The Psychological Connections between Advertisements and Consumer Behavior

Abstract: Advertising is a complex form of communication consisting of strategies and processes with primary intentions to influence consumer thoughts, feelings, and actions in order to induce positive consumer response. The field of advertising and promotion is currently undergoing changes that will affect and transform the field forever. In order to adapt to these changes, a deeper understanding of consumer behavior and advertising techniques is needed.

The purpose of this thesis is to gain a deeper understanding of which attributes in a video advertisement can affect the consumers‟ attitude towards the advertisement and how they in turn affect consumer behavior. A study was conducted where sample videos were shown to individual participants who thereafter partook in an in-depth interview to uncover their personal motivations, beliefs, attitudes and feelings regarding the sample videos. Five attributes of the advertisements were examined to answer the research question. The empirical data provides evidence that certain factors of an advertisement have a greater effect and influence on consumer attitude formation. The factors are in the end presented in a purposed conceptual framework.