Over the past three months we have been looking at consumer behaviour patterns and have carried out research at Asda, Sainsbury’s and the co operative. One of our aims from this research was to find out how the global recession is affecting the way people shop.
This report outlines our research into how people behave differently in these stores and if the recession is changing the way these stores are advertising themselves to the consumer.
Our group has chosen five emotive brands (Pepsi, Pampers, Lloyd Grossman sauces, Warburton’s and Lynx) our aim was to discover how they connected with the mind of the consumer. This report will look at theories such as collectivism, individualism and globalisation. It will comment on our findings from the consumer research that was undertaken.
Consumer behaviour is the study of why people buy what they do, and can be explained by researching into the following-
*The psychology of how consumers think, feel, reason, and select between different alternatives (e.g., brands, products)
*The psychology of how the consumer is influenced by his or her environment (e.g., culture, family, signs, media);
*The behaviour of consumers while shopping or making other marketing decisions;
*How consumer motivation and decision strategies differ between products that differ in their level of importance or interest that they entail for the consumer.
All of this research helps marketers to see how they can adapt and improve their marketing campaigns and strategies to effectively reach the consumer.
Consumption is a common concept in economics. As human beings we continually consume different products throughout our lives, some of these are basic needs and some of these are desires. Most marketers focus on our desires when introducing a new product for example - you already have a perfectly good car but you want a new one. It may be aspirational or appeal to our emotional side, or insecurities often we feel we have to have it but cannot justify why. One way which advertisers manipulate consumers is through Consumer capitalism - an economic and cultural condition where by the consumer demands are manipulated by the seller to their advantage, this will involve mass marketing techniques and will be on a large scale. People like to feel as though they have free choice over any decision they make, the reality is that they are subconsciously herded towards certain products, Edward Bernays became the “father of public relations” and used psychology and sociology principles together with motivational research techniques to manipulate public opinion and persuaded people to buy products such as cigarettes, which are damaging to ones health. Influences such a PR, past experiences with a brand and peer pressure can change people’s behaviour and views about certain subjects.
Other factors that effect what we buy are the theories of individualism and collectivism these are conflicting views of the nature of humans, society and the relationship between them. Individualists hold the view that the individual is the most important and although they do not deny that societies exist people who hold this view believe that society is made up of individuals.
Collectivist’s hold the view that the group - the nation, the community, the race, etc.
Are the primary unit of reality and the ultimate standard of value. People who hold this view do not deny the reality of the individual. But ultimately, collectivism states that the groups we interact with determine our identity, that our identity is composed of relationships with others.
Different brands can be marketed in both ways e.g. Lynx may make you feel the brand is talking directly to you as a 16 year old male but it is also talking to teenage males as a large group.
Identity is very important “it is not just a set of computerised data that distinguishes one person from another, identity is something much deeper and personal; ultimately it's about personal worth. Our identity is about how we perceive ourselves in relation to our families, our society, our gender, and our beliefs. It's also about how we perceive and value each other.” The brand preferences that we form a young age can distinguish who we are and can feel as though they are part of us.
Pepsi taps into these young people’s minds and connects with them at an early age, Pepsi’s markets itself towards young people with slogans such as “generation next” and “be young have fun drink Pepsi”. Pepsi originally found success by marketing itself as better value than Coca Cola when it introduced a 12 ounce bottle for 5 cents. Coca Cola was twice the price of Pepsi it was a strategy that worked in a time of depression, it boosted Pepsi’s status and by 1936 their profits doubled. This worked for Pepsi when it was first launched, and today Pepsi is using promotion again to try to outsell coca cola, supermarkets are consistently selling Pepsi at a lower promotional price. They seem to be using the strategy of price promotion again. Carbonated drinks tend to struggle with older consumers during recessionary times as they are considered discretionary purchases.
Pepsi still have their own base of loyal customers, who will always choose Pepsi over Coca Cola or any store alternative. It is made up of primarily a younger demographic.
Pepsi’s advertising campaigns frequently use celebrities to endorse their products they spend huge amounts of money to get the product into the minds of the consumers these celebrities can often be in the back of the mind of the consumer when making a purchasing decision.
Pepsi has become a global brand through the process of globalisation. This explained simply it is the process, by which the capitalist world-system spreads across the globe. It has brought about the choice of thousands of products to the masses. Globalisation has brought about free trade broken down barriers of social and cultural differences and meant that it has become easier for brands to have one global identity This has meant that some brands for example Jif have changed to Cif for the European market, and more recently Norwich union which is a very British brand has changed to Aviva, this is so it appeals to the European market.
In 2008 Britain entered the global recession, which has meant that people have had to re evaluate their shopping habits people have cut back on luxury items as their disposable income has shrunk.
They have had to rationalise their purchases the housing market has collapsed and the car industry is struggling everyone is being effected down to supermarket brands which have suffered because people are switching to the store’s own brand.
We carried out an experiment into items that were on promotion versus full price items and watched consumers to see whether price would effect their decision
We carried this experiment out in the crisps and snack aisle.
We found that Walkers were still the most popular product and most people decided to buy the large multipack which were on promotion, however larger families were choosing to buy the store brand multi-pack, which was considerably cheaper, these results are not isolated and show a trend towards people choosing cheaper store brands.
The recession has meant that advertisers have had to think of new strategies to get people spending.
“In advertising, different creative strategies are used in order to obtain consumer attention and provoke shoppers to purchase or use a specific product. Advertisers use different ways of thinking to create catchy slogans that capture consumer attention. Creative strategies promote publicity, public relations, personal selling and sales promotion.”
I have looked at how supermarkets have changed their advertising strategies during the recession. Asda have always been well known for their low prices, in 2008 they introduced a new slogan “why pay more?” Asda knew that its customers would be thinking about how they could save money and they knew most of Britain would be thinking the same. They wanted to attract consumers who currently shopped elsewhere by making price comparisons between all the major supermarkets. They used an independent price checker - my supermarket.com to show people that it wasn’t just false claims.
Sainsbury’s didn’t want to lose their customers to cheaper stores like Asda they knew that they were a higher priced supermarket, so they introduced “feed your family for a fiver”- which involved buying Sainsbury’s own brand products to make recipes.
They also introduced “switch and save” where they encouraged their consumers to switch to Sainsbury’s own brand and save 20% they started to advertise their basics range which they had not done previously.
People can be influenced by their peers into buying or using products or services. It is often more effective than advertising as people know that companies want to sell their products and wouldn’t ever highlight the negative aspects of their product. So consumers often trust family member and friends over any advertising they may have seen.
Peoples buying behaviour is also affected by their economic means, when people have less money they alter their behaviour accordingly they will cut back on discretionary purchases and even though their individuality is important to them they may hold back on large purchases that they want to make because they simply cannot afford them.
Buying behaviour we observed:
We counted people as they went into each store, Asda had the most customers compared to Sainsbury’s, showing that people are aware of Asda’s pricing position and I saw a lot of families and students who may be on a limited budget.
In Asda I was aware that people were much more aware of price, also there wasn’t the same stigmas around choosing economy brands that there were in Sainsbury’s- some people would have trolleys full of smart price food.
Couples- the man would push the trolley and the woman would fill it
I observed an argument over branded Chinese sauce the woman wanted the Sharwoods brand and the man wanted the Asda brand, as it was cheaper. They chose the Asda brand in the end.
