New Rolex Sky-Dweller Watch Commercial (2012) analysis of persuasive techniques used

Introduction

The aspect of influencing other people is a challenging thing that many of the marketers seek to accomplish. With this knowledge, it is necessary for an organization to find ways of persuading prospective clients on the quality of the product being advertised, thereby revealing the work that the developers went into in order to create the product. It is possible to insinuate that a successful persuasive advertising takes two forms, which include showing work or input that the developers went to in order to invent the product being advertised. On the other and, a more effective persuasive advertisement involves showing the work the developers go through to create individual products in the entire product line of the organization. Relating to the Rolex advertisement, the persuasion presented involves telling a story of the manner in which the watch was designed, with the description of the specifics of the watch, which suit a certain segment in the market. This paper gives an analysis of some of the persuasive techniques used in the Rolex advertisement, further considering Cialdini’s weapon of influence, as well as ethos, logos and pathos considerations on the subject of persuasive techniques for commercials.

Cialdini’s principles of influence

Cialdini’s principles look into the ways through which an advertiser can be able to influence the consumers of a product into using the product being advertised. These principles consider the fact that influencing people is a challenging thing, making it necessary to consider understanding some of the psychological factors that underlie the influencing process (Fennis and Stroebe 277). Cialdini’s weapons of influence, also known as the Six Principles of Influence, were a creation or a professor of psychology and marketing, Robert Cialdini. He was able to identify the principles through experimentation, which can now be utilized by individuals who want to persuade or influence other people into doing something. Consequently, when an individuals know something about the principles, it can be possible to determine that they can be resistant to some of the people who trying to manipulate them. Cialdini’s principles include social proof, authority, scarcity, commitment, liking and reciprocity.

Reciprocity, one of the principles, aims at returning favors, as well as ensuring that an individual treats others the same way that he or she would want to be treated. When using reciprocity as a tool for influencing others, it is necessary to identify some objectives for the action, as well as think about some of the things to gain from influencing the other people (Saquib 5). It is vital for the advertiser to identify what to give the customer in return. In the commercial, it is possible to identify the idea of reciprocity by indicating that in relation to the selling the product, the customers will be able to benefit from the unique functioning of the watch since it has the ability of displaying two different time zones, which can be beneficial for customers that travel to different time zones.

Cialdini also argues that likability is another principle one can utilize to influence another person. This principle considers the fact that people are likely to be influenced by people or things that they like (Saquib 6). This is also a principle incorporated in the Rolex sky-dweller commercial since many people like to be associated with the brand. The market segmentation focuses of developing products for the individuals who like the idea of luxury in watches, and with this idea, the unique presentation put across is likely to attract some of the people who like the brand, thereby persuading them into getting one for their own use. The descriptions of the watch is likely to influence the people into liking the product, which is likely to influence them further into having a good relationship with the brand due to the level of trustworthiness portrayed in the commercial.

Apart from the likability principle, Cialdini proposed the principle of authority, which indicates that, a gadget job title, or an accessory should be able to develop some level of authority in comparison to other brands in the market. In this case, the commercial should be able to use the authority of the product in the market as an influencer, aiming at persuading the consumers into buying the product (Saquib 7). The Rolex sky-dweller commercial tries to incorporate the idea of its ability to display two time zones simultaneously, which is a factor that might influence the business people who travel frequently. With this consideration, the commercial expresses its authority in the market as a better brand that is very suitable for the people who travel on a frequent basis.

Considering that the market segmentation for the Rolex brand looks into meeting the needs of those who prefer luxurious watches, the commercial creates a buzz around the product, indicating its suitability for people who prefer luxurious products. This follows Cialdini’s principle of social proof, which gives some level of assurance to the people who might be feeling uncertain about the performance of the watch. The commercial does this by displaying how the watch works, as a way of assuring the customer who might be uncertain about the primary functioning of the watch. By highlighting some of the unique functions of the watch, there is a possibility that the interested individuals are likely to talk about the product through using different channels like the social media or verbally. On the other hand, Cialdini says that the other principle for influencing or persuading an individual is possible through the commitment and consistency principle (Saquib 7). The Rolex sky-dweller commercial tries to persuade people through committing them early enough into liking the product. It makes it easy for the prospective buyers to change their mind once they buy the product. This means that once the individual has obtained the product, if he had doubts on the functioning of the product, it is likely that they might change their minds and accept the product as it is. In this case, buying the product is the early commitment that the customers will exhibit.

