Understanding the needs of your target audience
In the world of branding and marketing, understanding the needs and desires of your target audience is crucial. One framework that can help guide this understanding is Maslow's Pyramid of needs. Developed by psychologist Abraham Maslow, this theory suggests that individuals have a hierarchy of needs, ranging from basic physiological needs to higher-level needs. By aligning your branding and marketing efforts with a need, you can create powerful messages that resonate with your audience. In this blog, I explore how various brands have successfully applied Maslow's Pyramid in their advertisements.
Herbal Essences Shampoo
Herbal Essences shampoo has mastered the art of appealing to multiple levels of Maslow's Pyramid. In their advertisements, they focus on the basic physiological need for ‘reproduction’ or sex; implying that using their product will result in a pleasurable and orgasmic experience. Additionally, they tap into the need for esteem by suggesting that their shampoo will give users shiny, attractive hair, which in turn will help them attract a romantic partner. This cleverly targets the needs for love and belonging, creating a compelling message for their young female audience.
Heinz Baked Beanz
Heinz's advertisement for baked beans cleverly targets the physiological need for food and family connection. Heinz advertisements often portray families enjoying baked beans together around the kitchen table, stimulating the feeling of hunger in the audience while portraying motherly care for her children. By recreating everyday familiar scenes, children in school uniforms, voiceovers with a working-class English accent, Heinz creates a sense of belonging and loyalty with their target audience, the working-class British families.
Brands often use Maslow's Pyramid as a guide to expand their reach and target different audience segments. For example, Heinz, after successfully advertising their baked beans, extends their messaging to promote their ketchup. By incorporating real sliced tomatoes and emphasizing health and vitality the ketchup advertisement has a different theme and tone, reflecting the wide-reaching clientele of this condiment.
Jaguar Cars
Jaguar's marketing strategy appeals to the higher-level needs in Maslow's Pyramid. Their advertisements showcase the excitement, speed, and adventure associated with owning a Jaguar car, targeting the need for esteem. The message creates a false belief that owning this car will result in more adventurous achievements and garner respect from others. Additionally, by showcasing their product as innovative, technologically superior, and effective in any conditions, Jaguar taps into the self-actualization needs of their audience, creating a sense of a spontaneous and exciting lifestyle. In the advert slogan ‘It’s good to be bad’ the company affiliates itself to high achieving males, who value money and superficial shows of power.
Nintendo and Super Mario
Brands that tap into nostalgia can effectively appeal to both the lower and higher-level needs in Maslow's Pyramid. The Super Nintendo and Super Mario branding, for example, evoke feelings of creativity, spontaneity, and problem-solving, resonating with the need for self-actualization. The familiarity of characters from childhood also produces a sense of security and safety and the need for entertainment and distraction, indirectly addressing physiological discomforts and relationship deficiencies. Belonging to a gaming community and the dopamine hit from playing games further contribute to meeting these more basic needs.
Conclusion
Understanding and applying Maslow's Pyramid in branding and marketing can be a powerful tool to captivate your target audience. By aligning your messaging with their needs, you can create compelling advertisements that drive engagement and loyalty. Whether targeting basic physiological needs or higher-level needs like self-actualisation, brands that successfully apply this framework can build strong connections with their customers.
Reference
https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html