Today’s consumers see about 5,000 advertisements on social media, television, and on the web. Even if you’re not in front of a big screen, your phone is constantly displaying sidebar ads and pop-ups while you wait for a game to load. Even after so much exposure, effective marketers still make some ads stand out from the crowd. Here’s how they do it.

Advertising nudges consumers with logical arguments and facts

Most people process information in two ways. One is more rational, and the other appeals to feelings. A 2016 study showed that an ad generating an emotional response boosts sales immediately, but the logic-based ads are more effective long-term. As a result, product advertisers like Apple use both approaches depending on the desired outcome.

The logic and reason approach describes the product features or how it solves a problem. For example, when Apple launched the iPhone XS and XR, the company highlighted the features and benefits of the new phone.

Emotional appeals have an immediate effect

The emotional appeal uses fun, fantasy, or fear to persuade consumers to purchase. When launching Apple TV+, the entertainment company used a feel-good approach with the Storytellers video. Although this ad doesn’t focus on a specific product or feature, a creative agency can leverage the brand voice and evoke positive emotions.

People empathize with a brand after seeing images like kids, babies, or dogs in ads. Other ways to achieve an empathetic response are with humor, music, casting, and voice decisions. When viewers experience joy or surprise immediately upon seeing an ad, the warm feelings boost immediate sales. For example, Coca-Cola spent decades establishing a connection between Coke and happiness.

Colors and fonts convey feelings and spark connections

Designers often use colors to express emotions. Web designers take advantage of the association of specific colors with feelings or concepts to establish a brand identity. For example, green conveys freshness, new life, environment, and money. Conversely, it invokes feelings of envy or jealousy. Red can mean love and heat, or anger and danger.

Many media campaigns are defined by a specific color combination or a font. Graphic designers have a powerful impact on media campaigns because they choose the colors, fonts, pictures, and layout associated with an ad. Contrasting colors can influence click-through rates and increase conversion rates. Even changing the color of a button can change consumer reactions. Web campaigns make it easy to test subtle changes because the reporting data is so complete.

Fonts make an artistic statement, declaring a campaign modern or trustworthy. For most people, serif fonts are easier to read if the campaign involves big blocks of text. Sans serif fonts render better on low-resolution computer monitors, so designers use fonts like Arial and Calibri when a clear message is most important.

Effective marketing uses psychology to grab a consumer’s attention

Consumers are so overwhelmed by advertisements on televisions, phones, tablets, and computers that it’s a wonder any of them stand out. Effective marketers use a combination of logic and emotion to coax consumers toward a purchase. Marketers use human psychology to their advantage by choosing images, colors, fonts, and messages that evoke a reaction. Promoting a product through a web campaign requires a lot of expertise to break through the noise.