The commercial also incorporates the principle of scarcity, one of Cialdini’s principles necessary for ensuring some level of influence or persuasion. With this principle, Cialdini posits that people should be able to realize that they are missing something precious if they do not act quick enough to obtain it (Saquib 11). The principle tries to indicate that a product might be having limited stock available, which is a factor that will persuade individuals into buying the product due to the fear of its unavailability. Consequently, it is possible to use the idea to highlight some possible consequences of an idea that will help to solve a problem. The Rolex sky-dweller commercial tries to indicate that the watch might help people who travel abroad frequently, by generating the time difference between the local time back at home, as well as the exact time in their location.

Other persuasion aspects of the new Rolex sky-dweller commercial

The other persuasive strategy incorporated in the commercial includes the inclusion of a story, which considers that a large number of people are likely to respond positively to a story. It is possible to consider that stories program the brain of a human being in a native manner, which means that the commercial utilized this aspect for persuading individuals into liking the product. On the other hand, the commercial gives people a new thing to talk about, with the consideration that the watch manufacturing industry is a mature market. It would be difficult for someone to come up with something new that people can talk about in mature markets (Bearden and Richard 43). However, the commercial brings in a new aspect, which is something that can easily persuade people into obtaining the product for themselves. It would be difficult for individuals to discern some of the benefits that come with luxury watches, but by adding the background story in the commercial, it was possible for the commercial to give a compelling aspect of the Rolex sky-dweller watch. The commercial displays the product in way that adds some bit of credibility to the claims put forth. With the descriptions of the creation of the product, there is supporting evidence indicating that the descriptions by the narrator are true since the functioning of the watch is on display. Since it is difficult for people to think in terms of abstract concepts, it is vital for a commercial to be concrete (Bearden and Richard 43). This aspect is on display in the commercial, which is persuasive to the people identifying with the product.

With the consideration that all commercials fundamentally attempt to persuade the audience, it means that the commercial should use the appeal of logic emotion and character (Armstrong 27). This aspect of persuasion considers the utilization of ethos, pathos and logos in making descriptions on the persuasive considerations of a commercial. In a commercial, it is necessary to identify that ethos is the appeal or sense of authority that the narrator portrays in the advertisement. From the narration in the Rolex sky-dweller advert, it is possible to take note of the fact that the narrator’s tone or personality makes it easier for the target customers to relate, place authority and to trust in the product. On the other hand, since the media used in this case is visual, it easily conveys ethos, which is persuasive to the prospective buyer of the product.

The determination of the level of persuasion of the individuals is also possible to achieve through considering pathos and logos. Pathos is perhaps the most powerful tool that can easily appeal to the emotions of an audience (Tyagi and Arun 67). In the commercial, the aspect of pathos is used to instill some confidence in the brand, thereby reinforcing its value to the prospective buyers. On the other hand, the commercial logically appeals to the people through some of the marked data about the dependency of the brand. Since Rolex is a trusted brand, the possibility of selected to identify with the brand is high, indicating that they are likely to trust the new commercial. The idea of considering pathos logos and ethos in persuasion identifies with Cialdini’s social proof principle, a factor that is highly persuasive to the audience (Fennis and Stroebe 277).

Works cited

Armstrong, Jon S. Persuasive Advertising: Evidence-based Principles. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. Print.

Bearden, William O, and Richard G. Netemeyer. Handbook of Marketing Scales: Multi-item Measures for Marketing and Consumer Behavior Research. Thousand Oaks, Calif. [u.a.: Sage Publ, 1999. Print.

Fennis, Bob, M. and Stroebe, Wolfgang. The psychology of Advertising. Psychology Press, 2010. Print.

Saquib, Farkhunda. Personality traits and Social influence: individual differences in susceptibility to Cialdini’s compliance principles. GRIN Verlag, 2012. Print.

Tyagi, C L, and Arun Kumar. Advertising Management. New Delhi: Atlantic, 2004. Print.