{"id":113357,"date":"2014-06-17T16:01:00","date_gmt":"2014-06-17T21:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dacgroup.com\/psychology-content\/"},"modified":"2024-12-21T05:55:01","modified_gmt":"2024-12-21T10:55:01","slug":"psychology-content","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dacgroup.com\/en-gb\/insights\/blog\/creative\/psychology-content\/","title":{"rendered":"The Psychology of Content"},"content":{"rendered":"

The psychology of content is an attempt to turn a brand into a story that people want to hear, see, and feel.<\/p>\n

The psychology of content is persuading people to purchase something.<\/p>\n

Or perhaps, like a lot of things, it\u2019s somewhere in between.<\/p>\n

If this was a piece about non-branded content, we could watch a video of a cat saving a boy from a dog — feel the fear, the anger, the joy — share it, and be done.<\/p>\n

Branded content is a different proposition. It\u2019s a conscious act of persuasion, a concerted attempt to steer the perception, cognition, attention and emotion of an audience. The intention to convince someone to click \u2018buy\u2019 inherently compromises the ability to inspire, because at that point we are treating individuals primarily like consumers rather than people.<\/p>\n

I think people prefer to be regarded as people. I think we recoil a little bit when we hear how marketers are disappointed to learn that only 15 per cent of British consumers consider their favourite brands a member of the family<\/a>, as was reported recently in Marketing Week.<\/p>\n

A member of the family? I\u2019ll consider such a notion if a brand can help clear the table and do\u00a0the washing up after supper, because I have a hell of a time convincing\u00a0my teenage daughter. Lesson: a little less psychology, a little more straight-forward reason, such as something that says: we have a product or service that might benefit you, here\u2019s what it is, how much it costs, and how you can acquire it.<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s clearly frame the discussion: it\u2019s the psychology of branded content we\u2019re talking about, and by branded content we mean graphic or editorial material displayed on any medium that represents a company. And we\u2019ll not presume to be able to turn a brand into a spouse, sibling, child or parent.<\/p>\n

As someone who has been generating advertising and marketing content since the early 90s (since before it was even called content!), I believe there are three essential categories of psychological persuasion: Humour, Sentimentality and Self Identity. We\u2019ll look at examples of each within three basic media types: static infographics, video, and dynamic interactive.<\/p>\n

Humour<\/h2>\n

If they\u2019re willing to take risks, brands have a legitimate shot at producing funny content. The rewards are people having a positive association with the brand, the content being widely shared, and sales going up as a result. The risks are negative brand association, bad PR, and decreased profits. REI, an American outdoor apparel and equipment company, struck a fine balance with an infographic<\/a> that combined a worldwide zombie fascination with a soft pitch about REI\u2019s role in helping stave off the zombie apocalypse, such as flashlights for temporarily disorienting the undead.<\/p>\n

\"Zombie<\/a><\/p>\n

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