Introduction:
Marketing perspectives in businesses today are integral processes that define whether or not a product will be successful. Marketing today is a science that requires the best of skills that one should be equipped with in order to survive in places like the international market or as top producers in a single country. This directly refers to the consumers that have to be focused on directly and indirectly. The key to effectively focusing on them is to prick their consciousness or to attract them.

In an image conscious world, advertising can have severe affects on certain areas of society. Flashy advertisements that catch the eye of the individual are ones that most commonly succeed in promoting products. In particular, children are the ones that are most attracted by the media hype for the sale of goods. However, they are not the only ones enchanted by advertising techniques, as men and women are known to become victims too. Considering the manner in which advertising is promoted, it must also be asserted that, in a round about way, the economy gains from it.

If a government is gaining economically from a sale of particular goods then it is most likely that they would want the process to continue smoothly, and hence, they would promote whatever advertising scheme is employed. As an example, the fast food business has in fact been boosted through the media and uninhibited strides have been taken in the last century to spread this trend as far and wide as possible.
Since there are many who are aware of all the strategies in advertising today, competition is quite tough in contemporary times. With certain businesses emerging as leaders in the market they also have to prove themselves and remain as leaders. With sustained strategies, they may be able to remain in the market. These strategies are largely known to be the art of persuasion through advertising.

Hypothesis:
At this point, it is worth asking whether persuasion does have an effect on society’s buying behavior? How do marketers or advertisers use persuasion to persuade shoppers or people in general to buy? Is there a difference between men and women when it comes to persuasion in advertising? What makes people buy?
Aside from these above questions, one question that is of central importance includes asking whether persuasion through advertising is it the only mechanism or tactic employed in the market and just how powerful is it?

Literature Review:
As far as tracking shopping trends is concerned, it must be asserted that there a major part of managing one’s business today depends on shoppers who purchase a product belonging to a particular organization. This type of shopping adheres to a loyalty that an organization has worked on. Whatever strategy has been, it must be asserted that it is apparent that the organization has succeeded in creating loyalty in their customers. In other words, they (the customers) have been convinced or persuaded by the organization.
In this sense, it must be asserted that persuasion is apparently an important mechanism in advertising.

The growing intensity of competition and fast speed of modernization and development has made it the need of the time to advertise as much as possible to identify and differentiate among various products of similar nature in order to persuade the consumer to buy the very product advertised. It is basically a message specially designed to sponsor or sell a product, service or an idea where the means to advertise is through various mass communication stations. These could be the newspapers, magazines, Internet, T.V, Radio programs and banners, and poster ads placed on busses, subways or trains.

Advertising and Marketing are the biggest companies in the USA. It is the most influential source of earning as more than $100 billion a year in the USA is achieved via advertising and marketing. For most of the businesses in America, the volume of sale is dependent on the advertising of the product. Furthermore, the business firms and manufacturers persuade people by advertising their product in the market. At the same time they also keep follow advertising techniques to promote their image in the market so whenever they introduce their next product it would be easy for the consumers to trust on their product due to their image.
Basically these are the tools to attract customers towards a product made by any company to get an observation for the needs and wants of the public. In order to calculate the demand of that very product as well as to evaluate the desires of the public companies advertise their product and then start their marketing techniques before launching them on a free and open access to the market. In this way they not only get enough time to polish their products but also to evaluate the need and desires of the consumers as well as to calculate the margin of their profits from the sale of that very product. Therefore, Advertising is the non-personal communication of information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by identified sponsors through the various media (Understanding Persuasion, 2002).

Persuasion
Our every day’s life also revolves around persuasion; every other person intentionally or unintentionally persuades one another for their ideas and beliefs. So persuasion is a very important aspect in our daily life. Persuasion means to change the attitude, behavior and attitude of the receiver or consumer party. While advertising is a form of producing persuasive messages for the purpose to gain the attention of the targeted audience as well as to affect the attitudes, behavior of these consumers. Nonetheless the most important point is that, the level of influence differs from one personality to another for each persuasive message.
On the whole all communications are persuasive in nature as far as they influence the behavior and thinking of us. All business organizations carry persuasive messages, though that is not the main objective of some organizations. However, a message is considered persuasive when its primary objective is to sell some product, idea, service or course of actions. It is not necessary that the buyer be persuaded at the first attempt, but all persuasions involve a shift in the receiver’s reaction and thinking about that very product (Billig, 1999, 23-29). Yet it all depends upon the persuading power of the seller as well as the skills to manipulate the qualities of the product according to the needs of the buyer when providing explanation. However, as the audience realizes the level or percentage of gains and the very benefits of the product the easier is to persuade them (Understanding persuasion, 2002).

