What Are Propaganda Techniques and Why Every Marketer Is Using Them

From the time wars were being fought to today’s time of brand marketing, propaganda is an ever-evolving concept. In today’s time, almost every brand uses propaganda to its benefit, to promote its products or services, and bring customer attention. Now, you may think about how propaganda can be used in the field of marketing.

In this blog, let’s dive deeper and understand the actual meaning of propaganda & how it is used by various brands for the purpose of marketing.

What is propaganda?

In modern times, propaganda is used in various areas of our lives, be it advertising, marketing, or political campaigns. Its existence is evident in different walks of our lives.

Propaganda Definition:

In simple words, propaganda means the deliberate use of such information or ideas that are untrue, exaggerated, or even misleading for the purpose of promoting a particular perception that helps in enhancing brand image, or to gain support from the community. It includes emitting the truth, manipulating the audience, and modifying their perception about a specific topic, brand, or person. You must learn the differences between propaganda & other forms of communication. We’ve listed below the multiple ways to differentiate propaganda from other types of information.

Propaganda vs. Other Forms of Communication

• Propaganda vs. Advertising

Advertising is aimed at promoting the sales of a particular product or a service and influencing the opinion of the audience about it, by emphasising its positive features and delivering facts. On the other hand, propaganda is manipulating the audience’s opinion to fulfil and support a specific agenda, often by using misleading or false information & fraudulent tactics.

• Propaganda vs. Public Relations

The intention behind PR is to enhance the understanding, trust & build a relationship between an organisation and its audience by emphasising truth, honesty, and accuracy, which is unlike Propaganda that is built on false and misleading information.

• Propaganda vs. Education

Education is balanced information, provided with the intention to increase knowledge and encourage critical and independent judgment. Whereas propaganda uses biased information, relying heavily on manipulation, intended to fulfil a specific agenda.

• Propaganda vs. Persuasion

Persuasion is the act of convincing someone based on logical reasoning, credible arguments, evidence & emotions. It entirely contradicts the foundation of propaganda, which is manipulation, lies & deceptive tactics.

Why Propaganda Techniques Matter in Marketing?

Propaganda resides in various aspects of our lives, in modern communication, politics, and everyday consumption. It significantly influences our decision-making & shapes our opinions. & is deeply woven in various facets of marketing like brand storytelling, social-media trends, influencer partnerships, & consumer culture. It shapes public opinions & influences audience perception by evoking an emotion & persuading the consumers to buy a product or service. In this blog, we’ve put together multiple techniques of propaganda being used in marketing that are essential to be understood by the marketers to create transparent brand communication, ethical messaging & strategies that influence the audience without manipulation, which helps in building trust, while misusing them can have potential repercussions.

10 Powerful Propaganda Techniques Being Used in Marketing

1. Bandwagon Propaganda

Bandwagon is a convincing technique of propaganda that urges people to join a trend or a belief in order to avoid feeling left out, and because everyone else seems to be doing it. It creates a sort of social pressure on people and pushes them to follow or join something out of fear or FOMO ( fear of missing out). There are plenty of examples to explain this technique,

• Cheerios "America's Favorite Cereal" campaign, persuading the audience to buy it because the entire of America has called it their favourite.
• "A common example of this technique is "9 out of 10 dentists recommend" claims, creating FOMO among people by claiming that a toothpaste is recommended by 9 out of 10 dentists.
• Social media trends and viral challenges also create FOMO, pushing the audience to join a challenge because it’s currently trending.
• Limited-time offers also create a sense of urgency among people and push them to buy something even when it’s not required.

2. Card Stacking Propaganda

Card Staking Propaganda is another technique of propaganda that presents information selectively, which includes highlighting the positive information while hiding the negative information. In this, facts are cherry-picked, only those facts are shown that provide benefit. Here, omission is used as a propaganda device. A few examples of this are:

• Product reviews that highlight the positive qualities of a product, and hide the negative ones.
• Political Ad campaigns that talk about all the positive impacts that the political party had during its tenure.
• Before/after weight loss ads that hide disclaimers.
• Financial service advertisements that hide the terms & conditions of a policy.

3. Testimonial Propaganda

   In this technique, celebrities or influential people are used to endorse a particular brand, product, or service, to promote and encourage customers to buy the same. It also includes using testimonials of satisfied customers to manipulate more people into buying it. Another example of modern testimonial is Influencer Marketing, in which social media influencers with a hefty following promote a brand or product and influence other people to purchase the same. Some popular examples of this are:
   • Endorsements of sports drinks by famous athletes
   • Social Media partnerships with influencers
   • Perfume commercials by celebrities
   • Products recommended by qualified doctors

4. Plain Folks Propaganda

This technique uses ordinary people to promote something by claiming that the product is being used by common people to come across as relatable, build trust, and create a loyal relationship. It delivers a ‘One of us’ message to make the customers feel relatable & increase their faith in that product. Several real-world examples of this technique are:

• CEO’s in advertisements of casual attire.
• Storytelling or scenarios that showcase everyday family dynamics in advertisements.
• Politicians eating at local restaurants to appear down-to-earth.

