Friday, 30 April 2010
Final Reflection on Blogging
Sooo... it's been fun! In reflection i think the idea of using blogs is great and through repetition I've actually learnt everything! I also enjoyed the way you could be creative with YouTube videos, pictures and whatever else i could think of. Personally i think i could have planned my time better though (seeing as the deadline is in 3 hours) but at least it's done! Further more the skills I've learned and adapted may prove useful in the future if i entered into a digital or e-marketing agency. Negative aspects about blogging would primarily be the actual blogspot site which is fundamentally flawed in terms of occasionally it would forget what i would have wrote or place text or pictures in the wrong place or the wrong font. Despite this it's been an experience and something a little different then what I'm used to. I hope you enjoyed everything i had to say about understanding the customer and lets hope it gets me that great grade im looking for!
Generational Marketing
Marketing to children
When marketing to children marketers rely on what they call 'pester power'. Pester power is the idea that upon seeing an advertisement which stimulates a response children will pester their parents into buying them the product. As well as pester power children are influenced by opinion leaders in the play ground who are seen to have the coolest must have thing. As shown below the children's market is huge equating to about £2.5 billion in revenue:
Toys 2008 £2.2 Bn
Comics 2008 £129 M
OTC Kids Medicines 2009 £203 M
To aid parents in dealing with pester power the ASA (advertising standards agency) outline guidelines which every marketing campaign must follow. These are that advertisements must not take advantage of children’s inexperience or their natural credulity and sense of loyalty to avoid arousing unrealistic expectations. Also marketing for expensive toys must include an indication of their price and this price must not be minimised by the use of such words as 'only' or 'just'. Further more Advertisements must avoid anything likely to encourage poor nutritional habits or an unhealthy lifestyle in children. They should also not directly ask children to buy or to ask their parents or other adults to make purchases. Promotional offers should be used with a due sense of responsibility and not targeted at pre-school or primary school. Further guidelines are that adverts must not ask children to ask their parents to buy something for them, must not imply that children will be inferior to others, mentally harm, physically harm or condone bullying. Below is a typical childrens advert for Cadbury's:
Marketing to over 50's
When marketing for the over 50's marketers try and use stimuli that relates to their past and when they were younger. Shown below are products which the over 50's market buy the most:
The over 50's top media mediums:
The over 50's main brands:
Further to marketing to the over 50's there is such a diversity within this age group that direct marketing is probably the only way to reach each one. Linked with direct marketing the over 50's group can be devided up into 5 lifestyle groups, these are:
When marketing to children marketers rely on what they call 'pester power'. Pester power is the idea that upon seeing an advertisement which stimulates a response children will pester their parents into buying them the product. As well as pester power children are influenced by opinion leaders in the play ground who are seen to have the coolest must have thing. As shown below the children's market is huge equating to about £2.5 billion in revenue:
Toys 2008 £2.2 Bn
Comics 2008 £129 M
OTC Kids Medicines 2009 £203 M
To aid parents in dealing with pester power the ASA (advertising standards agency) outline guidelines which every marketing campaign must follow. These are that advertisements must not take advantage of children’s inexperience or their natural credulity and sense of loyalty to avoid arousing unrealistic expectations. Also marketing for expensive toys must include an indication of their price and this price must not be minimised by the use of such words as 'only' or 'just'. Further more Advertisements must avoid anything likely to encourage poor nutritional habits or an unhealthy lifestyle in children. They should also not directly ask children to buy or to ask their parents or other adults to make purchases. Promotional offers should be used with a due sense of responsibility and not targeted at pre-school or primary school. Further guidelines are that adverts must not ask children to ask their parents to buy something for them, must not imply that children will be inferior to others, mentally harm, physically harm or condone bullying. Below is a typical childrens advert for Cadbury's:
Marketing to over 50's
When marketing for the over 50's marketers try and use stimuli that relates to their past and when they were younger. Shown below are products which the over 50's market buy the most:
The over 50's top media mediums:
The over 50's main brands:
Further to marketing to the over 50's there is such a diversity within this age group that direct marketing is probably the only way to reach each one. Linked with direct marketing the over 50's group can be devided up into 5 lifestyle groups, these are:
- 'Thrifty Traditionals', accounting for 17% of the age group. They are not well off and budget for every penny, are heavy TV viewers and read down market tabloids.
- 'Outgoing Fun Lovers' contribute another 20%. They are magazine oriented, enjoy travelling, eating out, entertaining and are above average viewers of TV.
- 'Astute Cosmopolitans' account for 18% of the age group. These are the ones with most money, read broadsheet newspapers, specialist and lifestyle magazines. They enjoy foreign holidays and are light TV viewers.
- 'Apathetic Spenders' for a further 22% of the group. They take on debt through credit cards and do not like foreign holidays. Favoured newspapers are the tabloid press.
- 'Temperate Xenophobes' make up the remainder. They love the Radio Times, most definitely do not like foreign food or travelling abroad and are heavy TV users.
