Method of Persuasion Used in the Advertisement - Essay Example

Extra Paper Introduction In the current competitive business scenario owing to technological advancement and globalization, strategic planning is an important aspect that needs high consideration to achieve overall organizational objective, as it covers a long-term vision of a company. In this respect, a strong and appropriate strategic plan can facilitate a company towards progress and growth in global market segment. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory stated that individuals aim to suffice their basic needs by meeting series of higher needs in the form of a pyramid, wherein the base level is formed of physiological needs, which gradually transforms to safety needs, social needs, esteem needs and self-actualization needs. In the order to achieve the overall objective, an organization needs to consider the needs and demand based on the preference level of an individual. In the context of an organization, motivational factors play very crucial role for not only encouraging the employee towards the respective job role, but also for the end customer by satisfying their ultimate demands. Additionally, prior consideration of motivation will assist an organization in improving overall performance. Moreover, emphasizing motivational factors of different stakeholders, an organization can strengthen its position through higher level of growth in revenue (Jerome, 2013). In this regard, the essay intends to address the role of advertisement in motivating the probable customer and improving organizational performance. Moreover, the essay attempts to define the theory advocated by Maslow i.e. need hierarchy theory with the specific advertising artifact of Harley Davidson. Method of Persuasion used in the Advertisement In the contemporary era of the bossiness environment, persuasion of the people is highly important as well as critical factor for businesses to conduct operations by satisfying their needs and business sustainability. Additionally, based on the Maslow need higher hierarchy theory, individuals are identified to be attracted towards products and/or services offered by companies that are able to meet their satisfaction level needs. Thus, the power of persuasion plays an important role for a company to influence the beliefs, intentions, motivations, attitudes as well as behaviors of customers. In this regard, business organization has significantly noticed that advertisement should be an effective mean of changing the persuasion level of the people in a determined way. For instance, an individual having a need of a particular mode of transportation to be in time at office, advertisement will influence such individual towards automobile products to fulfill needs for transportation on the basis of preferences and requirements. Thus, in the organizational context, persuasion is a process through which organizations can alter an individual or group approach or attitude with respect to a particular idea, object or instance based on different mode of communication i.e. written or spoken form in order to convey the message in a proper manner (Buffalo State College, 2000). With respect to the advertisement of Harley Davidson, the advertisement is identified to clearly convey the message to trust and follow them for high level of freedom. The particular advertise conveys high sense of emotion to the inhabitants relating to the product importance and role in individual life from the concept of Second World War. The message conveys the fact that during the time of Second World War, Czech riders regardless of the fear of being killed, hides the components of their bikes by dismantling them with other household stuffs. The prior reason behind such act was not to support the Nazi with their means of transportation to fuel war machines. Additionally, from the advertisement of Harley Davidson it can be affirmed that persuasion tool has been effectively utilized by the company to reveal the role of the bike in an individual’s life to provide ‘A piece of Freedom’. Thus, through proper analysis of the advertisement, it can be stated that ‘Pathos’ mechanism of persuasion has been used in the advertisement by advocating the fact that personal resources will be used as the source of providing freedom. Justification of the pathos persuasive appeal in the provided advertisement (refer to x Figure: 1in the appendix). The message appeals to the audiences regarding sense of uniqueness in identity by utilizing the company’s product by providing self-interest and emotions attached to it. Moreover, from the point of view of advertisement, it is noteworthy to disclose that the advertisement not only conveys the emotional message to the audiences, but also the personal connection of the inhabitant towards the bikes since the period of Second World War. In addition, through the application of the pathos strategy in conveying the message of Harley Davidson, the company appeals the audiences regarding the concept of fear in order to influence the customers with ankle importance of freedom in their livelihood. Thus, from the advertisement, the approach of Maslow’s need theory has been given the prior importance in the advertisement. Proper recognizing of the needs of the inhabitants is the key factor in accomplishments of the end result of the company, which assisted the company to provide equitable importance over developing the approach that will help the inhabitants to fulfill their needs and demands in accordance with the Maslow’s need theory. In this regard, the pathos appealed will highly influence the audience to fulfill the imagination and hopes by following the action proposed by the company. Apparently, this advertisement illustrates the physiological need of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Maslow theorized that individuals are having five different types of needs, which are prevailing in their life in a hierarchical manner. The Maslow’s need hierarchy theory reveals the fact that physiological needs include the basic needs like food, shelter and clothing. Safety