JCS 22 - On rhetoric: Invention and pathos

Published: Wed, 06/05/19

Invention & Pathos

Continuing from Saturday's email, today we're talking about the final main appeal in invention called 'pathos'.

(If you haven't read the past few emails, you can find a link to them all here: jcsteadman.com/rhetoric-marketing)

For marketing, pathos is the most important of the three main appeals (ethos, logos, pathos) because it deals with your prospects emotions.

Emotional appeals in your marketing can make all the difference between a good campaign and a bad one, so it's important to know not just how to add emotion, but also what kind of emotions to use.

How to Use Pathos

Understand that pathos in marketing needs to further your business goals, so using emotion for emotion's sake doesn't make sense if incorrectly used.

A basic way to look at adding pathos into your selling points is the simple "before/after" statement.

So, gather you selling points, all the information you collected for an ethos and logos appeal, and consider the before/after scenario for each.

Aristotle says that in order to move an audience we need to know 3 things:

their state of mind when experiencing an emotion
who do they relate this emotion to?
when will they show this emotion?

Which is basically saying, "what's the context?" or "learn to read the room" before you start making emotional appeals.

Consider a recent TVC by the Australian Heart Foundation. Click here to watch

Their goal: get people taking Heart Health Checks
Ethos: well-respected charity and a well-known disease
Logos: An Australian dies every 28 minutes from heart disease
Pathos: ???

Consider what kind of emotion to attach to their logos and ethos appeals to best achieve their business goal.

Considering the 3 things Aristotle asks us to take note of, we understand it's a touchy subject that affects millions of people. They already feel strongly about it, in many cases. And for many, they'll know someone who's died from heart disease too.

What would you do? What emotional angle would you take?

Optimism?

A healthy diet and regular exercise can help you avoid a fate someone dies from every 28 minutes? A dramatic CTA: "Let's move the clock on heart disease with a Heart Health Check."

Fear?

No one knows they were going to die from heart disease. Could you be one that suddenly dies every 28 minutes? Possibly tie in activities that last about 28 minutes for an emotionally dramatic effect? Cue TVC: person on Netflix, selects an episode titled, "Heart Attack" and settles in while text is overlaid with the stats and a CTA for getting a Heart Health Check.

Unfortunately, Heart Foundation chose to use an inappropriate emotional appeal, which backfired spectacularly - one of disapproval and remorse for those who didn't get Heart Health Checks and are now dying.

They then go on to say that by not getting a Heart Health Check, they're saying they don't care about their friends, family, and loved ones.

Shaming in this context isn't the best look... imagine the family of someone who passed away from heart disease then hearing this message?

So, to avoid this kind of blunder, think back to your "before/after" statements and look into things such as:

What is your prospect thinking before and after they've heard a selling point?
How is your prospect feeling before and after they've heard a selling point?
What do those around them think and feel before and after the same?

Consider all these possible states within the guide posts of emotions that further your business goals, and you'll have an abundance of angles from which you can attach emotional appeals to.

Pathos Affects All

As you can see, pathos easily fits in anywhere, intermingling with your points.

And it should, because, when done well, it enhances potentially boring logos and makes ethos less gratingly obvious.

What Emotions Can You Use?

This one is a somewhat tougher to answer because there isn't a definitive list of emotions to choose from - there are several, with one as simple as 'happiness/sadness'.

Having said that, here's the list I use, taken from professor emiratus Dr. Robert Plutchik, who has theorised his "Plutchik's Wheel of Emotion".

Here are the 8 primary emotions:

Fear
Anger
Sadness
Joy
Disgust
Surprise
Trust
Anticipation

And, here's his full Wheel of Emotion so you can see the upper and lower levels of each primary emotion, with the most intense emotion in the centre, and what happens when you mix two primary emotions together.

From this model, you can quickly see whether an emotional appeal fits the tone of your marketing and business goals, or 'map' ways to create a certain emotion within your marketing.

Pathos In Direct Response Marketing

It's here I need to make a specific call out to direct response marketing - my particular specialisation.

Pathos appeal within this field are far more effective and in most instances should form the bulk of your ad, especially at the start and end of it.

You want to sandwich all selling points with an emotional appeal: exposing their pains; bringing up frustrations; disparaging common enemies; revealing hidden obstacles; showing future pleasures; illuminating easier pathways; supporting past failures; and so on in vivid detail.

Direct response shines in using negative pathos and linking it with your selling points as positive pathos.

It cuts through when done well because the ad is speaking directly to a prospect in a way that seems personally relevant and more honest than your typical brand/general advertising does.

It should also mirror the emotions a prospect feels right now, to then shift and highlight how they want to feel after having used or bought your offer.

It's handy having this in the back of your mind with direct response:

(pathos) before -> after (pathos)
(pathos) problem -> solution (pathos)
(pathos) shit -> gold (pathos)
(pathos) hobo -> hero (pathos) etc.

Pathos - what to use:

Relevant, appropriate emotions that further your business goals
"Before/after" states and scenarios

And that's it for today, and also for this section of invention.

Pathos is far too great a subject to cover in one email, so I've but scratched the surface here. Much of the nuance and deeper techniques have been omitted entirely so it's beginner friendly.

If you have specific questions, send them my way and I'll response, like always.

Cheers,

James Steadman

Director - JC Steadman Marketing

www.jcsteadman.com

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