Social Class
Social class defined by Krech, Crutchfield & Ballachey in Dubois (2000) is a division of society made up of persons possessing certain common social characteristics which are taken to qualify them for intimate, equal status relations with one another, and which restrict their interaction with members of other social classes. At the turn of the century social class was split into three categories. These were lower class which was in the majority, middle class which were in the lesser majority and the upper class which was in the minority. However today class is more diverse and is split into 7:
Class is determined by personal or household per capita income or wealth / net worth, including the ownership of land, property, means of production. Class is also a result of occupation, education, qualifications and family background. Class is often associated with lifestyle and the class you belong to reflects an individuals cultural capital. In terms of advertising to the different classes someone who belongs to the higher classes and perhaps upper middle would be targeted by this sort of advert:
The advert is for the worlds only 7 star hotel in Dubai and is definitely aimed at the higher classes who would value this quality of service. An advert aimed at the lower classes on the other hand would feature common values and ordinary settings such as this heat magazine advert shown below:
Classes are normally ascribed at birth... but is it possible to change classes during a life time? Some celebrities or music icons who have the wealth and occupation to be in the higher classes can still be considered less. This is due to the fact that they normally hold the values and norms learned earlier in life true and thus maintain a lower class mentality. Despite this it is possible to achieve a different class but that classes norms and values have to be learned. Brands are also associated with class. For example brands such as Tesco and Iceland are generally associated with the lower and middle classes whereas brands such as John Lewis and Waitrose are seen as more of an upper middle and upper class commodity.
- Upper class
- Upper middle
- Middle middle
- Lower middle
- Working class
- Upper lower class
- Poverty class
Class is determined by personal or household per capita income or wealth / net worth, including the ownership of land, property, means of production. Class is also a result of occupation, education, qualifications and family background. Class is often associated with lifestyle and the class you belong to reflects an individuals cultural capital. In terms of advertising to the different classes someone who belongs to the higher classes and perhaps upper middle would be targeted by this sort of advert:The advert is for the worlds only 7 star hotel in Dubai and is definitely aimed at the higher classes who would value this quality of service. An advert aimed at the lower classes on the other hand would feature common values and ordinary settings such as this heat magazine advert shown below:
Classes are normally ascribed at birth... but is it possible to change classes during a life time? Some celebrities or music icons who have the wealth and occupation to be in the higher classes can still be considered less. This is due to the fact that they normally hold the values and norms learned earlier in life true and thus maintain a lower class mentality. Despite this it is possible to achieve a different class but that classes norms and values have to be learned. Brands are also associated with class. For example brands such as Tesco and Iceland are generally associated with the lower and middle classes whereas brands such as John Lewis and Waitrose are seen as more of an upper middle and upper class commodity.
Family purchasing behaviour and the roles of husbands and wives in domestic purchasing
In terms of family purchasing 80% of the UK purchasing decisions are made by women but 83% of 'creatives' are men. The main different family types are shown below:
Nuclear Family - father, mother & children who live together
Extended Family - nuclear family plus other relatives such as grandparents, aunts etc.
Family of Orientation - the family you are born into
Family of Procreation - the family founded through marriage
A family’s needs as consumers are affected by the number of children, their ages & whether one, two or more adults are employed outside the home. Further more the family life cycle concept which outlines income, family composition and changing demands on income also comes into play.
The Family Life-cycle:
Stage Title Characteristics
1 Bachelor Young, single, not living at home
2 Newly married Young, no children
3 Full Nest I Youngest child under 6
4 Full Nest II Youngest child 6 or over
5 Full Nest III Older married with dependent children
6 Empty Nest I Older married, no children living at home
7 Empty Nest II Older married, retired, no children living at home
8 Solitary Survivor I In labour force
9 Solitary Survivor II Retired
Family Roles and Decision Making
Field (1969) identified three dimensions to determine relative influences of husband, wife and children:
discernment - technical know how
price and expensiveness - who pays
satisfaction - who uses
In a traditional family the man is the main bread winner and earns the money that the women spends. However in the more modern family there is more shared participation with cultural background impacting on dominance of the husband or the wife. When marketing to the family the marketer must take into account who the gatekeeper of the money is, who the user is, who has influence over the purchase, who the buyer is and who the decider is within the family. Shown below are some statistics on who actually buys what within a traditional nuclear family:
Women are more likely to shop (Women 75% men 53%)
Men are more likely to do DIY (Men 46%, Women 26%)
Men are more likely to use the Internet (Men 49%, Women 40%)
Men are more likely to play computer games (Men 27%, Women 12%)
Men are more likely to have shopped online (Men 58%, Women 48%)
Around twice the number of men had bought computer software and hardware and electronic equipment)
Women shop online for groceries (Women 24%, Men 17%)
So in comparison wives tend to handle most fast moving consumer goods unless they are not specifically relevant to themselves. Further more women are more likely to shop all together with men more likely to buy and use technology and do DIY. Shown below is Davis & Rigaux's (1974) depiction on the husbands and wife's roles in family consumer decisions relevant to product category:
Relevant to the diagram above when marketing to the family marketers have to take into account whether a decision is joint, automatic or solely by the husband or wife. For example if i were to market a car to a family i would aim the advertisement at more of a male audience as it is usually the man who decides. On the other hand if were to market some kitchenware i would target the women as it is usually the women who decides. Shown below is a car advert aimed at a typical male audience:
Nuclear Family - father, mother & children who live together
Extended Family - nuclear family plus other relatives such as grandparents, aunts etc.
Family of Orientation - the family you are born into
Family of Procreation - the family founded through marriage
A family’s needs as consumers are affected by the number of children, their ages & whether one, two or more adults are employed outside the home. Further more the family life cycle concept which outlines income, family composition and changing demands on income also comes into play.
