Logic, Enthymemes, and Marketing

ACRS - Ch. 5

I found this chapter to be particularly useful because I currently work as a writing/marketing intern with the Washington State University Alumni Association and I am often given the task of writing marketing materials to help generate new memberships. This chapter focused on using logic and premises to convey a certain message, which I found interesting and applicable to the type of writing that I have to do on a fairly regular basis. A part of my job is to write convincing material that appeals to a specific audience. And, while we often appeal to our audience’s pathos by drawing on their emotional attachment to their alma mater, we also make strong appeals using logos or logic. We do so by including statistics regarding how many members we already have and the rate at which membership increases, for example “be a part of one of the fastest growing alumni associations in the country.” When I first read that tagline, I didn’t view it in the terms or premises and conclusions or break it down to really understand how it works. However, after reading this chapter it became clearer to me. This provides the major premise that the WSUAA is rapidly growing thanks to new memberships, the minor premise that a high number of other Washington State University alumni think that it is important to become a member of the WSUAA, and the conclusion that if you are a WSU alumni you should also join the WSUAA. Now that I have a better understanding of using premises and conclusions to send a message, I think that I will be more successful when writing marketing materials. The example from the book about Apple’s “Think Different” campaign was a great in that it shows how just a few simple words can actually draw such big conclusions.

Enthymemes are an interesting topic because as the book describes it, it refers to a persons ability to think and feel, “it cuts to the heart of the matter” (Crowley, Hawhee 125). To me, this means that not only is logic important but that it is closely related to a person’s pathos or emotion. If you can take a logical approach that clearly portrays why something is important to someone you will be able to conjure up strong feelings that can often result in some sort of action. For example, when the WSUAA sends out a campaign about how membership fees help support vital programs such as student scholarships and career events, we are again providing a logical reason as to why membership is important but we are also appealing to peoples pathos, what they consider to be important causes. The “heart of the matter” in this case could be the importance of education and the need for scholarships. So, the major premise is WSUAA memberships help fund vital programs, the minor premise is student scholarships allow education to be possible for students, and the conclusion is by being a member of the WSUAA you are helping support students.