Can You Please Elaborate?

I have always thought of the word elaborate to mean to expand upon something or give more detail. When it comes to the elaboration likelihood model, there is more to the story.

According to communicationtheory.org, there are two routes to processing information in the elaboration likelihood model – the central and peripheral routes. And which path we use to process the message impacts how persuaded we may be and how well we retain the message.

Central route – the message recipient is engaged because the message is relevant to them. They have a high degree of attention. The message is more likely to resonate with them for a more extended time.

Peripheral route – the message is not particularly relevant, and the recipient may not be giving their full attention. Factors such as celebrity endorsement, brand image, and entertainment may influence the recipient but are not as likely to have a long-lasting impact.

As someone responsible for digital ad messaging and strategy, how would I approach my job based on the two routes of the elaboration likelihood model? I think the answer is I would appeal to both types of recipients, but I would lean heavily towards appealing to central routers.

Central Routers

These are people I know – past customers, email subscribers, or prospects I’m targeting based on specific interests (Google ads, Facebook ads, etc.). I am presenting a problem and solution to get results. To a prospect interested in yoga: Our yoga apparel keeps you 64% drier than any other yoga apparel for the best workout possible. These message recipients want to hear what you have to say because it’s meaningful to them.

Peripheral Routers

This is the audience I need to appeal to when casting a larger net, such as when testing a new strategy or platform. I can appeal to them more based on the feeling a brand or product delivers. I can use a celebrity or influencer to endorse my products. I need to appeal to a broader audience so I can narrow it down. Once I have filtered out who is genuinely interested in my message, I can speak to them more as central routers.

Source: stratoserve.com

You Can't Catch Them All

Part of what makes our jobs so challenging as marketers is timing. If Sherry bought yoga pants from my company within the past three months, does that automatically mean she will follow the central route? It does not. She may have stocked up on yoga pants for two years, and she is not in the market for new pants. She may have quit yoga due to an injury. We just don’t know which route a potential customer is going to take. We put our advertising dollars where we are likely to find the most engaged customers, but we’ll never catch all the fish in the sea.

For more on the elaboration likelihood model, check out this YouTube video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mpkMP5Jmr0