needs can be identified as security, employment and health requirements among others. Social needs demand care in terms of friendship, family, and love, esteem needs include achievement, respect and self-esteem. At last, self-actualization needs include morality, creativity and problem solving challenges. These needs of an individual stimulates from satisfying the lowest to highest needs in such a manner that the lowest-order needs must be fulfilled in order to satisfy the next need and the process continue (Jerome, 2013; Buffalo State College, 2000). The strategy that has been utilized in the advertisement expresses the fact that freedom is very much important and that without having freedom, inhabitants will be unable to attain their basic needs. Moreover, the advertisement fits the concept of safety need of Maslow’s, as freedom provides the opportunity to offer a great deal of security, which is one of the prior needs of the people after fulfilling their basic needs. Similarly, the advertisement motivates the inhabitant towards satisfying the physiological and safety needs through the product. Besides, through the use of pathos persuasion approach, Harley Davidson influences the inhabitants to narrate the emotional attached with the bikes of the company. Likewise, by having the emotional approach in the advertisement, the company perhaps conveys the determined persuasion to the customers or viewers. Moreover, the advertisement assists the audiences to judge the negativity of not having freedom in life. Additionally, due to the fact of both positivity as well as negatively feelings in the Harley Davidson advertisement in the form of persuasive communication, the company has been able to develop an effective image amid customers. The company with the assistance of effective advertisement is able to convey that freedom during the Second World War was important for removing the fear of Nazi. In this respect, the company positively has been able to persuade the people about the importance of freedom with the assistance of advertisement of different customized bikes based on the needs of the people (Jerome, 2013; Buffalo State College, 2000). Hence, based on proper analysis and discussion of the advertisement, it can be depicted that pathos persuasion strategies along with the importance of psychological and safety need of motivation has been given the prior importance in the advertisement. Unspoken Messages Communicated in the Advertisement In the changing dimension of the business environment due to globalization and advent of technology, appropriate advertisements is potentially the key through which an organization conveys its imagination, concepts, creativity, message and innovation to the inhabitants in a reliable manner. Moreover, the changing dimension with the advancement in the technological field, numerous advertisements evolve by publishing on a daily basis and conveyed through mass media. Thus, it is important for an organization to develop the advertisement with appropriate message that will attract a large number of audiences. Successful communication of the fact through the advertisement must need to consider the appropriate consideration of the audience needs. Moreover, the involvement of emotional aspects in advertisements alone with the high sense of sentiment will provoke potential customers to think as expected and will potentially influence them to purchase a product and/or service. In the context of the Harley Davidson advertisement “a piece of freedom”, the advertisement is recognized to develop a deep sense of emotional attachment of the people with the bikes manufactured. Apparently, the key striking message that has been reflected in the Harley Davidson advertising is the power of adaptability and importance of bikes in a society. Moreover, the advertisement highly reflects the scenario of Second World War to showcase its presence to the audience. Besides, the message conveys the values and interest of people from decades (Rowland, 2013; Harley-Davidson, Inc., 2012). Correspondingly, based on the above analysis of the advertisement, it can be argued that the message possesses the Harley Davidson’s brand, which is highly centered on the needs and demands of the customers. It also depicts that the community members are having a strong relationship of freedom with the bikes provided. It has been symbolized from the advertisement that the role of bikes for the inhabitant’s life is more than just a mode of transportation or a conventional product. Likewise, the trademark of the ‘Harley-Davidson and its Shield logo’, which was developed during the year 1910 depicted the characteristic of the bikes in terms of different factors that include adventure, freedom, exhilaration, individuality and style. Apart from this, the advertising message consists of the mystique behind the Harley bikes and the promise of providing freedom as well as a sense of individuality. The advertisement deliberately reveals the fact the bikes provide the community members the way to escape and have freedom in life. Certainly, from the message of the advertisement, it is clearly recognized that the company showcases it promise of providing a great deal of freedom along with a high sense of emotional message. Moreover, the message conceived high level benefit in terms of meet the needs and perceptions of the people in a society (Rowland, 2013; Harley-Davidson, Inc., 2012). The unspoken message that the advertisement communicate is motivating the prospect customers by ensuring the fulfillment of psychological benefits through utilizing the products of Harley Davidson to have the great deal of comfort, security, satisfaction, freedom, companionship and fulfillment of need of individuality. The advertisement also influences the buyers to have understanding about the different features in terms of assurance of fulfilling their psychological and safety needs. Message conveyed in the advertisement signified that freedom has been the most prominent right of any individual and during the world war second, the Nazi community has prohibited this right of