DATE: October 3, 1996
TO: Dr. Michael O'Conner, Course Instructor
FROM: Buck Grangerford
RE: Persuasive Writing Memo

Enclosed are two business documents that have been analyzed and critiqued for their persuasive content. The first document is a full page newspaper advertisement for Staples. The second document is an advertisement from Sears sent directly to my home.

The first document I chose is a full page ad for the Staples store in Forsyth, which came from the Decatur Herald & Review. I feel this message is an effective one because it grabs the reader's attention by advertising for a free gift. The intended audience of this advertisement is the business world and those who buy office supplies in great quantity. The main persuasive purpose of this advertisement is to get customers into the Staples store to spend a large amount of money in order to get the free gift. I feel this document uses both the adoption and the continuance goals because it is trying to get new customers into the store and it is also trying to get regular customers to come in during a certain period of time. This advertisement uses both reasoning and credibility in its attempt to persuade the reader. It uses reasoning in that it provides a coupon to be cut out and brought to the store for a free gift. I think that in this way the document also provides for credibility in that the store is giving the reader something physical (the coupon) to prove they are believable. I feel this Staples advertisement uses all four elements of the AIDA concept. First, it grabs the reader's attention by writing the words "free gift" in very large print. Second, I think it interests the reader enough to want to come to Staples to buy their office supplies. Third, by being able to receive a free gift, the reader will have a desire to visit the store. And finally, it provides for action in that the reader must visit the store before a certain date in order to receive the gift. Overall, I feel this document is a good advertisement for the new Staples store.

The second document I chose is from Sears, advertising a Silver Half Dollar Collection. I think this document is ineffective simply because of the extremely high price of the merchandise. The intended audience of this advertisement is those people who are coin collectors and also the middle to upper class portion of the country. The main persuasive purpose of this document is to get people to buy this coin collection by advertising that at its price, it is at limited supply and that the collection would be worthwhile to own because some of the coins are very old. I feel this document is utilizing the continuance goal because it is trying to persuade current Sears Charge customers to purchase the collection. This advertisement uses the credibility appeal because it states that all of the coins were actually made at the U.S. Mint. I feel this document uses two of the AIDA elements. First, it grabs the reader's attention by stating it is "America's Great Silver Half Dollar Collection." It also calls for action in that it states if the reader orders now, he/she will get a free Walking Liberty Silver Dollar. I feel this advertisement did not employ either the interest or the desire elements because if the reader is not a coin collector, it is likely he/she will not have any interest or desire to buy the collection.

Unfortunately, most of us receive junk mail frequently. I think that by writing this memo, I now have a better understanding of what characteristics these advertisements should possess. The two documents I chose provided good examples of both effective and ineffective persuasion.