I saw people put items back that they had in their trolleys when they saw similar branded items on promotion one example of this was Coca Cola and Pepsi. This was probably to do with the price difference rather than a particular brand preference as they were placed next to each other on the shelves.
People were still buying branded products but they were more aware of price and
promotion played a part in their purchase decision.
Some of the people shopping in Sainsbury’s were young professionals just picking up something for lunch so it was difficult to predict which brands they would buy in a weekly shop.
The majority of people that I observed in Sainsbury’s were older (probably due to the time of day and it was mid-week) but they weren’t as concerned about price, I saw a lot of people continue to buy Andrex toilet roll and McCain’s chips these items were not on promotion. Had it been a family doing a weekly shop I suspect that they may have been more price conscious, as Sainsbury’s money saving campaigns seem to suggest families are concerned about the rising cost of living.
To conclude consumer behaviour changes dramatically in times of economic trouble, people become a lot more aware of the purchases they are making (even if usually the decisions are processed at low attention, with little thought) when money is tight people start to cut back on non essential items and look at cheaper alternatives, brands such as Pepsi have been able to form emotional attachments with their younger more loyal audience, but may have to work hard to attract new ones who may choose lower priced store brands.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
are brands in trouble?
branded suppliers were left reeling this week as Tesco and Sainsbury’s both launched concerted campaigns promoting their own-label ranges at the expense of brands.
Sainsbury’s announced a massive Switch & Save campaign, across all media, that will encourage shoppers to buy the retailer’s 15,000 own labels; while the Tesco website, Tesco.com, now flags up a cheaper alternative, usually own-label, when shoppers select a brand. Tesco’s initiative is backed by TV ads showing brands being replaced by cheaper alternatives.
Branded suppliers have reacted angrily to the initiatives, suggesting retailers were deliberately trying to damage brands. The CEO of one leading brand said the push showed the multiples were in trouble. “We are doing well. Evidently they aren’t,” he said. “It says more about them than it does about us.”
Another supplier said he was worried his business would suffer. “I see this as a deliberate attempt to damage my business by promoting competitors. I thought we had been singled out as some form of punishment for not toeing the line,” he said. “We were not told Tesco were doing this: we found out by accident because we check the retail price every day. I’m not happy. Of course it will damage sales.”
A Tesco spokeswoman said the new web feature was just part of its efforts to improve online shopping. “This feature just lets customers do what they can do in our stores – see what’s on offer,” she said. A Sainsbury’s spokeswoman said: “Our customers can make significant savings by switching from a brand to any of our own-label products.”
Sainsbury’s surveyed 1,000 people on their attitudes to brands and own labels. The survey showed 51% of consumers believed big brands were losing their importance and 35% thought they represented “pointless added expense”. Sainsbury’s said customers could save 20% by switching to own-label products.
Despite the lower retail price, supermarkets enjoy higher margins on own labels than brands. But The Grocer 33 database suggests own-label products are rising in price more rapidly than brand counterparts.
The Grocer Price Index indicates that while own labels remain significantly cheaper, the gap could be closing. The cost of an average The Grocer 33 basket is up 13.9% year-on-year. Own-label products increased by an average of 18.9% since last year, while brands rose just 8.6%.
The figures suggest Sainsbury’s has the smallest gap between own-label and branded price growth, at 6.9 points. Morrisons appeared highest at 13.9 points, with Waitrose, Asda and Tesco spread evenly in between on 8.7, 10.9 and 12 points respectively.
Sainsbury’s announced a massive Switch & Save campaign, across all media, that will encourage shoppers to buy the retailer’s 15,000 own labels; while the Tesco website, Tesco.com, now flags up a cheaper alternative, usually own-label, when shoppers select a brand. Tesco’s initiative is backed by TV ads showing brands being replaced by cheaper alternatives.
Branded suppliers have reacted angrily to the initiatives, suggesting retailers were deliberately trying to damage brands. The CEO of one leading brand said the push showed the multiples were in trouble. “We are doing well. Evidently they aren’t,” he said. “It says more about them than it does about us.”
Another supplier said he was worried his business would suffer. “I see this as a deliberate attempt to damage my business by promoting competitors. I thought we had been singled out as some form of punishment for not toeing the line,” he said. “We were not told Tesco were doing this: we found out by accident because we check the retail price every day. I’m not happy. Of course it will damage sales.”
A Tesco spokeswoman said the new web feature was just part of its efforts to improve online shopping. “This feature just lets customers do what they can do in our stores – see what’s on offer,” she said. A Sainsbury’s spokeswoman said: “Our customers can make significant savings by switching from a brand to any of our own-label products.”
Sainsbury’s surveyed 1,000 people on their attitudes to brands and own labels. The survey showed 51% of consumers believed big brands were losing their importance and 35% thought they represented “pointless added expense”. Sainsbury’s said customers could save 20% by switching to own-label products.
Despite the lower retail price, supermarkets enjoy higher margins on own labels than brands. But The Grocer 33 database suggests own-label products are rising in price more rapidly than brand counterparts.
The Grocer Price Index indicates that while own labels remain significantly cheaper, the gap could be closing. The cost of an average The Grocer 33 basket is up 13.9% year-on-year. Own-label products increased by an average of 18.9% since last year, while brands rose just 8.6%.
The figures suggest Sainsbury’s has the smallest gap between own-label and branded price growth, at 6.9 points. Morrisons appeared highest at 13.9 points, with Waitrose, Asda and Tesco spread evenly in between on 8.7, 10.9 and 12 points respectively.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Individualism in Consumer Behaviour
Individual differences can affect what you buy.
For example, age. Teenagers tend to buy a variety of ‘fashion’ products. These products are usually the ones that are the latest in the market, or are featured in magazines. Older generation tend to use familiar products, maybe products that they’ve used for a long period of time. They show more brand loyalty with their products. They also go for higher end products and ‘stable’ companies that have been around for a long period of time. Maybe not try new things, as they are comfortable with using brands they are familiar with.
Gender can also affect what we buy, too. Women have more disposable products, toiletries, especially make up. They spend a lot of their money on looking good. Whether it be clothing or toiletries. The products they buy are in competition with the same sex. It’s all about ’the longest lashes’ or ’better skin’ when it comes to toiletries. They are a lot more fashion conscious, not necessarily to attract the opposite sex, but to keep up with other females. They go for products that are high fashion, and appear in magazines. Males use products, particularly toiletries, to attract the opposite sex. Although there may be competition between the same sex, this doesn’t seem as big an issue. They go for products that have the ‘cool’ factor. Products that look advanced and are more technological.
Individual tastes can also affect sales. Vegans and vegetarians may only use certain products from selected stores. They don’t go for products that have been tested on animals, so they only shop in stores that have a anti animal testing philosophy. Religion can also affect what consumers buy. For example, Muslims don’t eat pork.
Family life can also affect what people buy. Depending on the size of your family and work, you may not be able to afford the higher end products.
For example, age. Teenagers tend to buy a variety of ‘fashion’ products. These products are usually the ones that are the latest in the market, or are featured in magazines. Older generation tend to use familiar products, maybe products that they’ve used for a long period of time. They show more brand loyalty with their products. They also go for higher end products and ‘stable’ companies that have been around for a long period of time. Maybe not try new things, as they are comfortable with using brands they are familiar with.
