A concept is a cognitive action that manifests itself in changing behavior.
William Meek • Professor and Art Director
A concept is generally defined as an idea, abstract thought, or plan. However, in communication design, a concept is more than that. To better understand its definition, the parts need to be identified first. These two essential components are the stimulus and the reaction. The stimulus is an attention grabber to engage the viewer; the reaction is the viewers’ response to the stimulus.
Texas State University Communication Design Professor and Art Director William Meek defines a concept as a cognitive action that manifests itself in changing behavior. It is a person taking action—buying, volunteering, manifesting, engaging, protesting, or producing change. To achieve this action you need to force the audience to remember and you do that by applying effective conceptual strategies.
Without words
Mixing and matching
Compare and contrast
Repetition and accumulation
Exaggeration
Turn it right around
Omission and suggestion
Paradoxes and optical illusions
Provocation and optical illusions
Provocations and shock tactics
Playing with time
A change of perspective
Turn it right around
Spoofs and parodies
Acknowledging resistance
Fluency
Foot-in-the-door
Promised land
Self-persuasion
Altercasting
Social proof
Guarantees
Attractiveness
Humor
Scarcity
Fleeting attraction
Decoy
That’s not all
Mere exposure
Anchoring
Astroturfing
Anthromorphism
Trustworthiness
Disrupt and reframe
Metaphors
Implementation intentions
Reciprocity
God terms
Sex
Authority
Loss or gain
Recency and primacy
Fear appeals
Doublespeak
Projection
Door-in-the-face
Subliminal
Andrews, Van Leeuwen & Van Baaren. (2013). Hidden persuasion. 33 psychological influence techniques in advertising. Amsterdam. BIS Publishers.
Hall, Sean. (2007). This means this. This means that. A user’s guide to semiotics. London. Laurence King Publishing.
McAlhone, Beryl & Stuart, David. ( 2009). A smile in the mind. London. Phaidon Press.
Pricken, M. (2008). Creative advertising. Ideas and techniques from the world’s best campaigns. (M. Whittall, Trans.). New York: Germany. (Original work published 2001).
Advertisements may be evaluated scientifically; they cannot be created scientifically.
John Wanamaker • Marketing Pioneer
