Transformational motives
Promises to enhance or to improve the user of a brand are referred to as transformational motives. These are related to the user's feelings and are capable of transforming a user's emotional state, hence they are positively charged. Three main transformational motives have been distinguished by Rossiter et al. (1991) (see Table 26.2). Various emotional states can be associated with each of these motives, and they should be used to portray an emotion that is appropriate to the needs of the target audience.
For example, Cancer Research UK changed the approach it used to communicate with donors. while, its used to convey messages about family loss and in sense adopted a negative approach. The charity then adopted an "All Clear' campaign. This conveyed messages about people diagnosed with cancer and their improved chances of recovery due to the benefits of the research For many people this is low-involvement with transformational motives. This means that the use of an emotional-based claim in the message is important. The happy ending, based on people surviving, achieves this while the uses a voice-over that requests a donation so that the words can be heard by more people in the future.
One of the key communication objectives, identified earlier, is the need to create or improve levels of awareness regarding the product or organisation. This is achieved by determining whether awareness is required at the point of purchase or prior to purchase. Brand recognition (at the point of purchase) requires an emphasis upon visual stimuli, the package and the brand name, whereas brand recall (prior to purchase) requires an emphasis on a limited number of peripheral cues. These may be particular copy lines, the use of music or colours for continuity and attention-grabbing frequent use of the brand name in the context of the category need, or perhaps the use of strange or unexpected presentation formats.