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Belch: Advertising and
Promotion, Sixth Edition
V. Developing the
Integrated Marketing
Communications Program
9. Creative Strategy:
Implementation and
Evaluation
appeals tend to adapt themselves to all media, whereas some kinds of executional devices are
more adaptable to some media than others. 2
Advertising Appeals
Hundreds of different appeals can be used as the basis for advertising messages. At the
broadest level, these approaches are generally broken into two categories: informational/rational
appeals and emotional appeals. In this section, we focus on ways to use
rational and emotional appeals as part of a creative strategy. We also consider how
rational and emotional appeals can be combined in developing the advertising message.
Informational/Rational Appeals Informational/rational appeals focus
on the consumer’s practical, functional, or utilitarian need for the product or service
and emphasize features of a product or service and/or the benefits or reasons for owning
or using a particular brand. The content of these messages emphasizes facts, learning,
and the logic of persuasion. 3 Rational-based appeals tend to be informative, and
advertisers using them generally attempt to convince consumers that their product or
service has a particular attribute(s) or provides a specific benefit that satisfies their
needs. Their objective is to persuade the target audience to buy the brand because it is
the best available or does a better job of meeting consumers’ needs. For example, the
Nordica ad shown in Exhibit 9-1 uses a rational appeal to explain the features and benefits
of its Beast Synergy System ski collection.
Many rational motives can be used as the basis for advertising appeals, including
comfort, convenience, economy, health, and sensory benefits such as touch, taste, and
smell. Other rational motives or purchase criteria commonly used in advertising
include quality, dependability, durability, efficiency, efficacy, and performance. The
particular features, benefits, or evaluative criteria that are important to consumers and
can serve as the basis of an informational/rational appeal vary from one product or service
category to another as well as among various market segments.
Weilbacher identified several types of advertising appeals that fall under the category
of rational approaches, among them feature, competitive advantage, favorable
price, news, and product/service popularity appeals.
Exhibit 9-1 Nordica
uses a rational appeal to
advertise the features of
its skis and bindings
© The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2003
267
Chapter Nine Creative Strategy: Implementation and Evaluation