Critically discuss the applicability of the Elaboration Likelihood Essay

Critically discuss the applicability of the Elaboration Likelihood Model to understanding consumer behaviour - Essay Example mentioned ways, it is extremely crucial for the marketers to have an understanding about how the customers process the information that they come across as ads. Numerous models and theories have been proposed that have elaborated upon the manner in which customers assimilate and process the information as well as on the way ads and other marketing communications impact on the consumer behaviour (Cohen, 1990). Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), put forward by researchers Petty and Cacioppo (1983, 1986) is among the oldest and the most popular models that define how consumers formulate their attitudes towards a product or service on the basis of the communications that they receive as advertising. ELM has been employed by marketers and advertisers in making their communications more effective. ELM has also given the basic groundwork and direction to further research in areas like consumer cognitive processes and marketing communications elaboration. (Petty., Priester & Wegener, 1994).The current paper is aimed at evaluating the applicability of ELM to understanding consumer behaviour. The paper will begin with a brief overview of ELM and will contain a critical appraisal of its applicability in the consumer behaviour field. More specifically, it will focus on how ELM provides insights about consumer behaviour which in turn leads to more targeted and cost-effective advertising. The discuss ion will also include some of the weak points of ELM that need to be addressed in order to improve its applicability in the consumer behaviour field. The Elaboration Likelihood Model, when used in an advertising context, postulates that prospective customers form attitudes about ad messages via a process of message elaboration – or the amount of time and effort they spend on issue-relevant messaging. The extent to which they are likely to elaborate the message leads to two very different routes of information processing in the minds of the customers. These are the central