Gender can also affect what we buy, too. Women have more disposable products, toiletries, especially make up. They spend a lot of their money on looking good. Whether it be clothing or toiletries. The products they buy are in competition with the same sex. It’s all about ’the longest lashes’ or ’better skin’ when it comes to toiletries. They are a lot more fashion conscious, not necessarily to attract the opposite sex, but to keep up with other females. They go for products that are high fashion, and appear in magazines. Males use products, particularly toiletries, to attract the opposite sex. Although there may be competition between the same sex, this doesn’t seem as big an issue. They go for products that have the ‘cool’ factor. Products that look advanced and are more technological.
Individual tastes can also affect sales. Vegans and vegetarians may only use certain products from selected stores. They don’t go for products that have been tested on animals, so they only shop in stores that have a anti animal testing philosophy. Religion can also affect what consumers buy. For example, Muslims don’t eat pork.
Family life can also affect what people buy. Depending on the size of your family and work, you may not be able to afford the higher end products.
Repetition in learning - Repetition codes.
Repetition codes are not special "codes" so much as they are tricks to try to reduce the error rate. In a repetition code, data is transmitted multiple times, verbatim. The receiver reads enough of these repeats until a clear consensus emerges as to the value of the message.
Perhaps the most popular repetition code is "triple modular redundancy", sending the same message 3 times.
To send n data bits with k repetitions, nk bits need to be transmitted.
Other, more complicated codes can detect and correct occasional single-bit errors with much less overhead, giving a higher goodput data rate through the same channel.
Let's say we have a repeated message of 3 bits that is sent 3 times. When it is received, each message is different:
101
001
100
Because we didn't receive exactly the same message all 3 times, we have detected that some errors occurred.
We can see that the middle bit is almost certainly a 0, because it is the same in all messages. We can also see that the first and the last digit are likely to be a 1 because 2 out of 3 of the messages say that these values are 1. The transmitted message then was most likely 101.
Perhaps the most popular repetition code is "triple modular redundancy", sending the same message 3 times.
To send n data bits with k repetitions, nk bits need to be transmitted.
Other, more complicated codes can detect and correct occasional single-bit errors with much less overhead, giving a higher goodput data rate through the same channel.
Let's say we have a repeated message of 3 bits that is sent 3 times. When it is received, each message is different:
101
001
100
Because we didn't receive exactly the same message all 3 times, we have detected that some errors occurred.
We can see that the middle bit is almost certainly a 0, because it is the same in all messages. We can also see that the first and the last digit are likely to be a 1 because 2 out of 3 of the messages say that these values are 1. The transmitted message then was most likely 101.
Repetition Theory - Different forms of repetition
alliterationRepetition of the same sound at the beginning of two or more stressed syllables.
assonanceRepetition of similar vowel sounds, preceded and followed by different consonants, in the stressed syllables of adjacent words.
consonanceThe repetition of consonants in words stressed in the same place (but whose vowels differ). Also, a kind of inverted alliteration, in which final consonants, rather than initial or medial ones, repeat in nearby words.
homoioptotonThe repetition of similar case endings in adjacent words or in words in parallel position.
homoioteleutonSimilarity of endings of adjacent or parallel words.
paroemionAlliteration taken to an extreme — every word in a sentence begins with the same consonant.
paromoiosisParallelism of sound between the words of adjacent clauses whose lengths are equal or approximate to one another. The combination of isocolon and assonance.
Repetition of Words
adnominatio (When synonymous with polyptoton)Repeating a word, but in a different form. Using a cognate of a given word in close proximity.
anadiplosisThe repetition of the last word of one clause or sentence at the beginning of the next.
anaphoraRepetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive clauses, sentences, or lines.
antanaclasisThe repetition of a word whose meaning changes in the second instance.
antistasisThe repetition of a word in a contrary sense. Often, simply synonymous with antanaclasis.
conduplicatioThe repetition of a word or words in adjacent phrases or clauses, either to amplify the thought or to express emotion.
diacopeRepetition of a word with one or more between, usually to express deep feeling.
diaphoraRepetition of a common name so as to perform two logical functions: to designate an individual and to signify the qualities connoted by that individual's name or title.
epanalepsisRepetition at the end of a line, phrase, or clause of the word or words that occurred at the beginning of the same line, phrase, or clause.
epistropheEnding a series of lines, phrases, clauses, or sentences with the same word or words. The opposite of anaphora.
epizeuxisRepetition of words with no others between.
mesarchiaThe repetition of the same word or words at the beginning and middleof successive sentences.
mesodiplosisRepetition of the same word or words in the middle of successive sentences.
palilogiaRepetition of the same word, with none between, for vehemence. Synonym for epizeuxis.
paregmenonA general term for the repetition of a word or its cognates in a short sentence.
ploceA general term for the repetition of a word for rhetorical emphasis.
polyptotonRepeating a word, but in a different form. Using a cognate of a given word in close proximity.
polysyndetonEmploying many conjunctions between clauses.
symploceThe combination of anaphora and epistrophe: beginning a series of lines, clauses, or sentences with the same word or phrase while simultaneously repeating a different word or phrase at the end of each element in this series.
Repetition of clauses and phrases
anaphoraRepetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive clauses, sentences, or lines.
coenotesRepetition of two different phrases: one at the beginning and the other at the end of successive paragraphs. A specific kind of symploce.
epistropheRepetition at the end of a line, phrase, or clause of the word or words that occurred at the beginning of the same line, phrase, or clause.
isocolonA series of similarly structured elements having the same length. The length of each member is repeated in parallel fashion.
mesarchiaThe repetition of the same word or words at the beginning and middleof successive sentences.
mesodiplosisRepetition of the same word or words in the middle of successive sentences.
repotiaThe repetition of a phrase with slight differences in style, diction, tone, etc.
Repetition of ideas
commoratioDwelling on or returning to one's strongest argument.
disjunctioA similar idea is expressed with different verbs in successive clauses.
epanodosRepeating the main terms of an argument in the course of presenting it.
epimonePersistent repetition of the same plea in much the same words.
exergasiaAugmentation by repeating the same thought in many figures.
expolitioRepetition of the same idea, changing either its words, its delivery, or the general treatment it is given.
homiologiaTedious and inane repetition. Unvaried style.
hypozeuxis
palilogiaRepetition in order to increase general fullness or to communicate passion.
pleonasmusUse of more words than is necessary semantically. Rhetorical repetition that is grammatically superfluous.
scesis onomatonA series of successive, synonymous expressions.
synonymiaThe use of several synonyms together to amplify or explain a given subject or term. A kind of repetition that adds force.
tautologiaThe repetition of the same idea in different words, but (often) in a way that is wearisome or unnecessary.
traductioRepeating the same word variously throughout a sentence or thought.
assonanceRepetition of similar vowel sounds, preceded and followed by different consonants, in the stressed syllables of adjacent words.
consonanceThe repetition of consonants in words stressed in the same place (but whose vowels differ). Also, a kind of inverted alliteration, in which final consonants, rather than initial or medial ones, repeat in nearby words.
homoioptotonThe repetition of similar case endings in adjacent words or in words in parallel position.
homoioteleutonSimilarity of endings of adjacent or parallel words.
paroemionAlliteration taken to an extreme — every word in a sentence begins with the same consonant.
paromoiosisParallelism of sound between the words of adjacent clauses whose lengths are equal or approximate to one another. The combination of isocolon and assonance.
