Say your neighbor asks you, “What do you think about your bank?”

You think for a moment, then reply, "I'm fairly happy with them."

"Why is that?" your neighbor probes.

"Well, I do most of my banking on the Web, and my bank's site is easy to use, to navigate. Plus the account info is right up to date - I can use a charge or debit card and it shows up immediately on my balance. So I always know exactly how much I've got."

Your first response, "I'm happy with them" is an expression of what social psychologists call an “attitude.”

No this isn’t the “attitude” of a Nike commercial, or the “attitude” of a singer in the rock band. Let’s call that “personality.”

This is “attitude” defined as a summary what's in your heart and mind as it relates to a person, product, company or idea.

Consider some of your attitudes. Pick two or three, maybe write down some of the things that come to your mind.

- Your telecom / telephone company
- Levis blue jeans
- The Government of China
- Coke
- Jackie Chan, the actor
- The person who last cut your hair.
- American military technology

You can see that attitudes have a linear plus (+) to minus (–) quality. From “I really like” to “I really don’t like.” Or maybe, “I don’t know.”

Attitudes also have a dimensional quality. “I like because …"

OK, so how can you shape people’s attitudes, to get them to think what you want about your company or product?

The attitudes of people in your target audience are shaped by specific, believable experiences. And by information from credible sources.

Let’s say we want people to believe that the “Indonesian Ministry of Forestry is preserving and protecting the rain forest.”

Specific supporting facts include:

1) Indonesia has signed an international agreement mandating that all timber be cut from sustainable forests.

2) By complying with this international agreement, Indonesia can use the “Eco-label” on forest products, which will give those products reduced import taxes in many countries around the world – so sound ecology is good for business as well as the environment.

3) Indonesia has passed tough laws over the past few years to protect the forests, and is cracking down on companies that violate those laws.

4) Indonesia has 750 men and woman who go into the field to make sure all timber companies comply with the law.

5) Indonesia is using advanced satellite technology to map, photograph and study the rain forest. Which is expressed with the headline, "Smile. We're photographing every tree in the rain forest."

- Be as specific and detailed as possible. Push your client for supporting details.

- Vague generalities do not work. People don’t remember them.

- Remember: Honesty is persuasive. Don’t try to get people to believe something that is not true.

Action: In one sentence, write something you want people to believe about your company, product or services.

Then write the supporting copy points. The “reasons why” they should believe it.

Now turn it into an ad.

Notes:

The medium can contribute to the message. For example, the ad campaign discussed above, about Indonesia's rain forests, ran in the International Herald Tribune and in regional editions of the Wall Street Journal. The prestige of those publications can contribute to the credibility of the message.

Attitudes can influence behavior. But attitudes do not always direct or control behavior. There is a link between the two. But just a link.

For instance:

“I really like Mercedes, and think it’s the best car around. But I can’t afford to buy one.”

“I think smoking is unhealthy. But I still smoke.”