Using Fear to Sell Products

Companies have been using marketing based around customer fears forever. Fear marketing takes place by companies in all areas of business from soap companies to clothing brands to animal adoption/rescue groups like the ASPCA. By utilizing marketing campaigns that touch on individual’s fears, brands can often better convince consumers to buy their products or use their services. 

For example, if you go on Victoria Secret’s website at any given time you may see a banner saying “ONE DAY ONLY SALE!” or “SALE ENDS AT MIDNIGHT”. Here, the brand is creating a sense of urgency with the customer and attempting to convince them that they need to purchase a product right now otherwise they will miss out and not have this chance again. The customer may feel more obligated to spend money to receive the ‘deal’ even if another promotion begins right as this ends. It happens elsewhere from online retail as well. 

An advertisement from Just Soap company portrays a mother holding or about to handle her baby. Her hand is covered in cockroaches and the print advertisement reads, “If you aren’t totally clean, you are filthy”. Here, Just Soap is attempting to sell their product on the premise that if you are not using their soap, then you’re hands must be contaminated with germs and thus not clean enough to touch your child. It also can go off the fear of not wanting to get your new born baby sick with your dirty hands and to clean them, you must have Just Soap. This is a much more direct example of fear marketing than the Victoria’s Secret sale promotion approach we looked at before. 

A third form of fear marketing is not necessarily with a consumer product, but rather from the ASPCA, who works with rescuing animals and getting them adopted from shelters. They often use advertisements showing off very sad or sick looking animals asking for help and donations. ASPCA is attempting to guilt the viewers into donating or adopting one of the animals on the premise that they need help or are in grave danger. If they showed images of happy dogs running in the park, I doubt they would generate the same level of support from the general community. Personally, I feel so guilty when I see these commercials that I immediately change the channel as to not subject myself to seeing those depictions of animals. While that marketing does not necessarily speak to me directly, I certainly recognize the power in its success so far.