Degree Name
MA (Master of Arts)
Program
Brand and Media Strategy
Date of Award
5-2020
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
A. Chase Mitchell
Committee Members
Andrew Dunn, Susan Waters
Abstract
Emotional appeals are frequently employed in strategic messaging by nonprofit organizations. In this study, I identify instances of emotional appeals in select print adverts of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the American Cancer Society, and use rhetorical analysis to explore how each organization’s tactics are strategic in their appeal to target audiences’ emotions. In doing so, I identify several reoccurring emotional themes—including hope, love, and unity—that engage their target audiences and persuade them to respond to diverse calls-to-action. In order to make these appeals to audience emotion, the adverts employ rhetorical devices such as personification, metaphor, repetition, and imagery. Rhetorical analysis of the two organizations’ strategic messaging suggests that their calls-to-action, at least in print adverts, rely heavily on appeals to audience emotion. Taken together, the data suggest that previous efforts made by these nonprofits have been proven successful.
Document Type
Thesis - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Harrison, Dominique N. A., "Emotional Appeals in Nonprofit Advertising: A Rhetorical Analysis of Print Ads by the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the American Cancer Society" (2020). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 3774. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3774
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.
Included in
Advertising and Promotion Management Commons, Marketing Commons, Nonprofit Administration and Management Commons, Rhetoric Commons