Endorse Policy, Not Character, Political Attacks

In political campaigning more than in any other arena of consumer persuasion, the saying “Be careful what you wish for, since you may receive it” often applies. A provision in the federal Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, introduced by Republican U.S. Senator John McCain and Democrat U.S. Senator Russ Feingold, requires candidates to include in their ads a statement like, “Here is my name, and I approve this message.” The objective of the provision was to reduce political attack ads on the assumption that a candidate would be ashamed to personally and publicly claim responsibility for such poisonous words. Ironically, though, the outcome of the provision, according to studies conducted at New York University and University of California, Berkeley has been to bolster voters’ belief of negative political advertising.
     The ads for which the personal endorsement most clearly increased credibility were those attacking a political opponent’s policies. The effect was not seen as clearly for attacks on an opponent’s personality. With these personal attacks, the degree to which the voter accepted them as justified did not depend on whether the “I approve this message” language was included.
     The researchers found three mechanisms of the negative policy attacks effect:

• The candidate’s name attached to the ad gave it truth value. Other research suggests that if, in a printed ad, the candidate’s signature appeared, the truth value would be even higher. 
• The use of the words “I approve” reduces the aggressive tone of the message itself and therefore relaxes the message recipient’s suspicious reaction to the vitriol. 
• The formal structure of the notice with phrasing the voter has seen in other ads indicates that the ad is conforming to regulations, and this perception of conformity enhances its credibility. Other research suggests that some sort of official seal on the ad would increase the credibility further. 

     The general principle of consumer psychology here is that when you take personal responsibility and follow a well-recognized set of rules, whatever negative statements you make will have extra credibility. Regarding the retail store arena, researchers at European University Viadrina found that when a salesperson volunteered negative information about a product being considered by the shopper, the shopper became more likely to trust everything the salesperson said. But keep your words and logic simple. The researchers also found that with complexity, shoppers often won’t hook the talk of negative information to the salesperson’s credibility.

For your success: Retailer’s Edge: Boost Profits Using Shopper Psychology

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