2.1 Introduction
The advertising video ‘Louwman Exclusive’ distributed by Louwman Exclusive on 22 June 2021. Like the previous video, this video was probably addressing the same issue, namely increasing brand awareness. The message of the video is mainly focused on the company’s perspective sending to the customer, who the organization is and what the customer expects from them. During the analysis of the video, three of Cialdini’s seven persuasion principles are used. The analyses is executed using authority, reciprocity and unity, how they are applied and how these can be used in the content for Haaima Hylkema.
2.2 Theoretical Framework
According to Cialdini (2017) seven persuasion principles can be used when persuading and influencing your audience. When these principles are applied in the right way, certain goals can be achieved. The following persuasion principles and their use in the video are analyzed in this essay.
Authority
The Authority principle entails that people who are authoritarian have more credibility when listening to them and obeying them than those who are not (Wolf, 2021). This means individuals are more likely to accept the advice of authoritative persons they regard as competent and reputable specialists in their disciplines, even if this is not always the case (Loorbach, 2022).
Unity
Cialdini (2017) added this seventh principle, which implies that is people regard someone as ‘one of us’, they can exert much more influence on them. People are more likely to say ‘yes’ to people with whom they share an identity than to people who we feel belong to a different group (Loorbach, 2022). This has to do with that people often find more understanding, support and practical help for the challenges in their lives from others with a similar experience than from trained specialists (Loorbach, 2022).
Reciprocity
Reciprocity is based on human’s fundamental need and obligation to return favors and treat other the way they treat us (Wolf, 2021). Wolf (2021) cites as an example that when someone invites you to a party, you are more likely to invite them back or engage in some activity of that person. Moreover, people are more likely to say yes to those who have helped them or been beneficial to them in the past (Wolf, 2021).
2.3 Application
Authority
Authority is established at the beginning of the video by briefly but powerfully showing the brands of which they are an official dealer. This shows, because these high-end luxury car brands are not sold by just any dealer around the corner, that they have confidence in Louwman as an organisation and the services they offer.
This is followed by an image that says ‘highly trained technicians’, which is then supported by images showing these people and strong supporting statements that reinforce this (this can be seen from 00.14 to 00.26). This subconsciously gives the viewer a sense of trust and links the images to the promises that are made.
Unity
The video starts with a clear message, which is that if the viewer thinks exclusivity is everything, they better go somewhere else. With this message, Louwman wants to reach a unique group of people and convince the viewer that if they don’t think the same way about exclusivity as Louwman Exclusive, they don’t belong to that community.
From 00.27 onwards, this vision and the benefit for the customer is further explained. This is then concluded on 00.41 with the slogan ‘Supercharged Companionship’, which is about the relationship between the customer, the car and Louwman Exclusive.
Reciprocity
Reciprocity can be seen at the end of the video, where the viewer is invited to visit Louwman. In the video, as discussed earlier, Louwman tells what makes them special and what their view is on exclusive mobility. With this call to action, the viewer is invited to visit and gets the feeling that they are waiting for them at Louwman. This is useful to apply because the viewer knows what is expected of them and knows that they are not watching a video aimed at pure entertainment.
2.4 Conclusion
The applied persuasion principles contribute reasonably to the intended goal, brand awareness. Authority is used in a strong way without being overpowering. Unity ensures that the viewer subconsciously realises whether or not he fits in with the community of Louwman Exclusive. Reciprocity invites the viewer at the end of the video to visit Louwman Exclusive, this could be implemented even stronger by putting someone in the video with whom they can identify themselves with. The combination of brands, small fragments of professionals, strong promises and slogans give a convincing insight into the mentality of Louwman Exclusive.
Haaima Hylkema could set up this clean structure of the video for their own service in the same way. It is a reasonably simple way to set up a reusable campaign that can share the mentality and relationship with its customers. Looking at the values of the organisation and the needs of the target group, the principles authority and unity would dominate within this video.
Bibliography
Cialdini, R., & Cialdini, R. B. (2017). Pre-Suasion : A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade (1st ed.). Cornerstone.
Loorbach, T. (2022, January 13). Cialdini: 7 Beïnvloedingsprincipes in de praktijk. IMU BV. Retrieved 14 January 2022, from https://imu.nl/cialdini-principes/
Louwman Exclusive. (2021, June 22). [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRYvq_DCNKw
Wolf, T. (2021, November 12). How to Boost Conversions with Cialdini’s 7 Persuasion Principles. GetUplift. Retrieved 14 January 2022, from https://getuplift.co/7-persuasion-principles/
