Chapter 4: How Brand Communication Works

Question:

Find a campaign or advertisement that successfully changed your behavior. Explain and discuss the effectiveness of the campaign using the 6 facets of communication

Answer:

World Wild Fund (2007) Save paper- Save the Plannet

Advertising has been making great impacts to our behaviors. In my own experience, I have learned a good habit of saving paper from a campaign of World Wild Fun (WWF) called Save paper- Save the planet. The campaign was execute in Denmark in 2007, however, it was considered as one of the most impressive green advertisement all over the world. WWF has used a very creative way to delivered their message to create positive responses from people. How it works might be explained using the facets model of effect described by Sandra Moriaty. 

In general, the model show six types of responses an effective advertising can create among its consumers. These facets are Perception, Emotion, Cognition, Association, Persuasion and Behavior. To apply this model to WWF’s campaign, let’s start with perception, since the first and foremost objective of any advertisement is to grab attention. Perception is the process in which we identified the meaning of the information received through our five senses. Perception response is driven by many factors such as exposure, selection and attention, curiosity, awareness ,etc. In this campaign, WWF have used a different yet creative approach to successfully get people attention. In particular, they replaced normal paper dispensers in public restrooms with modified ones. These new dispensers had on them an image of all green South America which would gradually turn into silhouette as the paper is used, and a slogan that read Save paper - Save the planet. They also take picture of the process and share it on the internet. This clever idea somehow created curiosity and easily got noticed not only by Denmark public restroom users but also by people all over the world. By using the paper, we discovered that the more the paper is dispensed, the more part of the South Africa will turn to black. In result, the perception we had from seeing the advertisement have created an awareness of the disappearing of green forest. Users then recognized the message that saving the planet begins with them saving paper. This realization came along with comprehension of deforestation in South Africa and feelings of anxious. These two relatively are the factors that drive the Cognition and Emotion Response. Cognition refers to how people see and understand something, while Emotion facet shows how the feel about it. For example, when we see the green color of the image, they will link it with the rain forest canopy of South Africa. Consequently, when the greenness is slowly drained out of the continent, we will comprehend the nasty environmental impact of disposable paper towel. The process of understanding lead to a more powerful response, which is the feelings of worry and insecurity. 

The simultaneous impacts from three said facets resonate with each other to create persuasion, association and most importantly, behavior response. The campaign consists of many factors that stimulate persuasion response such as involvement, credibility, conviction and influence. Particularly, the using outdoor media like public restrooms has allowed us to get involve in the advertisement, which facilitates the process of seeing, feeling and understanding. After we had understood the message, we were convinced that it is truth worthy due to the presence of WWF’s logo because it is an internationally recognized non-profit organization. Moreover, those who were impressed by this campaign may influence others to save paper by word of mouth communication. The more people saving paper, the more behavior objectives are fulfilled. Behavior response is often the most important goal of marketing communication. However, through all these process, people also gain association with WWF organization, which can lead to future donation.

To conclude, among other campaign of WWF, I found this “Save Paper- Save the Planet” the most effective because its message is clear and rational. By its creative strategy, WWF have successfully made behavior-changing impacts to people. 

References:

• Sandra Moriarty, Nancy Mitchell, William Wells (2015) Advertising & IMC: Principles and Practice, 10th Edition. Present Hall, pp. 118-151
• Ads of the World (2007) WWF: Paper Dispenser. Available at: http://adsoftheworld.com/media/ambient/wwf_paper_dispenser