Repetition of Words
adnominatio (When synonymous with polyptoton)Repeating a word, but in a different form. Using a cognate of a given word in close proximity.
anadiplosisThe repetition of the last word of one clause or sentence at the beginning of the next.
anaphoraRepetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive clauses, sentences, or lines.
antanaclasisThe repetition of a word whose meaning changes in the second instance.
antistasisThe repetition of a word in a contrary sense. Often, simply synonymous with antanaclasis.
conduplicatioThe repetition of a word or words in adjacent phrases or clauses, either to amplify the thought or to express emotion.
diacopeRepetition of a word with one or more between, usually to express deep feeling.
diaphoraRepetition of a common name so as to perform two logical functions: to designate an individual and to signify the qualities connoted by that individual's name or title.
epanalepsisRepetition at the end of a line, phrase, or clause of the word or words that occurred at the beginning of the same line, phrase, or clause.
epistropheEnding a series of lines, phrases, clauses, or sentences with the same word or words. The opposite of anaphora.
epizeuxisRepetition of words with no others between.
mesarchiaThe repetition of the same word or words at the beginning and middleof successive sentences.
mesodiplosisRepetition of the same word or words in the middle of successive sentences.
palilogiaRepetition of the same word, with none between, for vehemence. Synonym for epizeuxis.
paregmenonA general term for the repetition of a word or its cognates in a short sentence.
ploceA general term for the repetition of a word for rhetorical emphasis.
polyptotonRepeating a word, but in a different form. Using a cognate of a given word in close proximity.
polysyndetonEmploying many conjunctions between clauses.
symploceThe combination of anaphora and epistrophe: beginning a series of lines, clauses, or sentences with the same word or phrase while simultaneously repeating a different word or phrase at the end of each element in this series.
Repetition of clauses and phrases
anaphoraRepetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive clauses, sentences, or lines.
coenotesRepetition of two different phrases: one at the beginning and the other at the end of successive paragraphs. A specific kind of symploce.
epistropheRepetition at the end of a line, phrase, or clause of the word or words that occurred at the beginning of the same line, phrase, or clause.
isocolonA series of similarly structured elements having the same length. The length of each member is repeated in parallel fashion.
mesarchiaThe repetition of the same word or words at the beginning and middleof successive sentences.
mesodiplosisRepetition of the same word or words in the middle of successive sentences.
repotiaThe repetition of a phrase with slight differences in style, diction, tone, etc.
Repetition of ideas
commoratioDwelling on or returning to one's strongest argument.
disjunctioA similar idea is expressed with different verbs in successive clauses.
epanodosRepeating the main terms of an argument in the course of presenting it.
epimonePersistent repetition of the same plea in much the same words.
exergasiaAugmentation by repeating the same thought in many figures.
expolitioRepetition of the same idea, changing either its words, its delivery, or the general treatment it is given.
homiologiaTedious and inane repetition. Unvaried style.
hypozeuxis
palilogiaRepetition in order to increase general fullness or to communicate passion.
pleonasmusUse of more words than is necessary semantically. Rhetorical repetition that is grammatically superfluous.
scesis onomatonA series of successive, synonymous expressions.
synonymiaThe use of several synonyms together to amplify or explain a given subject or term. A kind of repetition that adds force.
tautologiaThe repetition of the same idea in different words, but (often) in a way that is wearisome or unnecessary.
traductioRepeating the same word variously throughout a sentence or thought.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Consumer Behaviour - Simple Math?
“There’s definitely, definitely, definitely no logic, to
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR” - Written by Amey Upfold
AD 14 Consumer Behaviour and Cultural Influences
The Conclusion Report
Over a period of four months we have been studying the behaviour of consumers and examining why it is important and hindering for marketing companies to monitor this behaviour. We began by choosing two supermarkets, Sainsbury’s and Somerfield, to observe people buying their shopping and how the products communicate to them and influence their choice in brand. We then picked five major brands to study in detail and examine why they are so popular to the masses. We did this at a time of economic crisis, the recession starting 2008, and considered this as a major factor when examining our results.
Brand and marketing companies are always seeking new ways to gain interest in their products, as most products stay the same whilst their image and packaging may change several times to keep up with current trends. This is where research into why people choose particular products is useful, however it is also hindering as a significant amount of consumer behaviour is erratic and seemingly illogical to expectations. Many theorists believe to get around this, branding and marketing companies manipulate consumers into buying their products, a condition referred to as consumer capitalism.
“The many critics of advertising claim that it is a tool whereby consumers are manipulated by the producers of goods (on whose behalf advertising is waged)” - Sut Jhally, The Codes of Advertising.
The phrase Consumer Capitalism is controversial, as “It suggests manipulation of consumer demand so potent that it has a coercive effect, amounts to a departure from free- market capitalism, and has an adverse effect on society in general”.
This suggests that humans are easily manipulated into choosing when they shouldn’t and acting when they didn’t plan it, which at a time of financial crisis particularly would worry people.
However it is important to understand the criticism comes from when advertising appears to change from being informative (its original purpose) and persuasive.
“The origins of consumer capitalism are found in the development of American departments stores in the 1850s, notably the advertising and marketing innovations at Wanamaker’s in Philadelphia”. In his book Land of Desire, Professor William Leach argues there was a deliberate effort to “detach consumer demand from 'necessity' (which can be satisfied) to 'desire' (which can never be satisfied)”.
It was this transformation of manufacturing companies selling and making money from the actual goods to making money purely from it’s image. This is the reason that modern day brands now appeal to the audiences feelings rather than their needs, referred to as emotional advertising. When choosing our five brands to study we specifically picked brands that stir up certain emotions in the way they advertise themselves. This involves appealing imagery, colours and even characters.
The Five brands:
Andrex - advertisers use symbols to summon up emotional responses. Consider the symbol X and what it connotes, ie kissing, x marks the spot, love. This symbol >< to some people appears as two mouths kissing. Now consider what a cuddly Labrador puppy connotes. The Andrex puppy has also weaved into our popular culture as an icon, as Labrador puppies are often referred to as Andrex puppies by children and adults alike.
L’oreal- advertisements heavily feature celebrity images, ideal figures and role models which consumers immediately connect with to the product as being the reason they look the way they do.
Lynx - very much a brand that focuses on one specific target market - the adolescent male meaning to attract a female. This type of advertising hones in on consumers individualism, defined as “the moral stance or social outlook that stresses independence and self-reliance. Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires, while opposing most external interference upon one's choices, whether by society or any other group or institution”.
Bisto - branded as a necessity to a good home- cooked meal and specifically targets families, defined as a “collective”. Collectivism is a moral stance opposite to individualism, and when concerned with advertising refers to a group of people targeted rather than a consumer as an individual, such as a demographic. The most recent Bisto campaign targeted the family by releasing a “Bisto Pledge” - families of all varieties promising to set aside a day of the week as family night, where they would all sit at the table and eat a home cooked meal (presumably with Bisto on top). Following this, the message the consumer sends out when buying Bisto is that their family is a main priority.