Therefore, persuasion is the constant bombardment of media in a subtle but very profuse measure. It significantly impacts our basic intellectual ability causing us to make irrational decisions based on impulse rather than reason inevitably to buy a product or service we don’t really need. Persuasion can be implied or expressed and in either case is very effective on an individual who has been manipulated by societies many guilty pleasures. It can have a positive or adverse effect based on the individual. Some people are in a need to be persuaded to act in a certain way or pushed in a certain direction because they lack the ability to decide. Others have a negative effect and completely reject any form of persuasion and become almost rebellious to the concept of being forced into doing something they may not want. Then there are those that may sway in either direction and are frequently caught up in the trap set by the media with all its powerful influence changing them from dormant to active status.

Does persuasion have an effect on society's buying behavior?
Keeping in mind the very definition of persuasion and its relation to advertising, it comes to our understanding that advertising plays a very important role in creating desires through changing the social values and attitudes of the people. Furthermore it also influences the lifestyle that changes according to these changing values and by supporting the culture and consumption. Nonetheless advertisement also affects our choices to eat, wear, hairstyle as well as the way we talk act and walk. We can also say that persuasion is also a mean to change the culture via advertising. However, the quality and hidden message behind the advertisement also plays a very important goal in persuading the consumers towards their products. If the add makes no sense then it wont work at all, so in order to make sense the adds should be based on common experiences and perceptions that suit the attitude of the audience. Moreover, to persuade the public for any such product, the culture of any society is taken as a key element. It not only needs to give an influential look to the product but also has to bring some positive change in the society to make it more persuasive towards the consumers. For instance, usually all the adds for condoms focus on preventing AIDS by the use of condoms, where the other aspects like pleasure and planning to birth are taken as secondary because the threat of AIDS is immense in the culture of USA. So in this way the various advertisement and marketing agencies manipulate the social values in accordance to change the behavior, actions as well as beliefs of the users (Personality Theory in Persuasion and Advertising, 2004).

Persuasion therefore, is aimed at promoting and selling ways to meet people’s psychological as well as emotional desires. According to a famous psychologist, Abraham Maslow these needs are the basic psychological needs like food shelter and clothing or security and safety need as well as belongingness and love needs, esteem and self actualization needs. Another interesting means to persuade the consumer via advertising is to create new desire and exploit the prevailing old needs with the introduction of a new product in the market. For instance, exploiting the needs of emotional security or persuading people to purchase the products advertised for achieving maximum security like security alarms. Influencing people of the rising rate of crimes demands one to install security alarms of latest technology and the existing alarms are less affective now. So in this way marketing and advertising companies try to persuade psychologically. Another example for emotional needs and persuasion is to directly hit the gratification and self esteem of a person by producing catchy slogans of their products to make the consumer feel special. An example is the slimming pills advertised by various pharmaceuticals to persuade women that with out any diet control and exercise, just using these pills specially produced to bring back obese women into shape and give them a sexier look. Therefore, these persuasive tools of marketing exploit some times consumers, by promising them something special that will transform their lives (Personality Theory in Persuasion and Advertising, 2004).

Using symbols to add value to the product is another tool to persuade the consumer. For example, some new brand of whisky is to be introduced and advertised in the market, to add more value some handsome and aggressive celebrity character is chosen to make people of the impression that strong and hard men drink the same brand. In this way the consumer gets emotionally derived towards the product and feels that if they purchase that product they will also achieve some ideas and values as well as feelings. However in this kind of advertisement there is no such information about the quality of drink or what so every product is advertised. Only the emphasis is on the person who uses that very product and the meanings hidden behind the symbol is presented in such ads. Therefore, these advertising authorities, in order to persuade the consumer and to achieve high marketing goals, uses certain values such as love, friendship, neighborliness, pleasure, happiness, and sexual attraction as a very effective persuading instrument (Understanding Persuasion, 2002).

