Polar opposites: Using prevention and promotion focus to optimise communications
Will Headley, Tom Ewing and Alain SamsonBrainJuicer
Abstract
Regulatory Focus Theory is a powerful model for optimising the effectiveness of brand communication strategies. Humans are motivated to approach good things and avoid bad things. Regulatory focus, as proposed by E. Tory Higgins, describes how people work towards goals - by pursuing positive outcomes (promotion focus) or avoiding negative ones (prevention focus). People tend to have a chronic dominant focus – promotion or prevention - but situational factors mean their focus can also fluctuate in the short term.
Researchers and...