The Family Life-cycle:
Stage Title Characteristics
1 Bachelor Young, single, not living at home
2 Newly married Young, no children
3 Full Nest I Youngest child under 6
4 Full Nest II Youngest child 6 or over
5 Full Nest III Older married with dependent children
6 Empty Nest I Older married, no children living at home
7 Empty Nest II Older married, retired, no children living at home
8 Solitary Survivor I In labour force
9 Solitary Survivor II Retired
Family Roles and Decision Making
Field (1969) identified three dimensions to determine relative influences of husband, wife and children:
discernment - technical know how
price and expensiveness - who pays
satisfaction - who uses
In a traditional family the man is the main bread winner and earns the money that the women spends. However in the more modern family there is more shared participation with cultural background impacting on dominance of the husband or the wife. When marketing to the family the marketer must take into account who the gatekeeper of the money is, who the user is, who has influence over the purchase, who the buyer is and who the decider is within the family. Shown below are some statistics on who actually buys what within a traditional nuclear family:
Women are more likely to shop (Women 75% men 53%)
Men are more likely to do DIY (Men 46%, Women 26%)
Men are more likely to use the Internet (Men 49%, Women 40%)
Men are more likely to play computer games (Men 27%, Women 12%)
Men are more likely to have shopped online (Men 58%, Women 48%)
Around twice the number of men had bought computer software and hardware and electronic equipment)
Women shop online for groceries (Women 24%, Men 17%)
So in comparison wives tend to handle most fast moving consumer goods unless they are not specifically relevant to themselves. Further more women are more likely to shop all together with men more likely to buy and use technology and do DIY. Shown below is Davis & Rigaux's (1974) depiction on the husbands and wife's roles in family consumer decisions relevant to product category:
Relevant to the diagram above when marketing to the family marketers have to take into account whether a decision is joint, automatic or solely by the husband or wife. For example if i were to market a car to a family i would aim the advertisement at more of a male audience as it is usually the man who decides. On the other hand if were to market some kitchenware i would target the women as it is usually the women who decides. Shown below is a car advert aimed at a typical male audience:
Values
Values defined are a persons innate view on themselves and society. In terms of marketing 'if we believe our overall values drive our behaviour, then we should be concentrating on the important, underlying motives that drive consumers to make product or service choices rather than simply product attributes' (Ries & Trout 1982). Below is the 9 different values a consumer may have:
The search for an end state is termed as laddering. Laddering involves various stages or actions an individual must go through to achieve their goal or value. Laddering is split up into 6 stages, these are:
The advert states how the volkswagen Golf fits your life or your complete life there after. Thus the advert exploits consumers terminal values as it is acting as one of the steps towards a terminal value. Finally i took the VALS test to see what my values and terminal values were. My primary VALS type was an experiencer and my secondary type was a striver. The primary VALS type represents your dominant approach to life. The secondary classification represents a particular emphasis you give to your dominant approach.
- Self Respect
- Excitement
- Being Well Respected
- Self-fulfilment
- Sense of accomplishment
- Warm relationship with others
- Security
- Fun & enjoyment
- Sense of belonging
The search for an end state is termed as laddering. Laddering involves various stages or actions an individual must go through to achieve their goal or value. Laddering is split up into 6 stages, these are:
- Concrete attributes - Crisps
- Abstract attributes - Strong taste
- Functional consequences - Eat less
- Psychological consequences - Don't get fat
- Instrumental values - Slimmer and healthier
- Terminal values - Self esteem
The advert states how the volkswagen Golf fits your life or your complete life there after. Thus the advert exploits consumers terminal values as it is acting as one of the steps towards a terminal value. Finally i took the VALS test to see what my values and terminal values were. My primary VALS type was an experiencer and my secondary type was a striver. The primary VALS type represents your dominant approach to life. The secondary classification represents a particular emphasis you give to your dominant approach.
Thursday, 29 April 2010
Learning, memory and nostalgia
Learning
Learning within marketing is approached in two ways, the behaviourist approach and the cognitive learning approach. The behaviourist approach involves stimulus response connections. This is just a fancy way of saying learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior due to experience. There are two types of behaviourist learning, classical and operant conditioning.
Classical conditioning - This theory was developed by Ivan Pavlov through the study of dogs. From his perspective learning begins with a stimulus response connection. In this theory a certain stimulus leads to a particular response. Pavlov used a bell to train dogs to salivate when the bell was rung. In layman's terms classical conditioning is the learning that occurs when a stimulus eliciting a response is paired with another stimulus which initially does not elicit a response on its own, but will cause a similar response over time because of its association with the first stimulus. Therefore within marketing brands exploit this by creating association between logos, looks, music, sights and more to their brand name. An example is shown below:
Marks & Spencer is a great example as most people know that the visuals, the music and the soft spoken women relate to an M&S advert. Despite not knowing what the advertisement was for until the end when the M&S logo appears i bet you knew it was an M&S advert straight away?
Operant conditioning - This theory was developed by Burrhus Skinner and outlines reward based learning. The principal behind his theory is that when an individual gets a response followed by a reinforcing stimulus whatever the individual did to warrant this positive response is strengthened and therefore more likely to occur again. This works in the opposite way as well with a response that is not followed by a reinforcing stimulus being weakened and therefore less likely to occur again. An excellent example of this is shown below through feeding a fish:
Within marketing operant conditioning is used to create association between a reward such as a free item, discount or reward card points and a product or products. An example of operant conditioning in marketing is the free aftershave or perfume testers you find in magazines. The idea behind these testers is to get the consumer to try them and if they like them in theory they will buy the aftershave or perfume.
The cognitive learning approach is the second type of learning. Cognitive learning is defined as the acquisition of knowledge and skill by mental or cognitive processes. Cognitive processes include creating mental representations of physical objects and events, and other forms of information processing. In cognitive learning, the individual learns by listening, watching, touching, reading, or experiencing and then processing and remembering the information. Within marketing cognitive learning is used to consolidate the relationship between the customers and a brand by informing them and apprising them about the brand and offering trust and respect.
