The last two weeks, we’ve helped you understand your marketing and advertising in a Rhetorical context with Ethos (your authority and personal appeal) and Pathos (the emotional or sympathetic approach). Today we’ll be looking at Logos, the final component in the Rhetorical trifecta.
Part III: Orchestrating Logos
Logos is the third piece of Rhetoric, and is the easiest to define. Simply put, Logos (with its etymological roots in “logic”) is the logical or rational appeal of your messages. This frequently includes hard facts, in the form of research, history, numbers, and formal arguments for one’s defense. These are based independently of emotional or familial influences, and represent neutral, empirical elements.
In the context of marketing, Logos tries to take advantage of the public’s rationality. Many companies try and track their data concretely not only for their internal use, but also in order to present it in the form of a proposal or argument. For instance, food companies may present figures that denote a rising trend in popularity, or a health product company may use its scientifically determined results to boast the overall effectiveness of a product line, all in an effort to convince potential customers that the information supports its claims.
Without pinpointed bits of data, companies can still take advantage of Logos with refined, logical counterarguments against their competitors. This approach can often tiptoe the line between Logos and Ethos/Pathos, since arguing in the context of competition usually leads toward some sort of personal rivalry or emotional conveyance—but this is a good thing.
The most effective campaigns are those that integrate a balance of the three major components of Rhetoric. You’ll need the authority and personal resonance of Ethos to establish your business, the emotional impulses of Pathos to drive public desire, and the unbiased structure of Logos to root your endeavor for the level-headed. A firm awareness and successful marriage of these three strategies can harmonize the balance of your campaigns, and ensure a keen advantage over your competition.