Coco Pops - whilst the TV advertisements appear to target children with the animated jungle characters and promises of “fun in a bowl”, they are actually mainly targeting the parents. Kelloggs, along with most major brands, have re-branded themselves as nutritious and an essential for a balanced, healthy diet. The marketing and packaging plays heavily on this fact to attract mums, knowing that the fun element of the adverts will ensure pester power. This phrase, which immerged in the 1970’s refers to the repetitive nagging of a child or infant towards parents to purchase them a certain current trend or fashionable item.
Going back to how advertisements weave into popular culture, they can also weave into our everyday conversation. A classic example of this would be of a young American student Lonnie Thomas, who when interviewed about President George Bush visiting his school replied “He kept going and going and going… like an Energizer bunny!”. (Advertising and Popular Culture). This does not necessarily prove that advertising manipulates us to buy, with its emotional imagery and connotations, but certainly proves that it affects our everyday life to an extent that maybe because of this intrusion we subconsciously choose a brand we relate to.
So, do women buy L’Oreal shampoo so they can toss back their hair and declare that they’re “worth it”? They would probably never admit this. In testing consumer response a survey was conducted asking people if they had ever borrowed money from a personal loans company, all of which replied a firm “no”. The only reason these particular people had been interviewed was because their names had been obtained from a personal loans database(Advertising, the Uneasy Persuasion). This was one of the reasons we decided to observe consumer behaviour in the supermarkets without their knowledge and not ask questions - we believed just our observations would give us sound and qualitative data.
Major behaviour we observed
- Couples: When shopping together, the man tended to push the trolley whilst the woman loaded it up, brandishing a list.
- Male, alone: The 6 males we observed who shopped alone always wondered idly through the aisles, making it hard to track them as they collected their shopping in an illogical order according to the thought out layout of the shop. This suggests males, who along with our findings we observed rarely procured a shopping list, could be easier to manipulate with convenient offers.
As well as quietly observing from a distance and making notes in disguise as shopping lists, we conducted practical experiments on manipulation and collected quantitative data. One such experiment we dubbed “Pukka Pies Manipulation”, which began under the suggestion that maybe we could manipulate people’s decisions by making ourselves self-advertisements. We did this by approaching products with confidence, as a unknowing customer seemed indecisive nearby, loudly claiming positive attributes of the products. On three separate occasions the consumer chose the item we positively described, most notably a singular Pukka Pie box.
Our quantitative data consisted of observing the Reduced section of Sainsbury’s, noting who stopped to browse and who actually picked an item. These are the results:
Number of consumers who passed
36
Number of consumers who
stopped to look
13
We believe whilst though the reduced section is popular in it’s own way, the position of the rack needed to be nearer the end of the store closer to the tills (reduced is usually stock that no one wants to purchase anyway and is seen as an unplanned, last minute decision).
There are countless ways in which modern day advertising appears to be persuasive in a way that influences the consumers choice and sometimes disturbs people who don’t like to believe they can be swayed in their purchasing decisions.
Campbell describes some of the effective persuasive techniques in Media and Culture, such as-
- Famous person testimonial: When a person sees an advert featuring someone recognisable from other instances of popular culture such as film or TV, it establishes an instant feeling of trust in the brand being advertised. The consumer feels reassured by the fact the famous individual is associating themselves with the brand, connoting that if the brand is good enough for them, it’s good enough for anyone. George Clooney, for example, exerts a cool exterior playing himself in the recent TV campaign for Nespresso, an espresso making facility. Upon watching the advert the person does not necessarily feel they will be just like George Clooney by buying an espresso maker, but their opinion of the brand and product is lifted when they familiarise themselves with him and his connection with it as an essential to his life.
Other brands that appeared in the supermarkets we studied, such as L’Oreal, heavily feature famous person testimonial and rely on them to maintain their image of beauty and desire. Sainsbury’s itself is heavily advertised and promoted by famous TV chef Jamie Oliver, a down to earth cockney celebrity who installs faith in Sainsbury’s customers that the food they buy is satisfactory enough to please a trained well known cook.
- Bandwagon effect - This method gives them impression that “everyone” is using particular product. A good example of this is the line “The car in front is a Toyota” from the Toyota campaigns, simple copy suggesting that it is a vehicle everyone is purchasing and having fun with. This heightened sense of security is considered important in automobile advertising as it is what is referred to as a high involvement purchasing decision (similar to holidays and other costly purchases). Beauty products, what would come under as low involvement decision making, also use this technique to stand out from competition brands. They use voiceovers in TV campaigns often explaining how “9/10 woman prefer” their brand to any other, with the audience not questioning the means in which they collected this data. Conformity is powerful human motivator; “Popularity is like a magnet, advertising enhances it’s power to attract”.
The behaviour we observed in the supermarkets was of course low involvement decision making, none of the products available being too extravagantly priced such as when booking holidays or buying cars (high involvement decision making). Branding companies recognise and acknowledge that peoples decisions in supermarkets are quick instead of well thought out. Price is obviously a major factor, it goes without saying that if a product popular or not is reduced it will sell quicker than a competition brand not reduced. We observed this for example with Tetley and PG Tips teabags. Whilst Tetley Tea bags were on offer the shelf promoting this was empty of stock, despite being mere pennies less than the price of PG Tips and still more expensive than the supermarkets own brand.
Smaller influences to purchasing decisions include:
- Hidden fear appeal - plays on anxieties, examples spot treatment, bad breath (Listerine). As another example from our five chosen emotional brands, Lynx plays on the confidence of young adolescent males and the ways they can attract girls, one way being to smell nice. Lynx advertisements heavily feature women pursuing the central male who uses Lynx body spray/ deodorant.
- Irritation advertising - using repetition and intrusive methods to stick in consumers memories, people moan about this style of advertising but can not deny they are easily forgotten. A classic example of this would be the Mr Whipple advertisements, following which sales drastically increased despite audiences claiming the advertisements annoyed them.
- Comparative advertising- playing off similar brands. Some brands rely on the competition between them and other brands, even making a success out of something negative. Rent-a-car service Avis had always been 2nd to competition service Hertz. Yet when DDB created the campaign stating “We’re number two, why go with us? We try harder” the competition certainly increased in favour of Avis.
Advertising guru and co-founder or Ogilvy and Mather David Ogilvy stresses his view that research into a brand and why people buy it is imperative to its success. He lists his achievements in advertising campaigns and how this only came about by “doing his homework”
“When I got the Mercedes account, I sent a team to the Daimler- Benz headquarters… they spent three weeks taping interviews with the engineers. From this came a campaign of long factual advertisements which increased Mercedes sales in the United States from 10,000 cars a year to 40,000”.
Obviously this is clear evidence that researching into what interests people in purchasing particular products, in this case knowing more about the mechanics of a car, works to increase sales and brand loyalty.
To conclude my report, I believe research into how advertising affects a consumers final purchasing decision is important to a certain extent, but we can never completely predict the final choice based on behaviour theories. As it is quoted in Advertising Age, “In very few instances do people really know what they want, even when they say they do”.
Bibliography
1) PACKARD, V. 1957. The Hidden Persuaders. Canada: Ig Publishing.
2) SUTHERLAND, M AND SYLVESTER, A. 1993. Advertising and the Mind of the Consumer. 2nd Edition. Australia: Kogan Page Limited.
3) FOWLES, J. 1996. Advertising and Popular Culture. US: Sage Publications INC.
