HOW DOES CONSUMERS’ KNOWLEDGE ABOUT PERSUASION TACTICS USED IN ADVERTISING INFLUENCE THEIR RESPONSES: THE INDIAN CONTEXT

The Advertising Industry in India is growing at a phenomenal rate. Advertisements in India are also becoming more creative and persuasive and at the same time more deceptive. This means that consumers’ need to be on alert at all times. Advertising agencies use many persuasion tactics in their advertisements in order to persuade the customers to buy their product. However, consumers’ are aware of the persuasion tactics used and respond to them in such a way that help them achieve their own goals. The advertisers need to figure out which tactics used in advertising are successful and which are not. In this dissertation, five persuasion tactics commonly used in Indian advertising are studied. Consumers are interviewed regarding their knowledge of these persuasion tactics namely celebrity endorsement, emotional appeal, rhetorical questions, competitor comparison and crowd sourcing. Their response to these tactics are analysed and discussed in order to help advertisers’ in India come up with successful advertisements using the right persuasion tactics.