Therefore, it comes to our understanding that persuasion does effect our buying behavior. The reason is the very tools used as during marketing and advertising to persuade the public. Not only the needs and demands of the public are kept in mind while making a product but also the psychological aspect and the social environment of any consumer society is taken as an important aspect. The producers are always dependent on the consumers therefore, they have to meet the demands and standards of the society while at the same time the consumers that are emotionally driven to buy products are very much persuaded psychologically and this of course affects the behavior of the buyers in the society.

Persuasion affects the society’s buying behavior more when the persuasive messages are presented via electronic media. The audience psychologically and emotionally not only gets persuaded to buy the product but also adopts the style, trends and behavior in its life style as a change. For instance, if a few celebrities advertise some product, the people feel pride to use it and psychologically persuaded at the first instinct. They believe that if their favorite celebrity uses it then it’s an honor for them to purchase that product. In this way not only the buying behavior of the society is affected but also the sellers gain more profit. So it’s just the means to persuade the audiences, which can playa role in changing the behavior of the buyer.

Persuasion ways applied to persuade the consumer to buy
The advertising industry does extensive surveys to identify consumers buying patterns and researches these single or multiple events leading them in their course of action. Based on these findings they conclude what makes a person tick. For example if a Company wants to promote a Perfume they could have a commercial as follows:
A beautiful lady walks up the stairs to her office, and as she passes all not to mention her gorgeous body and sexy red dress that is almost transparent notices her fragrance. A man spills his coffee in his lap while another drops his files in the hall. Still as she so elegantly flows the Courier bumps into the wall just the missing the door, all the girls look at her with awe and envy at the same time as they wonder why she gets all the attention but as she sits at her desk and reaches in her purse they notice the bottle of perfume she sprays on herself with a smirk and a wink. In essence the media is using sex to sell the perfume causing every woman to want that kind of attention and effect on all men. So this is the kind of persuasion that causes people to act in the way they do (Personality Theory in Persuasion and Advertising, 2004).

While advertising and marketing any specific product the company has to keep a few things in mind. First of all the needs and desires of the people, then the psychology of the public, cultural influence as well as the likes and dislikes of the people. For this purpose they usually do a survey in the market and analyze the demand of the public on any certain product. For instance if we take cosmetics, the shades of lipsticks vary from season to season as well as the kind of lipstick too, like some times glossy lipstick is in while sometimes matt. Similarly if we take an example of the style of shoes, kind of shampoos like in the market there are varieties of varieties of every companies shampoo. Another example is of a perfume, the taste of a person is represented by the choice of fragrance he/she uses.
Moreover, there are basically two ways to persuade the buyers. These are 1) Psychological persuading. 2) Emotional persuading. According to Mills, we are persuaded every second day so the emotional brain here plays an important role in making decisions. Our rational brains concentrates on arguments that are logical as well planned and are supported by evidence. On the other hand emotions approach us on the first instinct. These are the most powerful persuaders. It is noticed that people buy emotionally on the first hand and justify their decision after buying any product, which was a result of emotional persuasion (Blass, 1999, 955-978).
In order to attract the consumers, sometimes companies drastically lower the price of certain items. In this way buyers who cannot afford the same product for a higher price can buy them, at the same time be introduced by the new model of the same product. The regular buyers might buy the products in stock and also get a hand on the new models too. So in this way the company due to its advertising campaign persuades the audiences to buy their products and also maintains the quality with earning handsome profit.

Furthermore, advertisement persuades the consumer to buy products by means of introducing gift packages like adding a toy with any product to attract young mothers or kids. In this way the buyer feels they are getting two things in the price of one but this is not necessarily done, the price of gift might be added with the actual product. Another means could be putting discounts on various products like “Buy 3 get 1 free” this kind of discount usually is applied on the fast food franchises, or buy 2 products of the same brand and get one free of choice from the same brand.