4) JHALLY, S. 1990. The Codes of Advertising - Fetishism and the Political Economy of Meaning in the Consumer Society. New York: Routledge.
5) FULOP, C. 1981. Advertising , Competition and Consumer Behaviour. Great Britain: The Pitman Press.
6) SCHUDSON, M. 1984. Advertising, the Uneasy Persuasion: It’s Dubious Impact on American Society. London: Basic Books, inc.
7) CAMPBELL, R ET AL. 2008. Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication. 6th Edition. US: Bedford/ St Martins.
8) OGILVY, D. 2007. Ogilvy on Advertising. 2nd Edition. London: Carlton Publishing Group.
Definitions from Wikipedia (Individualism, Commercialisation, Consumer Capitalism)
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR” - Written by Amey Upfold
AD 14 Consumer Behaviour and Cultural Influences
The Conclusion Report
Over a period of four months we have been studying the behaviour of consumers and examining why it is important and hindering for marketing companies to monitor this behaviour. We began by choosing two supermarkets, Sainsbury’s and Somerfield, to observe people buying their shopping and how the products communicate to them and influence their choice in brand. We then picked five major brands to study in detail and examine why they are so popular to the masses. We did this at a time of economic crisis, the recession starting 2008, and considered this as a major factor when examining our results.
Brand and marketing companies are always seeking new ways to gain interest in their products, as most products stay the same whilst their image and packaging may change several times to keep up with current trends. This is where research into why people choose particular products is useful, however it is also hindering as a significant amount of consumer behaviour is erratic and seemingly illogical to expectations. Many theorists believe to get around this, branding and marketing companies manipulate consumers into buying their products, a condition referred to as consumer capitalism.
“The many critics of advertising claim that it is a tool whereby consumers are manipulated by the producers of goods (on whose behalf advertising is waged)” - Sut Jhally, The Codes of Advertising.
The phrase Consumer Capitalism is controversial, as “It suggests manipulation of consumer demand so potent that it has a coercive effect, amounts to a departure from free- market capitalism, and has an adverse effect on society in general”.
This suggests that humans are easily manipulated into choosing when they shouldn’t and acting when they didn’t plan it, which at a time of financial crisis particularly would worry people.
However it is important to understand the criticism comes from when advertising appears to change from being informative (its original purpose) and persuasive.
“The origins of consumer capitalism are found in the development of American departments stores in the 1850s, notably the advertising and marketing innovations at Wanamaker’s in Philadelphia”. In his book Land of Desire, Professor William Leach argues there was a deliberate effort to “detach consumer demand from 'necessity' (which can be satisfied) to 'desire' (which can never be satisfied)”.
It was this transformation of manufacturing companies selling and making money from the actual goods to making money purely from it’s image. This is the reason that modern day brands now appeal to the audiences feelings rather than their needs, referred to as emotional advertising. When choosing our five brands to study we specifically picked brands that stir up certain emotions in the way they advertise themselves. This involves appealing imagery, colours and even characters.
The Five brands:
Andrex - advertisers use symbols to summon up emotional responses. Consider the symbol X and what it connotes, ie kissing, x marks the spot, love. This symbol >< to some people appears as two mouths kissing. Now consider what a cuddly Labrador puppy connotes. The Andrex puppy has also weaved into our popular culture as an icon, as Labrador puppies are often referred to as Andrex puppies by children and adults alike.
L’oreal- advertisements heavily feature celebrity images, ideal figures and role models which consumers immediately connect with to the product as being the reason they look the way they do.
Lynx - very much a brand that focuses on one specific target market - the adolescent male meaning to attract a female. This type of advertising hones in on consumers individualism, defined as “the moral stance or social outlook that stresses independence and self-reliance. Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires, while opposing most external interference upon one's choices, whether by society or any other group or institution”.
Bisto - branded as a necessity to a good home- cooked meal and specifically targets families, defined as a “collective”. Collectivism is a moral stance opposite to individualism, and when concerned with advertising refers to a group of people targeted rather than a consumer as an individual, such as a demographic. The most recent Bisto campaign targeted the family by releasing a “Bisto Pledge” - families of all varieties promising to set aside a day of the week as family night, where they would all sit at the table and eat a home cooked meal (presumably with Bisto on top). Following this, the message the consumer sends out when buying Bisto is that their family is a main priority.
Coco Pops - whilst the TV advertisements appear to target children with the animated jungle characters and promises of “fun in a bowl”, they are actually mainly targeting the parents. Kelloggs, along with most major brands, have re-branded themselves as nutritious and an essential for a balanced, healthy diet. The marketing and packaging plays heavily on this fact to attract mums, knowing that the fun element of the adverts will ensure pester power. This phrase, which immerged in the 1970’s refers to the repetitive nagging of a child or infant towards parents to purchase them a certain current trend or fashionable item.
Going back to how advertisements weave into popular culture, they can also weave into our everyday conversation. A classic example of this would be of a young American student Lonnie Thomas, who when interviewed about President George Bush visiting his school replied “He kept going and going and going… like an Energizer bunny!”. (Advertising and Popular Culture). This does not necessarily prove that advertising manipulates us to buy, with its emotional imagery and connotations, but certainly proves that it affects our everyday life to an extent that maybe because of this intrusion we subconsciously choose a brand we relate to.
So, do women buy L’Oreal shampoo so they can toss back their hair and declare that they’re “worth it”? They would probably never admit this. In testing consumer response a survey was conducted asking people if they had ever borrowed money from a personal loans company, all of which replied a firm “no”. The only reason these particular people had been interviewed was because their names had been obtained from a personal loans database(Advertising, the Uneasy Persuasion). This was one of the reasons we decided to observe consumer behaviour in the supermarkets without their knowledge and not ask questions - we believed just our observations would give us sound and qualitative data.
Major behaviour we observed
- Couples: When shopping together, the man tended to push the trolley whilst the woman loaded it up, brandishing a list.
- Male, alone: The 6 males we observed who shopped alone always wondered idly through the aisles, making it hard to track them as they collected their shopping in an illogical order according to the thought out layout of the shop. This suggests males, who along with our findings we observed rarely procured a shopping list, could be easier to manipulate with convenient offers.
As well as quietly observing from a distance and making notes in disguise as shopping lists, we conducted practical experiments on manipulation and collected quantitative data. One such experiment we dubbed “Pukka Pies Manipulation”, which began under the suggestion that maybe we could manipulate people’s decisions by making ourselves self-advertisements. We did this by approaching products with confidence, as a unknowing customer seemed indecisive nearby, loudly claiming positive attributes of the products. On three separate occasions the consumer chose the item we positively described, most notably a singular Pukka Pie box.
Our quantitative data consisted of observing the Reduced section of Sainsbury’s, noting who stopped to browse and who actually picked an item. These are the results:
Number of consumers who passed
36
Number of consumers who
stopped to look
13
We believe whilst though the reduced section is popular in it’s own way, the position of the rack needed to be nearer the end of the store closer to the tills (reduced is usually stock that no one wants to purchase anyway and is seen as an unplanned, last minute decision).
There are countless ways in which modern day advertising appears to be persuasive in a way that influences the consumers choice and sometimes disturbs people who don’t like to believe they can be swayed in their purchasing decisions.