Memory
'Memory is the storage of learning and an internal representations of that knowledge'(Blakemore, 1988). Memory is split into 4 stages, these stages are:
For marketers memory has been long relied on to persuade the buying public to purchase their products. They use cues to make the consumer remember their past and experience a level of nostalgia that is pleasant to anchor that pleasant memory to their product. This leads nicely on to nostalgia.
Nostalgia
Nostalgia is 'when a stimulus is capable of recreating a personal event, even after many years, there often follows a bitter-sweet sentiment known as nostalgia' (Dubois, 2000). Marketers exploit nostalgia by offering nostalgic themes in their marketing mediums which draw on consumers past and link the happiness and good feeling felt in that past to their product. This i personally feel is sly but its a dog eat dog world these days, who dares wins!
Nostalgia and the 5 senses:
Learning within marketing is approached in two ways, the behaviourist approach and the cognitive learning approach. The behaviourist approach involves stimulus response connections. This is just a fancy way of saying learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior due to experience. There are two types of behaviourist learning, classical and operant conditioning.
Classical conditioning - This theory was developed by Ivan Pavlov through the study of dogs. From his perspective learning begins with a stimulus response connection. In this theory a certain stimulus leads to a particular response. Pavlov used a bell to train dogs to salivate when the bell was rung. In layman's terms classical conditioning is the learning that occurs when a stimulus eliciting a response is paired with another stimulus which initially does not elicit a response on its own, but will cause a similar response over time because of its association with the first stimulus. Therefore within marketing brands exploit this by creating association between logos, looks, music, sights and more to their brand name. An example is shown below:
Marks & Spencer is a great example as most people know that the visuals, the music and the soft spoken women relate to an M&S advert. Despite not knowing what the advertisement was for until the end when the M&S logo appears i bet you knew it was an M&S advert straight away?
Operant conditioning - This theory was developed by Burrhus Skinner and outlines reward based learning. The principal behind his theory is that when an individual gets a response followed by a reinforcing stimulus whatever the individual did to warrant this positive response is strengthened and therefore more likely to occur again. This works in the opposite way as well with a response that is not followed by a reinforcing stimulus being weakened and therefore less likely to occur again. An excellent example of this is shown below through feeding a fish:
Within marketing operant conditioning is used to create association between a reward such as a free item, discount or reward card points and a product or products. An example of operant conditioning in marketing is the free aftershave or perfume testers you find in magazines. The idea behind these testers is to get the consumer to try them and if they like them in theory they will buy the aftershave or perfume.
The cognitive learning approach is the second type of learning. Cognitive learning is defined as the acquisition of knowledge and skill by mental or cognitive processes. Cognitive processes include creating mental representations of physical objects and events, and other forms of information processing. In cognitive learning, the individual learns by listening, watching, touching, reading, or experiencing and then processing and remembering the information. Within marketing cognitive learning is used to consolidate the relationship between the customers and a brand by informing them and apprising them about the brand and offering trust and respect.
Memory
'Memory is the storage of learning and an internal representations of that knowledge'(Blakemore, 1988). Memory is split into 4 stages, these stages are:
- External input - Information is noted or learned
- Encoding - Information is placed in the memory
- Storage - Information is retained in the memory
- Retrieval - information stored in memory is found when needed
For marketers memory has been long relied on to persuade the buying public to purchase their products. They use cues to make the consumer remember their past and experience a level of nostalgia that is pleasant to anchor that pleasant memory to their product. This leads nicely on to nostalgia.
Nostalgia
Nostalgia is 'when a stimulus is capable of recreating a personal event, even after many years, there often follows a bitter-sweet sentiment known as nostalgia' (Dubois, 2000). Marketers exploit nostalgia by offering nostalgic themes in their marketing mediums which draw on consumers past and link the happiness and good feeling felt in that past to their product. This i personally feel is sly but its a dog eat dog world these days, who dares wins!
Nostalgia and the 5 senses:
- Music
- Images
- Smells
- Touch
- Taste
Group conformity, opinion leaders and peer pressure
A group defined is 'any number of entities (members) considered as a unit', something that shares a set of norms, have role relationships and experience interdependent behaviors. Groups influence the socialisation process which is what we learn and how we behave. Maslow (1954) developed his hierarchy of needs. This hierarchy of needs is shown below:
The sections at the bottom of the pyramid are basic needs for humans and as you work up the pyramid the need increases.
Physiological Needs
Physiological needs are basic things that humans require for survival. These include food, breathing and homeostasis.
Safety Needs
Safety needs are needs which humans require to be secure in society. These include a secure job, financial security, personal security, health and bell being and safety against accidence and illness.
Love and belonging
After physiological and safety needs are fulfilled humans seek emotional needs. These include friendship, intimacy, relationships and family as humans need to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance. This sense of belonging comes from large social groups, such as clubs, office culture, religious groups, professional organizations, sports teams, gangs (safety in numbers), or small social connections (family members, intimate partners, mentors, close colleagues, confidants). They need to love and be loved (sexually and non-sexually) by others. In the absence of these elements, many people become susceptible to loneliness, social anxiety, and clinical depression.
Esteem
All humans have a need to be respected and to have self-esteem and self-respect. Esteem presents the normal human desire to be accepted and valued by others. People need to engage themselves to gain recognition and have an activity or activities that give the person a sense of contribution, to feel accepted and self-valued, be it in a profession or hobby. People who have a low self esteem (inferiority complex) need respect from others.
