Understanding psychology is crucial when launching a new car brand or marketing your branded vehicle wraps; successful car advertising strategies go beyond simply listing features and specifications.

Consumer-facing campaigns engage the emotions and motivations of consumers; for example, many focus on lifestyle issues, aligning vehicles with consumers’ idealized versions of themselves.

Hedonic and Utilitarian Needs

Advertising cars to consumers for either thrill of speed or individual expression aims to fulfill consumers’ psychological needs and aspirations. Therefore, understanding consumer psychology is vital to successfully crafting campaigns and driving sales.

Mazda advertisements ask consumers to buy its vehicle “if it inspires and breaks traditions”. Such emotional appeals are intended to drive vehicle sales by creating an image of prestige for Mazda in comparison with utilitarian big name brands; research has proven this. Furthermore, functionally consistent appeals tend to be more persuasive.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Psychologer Abraham Maslow proposed that human needs can be prioritized according to an ordered hierarchy, including physiological needs, safety needs, belongingness/love needs, esteem needs and self-actualization needs. Maslow believed that people would first pursue lower levels of the pyramid until all their basic needs have been fulfilled before focusing on higher-level goals.

Physiological needs encompass air, food, water, sleep and shelter – these behaviors are motivated by our instinct to survive; however, researchers like Louis Tay and Ed Diener found that people don’t always fulfill these basic needs in a linear fashion; therefore the hierarchy serves more as a guide than an authoritative decree.

Identity and Self-Expression

Car advertisers use psychological principles to craft engaging advertisements that reach viewers. Their focus extends far beyond showing car specifications; instead they aim to establish emotional connections, foster brand identities, and align themselves with current societal trends.

Self-expression is an essential aspect of human life and should serve to validate and reassure individuals in their individuality. Unfortunately, however, when people are taught harmful ways of self-expressing their individuality they may develop unhealthy patterns of expression which lead to destructive behaviors and feelings of worthlessness.

Advertisers commonly employ celebrities and other notable figures in their marketing campaigns to influence consumer perception and to build anticipation among potential customers. Furthermore, advertisers use scarcity strategies like limited-time offers or exclusive models as incentive for quick action by potential consumers.

Social Validation

Making car advertising campaigns that resonate with consumers requires taking into account psychological needs. By doing this, marketers can craft ads that speak directly to individuals’ aspirationsal goals and identities while understanding which car model best meets those requirements.

Consumers tend to socially validate products and brands they feel positively about, making customer testimonials and reviews an invaluable marketing asset in car advertising.

To leverage this effect, highlight the number of customers who have already used or decided to purchase your product/service – this can encourage others to do the same and help you increase customer conversion rate. It is known as the bandwagon effect.

Cognitive Dissonance

Cognitive dissonance causes discomfort and anxiety as people attempt to bring their thoughts and actions in line with one another. This may result from decisions or beliefs which do not correspond with their environment, values or self-image.

Instead of seeking to address their dissonance head on, individuals may attempt to rationalize their actions by altering their thoughts or adopting new beliefs that justify it. For instance, someone who believes in climate change but still travels in private jets might justify it by considering herself an exception and dismissing any harm she causes to others.

Car marketers employ this theory to craft advertising campaigns that address various psychological needs. For instance, campaigns emphasizing safety features will appeal to those who prioritize safety; those featuring cutting-edge technology and social trends may prefer campaigns which emphasize those features more strongly.

Societal Trends

Social trends influence how consumers shop for vehicles. These may include cultural, economic, technological and demographic shifts which often involve shifts in attitudes, values and priorities within society.

Unmetric Discover has identified three of the key societal trends impacting auto shoppers as being self-driving cars, digital buying and ride sharing as generating both positive and negative sentiment among automotive shoppers.

Millennials also seek constant engagement with luxury brands and tailored experiences when shopping for vehicles, prompting some original equipment manufacturers to launch vehicles online rather than at traditional auto shows, even offering digital test drives via YouTube.