Persuasion Please

After our discussion about persuasion in class I couldn't help but notice the many persuasive messages that surrounded me.

I don't know how many of you have experienced this, but if you go out into Oxford in the later hours of the night there are quite a few people on the street handing out little cards or flyers trying to get you to go to their dance club. Last night after walking on High Street for maybe three minutes I had a total of four of these flyers in my pocket. Each had a persuasive message that tried to entice people to go to their club. For instance, Lava Ignite hosted Vibe-"Oxford's hottest R&B jam”. It was a flashy card that was very well made. The card had pictures of attractive people all over it, some were dancing, but all were having fun which could definitely persuade people to check it out. Also, it was promoted as being on Oxford's FM 107.9, perhaps a ways to prove credibility?

However for me the most effective persuasion was two young men on the street promoting Po Na Na. These guys had all of their persuasion techniques down. They were of course attractive and very likable. Since they were our age, they seemed more credible when they told us the Po Na Na was so much fun and everyone goes there (argument 1). He informed us it was free (argument 2). They had the best music (argument 3). Yet, I thought the most effective thing he did was to stop promoting and talk to us like he would if he wasn't working. By making himself accessible, friendly and fun, he turned into a trusted source.

This grassroots form of advertising/PR for places such as Po Na Na is definitely interesting. Sure, we've all been bombarded with flyers that try to get us to go here and there, but this is different. I wonder if they use this technique during the normal school year too? Is this just for summer because there are less people living here? I wonder how effective it is? Well all I know is that it worked on me…twice.

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