Campbell describes some of the effective persuasive techniques in Media and Culture, such as-
- Famous person testimonial: When a person sees an advert featuring someone recognisable from other instances of popular culture such as film or TV, it establishes an instant feeling of trust in the brand being advertised. The consumer feels reassured by the fact the famous individual is associating themselves with the brand, connoting that if the brand is good enough for them, it’s good enough for anyone. George Clooney, for example, exerts a cool exterior playing himself in the recent TV campaign for Nespresso, an espresso making facility. Upon watching the advert the person does not necessarily feel they will be just like George Clooney by buying an espresso maker, but their opinion of the brand and product is lifted when they familiarise themselves with him and his connection with it as an essential to his life.
Other brands that appeared in the supermarkets we studied, such as L’Oreal, heavily feature famous person testimonial and rely on them to maintain their image of beauty and desire. Sainsbury’s itself is heavily advertised and promoted by famous TV chef Jamie Oliver, a down to earth cockney celebrity who installs faith in Sainsbury’s customers that the food they buy is satisfactory enough to please a trained well known cook.
- Bandwagon effect - This method gives them impression that “everyone” is using particular product. A good example of this is the line “The car in front is a Toyota” from the Toyota campaigns, simple copy suggesting that it is a vehicle everyone is purchasing and having fun with. This heightened sense of security is considered important in automobile advertising as it is what is referred to as a high involvement purchasing decision (similar to holidays and other costly purchases). Beauty products, what would come under as low involvement decision making, also use this technique to stand out from competition brands. They use voiceovers in TV campaigns often explaining how “9/10 woman prefer” their brand to any other, with the audience not questioning the means in which they collected this data. Conformity is powerful human motivator; “Popularity is like a magnet, advertising enhances it’s power to attract”.
The behaviour we observed in the supermarkets was of course low involvement decision making, none of the products available being too extravagantly priced such as when booking holidays or buying cars (high involvement decision making). Branding companies recognise and acknowledge that peoples decisions in supermarkets are quick instead of well thought out. Price is obviously a major factor, it goes without saying that if a product popular or not is reduced it will sell quicker than a competition brand not reduced. We observed this for example with Tetley and PG Tips teabags. Whilst Tetley Tea bags were on offer the shelf promoting this was empty of stock, despite being mere pennies less than the price of PG Tips and still more expensive than the supermarkets own brand.
Smaller influences to purchasing decisions include:
- Hidden fear appeal - plays on anxieties, examples spot treatment, bad breath (Listerine). As another example from our five chosen emotional brands, Lynx plays on the confidence of young adolescent males and the ways they can attract girls, one way being to smell nice. Lynx advertisements heavily feature women pursuing the central male who uses Lynx body spray/ deodorant.
- Irritation advertising - using repetition and intrusive methods to stick in consumers memories, people moan about this style of advertising but can not deny they are easily forgotten. A classic example of this would be the Mr Whipple advertisements, following which sales drastically increased despite audiences claiming the advertisements annoyed them.
- Comparative advertising- playing off similar brands. Some brands rely on the competition between them and other brands, even making a success out of something negative. Rent-a-car service Avis had always been 2nd to competition service Hertz. Yet when DDB created the campaign stating “We’re number two, why go with us? We try harder” the competition certainly increased in favour of Avis.
Advertising guru and co-founder or Ogilvy and Mather David Ogilvy stresses his view that research into a brand and why people buy it is imperative to its success. He lists his achievements in advertising campaigns and how this only came about by “doing his homework”
“When I got the Mercedes account, I sent a team to the Daimler- Benz headquarters… they spent three weeks taping interviews with the engineers. From this came a campaign of long factual advertisements which increased Mercedes sales in the United States from 10,000 cars a year to 40,000”.
Obviously this is clear evidence that researching into what interests people in purchasing particular products, in this case knowing more about the mechanics of a car, works to increase sales and brand loyalty.
To conclude my report, I believe research into how advertising affects a consumers final purchasing decision is important to a certain extent, but we can never completely predict the final choice based on behaviour theories. As it is quoted in Advertising Age, “In very few instances do people really know what they want, even when they say they do”.
Bibliography
1) PACKARD, V. 1957. The Hidden Persuaders. Canada: Ig Publishing.
2) SUTHERLAND, M AND SYLVESTER, A. 1993. Advertising and the Mind of the Consumer. 2nd Edition. Australia: Kogan Page Limited.
3) FOWLES, J. 1996. Advertising and Popular Culture. US: Sage Publications INC.
4) JHALLY, S. 1990. The Codes of Advertising - Fetishism and the Political Economy of Meaning in the Consumer Society. New York: Routledge.
5) FULOP, C. 1981. Advertising , Competition and Consumer Behaviour. Great Britain: The Pitman Press.
6) SCHUDSON, M. 1984. Advertising, the Uneasy Persuasion: It’s Dubious Impact on American Society. London: Basic Books, inc.
7) CAMPBELL, R ET AL. 2008. Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication. 6th Edition. US: Bedford/ St Martins.
8) OGILVY, D. 2007. Ogilvy on Advertising. 2nd Edition. London: Carlton Publishing Group.
Definitions from Wikipedia (Individualism, Commercialisation, Consumer Capitalism)
Report on Global factors Affecting Consumer Behaviour and an Example of a Practical Theory being Successfully Applied to an Advertising Strategy.
This report is a summary of our recent studies relating to consumer behaviour. It describes some of the key theories, which impact consumer behaviour globally and outlines some of our findings whilst conducting research into the Andrex Toilet Tissue brand. It comments on how the brand interacts with the mind of the consumer, both emotively and subconsciously, and relates these findings to some of the popular theories surrounding consumer behaviour.
Over the last five years, particularly in the UK, there has been a growing common conception that every one of us is living in a so-called ‘Big Brother’ state. Governments are increasingly gaining the powers and ability to track our every move. Whether through the exploitation of anti terrorism laws, or research into peoples shopping habits, the human race is fast becoming part of a global experiment, having its behaviour scrutinized at every given opportunity. However, whether morally acceptable or otherwise, the information we gain about an individual, or social or cultural group is undoubtedly a huge advantage to achieving success in marketing and advertising strategy. This is highlighted by the billions of dollars, which get spent on anthropology by the worlds leading brands every year.
Consumer behaviour is affected by a number of social, economic and cultural issues. Throughout our research we took into consideration a variety of the differing issues and theories relating to consumer behaviour and the effect these may have on consumer choice. These are all factors where one issue can play a significant part in the other, such as: globalisation, the interlocking of economic spheres, consumption and the emergence of consumer capitalism.
Globalisation is defined as the process of locally based values principles, or societies if you like, being dissolved and transformed into one larger global community. It drastically affects marketing techniques, yet ironically it is some of these techniques, which have played a major part in globalisation. An example of this would be the introduction of American fast food giants McDonalds into the Asian market place. They began offering Asian consumers a choice to try foods commonly thought of as being part of their own Asian culture, but which had been manufactured by an entirely different (American) culture. Traditional American foods would be slowly introduced, once the emotional bond and trust had been strengthened and built up. Given time, Asian consumer’s attitudes to American culture and food would be manipulated to a point that it would be both accepted and thought of as a customary part of their own culture. The general belief of the masses would suggest that this transformation had happened accidentally, where as the reality would suggest it was anticipated long before the market shift and expansion was launched.
