Jon Morris, University of Florida – Donald Trump’s Appeal

Like him or not, Donald Trump is appealing to many Republican voters.

Jon Morris, professor in the department of advertising at the University of Florida, explains how he uses empowerment to further his cause among voters.

Morris joined the college faculty in 1984. He began his advertising career in 1968, and has worked for several agencies, including Nicholson-Morris, Doyle Dane Bernbach and Dancer Fitzgerald Sample. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Florida. His research has appeared in Journal of Advertising Research, Educational Technology, International Journal of Instructional Media, and in the Proceedings of the American Academy of Advertising and The Association for Consumer Research, among others.

The last several years, he has developed a model for analyzing emotional response to marketing communications.

Donald Trump’s Appeal

While some say Donald Trump’s campaign has no substance, this might not matter to voters. Whether selling a product or a candidate, an emotional appeal is nearly twice as effective as presenting facts or appearing believable.

Humans interpret what they see and hear through an emotional lens that’s made up of three key mechanisms: appeal, engagement and empowerment.

Appeal is the degree to which something is positive or negative.

Engagement is the level of emotional intensity.

Lastly – and maybe most important – is empowerment, which is the amount of control someone feels.   When you’re scared, you feel like you’re not in control and have less empowerment. But when you’re angry, you feel the irresistible urge to speak out and take action.

Trump’s allure can be boiled down to this key factor of empowerment,

We recently conducted a study on this factor, And The research indicated advertising that contains fear was associated with feelings of a lack of control, or low empowerment.

But ads focused on anger evoked feelings of certainty and individual control, or higher empowerment.  Most importantly, the study showed that empowerment is highly related to attitudes and behaviors on social, political and health-related issues.

Enter Donald Trump, who seems to have an innate mastery of the empowerment process. He’s shown the ability to easily appeal to and engage with audiences. But it’s– empowerment – where he shines.

Trump presents simple solutions in a way that comes across clear, even obvious, but with empowerment. It has the added benefit of making him appear in control.

In the end, it’s a calculated image that makes him an incredibly in control candidate.

What could make it all fall apart?

A loss of control or empowerment, of course.