AIDA Model | Attention, Interest, Desire & Action

AIDA is the acronym for Attention - Interest - Desire - Action.

AIDA was developed by E. St. Elmo Lewis in 1898. It is a linear series of cognitive thinking stages a prospective customer experiences while purchasing a product or a service. It is a marketing funnel leading to the final purchase of the product. It is popular in PR campaigns, digital marketing and sales strategies. It describes the journey of the customer from awareness of the product until the purchase. E. St. Elmo Lewis developed AIDA.

Attention - The first stage is for creating brand awareness about the product or service for the consumer. Customer’s attention should be drawn through various marketing and advertising efforts.

Interest - Once the customer is aware of the product, the brand must work towards increasing the customer's interest level. The customer learns about the product benefits and if the brand fits their lifestyle. If interested, they want to research further. Detailed product information will be communicated through website, video, brochure, etc.

Desire - The customer builds an emotional connection with a particular brand and becomes a loyal customer. There will be a transition from “liking” to “wanting” the product. It is the desire to buy the product addressing the customer’s needs.

Action - It is the final stage in the AIDA model where the customer initiates action such as buying the product, purchase intention, shopping around, engaging in trial, etc.

Example: Suppose there is an offline store. Attention is running brand awareness campaigns months before the launch. Interest is offering a discount on first time purchase of the product and gauging how many customers were excited about it. Desire is that customers want to buy your products. Action is the customer comes to the store and purchases the product.

Criticism: The post-purchase behavior such as customer satisfaction, repeat purchase is not taken into consideration. Many external factors (excluding marketing efforts) affecting customer purchasing behavior are not taken into account.