What is the AIDA model? Ex­plan­a­tion, func­tion­al­ity, and examples

According to the AIDA model, potential new customers go through four phases, which give the ad­vert­ising ef­fect­ive­ness model its name. The acronym AIDA stands for Awareness, Interest, Desire, and Action. It marks four sub-goals of strategic com­mu­nic­a­tion measures within marketing.

What is the AIDA model?

As early as 1898, the American ad­vert­ising strategist Elmo Lewis for­mu­lated the three-part formula:

• attract attention
• maintain interest
• create desire

Later, Lewis added get action, creating an action phase, and thus the AIDA model was born.

Ori­gin­ally developed for the struc­tur­ing of sales con­ver­sa­tions, the formula soon found ap­plic­a­tion in all areas of marketing. Even today, AIDA is one of the best-known models in ad­vert­ising effect research. The model is an integral part of curricula in schools and uni­ver­sit­ies and is still used in ad­vert­ising practice as a guideline for creating and analysing ad­vert­ising materials. However, despite its pop­ular­ity, the model’s validity has become con­tro­ver­sial.

How does the AIDA model work?

Assuming that brand per­cep­tion is largely promoted and in­flu­enced by ad­vert­ising and marketing measures, the AIDA model (also known as the AIDA formula, AIDA concept, AIDA principle, or AIDA schema) offers an ex­plan­a­tion of how ad­vert­ising and other pro­mo­tion­al activ­it­ies are involved in brand choice.

According to the AIDA model, ad­vert­isers must achieve 4 com­mu­nic­a­tion goals to move potential customers from the initial per­cep­tion of a product to its purchase. The AIDA approach is thus part of the hier­arch­ic­al ad­vert­ising effect models, which assume a linear-se­quen­tial process of the purchase decision process, where consumers go through a series of cognitive and affective stages cul­min­at­ing in an (purchase) action.

A – Attract Attention

Attention, please! – For targeted in­di­vidu­als to engage with an ad­vert­ising message, ad­vert­isers must first capture their target audience’s attention. The ad­vert­ising goal of the first phase of the AIDA model is to initiate ac­tiv­a­tion, per­cep­tion, and emotional processes. Ad­vert­ising utilises various strategies for this purpose, focusing on the content of the ad­vert­ising message, its present­a­tion, or its placement.

Content that grabs attention typically stands out by con­tain­ing new, con­tra­dict­ory, or pro­voc­at­ive in­form­a­tion, or by de­lib­er­ately omitting important in­form­a­tion:

• ‘Only at ASDA: Square Wa­ter­mel­ons!’
• ‘Tesco Apples: £0.95 per kilo!’

Other classic elements through which an ad­vert­ising message reaches potential customers include the following:

• Graphic design elements: The visual present­a­tion is essential for capturing attention. On festival posters, for instance, the main acts stand out in bold as eye-catchers, while less mar­ket­able artists are barely readable in the last line. Display ads in browsers catch the eye, es­pe­cially when they change, move, or blink. However, it is important to gauge the target audience’s tolerance and not exceed it.
• Auditory elements: On TV, radio, or the internet, ad­vert­isers rely on auditory elements and proceed more or less subtly. In almost all ad-supported au­di­ovisu­al media, com­mer­cial breaks are played sig­ni­fic­antly louder than the actual program. Ad­di­tion­al decibels ensure that the ad­vert­ising messages are received, often ac­com­pan­ied by catchy jingles or current pop songs.
• Olfactory stimuli: Some ad­vert­isers use olfactory stimuli to attract customers. Whether potential buyers are truly drawn into sales areas by scenting the business en­vir­on­ment is debated. However, in the food sector—es­pe­cially bakeries and pastry shops—this strategy is certainly not far-fetched.
• Key stimuli: Certain stimulus patterns are par­tic­u­larly effective at capturing human attention. These include, for example, eyes, faces, the baby schema, or erotica (following the well-known motto: Sex sells).

I – Maintain Interest

Once a consumer’s attention is captured, the next step is to spark interest and maintain it long-term. In this phase of the customer journey, products and brands are showcased, their benefits high­lighted, usage scenarios demon­strated, and various pur­chas­ing options presented. The ad­vert­ising goal of the second phase of the AIDA model is achieved when the customer engages deeply with the ad­vert­ising materials and shows interest in the featured products or services.

Ad­vert­isers excel in the second phase of the AIDA model when they know what interests the target audience, what matters to them, their needs, and the problems they want solved. AI-based tools and web analytics software provide online shop operators with detailed in­form­a­tion about the nature and browsing behaviour of users, allowing them to determine their current status in relation to the AIDA model or other marketing models—and to respond ac­cord­ingly.

D – Create Desire

In the third phase of the AIDA model, consumers develop a specific purchase intention from general interest. Now it is important to convey to a person in­ter­ested in Bluetooth head­phones that they should buy one of the models offered in the ad­vert­ised online shop—because they offer more features, are more af­ford­able, or look better than com­pet­it­ors’ models!

