The Hierarchy of Effects is a marketing model that tracks the mental stages a consumer passes through from first seeing an advertisement to making a purchase. Often called the "think, feel, do" process, it helps you structure messages so they align with the customer’s current level of brand familiarity. Use this framework to set clear objectives for your ad campaigns and avoid trying to close a sale before the customer knows who you are.
What is the Hierarchy of Effects?
This theory describes the impact of advertising on consumer decision-making through a series of behavioral stages. It assumes that advertising doesn't cause an immediate sale but instead guides people through a logical progression.
The model was first proposed by Robert J. Lavidge and Gary A. Steiner in their 1961 article, [“A Model for Predictive Measurements of Advertising Effectiveness”] (Sage Journals). It divides the human thought process into three primary buckets:
- Cognitive (Thinking): Gaining awareness and processing information about the product.
- Affective (Feeling): Developing an emotional connection, liking, or preference.
- Conative (Doing): Resolving doubts and completing the actual purchase.
Why the Hierarchy of Effects matters
Using this framework moves your strategy away from "guessing" if an ad is good and toward measuring specific communication tasks.
- Identifies message gaps. If your audience is aware of your brand but doesn't like it yet, you need an "attitude" campaign, not more awareness ads.
- Improves channel consistency. Modern [B2B customer journeys now involve 10 or more marketing channels] (McKinsey). A framework ensures your message remains consistent across all of them.
- Sets realistic goals. It prevents the mistake of judging every ad by its conversion rate. Some ads exist solely to move a customer from "Awareness" to "Knowledge."
- Reduces friction. By mapping stages to common questions (like "What problem does this solve?"), you can address hesitations before they stop a sale.
The 6 stages of the model
Advertisers guide potential customers through these six sequential steps to maximize effectiveness.
- Awareness: The starting point where the consumer first notices your brand. At this stage, they have limited knowledge but recognize your existence.
- Knowledge: The consumer begins evaluating your product features and benefits, comparing them against their specific needs.
- Liking: The shift from cognitive to affective behavior. The consumer forms a positive perspective or finds "emotional comfort" with the brand.
- Preference: The consumer may like multiple brands. Your goal here is to differentiate your product so they choose you over competitors.
- Conviction: This is the decision-making point. Positive feelings convert into the certainty that buying is the right choice.
- Purchase: The final action. Success here depends on making the experience easy and providing support to encourage repeat business.
Variations of the hierarchy
Not every product follows a linear "think, feel, do" path. Stanford research suggests the order changes based on the product type and market maturity.
Standard Learning Hierarchy
This follows the traditional Awareness -> Knowledge -> Liking -> Action path. It occurs most often when buyers are highly involved, products are clearly differentiated, and the product is early in its life cycle.
Dissonance-Attribution Hierarchy
In this version, Action (Purchase) occurs first, followed by an attitude shift and finally awareness. This typically happens when products are similar and personal selling is more important than mass media.
Low-Involvement Hierarchy
Created by Herbert E. Krugman, this model sees awareness happen first, followed by purchase, and finally a change in attitude. This is common for similar products in late-stage maturity where the risk of purchase is low.
Best practices
- Match the message to the stage. Use educational content like product demos for the Knowledge stage, but use emotional storytelling for the Liking stage.
- Differentiate with storytelling. At the Preference stage, emphasize your unique selling points. For example, [Avis’s "We Try Harder" campaign was based on the fact that they were trailing behind market leader Hertz] (Slate), using their underdog status as a unique differentiator.
- Address pre-purchase hesitations. During the Conviction stage, offer free trials, samples, or money-back guarantees to convert doubts into certainty.
- Optimize the checkout experience. In the final stage, remove technical hurdles. Research indicates [e-commerce brands could gain $18 billion in yearly sales revenue just by fixing shopping cart issues] (Mailchimp).
Common mistakes
- Mistake: Running an attitude or "cool" campaign when the market has zero brand awareness. Fix: Use informative messaging first to build a foundation of knowledge before trying to be outrageous.
- Mistake: Trying to achieve all six stages in a single advertisement. Fix: Set one primary objective per campaign (e.g., "This ad is for Preference building").
- Mistake: Ignoring "noise" and background info. Fix: Acknowledge that external reviews and social circles impact the consumer's brain at every stage, not just your ads.
- Mistake: Treating the journey as strictly linear for every customer. Fix: Use customer research to see if your audience skips stages or moves through them out of order.
Examples
Example scenario (Awareness): Before launching, Dropbox created a personal video tutorial for a niche community. This simple demonstration of file synchronization built immediate awareness of their solution.
Example scenario (Affective connection): [Thai Life Insurance is known for its engaging ads that help people form authentic connections] (The Drum) by appealing to human values and emotions rather than just listing policy benefits.
FAQ
How do I decide which objective is right for my campaign? The choice depends on your market segment data. If surveys show your audience is aware of you but lacks a positive attitude, focus on the "Liking" or "Preference" stages. If they have never heard of you, you must focus on "Awareness" and "Knowledge" first.
Does this model work for B2B? Yes, but the journey usually takes longer and involves more people. In B2B, the "Knowledge" and "Conviction" stages are often more rigorous because the financial risk is higher.
How do you measure success in the "Liking" stage? Unlike the "Purchase" stage which uses sales data, the "Liking" stage is measured through sentiment analysis, brand favorability surveys, and emotional engagement metrics on content.
Why do some researchers criticize this theory? Critics from cognitive psychology argue that it is too simple. They suggest that in the real world, consumers process a massive amount of "background noise" and information simultaneously, making a neat six-step linear progression rare.
What is the difference between the 'Preference' and 'Conviction' stages? Preference is when a customer likes you more than the competition. Conviction is the specific moment they decide they are actually going to spend the money. They may prefer your brand for months before reaching the conviction to buy.