Self-actualization
Self-actualization is what a person's full potential is and realizing that potential. Maslow describes this desire as the desire to become more and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming. This is a broad definition of the need for self-actualization, but when applied to individuals the need is specific.
In terms of marketing marketers aim there advertising and marketing at the belonging need. The reason for this is that most people in society need to belong to a group to feel part of society as a whole and to satisfy their emotions. Shown below is a video illustrating group conformity and belonging.
Types of Groups
Aspirational - Like to belong, e.g. Celebrities, sportsman, cool people
Acquired - Joined/moved in, e.g. Educational, work, scouts
Reference - Looked to for lifestyle, e.g. Rock stars, music icons
Ascribed - Born into, e.g. Family, gender, social class
Peer - People of equal standing, e.g. School, student, work, regular contact with
Associative - Realistically belong, e.g. College, friends, neighbours
Contrived - Formed for a specific purpose, e.g. Unions, committees
Disassociation - Hate to belong, e.g. Old people, chavs
People in society choose one of the groups above to belong to and these are the groups that different marketing targets. Reference groups can be considered the most useful for marketers as they set the trends that are society of sheep's follows. With people wanting to be different and having the latest consumer items marketers can exploit this the most. A reference groups influence is more powerful and important for purchases that are:
The main influence of groups is the acceptance of certain behaviour or the groups norms and values. An individual can react to this pressure by:
Compliance
Internalisation and identification
Counter conformity
The power to make an individual conform to group norms and values through pressure and influence is called peer pressure. A person affected by peer pressure may or may not want to be a member of a group in which peer pressure is present. Further more people affected by peer pressure may do undesirable things to fit in with the group. The power and effect of peer pressure depends on the imporatance of membership with the group, fear of negative sanctions and degree of support from others.
The sections at the bottom of the pyramid are basic needs for humans and as you work up the pyramid the need increases.
Physiological Needs
Physiological needs are basic things that humans require for survival. These include food, breathing and homeostasis.
Safety Needs
Safety needs are needs which humans require to be secure in society. These include a secure job, financial security, personal security, health and bell being and safety against accidence and illness.
Love and belonging
After physiological and safety needs are fulfilled humans seek emotional needs. These include friendship, intimacy, relationships and family as humans need to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance. This sense of belonging comes from large social groups, such as clubs, office culture, religious groups, professional organizations, sports teams, gangs (safety in numbers), or small social connections (family members, intimate partners, mentors, close colleagues, confidants). They need to love and be loved (sexually and non-sexually) by others. In the absence of these elements, many people become susceptible to loneliness, social anxiety, and clinical depression.
Esteem
All humans have a need to be respected and to have self-esteem and self-respect. Esteem presents the normal human desire to be accepted and valued by others. People need to engage themselves to gain recognition and have an activity or activities that give the person a sense of contribution, to feel accepted and self-valued, be it in a profession or hobby. People who have a low self esteem (inferiority complex) need respect from others.
Self-actualization
Self-actualization is what a person's full potential is and realizing that potential. Maslow describes this desire as the desire to become more and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming. This is a broad definition of the need for self-actualization, but when applied to individuals the need is specific.
In terms of marketing marketers aim there advertising and marketing at the belonging need. The reason for this is that most people in society need to belong to a group to feel part of society as a whole and to satisfy their emotions. Shown below is a video illustrating group conformity and belonging.
Types of Groups
Aspirational - Like to belong, e.g. Celebrities, sportsman, cool people
Acquired - Joined/moved in, e.g. Educational, work, scouts
Reference - Looked to for lifestyle, e.g. Rock stars, music icons
Ascribed - Born into, e.g. Family, gender, social class
Peer - People of equal standing, e.g. School, student, work, regular contact with
Associative - Realistically belong, e.g. College, friends, neighbours
Contrived - Formed for a specific purpose, e.g. Unions, committees
Disassociation - Hate to belong, e.g. Old people, chavs
People in society choose one of the groups above to belong to and these are the groups that different marketing targets. Reference groups can be considered the most useful for marketers as they set the trends that are society of sheep's follows. With people wanting to be different and having the latest consumer items marketers can exploit this the most. A reference groups influence is more powerful and important for purchases that are:
- Luxuries rather than necessities
- Socially conspicuous or visible to others
The main influence of groups is the acceptance of certain behaviour or the groups norms and values. An individual can react to this pressure by:
Compliance
Internalisation and identification
Counter conformity
The power to make an individual conform to group norms and values through pressure and influence is called peer pressure. A person affected by peer pressure may or may not want to be a member of a group in which peer pressure is present. Further more people affected by peer pressure may do undesirable things to fit in with the group. The power and effect of peer pressure depends on the imporatance of membership with the group, fear of negative sanctions and degree of support from others.