In this phase, ad­vert­ising measures should provide in­form­a­tion that high­lights the ad­vant­ages of the company’s products and brands over competing products. The goal is to pos­it­ively influence the target audience’s per­cep­tion of the ad­vert­ising company, its brands, products, and services.

A – Get Action

Once a desire for specific products or services has been aroused in the target audience, this must lead to action in the final phase of the AIDA model. The ad­vert­ised product should ul­ti­mately be purchased or the offered service utilised. Ad­vert­ising intended to provoke action typically includes a Call-to-Action (CTA). Classic calls-to-action of this type are:

• ‘Order Bluetooth head­phones now!’
• ‘Simply call and get advice!’

Such a call-to-action is sometimes ac­com­pan­ied by time re­stric­tions intended to create ad­di­tion­al pressure on the potential buyer.

• ‘Bluetooth head­phones - bargain price today only’.
• ‘Order Bluetooth head­phones online now and save 20 percent’.
• ‘Limited Edition. Only for a short time’.

The will­ing­ness to act can be further increased by an explicit con­ces­sion that promises customers security or ad­di­tion­al services.

• ‘… test for free with a trial sub­scrip­tion’.
• ‘Buy one get one free’.
• ‘10 percent discount on first order’.
• ‘Now with free return delivery’.
• ‘Double data volume when you sign a new contract’.

The AIDA model in practice

Ad­vert­ising success formulas are used in marketing to il­lus­trate processes. They aim to provide ap­proaches for op­tim­ising op­er­a­tions. Hier­arch­ic­al ad­vert­ising impact models, such as the AIDA formula, trace the de­vel­op­ment that consumers undergo during the purchase decision process.

Each phase is char­ac­ter­ised by different needs that must be con­sidered when designing ad­vert­ising measures. The number of potential customers moving to the next phase con­tinu­ously decreases during the purchase decision process. This is known as the purchase funnel.

In practice, the model provides ad­vert­isers with a kind of checklist that allows for the analysis and op­tim­isa­tion of com­mu­nic­a­tion measures in ad­vert­ising, sales talks, and present­a­tions and mod­er­a­tion. Online shop operators could use the formula to check whether all aspects of an optimal purchase decision process have been con­sidered in product present­a­tion. Possible questions might include:

• Is the shop easy to find?
• Does the shop design capture the target audience’s attention?
• Do the product de­scrip­tions provide the necessary in­form­a­tion to spark the interest of potential customers?
• Do image galleries, product videos, or augmented reality elements give prospects an im­pres­sion of how the products would enrich their lives?
• Does the overall product present­a­tion create a desire in the customer to ‘want to have’ it?
• Does the website contain call-to-action elements that suggest potential buyers make an immediate purchase, or even make it appealing through in­cent­ives like discounts or free shipping?
• Has the ordering process been cleared of all hurdles and barriers (such as in­ap­pro­pri­ate data col­lec­tion, limited payment options, un­com­fort­able delivery con­di­tions, etc.)?

The list of possible check­points based on the AIDA formula is far from complete.

Criticism of the AIDA model

Since the de­vel­op­ment of the AIDA model more than a hundred years ago, the un­der­stand­ing of ad­vert­ising and marketing com­mu­nic­a­tion has fun­da­ment­ally changed, es­pe­cially with the digital re­volu­tion. The secret to the ad­vert­ising success formula is its sim­pli­city. This allows the staged model to be applied to many areas of marketing. Generally, single-stage com­mu­nic­a­tion measures (ad­vert­ising, B2C tele­market­ing) can be depicted more ef­fect­ively than multi-stage processes used in dialogue-oriented media.

The reduction of the buying decision process to a simple stimulus-response schema is con­sidered outdated. Ad­di­tion­ally, the linear pro­gres­sion of a staged model can hardly trace modern sales processes and the in­creas­ingly erratic customer journeys. Critics also note that pur­chas­ing decisions depend on a variety of other factors such as avail­ab­il­ity, price ex­pect­a­tions, advice, customer sat­is­fac­tion, or re­com­mend­a­tions (User Generated Content, reviews, in­flu­en­cer marketing, etc.). The influence of emotional aspects on brand per­cep­tion is also minimally con­sidered in the AIDA model.

Since the 1990s, however, insights from emotion research have been applied to marketing questions within the framework of neur­omar­ket­ing, providing important insights for the design, analysis, and op­tim­isa­tion of ad­vert­ising measures. Therefore, the AIDA model should be seen for what it is: a sim­pli­fied formula.

Ex­ten­sions and al­tern­at­ives for the AIDA concept

A major short­com­ing of the AIDA model is that the con­sid­er­a­tion of the pur­chas­ing decision process ends with the ac­quis­i­tion of the re­spect­ive company’s offer. All post-purchase effects such as sat­is­fac­tion, dis­sat­is­fac­tion, customer reviews, repeat purchases, or referrals are ignored.

Over time, various ap­proaches have been developed based on the AIDA formula that extend or adapt the model, sometimes also con­sid­er­ing the role of modern, dialogue-oriented media like social media.