Therefore, the cultural environments of the society as well as the very psychology of the buyers are the targets of the advertisers to persuade. They persuade the public by keeping in mind their psychological standards and emotional desire as well as the social culture. The logics do count a lot at the same time. For instance if a company has a brand name like Mercedes that is counted one of the luxury car business since a long period, it has maintained its trust and standard and for them it is easy to attract the public. While for a new emerging company it is a challenging task to persuade the audiences against any other potential product buyer. The buyers are asp spending money; they are getting a product on exchange of money so they also observe the difference in quality of the product as well as the price. They will always go for the product that’s not only suits their pockets but also fulfills their need and demand. So the most difficult task is to sway the customer on the good quality and durability of the product by a very confident manner. The customer should believe that the product is in the best of their self- interest. This not only develops trust on the customer but also makes him feel satisfy that they are buying quality products that suit their need as well as pocket. The tool use to persuade and achieve the confidence and trust of the buyer is to give a few side effects of the product or highlight a few deficiencies along the qualities and the uses of that very product. Nonetheless the comments or suggestions of the customers should be respected and give due importance while launching any other product by the same brand. This strengthens the trust ad confidence of the costumer and do not let them switch the company for any product of the similar nature as well as opens more challenges ion the market. Today all big marketing companies to persuade the audience to buy their products use this tool (Personality Theory in Persuasion and Advertising, 2004).

Though it is easy to persuade by selling personally but at the same time it is expensive as it just a labor-intensive and can deal with only one buyer at a time. Moreover, the advantage of giving more time to one buyer demands more and more time especially in large products like selling a care or stereo can take days and computer and airplane sales might take years so in this way a company cannot afford engaging one salesmen for one product. Therefore, such means to persuade is usually applied on handy stuff.

Is there a difference between men and women when it comes to persuasion in advertising?

The principle objective of advertising is manipulating our desires so that the products of these companies become close friends to us. Therefore, advertising not necessarily crates any difference between men and women to be persuaded to buy any product. Basically the difference is not in technique to advertise but in fact is in the target product and how it influences the gender. Men and women are creatures of the same species and have similar effects based on their wants, needs and desires.

Companies spend over $ 200 billion a year on advertising and commercials, the reason is to influence the consumers to buy their products. For them consumer could be any, men or women. But yes if the product is something specific for the use and interest of women, like their clothing, cosmetics shoes or purses or any home appliances, kitchen appliances, women undergarments or so on, then definitely women would be the principle buyers of such products. On the other hand it is same with men, if any product were specific for males then definitely they would be the principle buyers. Where another category of the products is that which does not stand in any specific category of use. These are used by both thus depend upon the need, price, quality, durability and warranty of the company as well as the taste and the interest of the buyer. For instance these could be computers or any other electronic devices, cars or any other stuff that is in the general use. A classical example is that when an ad campaign for financial services group was launched by an ad agency in Boston during the 1999 Super Bowler. As the Super Bowler is one of he biggest sources for the audiences especially male audiences, it gave a lot of profit to the company and persuaded a large number of football purchasers (Alwitt, 2000, 41-53).

The marketing techniques of the companies is to do thorough research in the market to determine the interest and values of their consumers related to their product and then advertise their products to satisfy the demand of the audiences. So in this way both genders who so ever are interested and feels the desire of that very product buy’s that. Basically the initial thing that the companies sell is the idea and services about their product and once they achieve to persuade a large amount of consumers, then they launch the actual product in the market. So this product for the consumers should be a bundle of values including the social, psychological as well as economic or what other value are important to the users, in order to persuade them to buy that very product. Lets take an example of a car, if only the function of a car would be transportation as an important value for the purchaser, then the manufacturers would made only motorized boxes on wheels and the consumer would be satisfied with that. But this is not the only important value for them. The introduction of a new model every year and the types, new appearance as well as the very functions of the car is also a part of the important values of the consumer. For instance some users prefer small cars over huge while others don’t, the color and the inner space as well as the petrol consuming capacity is another important factor that adds to the value of the consumer (Antonides & Raaij, 1999, 10-15). Moreover the social status also adds another value to the car for instance, a clunker shows a lower status then a Rolls Royce, or a sports care shows the very nature of a person that he is fun loving and very active socially. So not only the transportation is the interest and value of the users but also many other things are the area of interest to the buyers while buying a car and this applies likewise to other products too. Therefore the important thing is the approximate proportion of an individual’s interest and values towards a specific product, not the gender aspect.
In order to understand the manner in which advertising mechanisms function, it is also important to study those who are targeted by it. In other words, this directly refers to the shoppers who are convinced under through advertising mechanism.
Shopping trends is an area of immense importance in contemporary times, and it must be asserted that focusing on this area from a marketing perspective is essential because of the fact that the potential to boost sales lies in recognizing shopping trends in customers or potential customers (Antonides & Raaij, 1999, 10-15).

