Rating: 3 stars

With the changing times, as well as the changing economy, Dan Hill’s About Face brings forth the topic of how consumers are now buying more on emotion than ever before.

Packed with research, statistics and astute observations, Dan Hill, (an authority on the role of emotions in consumers and an expert in facial coding) uses eye-tracking and facial coding research, along with examples of current advertising to demonstrate the how and why consumers respond (or don’t respond) to certain types of advertising.

Focusing on 10 main themes, chapters such as “Keep It Simple”, lists the 12 most persuasive words in the English language (based on findings from Yale University research). “Focus on Faces” notes that selecting the right faces for the ad is crucial for consumers to respond with similar emotions. In “Make It Memorable” Hill deconstructs humorous ads down to the minutiae regarding the best placement for the “surprise peak points” and notes that enhancing retention boils down to motion/action, animation/special effects, singing/sound effects, punch line and enthusiasm/excitement in that order.

Along with the search for new avenues in which to capture the consumer’s attention, Hill notes that the down economy is also changing the way advertisers push their products. One such major change is the practice of leading with price; which in the end can do more harm than good.

While companies are trying to show the public that they have discounted their prices, the public perceives the value as being in decline as well. Additionally, the consistent message of low prices removes the emotional element of “surprise” and desensitizes the consumer to the “wow factor” of a sale price; resulting in consumers' expectation of lower prices.

Daniel Hill has packed a lot of information into a rather slim volume. Although quite informative, the large amounts of research data and statics being disseminated, often causes the writing to take on the rigid and dry tone of a college text-book.

Whereas some information seems like common sense: true smiles are better than false. There are also many interesting and very useful facts: faces in advertising have major impact on the viewer, more so than ads without faces; as well as other tips and ideas.

About Face demonstrates how the “Three Ps” of the past, have been modernized by Dan Hill’s 10 tips for the future.
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Hardcover: 212 pages
Publisher: Kogan Page (October 28, 2010)
ISBN-13: 978-0749457570