5. Transfer Propaganda

A propaganda technique that associates something revered, be it a person or an idea, with something the propagandist wants to make appear good in our eyes. It includes associating or linking products with positive symbols, often by using patriotism, religion, or popularity, with the intention of building an emotional connection. A few examples of this technique are:

• Wrapping products in national flags to evoke patriotism.
• Brands that connect family values with their imagery.
• Car Advertisements in which cars are shown in immaculate natural settings.

6. Name-Calling

In this technique, a person, a name, or an idea is linked with a negative symbol to arouse negative emotions. It includes using insults & stereotypes to attack an opponent and make them appear negative. It also includes creating an ‘us vs them’ mentality to showcase oneself in a positive light. This method often creates brand wars. A couple of examples of this technique are:

• Ad campaigns of Burger King vs. McDonald's, both of which claim to have the best-tasting burger.
• Political attack ads in which political parties bash their opponent.

7. Glittering Generalities

Another propaganda technique that uses unclear and sentimental information that lacks accuracy to evoke an emotional appeal. It includes using positive language, which is often vague, and words that trigger emotions & certain common phrases like “Best quality”, “ Premium experience”, “ Revolutionary technology” & “ Natural goodness”. To attract the audience.

8. Fear Appeal

A propaganda technique that evokes the feeling of fear or anxiety by using messages of potential danger or threat to promote a certain product. This technique scares people with the potential risk if they do not buy a certain product or service that they are promoting. For instance

• Insurance companies that explain the risk of having financial issues without their policies.
• Anti-smoking campaigns that promote the act of avoiding smoking by showing the potential risk of health problems.
• Home security system ads that talk about the lack of physical security without monitoring your home with their home security system.

9. Repetition

A propaganda technique in which a statement or idea is repeated multiple times in order to make it appear true & familiar by emphasizing that several times. There is a psychological impact of repeated messages on our minds that various brands use as a tool to promote their services or products. Oftentimes, there have been brands whose slogans have become famous and have been memorised by people, which increases the credibility of that brand. A few examples of this are:

• Consistent brand messaging through taglines or social media campaigns.
• Repetition of political slogans by political parties.
• Various brands playing jingles repeatedly.

10. Loaded Language

It deals with using words & sentences that have a strong emotional appeal to manipulate the point of view of the audience & evoke a desired reaction. In this technique, words with positive & negative connotations are used strategically as per the emotion that is intended to be aroused in the audience. The words are chosen very selectively, depending on the desired emotion. Several brands use loaded language, for example:

• Using “ All natural’ vs. “ unprocessed”, in different contexts depending on the message brands want to convey.
• “Luxury vs. expensive”, luxury signifies a feeling of luxury, while expensive indicates a costly product.

Telling the Difference: Is It Marketing or Is It Propaganda?

Many people link marketing with propaganda, but there is a clear difference between the two, though both share similar persuasive techniques.

• Marketing is a strategy to convince the audience to buy a particular product or service, aimed at driving maximum sales by informing them about the qualities of that product or service.
• While in propaganda, misleading or biased information is used with the intention of shaping the audience’s behaviour, ideologies & opinions about something to fulfill a specific agenda.

Types of Propaganda

Just as there are several techniques of propaganda, it also has several types, such as:

• White propaganda

In white propaganda, the information comes from an open & acknowledged source.

• Grey propaganda

In grey propaganda, the information comes from an ambiguous or unstated source.

• Black propaganda

In black propaganda, the information is deceptive & it comes from a covert source.

The examples of these propagandas are:

For white propaganda, Campaigns run by the government regarding vaccination.

For grey propaganda: Spreading wrong information about the opponent from unofficial accounts or channels, the source being unknown.

For black propaganda: In high-conflict areas, the government can threaten & silence the journalists who report on them.

Real World Examples of Propaganda Being Used in Marketing

Let’s comprehend the way propaganda is being used in the marketing world with a few real-world examples: Beauty products that are labelled as ‘exfoliating’ or ‘ brightening’, for marketing purposes, while the harmful impacts of the ingredients present in them are often kept hidden, in such instances, brands are using the card-stacking technique of propaganda. Another example of propaganda in marketing is when the brands use the testimonial technique of propaganda by getting celebrities & athletes to promote their products or services.

Conclusion

Propaganda exists in various spheres of our life, like marketing, advertising & politics, and knowing how to spot it makes all the difference. Remember, propaganda loses its power the moment you pause before you believe something & start making informed decisions because recognizing propaganda is not just gaining market knowledge but also becoming empowered as a customer.

FAQ’s

1. What are the most common propaganda techniques?

The most common propaganda techniques are name-calling, Testimonial propaganda & glittering generalities.

2. How can I protect myself from propaganda?

You should take a pause, think & analyse before making a decision in order to protect yourself from propaganda.

3. Is propaganda always harmful?

No, propaganda isn’t always harmful; it all depends on the context and the technique of the propaganda.

4. How do propaganda techniques differ in advertising vs. politics?

In advertising, propaganda is used to promote a product or a service, while in politics, propaganda is directed at shaping public’s opinion & behaviours.

5. Is all advertising propaganda?

Not all advertising is propaganda, but they are interconnected because they use similar techniques of persuasion.

About the Author Sakshi Mishra

Sakshi is the foremost authority on YouTube and Facebook marketing. On Media Upshift, she shares insights collected during her experiences managing promotional campaigns for brands and creators, using YouTube and Facebook marketing tools, and planning advertising for those platforms.

Connect on LinkedIn