Peer pressure
Wednesday, 28 April 2010
Enterprise Festival
The enterprise festival took place between the 9th of November and the 27th of November 2009. This enterprise festival featured many events, lectures and opportunities to experience business, marketing and hear what people who've 'made it' have to say. The most notable event was the apprentice challenge with the first round on the 9th of November. The apprentice challenge comprised about 20 teams derived from any student studying any course at the university. These teams faced 2 elimination rounds and a final round in which the eventual goal was to make the most profit. In the first round the teams had to sell doughnuts between 11am - 3pm in the centre of High Wycombe. Each team had to acquire their doughnuts through retailers or other means and had to pick an area for their stall to sell the doughnuts. My team comprised 4 others and had our selling location outside of the local Primark. This is located with an arrow on the map shown below:
Prior to the event me and my team travelled to a local hotel in Marlow in which we met our sponsors and received £50. This money was to be used to buy the doughnuts and to fund any materials needed. The money spent on materials included bags, bag ties, bin lines, paper, pens, card, t-shirts and promoting the event. We managed to acquire our doughnuts from the local Sainsburrys at a discount and subsequently sold them for 50p each or 3 for a pound. By the end of the day our team made about £60 profit which sadly wasn't enough to get to the second round. Reasons for this include the location of our stall, as it was not directly in the centre of Wycombe, the competition, which included two other groups in close proximity and one of the team members being ill and not attending the event. Even though i did not get through to the second round ill talk about the subsequent rounds anyway. The second round was similar to the first and was held on the 13th of November. The objective was to sell any products seen as profitable and appropriate at the time of year. The remaining teams had to produce a sales pitch showing off their idea for the second round. Only 6 teams were allowed through and were given a further £200 sponsorship money to sell their products in the Eden Centre in High Wycombe. Only the 2 teams who made the most money could advance from the second round to the final round. This final round was held in the university student union. Both teams had to stage an event for the students and the team which made the most profit won. The winners could keep the money they had made and an additional £2000 for 1st prize.
On the 12th of November I attended the bucks got talent meeting. The idea of the bucks got talent meeting was to choose 6 musicians and bands to feature in the beat the bands event on the 19th of November.This was an opportunity to show off my friends band from Crowborough (my hometown). I showed a mix tape of their best songs to 3 of the music industry's 'big wigs' and they loved it! My friends band, called Slug Orange got through and geared up to face the opposition. The winner of the beat the bands event was to be given 3 days recording time with the new university recording studios. Unfortunately my friends band came 3rd but still participated and rocked the place. Slug orange:
Slug Orange!! 
Finally i attended the telling it like it is lecture on the 16th of November. This lecture involved 5 top ranking people within the marketing and advertising industries. These included Rick Haslam from RAPP, Sue Elms from Millward Brown, Sue Unnerman from MediaCom, George Hudson from Burson Marsteiller and Matthew Chapman from Billetts.
They all noted how Facebook and Twitter is the future for marketing with allot of mediums going to be online as a pay to view service. They also emphasised the idea of viral marketing as its cheap and can broadcast a brand to a wider audience easier. The Panel also stressed the need for work experience to appeal unique to an employer as having just a degree these days isn't enough. The enterprise festival comprised many other events but most were not that relevant to my course thus i didn't attend.
Prior to the event me and my team travelled to a local hotel in Marlow in which we met our sponsors and received £50. This money was to be used to buy the doughnuts and to fund any materials needed. The money spent on materials included bags, bag ties, bin lines, paper, pens, card, t-shirts and promoting the event. We managed to acquire our doughnuts from the local Sainsburrys at a discount and subsequently sold them for 50p each or 3 for a pound. By the end of the day our team made about £60 profit which sadly wasn't enough to get to the second round. Reasons for this include the location of our stall, as it was not directly in the centre of Wycombe, the competition, which included two other groups in close proximity and one of the team members being ill and not attending the event. Even though i did not get through to the second round ill talk about the subsequent rounds anyway. The second round was similar to the first and was held on the 13th of November. The objective was to sell any products seen as profitable and appropriate at the time of year. The remaining teams had to produce a sales pitch showing off their idea for the second round. Only 6 teams were allowed through and were given a further £200 sponsorship money to sell their products in the Eden Centre in High Wycombe. Only the 2 teams who made the most money could advance from the second round to the final round. This final round was held in the university student union. Both teams had to stage an event for the students and the team which made the most profit won. The winners could keep the money they had made and an additional £2000 for 1st prize.
On the 12th of November I attended the bucks got talent meeting. The idea of the bucks got talent meeting was to choose 6 musicians and bands to feature in the beat the bands event on the 19th of November.This was an opportunity to show off my friends band from Crowborough (my hometown). I showed a mix tape of their best songs to 3 of the music industry's 'big wigs' and they loved it! My friends band, called Slug Orange got through and geared up to face the opposition. The winner of the beat the bands event was to be given 3 days recording time with the new university recording studios. Unfortunately my friends band came 3rd but still participated and rocked the place. Slug orange:
Finally i attended the telling it like it is lecture on the 16th of November. This lecture involved 5 top ranking people within the marketing and advertising industries. These included Rick Haslam from RAPP, Sue Elms from Millward Brown, Sue Unnerman from MediaCom, George Hudson from Burson Marsteiller and Matthew Chapman from Billetts.
They all noted how Facebook and Twitter is the future for marketing with allot of mediums going to be online as a pay to view service. They also emphasised the idea of viral marketing as its cheap and can broadcast a brand to a wider audience easier. The Panel also stressed the need for work experience to appeal unique to an employer as having just a degree these days isn't enough. The enterprise festival comprised many other events but most were not that relevant to my course thus i didn't attend.
