It’s okay to think with your heart … and your head.
The elaboration likelihood model seeks to explain how consumers are persuaded and provides a framework for media practitioners to consider. The model begins with three concepts of; motivation to purchase a product or service, the ability to process the information provided, and the opportunity to respond. The model suggests two paths through which information in the media or an advertisement can change consumer attitudes.
In terms of this theory, elaboration refers to how much mental effort consumers will put into making decisions.
One path is defined by “high elaboration” and is called the central route. The central route focuses on gathering first-hand evidence and relies on facts to make educated decisions.
The peripheral route is characterized by “low elaboration.” It maintains that consumers may be influenced by many peripheral factors such as word-of-mouth, their mood, and the style or “vibes” in the message.
It’s worth noting that the way this model is presented suggests a strict binary of consumers who either view things analytically or unsystematically, but often there are elements of both when consumers make decisions. For instance, I just bought a new car, and I researched everything about gas mileage, reliability, and safety. I also talked to a few people that have already driven the car and asked how they enjoyed it.
Let’s discuss a mock case study about selling coffee at a local coffee shop and how messaging impacts different consumers’ choices.
One of my favorite local coffee shops recently started promoting a specific origin and roast of coffee. The source of the beans was a region in Africa, which is becoming increasingly difficult to get beans from Africa as climate change impacts the growing regions. The coffee boasts unique fruity flavors and body, unlike most coffees. I’ll stop myself before I go too far, but it’s clear that this coffee is a true coffee snob’s dream.
However, the audience the coffee shop is trying to reach contains many people who drink coffee to appear trendy or simply enjoy the ritual of seeing their favorite baristas. The coffee shop needed to create a campaign that appealed to both the skeptical hard-to-convince audiences and the gullible, easygoing audiences.
So they got a graphic designer to draft crisp, modern designs for their social media accounts. The designs included details about the origin of the coffee, what makes it unique, and many details that customers taking a central route to process information would want.
They also created an additional product where they brewed the coffee and made it available to consumers in half gallons as a ready-to-drink cold brew. This product’s marketing featured creatives with lively brunches, attractive people laughing, and a half-drank gallon of cold brew. They did a photoshoot with the half gallon peeking out of a trendy tote bag carried by a popular barista. These creatives appealed to a peripheral route of information processing.
Together, the advertisements appealed to those who process information differently and gathered a Venn diagram of audiences to purchase their new product.