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Framing Effect: 7 Types in Marketing Psychology

Written By

Aditya Shukla, Psychology SME, Cognition Today

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2 options are marketed to you. Choose between Hand Sanitizer A OR Hand Sanitizer B.

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Sanitizer A: Kills 99.9% germs. Sanitizer B: Only 0.1% germs live after use.

Did you Choose Sanitizer A? You are not alone. Most people do.

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The Framing Effect describes how people choose between 2 or more options based on how they are presented. The context, the imagery, the words, the meaning, etc., of a marketing statement is called a "Frame".

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Consider 2 similar products or 2 marketing messages for the same product. Depending on the frame each option has, consumers will favor one of them. Frames include: 1. Emotions 2. Words & Numbers 3. Images & Symbols 4. Cultural elements 5. Context 6. Sounds 7. Identity details

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Loss/Gain Framing

A loss frame is a message focusing on avoiding a negative outcome. E.g., You'll get sick if you don't eat healthy. A gain frame focuses on showing a positive outcome. E.g., You'll live longer if you eat healthy.

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Emotion Framing

Emotion framing highlights a specific emotion in a message. Consider you are marketing a Toolkit for home repair. E.g.,  A happy family needs a happy toolkit to protect it. (positive emotion) E.g., Is your home sick? Repair it with this toolkit. (negative emotion)

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Culture Framing

Culture framing means including cultural elements in your marketing to appeal to the target audience. E.g., If your tee-shirt isn't scrollable, why are you wearing it? (promoting a zip-tee) E.g.,  Include local language phrases

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Sound Framing

Sound framing is the musical context of a message. It could be ASMR, light music, dramatic sounds, metal, etc. The musical context creates a preference. E.g., Day-night showing of office goers listening to jazz and an energy drink transitioning them to an adventurer with metal music.

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Identity Framing

Identity framing involves directly stating country, region, political affiliation, lifestyle, etc. When it matches the consumers', they are likely to choose that option. E.g., Democrats are loving this new EV.

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Price Framing

Price framing is about how the price is listed. 1. Font size of the price. 2. Whether it ends in .00 or .99 3. Whether discounts are pure numbers or percentages (and what looks bigger) E.g., $5 discount vs. 5% off on a $100 product.

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Visual Framing

Visual framing is the visual context: The colors, people and objects used in marketing, the vibe, transitions between colors, etc. It's the visual design element. E.g., Minimalistic black-white message vs. hues of blue and yellow as background imagery for your social media post.

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