take care with the double edge sword that is celebrity Marketing is all about behaviour management – encouraging a target market to behave in preferred manner – for the first or last time, more often, or less often. Persuasion is often central to managing consumer behaviour. This is the fourth of five thoughts addressing five […]

take care with the double edge sword that is celebrity Marketing is all about behaviour management – encouraging a target market to behave in preferred manner – for the first or last time, more often, or less often. Persuasion is often central to managing consumer behaviour. This is the fourth of five thoughts addressing five of the many persuasion tools in the marketer’s toolkit. Some might be obvious, but none is easy to engage effectively. Despite often suggesting otherwise, human beings respond to authority. Despite viewing themselves as independent thinkers, human beings believe authorities. There are volumes of research suggesting the impact of: Titles such as Doctor, Professor, and Chairman Clothing such as lab coats, police blues, and business suits Trappings such as prestige stationary, pens, watches, and cars Consumers listen to people and heed the recommendations made by people they consider to be experts, successful, or both. Research has…