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The peripheral route to persuasion is an indirect method that leverages peripheral cues to create a positive association with a message. Rather than relying on factual arguments about a product's quality, this route uses positive emotions and celebrity endorsements to influence the audience. This approach requires minimal cognitive effort from the audience, who do not need to be analytical or motivated. While it can foster positive feelings towards a product or message, the resulting change in attitude or behavior is typically less permanent and may even occur without the audience's conscious awareness.

Peripheral Route to Persuasion

Determinants of Route Processing Use

A common example of the peripheral route to persuasion is when a popular athlete is featured in an advertisement for athletic shoes. This strategy aims to encourage young adults to buy the shoes by associating the product with the positive characteristics of the celebrity, rather than focusing on the shoe's features or quality.

Example of Peripheral Route Persuasion: Athlete Advertising Shoes

An example of the peripheral route in the fashion industry is when a retailer promotes clothing by highlighting celebrities who wear the same style. This tactic persuades consumers by associating the clothing with the attractiveness and status of the celebrity, rather than the garment's quality or price.

Example of Peripheral Route Persuasion: Celebrity Clothing Endorsement

The physical location of products in a supermarket can be a powerful tool to manipulate consumers. Staples such as milk, bread, and eggs are often placed at opposite ends of a supermarket to force consumers to spend more time in the store. Children's brands tend to be located on the bottom shelf, with the hope that children will ask their parents to purchase those products themselves. The most expensive items are usually located at eye level, and the entire layout of a supermarket will likely be arranged multiple times a year to force even experienced customers to browse through the store's selection to find what they are looking for.

Product Placement

Political campaign buttons, as depicted in Photograph A, serve as an example of the peripheral route to persuasion. Instead of presenting complex policy arguments, these buttons use simple peripheral cues like a candidate's name, a logo, and appealing colors to foster positive associations and signal group affiliation, thereby influencing attitudes with minimal cognitive effort from the viewer.

Example of Peripheral Route Persuasion: Political Campaign Buttons

Product placement is a strategy often used in the peripheral route to persuasion where a product, featuring a clear brand name or identity, is incorporated into an entertainment medium like a television show or movie to promote it. This persuasive method can be so subtle that the audience may not even consciously notice it.

Product Placement in Media

A car advertisement features a famous, well-respected actor driving a new luxury vehicle through scenic mountain roads. The ad is filled with beautiful imagery and inspiring music, but provides no information about the car's fuel efficiency, safety ratings, or engine specifications. Which of the following best explains why this persuasive approach is effective?

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