While addressing the potential that lies in attracting shoppers towards a particular organization’s products, one might also need to assess the various influences that motivate individuals to become shoppers.

While doing so, it also must be remembered that the 20th century has been a volatile one in which there have been so many changes that keeping track of them requires a great of time and concentration. This refers to changes such as the development of mall environments that have surged in the past few years. However, while referring to shoppers and consumer behavior, it must also be remembered that this last century is one in which there have been particular events from which the attention of people in general needed diversion.

Analysis:
The changes that took place during this century have set the stage for the present balance the world hangs in regarding consumerism. These changes are ones that were results of war and post war times alike, as they each contributed extensively to what society has been offered since then. The same kind of trend continues today in a globalized world; people are governed by what they are offered by legalized institutions. In particular, products available to consumers greatly influences the way that contemporary man thinks and acts, and shop windows are an example of these influences.

Considering such an influence, an example of the way that an individual may be governed by the items s/he consumes is demonstrated in the way that one acts while wearing a top-quality dress suit. The suit represents a formal occasion. Hence, a man in a suit might, on most counts, will tend to display behavior relevant to the outfit.

Clearly, it can be seen from the above example that consumer behavior can be influenced by the products available, and hence, what is available on display in windows of shops can propel window shoppers’ ideas. Having said this, there are particular questions that come to mind regarding the influence of shop windows on consumers. However, shop windows are not alone the only mechanisms used to attract customers. This is true to say because of the fact that there are other means such as billboards and television (Alwitt, 2000, 41-53). Also, with the introduction of ‘humor’ advertising and ‘shock’ advertising, one can clearly make out the differences. Each of these tends to attract customers of different mind sets and have been successful to a significant degree (Alden et al, 1-15). Ideally however, in most societies, persuasive mechanisms are most commonly applied in advertising. This is because of the fact that it has been known to have the most profound effect on consumers/ shoppers. Considering the historical aspect of this scenario, one might assert that consumer behavior observed today is perhaps in response to historical occurrences. This refers to historical events of large magnitude, such as the ‘Great Depression’ and the ‘Second World War’, which affected societal thought during those times and thereafter.

In the US, a country that was almost dragged into the Second World War, people were exposed to troubles almost through every decade. The Second World War was a time of tribulation for the people, and indeed an era through which the people might have felt that their troubles would not end. The first half of the 1940s had gone by with the people wondering if they would ever emerge as a nation of peace. The previous decades were also marred with strife for many reasons. Quite obviously, things like window shopper trends and consumer behavior were not ones that would even be addressed seriously at this time in history.

Prior to the Second World War was the Great Depression (economic depression) through which the country was struggling to emerge economically even though in eras like this, fashion was a thing that did not lag far behind. And, prior to this were the strikes in the steel industry where many of the working class converged to fight for their rights. In spite of the pathetic circumstances in which workers worked and subsisted, the world progressed technologically. This was because there was no shortage of employees to support the process of business being carried out through the railroad, as transport and the telegraph as a means of communication that transmitted information from the producer to the consumer and vice versa was generally in order. Hence, this was a means of controlling the mass processes of trade in a city, country or even internationally. Of course, these were not to remain the same, as technological progress did not stop just there. It went on to produce more and more high tech machinery that would greatly augment centralized production to the extent that there would also be a need to develop means of communication that would match it.

The New Beginning and birth of Advertising:
Considering the manner in which technology advanced through time, so did consumer behavior. This was because of the fact that along with communication and transport being ameliorated, businesses also improved considerably, which meant that the public could be communicated with more comprehensively. However, prior to shopper trait awareness, these were situations in which consumer behavior would quite naturally not be taken seriously or even bothered with to say the least.
Major issues such as war and post-war times are ones that so naturally inhibit the way that people look at life; it is natural that they would not be able to think of life styles when major social problems existed in their midst (Ahearne et al, 2000, 55-62).

