AIDA Model
Attention, Interest, Desire, Action - the four-stage journey from stranger to customer that laid the foundation for all conversion thinking.
AIDA is the original conversion funnel. Emerging from early advertising pioneers around 1900, it described the four psychological stages a customer passes through from first exposure to final purchase. More than 125 years later, every marketing funnel - from TOFU/MOFU/BOFU to growth loops - descends from this simple four-step model. AIDA isn't obsolete. It's foundational.
Attention
Break through the noise. Get noticed. The customer must become aware your product exists before anything else can happen.
Tactics: Advertising, PR, content marketing, social media, SEO, out-of-home, influencer partnerships, word of mouth.
Interest
Hold attention long enough to spark curiosity. The customer starts learning about your product and considering whether it might solve their problem.
Tactics: Landing pages, product demos, blog content, webinars, case studies, email newsletters, reviews.
Desire
Transform interest into want. The customer must emotionally connect with your product and believe it will improve their life.
Tactics: Testimonials, social proof, limited-time offers, product storytelling, aspirational imagery, free trials.
Action
Convert desire into transaction. Remove friction and give the customer a clear, easy path to purchase.
Tactics: Clear CTAs, one-click checkout, free shipping, money-back guarantees, urgency/scarcity, retargeting ads.
Best For:
- Mapping customer journey from awareness to conversion
- Diagnosing where prospects drop off in your funnel
- Planning integrated campaigns across multiple touchpoints
- Training teams on the basics of conversion thinking
- Direct response marketing and lead generation
- E-commerce and transactional businesses
Less Effective When:
- Purchase cycles are complex or committee-based (B2B)
- Customers research extensively before considering brands
- Brand loyalty and repeat purchase dominate (CPG)
- You need to model post-purchase behavior (retention, advocacy)
- Modern non-linear customer journeys with multiple re-entries
Adds post-purchase satisfaction to account for retention and repeat business. Recognizes that the sale isn't the end - it's the beginning of the customer relationship.
Inserts "Conviction" between Desire and Action to represent the final decision-making moment. Common in high-consideration purchases.
The modern marketing funnel taught in every MBA program. AIDA with expanded stages and explicit post-purchase loyalty tracking.
Content marketing adaptation of AIDA. Maps content types to funnel stages: awareness content (TOFU), consideration content (MOFU), decision content (BOFU).
The AIDA model emerged from early advertising and sales pioneers at the turn of the 20th century. While traditionally attributed to E. St. Elmo Lewis (circa 1898), the first documented publication was by Frank Hutchinson Dukesmith in the 1904 magazine Salesmanship, where he outlined the stages: Attention, Interest, Desire, and Conviction. Around the same time, Arthur Frederick Sheldon was teaching similar concepts at his Sheldon School of Scientific Salesmanship.
The actual acronym "AIDA" wasn't coined until 1921, when C.P. Russell wrote in Printers' Ink: "It is to be noted that, reading downward, the first letters of these words spell the opera 'Aida.'" The framework was designed for personal selling - door-to-door sales and retail interactions - but quickly became the foundation for advertising strategy. The insight was simple but revolutionary: successful persuasion follows a predictable psychological sequence.
By the 1920s, AIDA was being taught in business schools and advertising agencies worldwide. It became the default mental model for how marketing works. Edward K. Strong's 1925 book The Psychology of Selling and Advertising helped cement the Lewis attribution, which became widely accepted for nearly a century. Every evolution since - from the purchase funnel to growth loops - either builds on AIDA or explicitly reacts against its limitations.
The Rise of Mass Advertising (1890s-1920s): AIDA emerged during the first golden age of advertising. Newspapers and magazines were the dominant media, and brands were learning how to sell at scale. Lewis gave advertisers a mental model: your ad must interrupt (Attention), inform (Interest), persuade (Desire), and direct (Action). This became the blueprint for all print advertising.
From Sales to Marketing (1950s-1960s): AIDA was rediscovered and formalized in the 1960s when marketing became an academic discipline. Textbooks codified AIDA as the "hierarchy of effects" - the stages customers pass through on their way to purchase. It was no longer just a sales tool; it was a strategic framework for planning campaigns.
Digital Adaptation (2000s-Present): The internet didn't kill AIDA - it multiplied it. Every landing page, email sequence, and ad campaign still follows Attention → Interest → Desire → Action. What changed is the channels and measurement. Modern marketers can now track conversion rates at each stage, optimize drop-offs, and A/B test every element. AIDA became quantifiable.
Why It Endures: AIDA survives because it describes human psychology, not media tactics. Regardless of the channel - print, TV, digital, social - the customer still needs to notice you, learn about you, want you, and act. The stages are universal. AIDA is criticized for being linear (modern journeys are messy), but it remains the best starting point for understanding how attention converts to revenue. Every "new" funnel model is just AIDA with extra steps.