Monday, 26 April 2010
Gender differences in buyer behavior and reacting to advertising and direct marketing
By nature men and women are wired differently. Primarily there are seven big differences between the sexes, these are:
This advert is definitive of what a mans mind and buyer behavior is like, straight forward, to the point and no nonsense. Their 'man's crisps' why bother with the micro elements! When marketing to women on the other hand adverts are often more detailed and appeal to glamour, beauty and youth. Also women tend to appreciate very fine distinctions, such as 5 different variations of shampoo-for curly hair, straight hair, oily hair, dry hair. Further more women like adverts that relate to them or in marketing terms self reference. Self referencing for women is a desire to own a product because it relates to them and they can imagine themselves owning it. An example of this is shown below in an advert for women's perfume:
Within this advert the use of colour, a massive house, the contrast between white and pink and the shape of the perfume bottle (an apple) all appeal to a women's marketing stimuli. In reflection this advert is almost perfect and reflects female buyer behavior focusing on glamour, beauty and youth. Shown below is Mark Gungor's comedy depiction of the difference between men and women's brains:
- Human relationships - Women tend to communicate better than men, create solutions that work for everyone, talk through issues, and use non-verbal cues such as tone, emotion, and empathy. Men on the other hand tend to be more task-oriented, less talkative, and more isolated. Further to this, men find it harder to understand emotion if it is not directly shown. Women on the other hand can pick up on emotional queues and understand emotion better.
- The use of the brain - Men tend to use more of the left side of their brain. The left side of the brain tends to focus on analytical thought, logic, language, science and maths. Women on the other hand utilise both sides of their brain that of the left brain and the right brain which focuses on holistic thought, intuition, creativity, art and music. This is why men tend to do better at left brain activities and problem solving and women excel at solving problems creatively and being aware of emotion. Look at the rotating image shown below:
If the image rotates clockwise you use more of the right side of your brain and anti-clockwise, the left. - Mathematical ability - Men have been proven to have a better ability to solve mathematical problems in comparison to women. This is a result of men having a significantly larger IPL (inferior-parietal lobule). The IPL is used to estimate time, judge speed, visualize things three-dimensionally and solve mathematical problems.
- Reaction to stress - Men and women also act differently when faced with situations of stress. Men when faced with stress release testosterone and induce a fight or flight reaction. Women on the other hand release oxytocin and have a tend and befriend attitude which calms and nurtures.
- Language - In the case of language the area of the brain associated with language was found to be larger in women's brains. Further to this women were able to utilize this area in both sides of their brain opposed to men who can only utilize it on their dominant side.
- Emotions - Emotionally women have a larger deep limbic system than men. This results in women having a better connection with other peoples feelings and how to express their own. However the negative effects of this is a greater risk of depression, especially during ovulation.
- Spatial ability - Finally men typically have a better spatial awareness and ability to mentally depict what an image should look like. This is due to women having a thicker parietal region of the brain, which hinders their ability to mentally rotate objects.
Stress!!!
This advert is definitive of what a mans mind and buyer behavior is like, straight forward, to the point and no nonsense. Their 'man's crisps' why bother with the micro elements! When marketing to women on the other hand adverts are often more detailed and appeal to glamour, beauty and youth. Also women tend to appreciate very fine distinctions, such as 5 different variations of shampoo-for curly hair, straight hair, oily hair, dry hair. Further more women like adverts that relate to them or in marketing terms self reference. Self referencing for women is a desire to own a product because it relates to them and they can imagine themselves owning it. An example of this is shown below in an advert for women's perfume:
Within this advert the use of colour, a massive house, the contrast between white and pink and the shape of the perfume bottle (an apple) all appeal to a women's marketing stimuli. In reflection this advert is almost perfect and reflects female buyer behavior focusing on glamour, beauty and youth. Shown below is Mark Gungor's comedy depiction of the difference between men and women's brains:
Wednesday, 21 April 2010
Personality and Self Concept
Personality
Sigmund Freud (1923) on the other hand recognised the importance of the unconscious mind. Freud outlined how everyone is born with their ID. This ID is an individuals pleasure principal which is what an individual wants at any time. This is seen as the selfish and ideological part of a persons personality. But this is not the only part. Consumers also have an ego. This ego is the mediator. This ego is an individuals sense of reality and understanding of other peoples needs and desires. The ego meets the needs of the ID whilst taking into consideration the reality of the need. Finally Freud described a superego. This superego is strongly associated with the conscience and shapes a persons belief of right and wrong.
In terms of marketing the personality is a key aspect in influencing buyer behaviour. For example, if an individual is more concerned about there ID, don't really have an ego and have an abnormal superego controlling what they do; they would tend to make irrational decisions. Thus this sort of person would buy items just because they want to and can at that time. Thus they would not take into account there financial situation or the effects there actions may have on others. Further to this a persons personality can also be related to the type of brand and product they buy. Jennifer Aaker (1994) demonstrates this with her brand personality framework. This is shown below:
Personality defined is 'the complex of all the attributes--behavioral, temperamental, emotional and mental--that characterize a unique individual' or 'inner psychological characteristics that both determine and reflect how a person responds to his or her environment.' John Holland (1996) developed a theory on personality. This theory outlined how there are four aspects which influence a persons personality, these are:
- The external aspect: how a person interacts with other people.
- The internal aspect: a combination of their values and attitudes.
- The dynamic aspect: faced with a new situation how they behave.
- The consistent aspect: their characteristic style.
Holland then went on to outline 6 different types of personality, these are:
- Realistic - practical, physical, hands-on, tool-oriented
- Investigative - analytical, intellectual, scientific, explorative
- Artistic - creative, original, independent, chaotic
- Social - cooperative, supporting, helping, healing/nurturing
- Enterprising - competitive environments, leadership, persuading
- Conventional - detail-oriented, organizing, clerical
To the left is Hollands six different types of personality in the form of a hexagon (RIASEC). Holland outlined how the distance between each type of personality determined how close each personality is related.