Considering war and post war times in the light of window shopping and consumer culture, one can assert that the latter may have served as the ideal way to divert the attention of the United Kingdom. It is because the promotion of consumer culture that segregation today has been mitigated. The reason behind this is the fact that people from various levels of society converge in shopping malls to purchase and share several product labels.

Analyzing consumer trends from 1950s, one can decipher the manner in which society had perhaps the greatest potential to develop internal trade; window shops during these times demonstrated a new style in men’s wear in particular with fabric that was hardly seen before (Antonides & Raaij, 1999, 10-15).
From the late 1940s and onwards, the people overcame their nightmare of war and strife that was associated with the first half of the century. This shift in culture that was experienced in the Post Second World War era was one that helped the people survive; a survival that was characterized through thoughts, ideas, etc. that related to consumerism.

It might be asserted here that it was consumerism in these times tat helped the people overcome the pressures that they felt after the Second World War. The focus on areas like fashion diverted the attention of the people and made them conscious of what they shopped for, and consumed. It also must be noted here that the advertising that was done in these times too was a type that soared as it aimed at making the people conscious of whatever they consumed. This refers to what they wore and ate too.

Aside from this, there were other areas that were focused on. The practices of those times also varied because of the fact that there was a distinct aim to divert the attention of the public so that the society would be under less stress. The use of entertainment facilities began to grow, such as bowling alleys and other sports that were seen as an outlet to everyday frustration (Rodberg, 2001). It was evident that these entertainment facilities served as stupefaction or diversion, so that the public would not be pressurized and disturb the way that the government was handling things. As a result of this aim, the attention of the people was increased pushed towards shopping and purchasing; this ameliorated the market situation and avoided public concern for more important matters related to politics.
As a result of the promoting entertainment and fashion through advertising through hard times in the US and UK, it has been witnessed that the trend has stuck to the people, and is now perhaps deep-rooted.

In this deep-rooted culture, people have become more conscious about what they buy, wear, use, eat, etc. This in itself has raised the standard of living among the people and has promoted better health and quality in many areas. It also must be asserted here that advertising that stimulates buying in this sense has nothing to do with persuasion. This is because of the fact that people are aware of what they need and what is good for them. However, they may still fall victim to products tat are well propagated.

From this, it can be seen that shopping has naturally been a common trend, as without it consumption of products would not be possible. Hence, shopping trends, in particular ones related to window shopping, are ones that become more specialized with the passage of time (Ahearne et al, 2000, 55-62).

Proposal:
Advertising today has in fact targeted the shopping trends that have developed. The types of shoppers that are in the market are observed, and appropriate advertising mechanisms are employed. It can be observed that since there is immense scope for persuading customers, persuasive advertising is employed. This means that there are shoppers or customers that are easily persuaded. However, this does not mean that all shoppers are easily persuaded, as all individuals are not the same. Undoubtedly, there are similarities in their characteristics; it is a matter of taste that might vary. Indeed, there are quite a few customers that endeavor something different. They are the kind that would rather be stimulated through shock advertising or humor advertising. Having asserted this, it must be emphasized that there are a great many customers that do not like to respond to all the color and logos that are presented to catch one’s attention (Alden et al, 1-15). There are even customers that do their best not to be attracted by the glamorous coverings and displays of products. These customers are the ones that go for real quality, and this is something that comes with experience. Consumers of this caliber hardly give in to apparent quality; they know through experience what properties they should look for, and hence, can only be convinced if there properties they look for are real. In such cases, a way of advertising in order to attract these customers is to present the real qualities of a product. These customers need to know that what they buy is good enough, and often ask for evidence. If they have not experienced a product themselves, they need to be shown that what they purchase is of value. Hence in order to sell a product to these customers, advertisers need to demonstrate qualities on hand. Examples of this are seen on television where sales persons display the action of particular products. In this way, consumers get to experience the benefits on hand.

In view of all that has been asserted above, it is worth asserting that there is immense scope for further research to be carried out regarding the different mechanisms in advertising. The scope for more research is based on the simple fact that all customers do not really respond to persuasive advertising. This is to say that they all are not attracted by the color and apparent qualities of a product, but tend to search for the real and practical characteristics of products.
In this sense it is definitely worth asserting that aside from persuasive mechanism in advertising there are also others. Given that there are a variety of trends in the international market as well there is immense scope for further research.