Think about this, almost everything we buy is associated with our senses and emotions. There is Hermès that create a sense of status, desire, and pride. Apple fosters connectedness, excitement, and trust. Panadol that reminds pain, fear, and relief. While product features play a huge part in retaining usage, what stimulates the first contact/purchase is highly dependent on how brands market their products to consumers.
For marketers, recognising this emotional aspect in consumer science is what urged them to touch and connect with consumers emotionally, whether it is positive or negative emotions. What do we mean by that? See below two fear appeal ads:
Indeed, mosquitos are annoying and can be deadly. Would you be reminded of this if we replace the ads with one that shows a nice park and simply overlay it with a bottle of mosquito repellent? Maybe. But the feelings would not be as strong as the two above; where one reminds a sleepless night and another highlights alarming facts about mosquitoes. What the marketers of Jungle Formula were trying to do was to remind and elicit the unpleasant experience and fear associated with mosquitos, prompting consumers to purchase their repellent.
Fear as a buying motivator
This is not an uncommon marketing practice. Fear is a powerful human emotion that will be brought out in the frontal lobe under any sense of danger or threat, often prompts unexpected and immediate responses. Applying it to the context of sales and marketing, these survival instincts we are living on may be the source of our uncontrolled, instinctive buying behaviours. Here are some real-life scenarios:
1. Fear of missing out (FOMO)
- The use of FOMO in selling is a strategy that taps into consumers’ desire to not miss out on limited-time offers, exclusive products, or experiences. Purchases are driven by the fear of opportunity running out or not having what others enjoy.
- Here’s an interesting statistic about FOMO: 60% of millennials tend to make reactive purchases within 24 hours due to FOMO.
2. Unmet social standards
- A rather common industry that uses fear to boost sales is the beauty industry. Marketers would pinpoint and blunt out actual problems some consumers are experiencing and offer them a solution. If the problem is deemed as a threat in the way consumers perceive it in a social context, they are likely to try the product to mitigate such fears.
3. Survival instincts
- Directly mirroring the fundamentals of life, fear-based marketing is profound in survival-related products such as health supplements, gym memberships, hospital check-ups, and insurance plans. Such prompts may compel consumers to respond out of worries about their well-being. The fear is there whether the threat is present or yet to be present.
- This phenomenon is linked to Kahneman’s theory of loss aversion which posits that the sensitivity and fear of losing something is much more intense than that of gaining something of equal value.
Ethical considerations
The use of fear in sales and marketing walks a fine line ethically.
If the fear appeal is used for manipulative purposes to mislead consumers with untruthful facts and create undue anxiety, it can backfire and damage the relationship.
However, it can be a powerful tactic when used genuinely and paired with products that truly hold value in alleviating the threats/fears of consumers. Hence, what must always be present in a fear-based strategy are:
- Transparency & Honesty
- Evidence
- Understand the Audience
- Purposeful Solutions
These principles may serve as a foundational pillar for leveraging fear constructively and building long-term relationships with consumers.
Here at Oppotus, we believe in impactful branding communications that connect you with your audience. We are happy to help should you seek assistance with any aspect of branding. Reach out to us at marketing@oppotus.com for more information.