The ‘Hierarchy of Effects’ model

The ‘Hierarchy of Effects’ model by Lavidge and Steiner also assumes a hier­arch­ic­al sequence of various ad­vert­ising effects and divides the pur­chas­ing decision process into a total of six stages:

• Awareness: In the first phase of the ‘Hierarchy of Effects’ model, ad­vert­ising efforts aim to inform potential customers about the existence of the ad­vert­ised products.
• Knowledge: Following the awareness phase is the knowledge phase, where the product features are in­tro­duced in more detail.
• Liking: In the third phase, in­ter­ested in­di­vidu­als should develop a liking for the ad­vert­ised products.
• Pref­er­ence: The liking cul­min­ates in the fourth phase as a pref­er­ence for specific products over competing offers.
• Con­vic­tion: In the fifth phase, the purchase decision is made. The recipient is convinced of the product and aims to acquire it.
• Purchase: The final phase of the ‘Hierarchy of Effects’ model includes the intended action: the purchase.

The DAGMAR formula

Building on the AIDA model, American ad­vert­ising re­search­er Russell H. Colley published the so-called DAGMAR Formula in 1961, an acronym for the book title Defining Advert­ising Goals for Measured Advert­ising Results. DAGMAR is also a hier­arch­ic­al ad­vert­ising effect model based on the as­sump­tion that ad­vert­ising must primarily fulfill com­mu­nic­at­ive tasks alongside economic goals. These can be divided into four areas:

• Awareness: Ad­vert­ising must create awareness for the ad­vert­ised brands and products.
• Com­pre­hen­sion: Ad­vert­ising must ensure an un­der­stand­ing of the function and benefits of the ad­vert­ised company’s services.
• Con­vic­tion: Good ad­vert­ising is con­vin­cing by outlining the personal benefits and ad­vant­ages over al­tern­at­ives.
• Action: At the end of the purchase decision process is the ac­quis­i­tion of the ad­vert­ised company’s service.

The AIDAS model

The AIDAS model adopts the four phases of the AIDA model and expands them with ‘Sat­is­fac­tion’ as a fifth phase, which in­teg­rates the post-purchase effect of sat­is­fac­tion into the ad­vert­ising ef­fect­ive­ness model.

• Attention
• Interest
• Desire
• Action
• Sat­is­fac­tion

What happens after consumers become customers? The ‘Sat­is­fac­tion’ phase addresses exactly this question. Ad­vert­ising efforts don’t end with the ac­quis­i­tion of the promoted company service. The goal of ad­vert­isers is a satisfied clientele that happily returns and shares positive ex­per­i­ences with others. Once a person reaches the ‘Sat­is­fac­tion’ phase within the pur­chas­ing process, it is important not to lose sight of them.

The AIS­DALSLove model

The AIS­DALSLove model by Bambang Sukma Wijaya also em­phas­ises the im­port­ance of post-purchase effects and adds the phases ‘Search’, ‘Like/dislike’, ‘Share’, and ‘Love/hate’ to the AIDA model.

• Attention
• Interest
• Search
• Desire
• Action
• Like/dislike
• Share
• Love/hate

With the ‘Search’ phase, the ad­vert­ising ef­fect­ive­ness model takes into account that consumers today are sig­ni­fic­antly more critical of ad­vert­ising promises. The internet provides consumers with a com­pre­hens­ive research tool to verify facts and compare offers.

The ‘Like/dislike’ phase considers the ex­per­i­ence after acquiring a company’s service. Sat­is­fac­tion usually results in repeat purchases. The same goes for dis­sat­is­fied customers. If a product delivers as ad­vert­ised, repeat purchases or re­com­mend­a­tions are likely. When a customer shares ex­per­i­ences with other potential customers, it’s referred to as Word-of-Mouth Marketing. In the AIS­DALSLove model, such repeat purchase effects are con­sidered as a separate stage with the ‘Share’ phase.

Fur­ther­more, the AIS­DALSLove model assumes that ad­vert­ising measures can also achieve long-term effects, leading to positive or negative feelings toward products, brands, or companies. This aspect is high­lighted in the ‘Love/hate’ phase.

The 5A model

While classic models like the AIDA model and its ex­ten­sions pre­dom­in­antly describe linear processes of ad­vert­ising impact, the 5A Model developed by Philip Kotler takes the changed con­di­tions in the digital age into account. It focuses on customers and their connected behaviour and un­der­stands pur­chas­ing decisions not merely as reactions to ad­vert­ising but as the result of a complex in­form­a­tion and re­la­tion­ship process.

The 5A model divides the customer journey into the following phases:

• Aware: Initial per­cep­tion of a brand
• Appeal: Brand is perceived as relevant or at­tract­ive
• Ask: Targeted research – such as through Google searches, product reviews, or social network re­com­mend­a­tions
• Act: Product purchase or util­isa­tion of the service
• Advocate: With a positive ex­per­i­ence, customers become brand advocates and recommend the brand further – online or in personal settings

Unlike tra­di­tion­al funnel models, the decision-making process in the 5A model is not always linear. Op­por­tun­it­ies like digital channels and social media allow consumers to flexibly switch between phases at any time. This model addresses not only emotional and rational aspects of decision-making, but also ex­pli­citly the influence of com­munit­ies, platforms, and reviews.