Raymond Cattell (1946) also produced a theory on personality. This theory stated how there are 16 parts to an individuals personality and there are high and low range aspects to each. The 16 high and low range aspects are:
Low
High
Sigmund Freud (1923) on the other hand recognised the importance of the unconscious mind. Freud outlined how everyone is born with their ID. This ID is an individuals pleasure principal which is what an individual wants at any time. This is seen as the selfish and ideological part of a persons personality. But this is not the only part. Consumers also have an ego. This ego is the mediator. This ego is an individuals sense of reality and understanding of other peoples needs and desires. The ego meets the needs of the ID whilst taking into consideration the reality of the need. Finally Freud described a superego. This superego is strongly associated with the conscience and shapes a persons belief of right and wrong.
In terms of marketing the personality is a key aspect in influencing buyer behaviour. For example, if an individual is more concerned about there ID, don't really have an ego and have an abnormal superego controlling what they do; they would tend to make irrational decisions. Thus this sort of person would buy items just because they want to and can at that time. Thus they would not take into account there financial situation or the effects there actions may have on others. Further to this a persons personality can also be related to the type of brand and product they buy. Jennifer Aaker (1994) demonstrates this with her brand personality framework. This is shown below:
- Sincerity (down-to-earth, honest, wholesome, cheerful)
- Excitement (daring, spirited, imaginative, up-to-date)
- Competence (reliable, intelligent, successful)
- Sophistication (upper class, charming)
- Ruggedness (outdoorsy, tough)
Brands tend to aim there brand image towards one of the five above. Thus the type of personality an individual has would influence what type of brand they would want to buy. For example a brand such as Nike advertise their brand as rugged and exciting, this is shown below in a Nike advert:
The advert is supposedly set in Thierry Henry's house and immediately imposes a sense of ruggedness due to its setting. The advert features Henry trying to hold possession of the football against various other famous and recognised footballers using the objects of his house to hold the ball. The advert is both exciting and imposes a sense of ruggedness and an emphasis on sport. Therefore this advert perfectly imposes Nike's brand and the image it wants to put across to its customers.
On the other hand a brand such as Toyota would try and make their brand come across as competent, sincere and slightly sophisticated. This is shown in a Toyota advert below:
Within this advert the use of Toyota engineers acting as objects of the car such as the seat belts and cup holders emphasises the competence and sincerity of the Toyota brand. This idea of using people as objects of the car is Toyota's way of outlining how they care about their brand image and their consumers. This is further apparent in the recent problem with the Toyota accelerator pedals. Thus to protect their brand they recalled all the cars that were affected and replaced the pedals for free.
The idea of a brand personality has only become the main feature of attracting customers in recent years. Originally brands were product based but over time evolved into being sales based, market based, marketing based and eventually brand based. A brands personality is a result of two main factors, the brands identity (who they are) and the current market and consumer trends. This in turn influences the brands marketing strategy and behaviour, this is shown in the diagram below:
Further to this an example of a company that has successfully developed its brand personality is that of innocent smoothies. Innocent focused on their identity (offering a completely natural product) and combined this with the current consumer trend of concern about green issues and cleaning up the planet. Shown below is a video of their marketing strategy and how to develop a brand personality:
I myself conducted a personality test known as the Myers Briggs personality test to see how easily personality can be grouped into categories and whether my personality suits the category. The results showed that my personality was ESTJ. E standing for extrovert, meaning i am concerned more with the outer world, S standing for sensing, meaning that i sense the world in the present, T standing for thinking, meaning i think when making judgements and J standing for judge, meaning i judge things in the outside world. In reflection this does match what i perceive my personality to be. However this test can be subjective and bias if conducted by your self.
Self Concept
Self concept defined is 'the composite of ideas, feelings and attitudes that a person has about their own identity, worth, capabilities and limitations'. An individual may have a negative self concept even though most people perceive them in a positive light or vice versa. The perceived self in turn influences their perception of the world around them. Whether self concept or perception is dominant is up to the individual. Self concept is further broken down into three defining factors. These are self image, ideal self and self esteem. Self image is how an individual sees there self in society and who they think they are. Self image usually comprises social roles, body image & personality traits. Ideal self on the other hand is the kind of person someone would like to be, this maybe slightly or greatly different from their self image. The larger the difference between self image and ideal self the lower an individual’s self esteem. An example of ideal self is shown below through weight loss:
The final self concept is self esteem. Self esteem is the extent that we like ourselves and whether we accept or approve of our self image. This idea is shown in the image below:
William James (1890) generated a theory on self concept. He argued that our sense of self includes not just our inner values, interests and traits, but also our friends, intimate relationships, and even our possessions. James called these inner values the pure ego, or the ‘I’ and our friends and intimate relationships the ‘me’. He concluded that the ‘me’ comes in three basic types: the ‘material me’, the ‘social me’, and the ‘spiritual me. James then went on to argue that self-concept derives from social comparisons with peers, family and reference groups.
On the other hand Charles Cooley (1902) outlined how a person's self concept grows out of society's interpersonal interactions and the perceptions of others. In laymans terms peoples self concept grows out of interaction with others and changes depending on the person. Cooley clarified this by stating that society is an interweaving and inter working of mental selves. Cooley outlined his concept as 'the looking glass self' and is shown below:
In terms of marketing self concept is as useful or perhaps even more useful then personality. Marketers can use self concept to appeal to consumers to buy products that will symbolically represent the ideal self that they may be attempting to achieve. However targeting these consumers is only useful if the consumer is unhappy with there self image and or have a low self esteem. Further more self concept is also useful in terms of brand recall. The resaon behind this is that marketing that is similiar to a persons self concept can increase the level of brand recall as it may appeal to their self image, level of self esteem and maybe even their ideal self.
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