telling

someone that they can make themselves rich will spark positive energy into someone. Often a

reason why consumers buy into these online tactics is because they do not think twice, or do any

research about what they are looking at. The ways businesses manipulate consumers may seem

ethical or not, but in the end, they are achieving their one goal of making a profit.
RUNNING HEAD: Psychological and Advertising Tactics Used By Businesses 7

Packaging Aesthetics and First Impressions

How a product itself looks is one of the most important factors to consumers. The design

and packaging of a product is the first interaction you have with that product itself. That is why

when a consumer is left with deciding between multiple products they will often go with the one

that is most appealing to them. Malcolm Gladwell, a renowned journalist with five New York

Times Best Selling Books, explores how companies often alter their products' appearance in

order to manipulate consumers' first impressions through Blink: The Power of Thinking Without

Thinking (2005, p. 164). In several scenarios, he discussed different brands that have seen

positive and negative impacts in consumer behavior from brands changing the design of their

products packaging. One of these examples follows the design of the 7-Up bottle:

If you add fifteen percent more yellow to the green on the package - if you take this green

and add more yellow - what people report is that the taste experience has a lot more lime

or lemon flavor. [. . .] It’s exactly the same product, but a different set of sensations have

transferred from the bottle. (Gladwell, 2005, p. 163)

Consumers instantly believed that the drink had changed due to just the colors on the bottle being

changed. Brands take great detail in the essence of their product and how it appears to quickly

draw the attention of the consumer’s mind, which in all affects the consumer’s decision. Another

aspect that packaging brings to the table is its effect on brand loyalty. Oumar Fofana, an author

for packaging gateway, adds on “Consumer-brand relationships are influenced by perceived

product quality. Higher product quality leads to brand trust, which fosters enduring

consumer-brand relationships. Packaging quality plays an essential role in building brand trust

and, consequently, profitable consumer-brand relationship” (2023, para. 8). If a brand can

establish a well-known reputation for their brand they will be able to create relationships with
RUNNING HEAD: Psychological and Advertising Tactics Used By Businesses 8

their consumers. Being consistent with quality, and the way a product is displayed is key for

keeping consumers coming back. Companies know that they can establish a guaranteed flow of

money if they can get loyal customers that come back. Through both Gladwell’s and Fofana’s

research, it is clear that it is important for businesses to consider consumers' reactions to product

appearance because packaging can inform one’s intention of buying a product. The information

that a consumer can quickly grasp with their first impression is what will help them make their

purchase decision. This information they grasp in their first impression comes from the

packaging and design aspects of the product.

Conclusion

Factors including packaging appearance, first impressions, emotion, advertising, and

unethical marketing all have a strong impact on consumer decision-making. Behind each of these

influencing factors are psychological ideas and concepts. Businesses can better their company by

understanding each of these psychological factors, and apply them to consumer behavior.

Ultimately, businesses must use psychological tactics to affect the consumer in order to

strengthen their company.

References

10 psychological tactics for impactful marketing. Maryville University Online. (2023, November

1).
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https://online.maryville.edu/online-bachelors-degrees/marketing/resources/psychological-

marketing-tactics/

50 free places to promote your website online in 2023. B12. (n.d.).

https://www.b12.io/resource-center/traffic-generation/29-free-places-to-promote-your-we

bsite-online-including-social-media-directories.html

Academic libraries: EBSCO. EBSCO Information Services, Inc. | www.ebsco.com. (n.d.).

https://www.ebsco.com/academic-libraries

Christie, B. (2023, December 20). Advertising techniques. Gourmet Ads.

https://www.gourmetads.com/articles/advertising-techniques/

Fofana, O. (2023, August 1). Packaging’s impact on consumer satisfaction and Brand behaviour.

Packaging Gateway.

https://www.packaging-gateway.com/features/packagings-impact-on-consumer-satisfacti

on-and-brand-behaviour/

Gladwell, M. (2019). Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. Back Bay Books/Little,

Brown & Company.

Harlow, S. (2023, November 30). How effective is advertising on social media?. GWI.

https://blog.gwi.com/trends/ads-on-social-media/

How does advertising influence your buying decisions?: Tally. Tally. (2021, December 29).

https://www.meettally.com/blog/how-does-advertising-influence-your-buying-decisions
RUNNING HEAD: Psychological and Advertising Tactics Used By Businesses 10

Murray, P. (n.d.). Inside the consumer mind | psychology Today. The Myth of the Rational

Consumer. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/inside-the-consumer-mind

Tekle, S. (2022, September 20). Are you marketing or manipulating? let’s find out. Entrepreneur.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/growing-a-business/are-you-marketing-or-manipulating-le

ts-find-out/434032#:~:text=They%20use%20misleading%2C%20confusing%20or,This%

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