people by having savior threat over the Czech inhabitants. In this respect, Harley Davidson comes as mode of survival aspect from such threats by providing a great deal of freedom to the inhabitants through its products. From the analysis of the advertisement, it can be stated that the advertisement conveys the message that the sustainability vision of Harley Davidson is to reduce the challenges that the people have faced during the wartime and provide them the opportunity of enjoying freedom. Moreover, it can be affirmed that the need of future generation in terms of high quality riding experience that they are enduring since its incorporation. The high level of attachment of peoples with the bikes has been also conveyed with the message of the advertisement. In addition, the people with the advertisement of Harley Davidson are persuaded that with the use of the bikes of the company, the people will be able accomplish their transportation needs and social needs (Rowland, 2013; Harley-Davidson, Inc., 2012). Thus, the message of advertisement discloses that freedom plays an important role and it is the way of survival. Additionally, the company emphasizes this need of the peoples in order to satisfy their right to live free. The company encourages with the past challenges and strives to provide the true experience of life along with the great piece of freedom. Harley Davidson customizes its products exclusively on the commitment of enduring freedom with its high quality feature in its products with the lesson that they have learn from the various up and down from the traditional times since incorporation (Harley-Davidson, Inc., 2012). Effectiveness of the Advertisement Measuring the effectiveness of advertising is an important consideration that helps to ensure the efficiency of the advertisement from customers’ prospective. Additionally, it allows in making any needful adjustments in the advertisement to make it highly consumers oriented. On the basis of the analysis of the facts provided in the advertisement, it can be affirmed that the Harley Davidson advertisement is highly effective in conveying message it want to be communicated to different stakeholders. The most prolong efficiency of the advertisement narrates the company in a very forceful and emotional way to the audience. The flow in the meaning of the message in the advertisement is quite presentable, which encouraged the audience to feel from the perspective of the company it wants to convey with the viewpoint about the adverse scenario of world war second. Moreover, it can be depicted that the message conveyed through the advertisement is complex for the readers to interpret the importance of the facts conveyed. Likewise, the advertisement tries to rationalize the ground with proper emotionally touch of the inhabitants with the bikes. Furthermore, the advertisement use of personal pronouns in the entire content of the advertisement for depicting in-depth understanding that the company provides a great deal of opportunity to the individuals to revert the sense of freedom. Nevertheless, it can be also understood that the advertisement shared company’s importance in terms of viewpoints, thoughts and feelings. For instance, the advertisement reveals that Czech inhabitant’s use to dismantled their bike components as an effective measures for overcoming the situation and consequences of Nazi’s, they reflected on the effects, which can be justified through the statement. The advertisement also depict that the bikes were the symbol of hope for the people for their freedom and Harley Davidson provides the same opportunity. Hence, on the basis of the assessment of the effectiveness of the advertisement, the advertisement will be rated 4 in 5, due to having some short of complexity in the meaning of the message, the company wants to communicate from the advertisement (Thomas, 2008). Conclusion From the above analysis and discussion, it can be ascertained that advertisement is an effective mechanism through which a company not only convey the message they wants to, but also influence the needs of the inhabitants in an effective manner. The advertisement that has been published by Harley Davidson centralized in ‘Pathos’ persuasion strategy by having emotional and personal feeling of the inhabitants and their attachment with the bikes. Moreover, from the analysis of the advertisement presented by Harley Davidson, it can be stated that the message has been conveyed by the company by considering the psychological and security needs of the inhabitant with the fact that riding experience of bikes of the company, the inhabitants are able to revert their right of freedom. Acceptability and trustworthiness plays an important role in the presentation of the advertisement for social acceptance in terms of freedom. Thus, it can be concluded that the effectiveness of the advertisement must be rated 4 out of 5, because the advertisement considered a great deal of involvement of the bikes in life of the people in meeting their needs with effectiveness. References Buffalo State College. (2000). Persuasion. Retrieved from http://faculty.buffalostate.edu/smithrd/UAE%20Communication/Unit3.pdf Harley-Davidson, Inc. (2012). Feel the power of freedom. Retrieved from http://www.freedomperform.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/2012_Freedom_HD_June2012-web.pdf Jerome, N. (2013). Application of the Maslow’s hierarchy of need theory; impacts and implications on organizational culture, human resource and employee’s performance. International Journal of Business and Management Invention, 2(3), 39-45. Koltko-Rivera, M. E. (2006). Rediscovering the later version of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: Self-Transcendence and opportunities for theory, research, and unification. Review of General Psychology, 10(4), 302-317. Rowland, R. D. (2013). Unspoken message. United States: Balboa Press. Thomas, J. W. (2008). Advertising effectiveness. Retrieved from http://www.decisionanalyst.com/publ_art/adeffectiveness.dai Appendix Figure 1: Showing Advertisement of Harley Davidson Read More