Selling (In)Security: The Fear/Hope Binomial as a Security Company Branding Strategy

Introduction

More often than not, advertising attempts to reflect an idyllic world in which the product is the means by which that satisfaction and perfection is achieved in a specific setting and/or by a particular subject, this communication phenomenon being conceived as the stage of hedonism (Centocchi, 2009: 17). This does not mean that advertising does not resort to negative emotions like fear―the most powerful of all (Meana, 2008: 5)―as well (Cochrane & Quester, 2005). However, as Hernández-Santaolalla (2019) specifies, emotions of this kind tend to be played down in the advertising discourse with other factors like, for instance, humour. In fact, advertising appeals to different needs, such as power or affection (Bermejos Berros, 1999). However, fear also involves satisfying a need: defence and/or avoidance. This has been analysed in different studies, for example, Bermejos Berros (2007) does so in Spanish display advertising and states that appeals to defence and avoidance are 8.3%.

Fear is a primary emotion (Ekman & Cordaro, 2011) that is activated when individuals perceive a danger or threat, regardless of whether this be in the present or in the future (Barrera Méndez, 2010). It is therefore closely linked to survival. Individuals try to protect themselves, for theirs is a constant struggle to cope with the adversities that come, and might come, their way (Mannoni, 1984; Furedi, 2018). For this reason, fear is considered as a survival mechanism (Marks, 1991; Öhman & Mineka, 2001; André, 2005; Meana, 2008; Sarráis, 2014). Indeed, this is related to the fact that security is conceived as one of the basic human needs which can never be fully satisfied (Mannoni, 1984), inasmuch as the quest for it is a constant in the lives of individuals (Vidal Jiménez, 2009). Additionally, fear is a monopolising emotion, which signifies that the thoughts of those individuals who experience it are dominated by the perception of a danger/threat and, therefore, by the pursuit for a solution (Ekman, 2007).

In short, security is a vital need and an aspirational state of individuals: ‘Fear is primitive instinct which can occasionally guide and activate human behaviour. It creates anxiety and tension, causing people to seek ways to reduce these feelings’ (LaTour & Zahara, 1988: 5). Hence, they are willing to do practically anything to diminish the sensation of insecurity and fear, because it is ultimately this emotion that triggers the mechanism of self-protection in them (Frijda, 2007). According to Bauman (2007) and Beck (2008), security and freedom are two concepts that have an inversely proportional relationship, namely, when one is enhanced, the other is automatically undermined, being regarded as a secondary value for society. Promoting security always requires the sacrifice of freedom (Bauman, 2007).