Globalisation, can intentionally or otherwise remove social and cultural differences, which can often have a bearing on consumer behaviour and in turn, lead to brands developing a more consistent global identity, one which doesn’t have to worry about the backlash of possible misinterpretation in other parts of the world. This isn’t to say that marketers believe cultural issues are no longer important. In fact, quite the opposite is true. The more information a brand holds about the world and its contrasting inhabitants the more chance it has of understanding and manipulating them.
The interlocking of economic spheres is another aspect, which has affected consumer behaviour albeit for very different reasons all together. Whilst the McDonalds example in Asia is a more recent occurrence, world affairs have in the past left a lasting and sometimes damaging effect on consumer choice and their reasoning for the purchase of certain brands. After the First World War, America was seeking to take a vow of self-sufficiency in order to protect their country in the event of any further conflict. To do this they wanted to safeguard American brands from any foreign competition. This culminated in the 1922 Fordney-McCumber Tariff, which imposed steep taxes on all foreign imports. As a result consumers were turning their backs on the more expensive European trade names in favour of the cheaper American brands. These actions led Spain to impose a tax on American imports and France to follow the actions of America.
Although this example was a step backwards for globalisation, the Second World War seemed to produce the opposite effect. The UK in particular soon developed a perception of America as ‘saviours’ and popular American luxury goods such as chewing gum saw Briton’s flocking to buy their products. This sentimental display of favouritism was a stark, yet understandable contrast to the matter of American consumers boycotting German brands such as Volkswagen and Budweiser during World War One.
More recently of course and perhaps the best example of interlocking economic spheres is the introduction of the European Union and the combined currency of the Euro. This has simplified the process of cross border trade within the European Union seeing previously ‘foreign’ brands becoming more cosmopolitan. Many people are beginning to redefine themselves as ‘European’. Again this also has had an effect on consumer behaviour as stated in the book ‘Global Consumer Behaviour’ by Chantal Ammi: “Globalization has promoted the emergence of a new type of consumer and has had effects on industry in terms of culture, economics, marketing and social issues at every scale from local to global. We can see a proliferation of global brands and an alleged homogenization of cultures in driving regions: “Europeanization”, “Westernization” or “Americanization”.
The issue of consumption referring to consumer behaviour can be met with a fair degree of ambiguity. Some people define consumption as the mere final process of purchasing goods or a service, where as others view it as the whole cycle including production and marketing of the product before it is consumed. A Keynesian theory for instance, would differ from that of the late Milton Friedman. Theories aside though an example of consumption affecting consumer behaviour and vice versa would be that of hire purchase, or more recently the tendency for individuals to purchase a car ‘on finance’ which is essentially the same thing. This could be extended to mortgages and the inclination of consumers to take advantage of the plummeting property market, by buying houses merely as an investment anticipating an improvement in the market to make a quick profit.
So far we haven’t seen much direct manipulation going on, but rather changes in consumer behaviour as a result of major political decisions and the changing state of the economy. However, the theory of consumer capitalism is one of large-scale manipulation through mass media techniques, which is carefully coordinated for maximum effect. Capitalism is the system by which a country’s trade and industry is controlled by private companies rather than the state. When applied to consumers, this theory is basically well thought out advertising strategy. In the UK we see large supermarket chains in particular broadening their market share and introducing themselves as major players in other fields. Tesco’s for example famous for its food, now offer one of the most competitive rates in car and home insurance.
One crucial factor relating to consumer capitalism is the highly influential role played by Edward Bernays, whose early twentieth century work in America saw him emerge as one of the founder fathers of what we know today as public relations. The nephew of famous Austrian Psychiatrist Sigmund Freud, he became one of the first people to attempt mass manipulation of public opinion using the subconscious mind. The power and dangers of mass manipulation were later outlined by the fact that Joseph Goebbels admitted his propaganda campaigns were inspired by the work of Bernays.
Bernays’ own use of propaganda was based on tactics, which we can relate to in the current world of marketing and advertising. Many of his ideas were based on manipulating social groups. He talks about targeting the leaders to manipulate the entire “herd”. In his 1928 book entitled ‘Propaganda’ he says: “If you can influence the leaders, either with or without their conscious cooperation, you automatically influence the group which they sway. But men do not need to be actually gathered together in a public meeting or in a street riot, to be subject to the influences of mass psychology. Because man is by nature gregarious he feels himself to be member of a herd, even when he is alone in his room with the curtains drawn. His mind retains the patterns which have been stamped on it by the group influences.” This can be related to today by the example of a celebrity endorsing a certain product. For instance David Beckham by wearing Adidas Predator football boots will subconsciously play on the mind of teenage boys when making a consumer choice in a sports shop. Similarly supermodel Kate Moss modeling a specific dress will play affect the consumer choice of the young girls who aspire to be her.
Applying these theories to an individual brand, we looked at Andrex Toilet Tissue. Andrex has been a market leader in the toilet tissue industry for decades due to a combination of extremely effective marketing and advertising. Although as we will get on to later, the subconscious mind does play a part in manipulating the consumer choice, the main strength of the brand is the emotional responses it generates. These responses stretch much further than the basis of the product and what it is used for. Since 1972 the brand has used Labrador puppies in its ads, to communicate brand qualities such as softness, playfulness, happiness and maternal qualities such as care and responsibility. When people think of the mentioned qualities, they don’t think of toilet tissue, they instead think of Andrex and the Andrex Puppy. This emotional attachment also seems to generate an undeniable sentiment of brand loyalty, particularly amongst the female audience. Victor Geus, Andrex marketing manager, says about the brand: "We all have an emotional attachment to the Andrex puppy. It embodies positive qualities such as kindness and trust, but the puppy's more obvious appeal is its playfulness and its cuteness”… "Over the years, the Andrex puppy has won the hearts of the nation, and as a result has helped maintain the brand's leading market position.” (Source: http://www.brandrepublic.com)
There are also hidden messages within the playfulness and cuteness of the puppies. They pull the toilet tissue around; subtly showing how long and strong the product is, yet at the same time maintaining the soft and gentle image. Adrian Mackay from the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers believes the Andrex advertising strategy is:
“Long Term – to make consumers believe that Andrex offers the best in softness, strength and length, which when combined with the emotional appeal of the puppy, make Andrex unbeatable,
Short Term – to pick up and emphasise individual attributes or the emotional appeal to build on the long-term proposition.”
Whilst researching the Andrex brand the following observations were made in the Sainsbury’s supermarket in Newport:
Andrex dominates the toilet tissue market with a huge majority share. This was reflected in the considerable amount of shelf space allocated to the brand. The brand was positioned on the right front side of the corresponding aisle, ensuring it would be the first product a consumer would see when entering the given aisle from the front of the store. Bog standard (pun intended) original four roll packs of white Andrex rolls were located on the middle shelf, with the more expensive coloured toilet tissue directly above it. Larger packs of all varieties were located on the bottom shelf. Further research suggests this pattern is not consistent through out all supermarkets. The cheaper Sainsbury’s own brand toilet tissue was at the other end of the toilet tissue section, meaning it would be the first product a consumer saw when entering the aisle from the rear. Both positions have their pros and cons and both supermarket and toilet tissue brands would have done their own research to study how people move through the store and which end they are more likely to enter. There is a common believe that people have tendency to take a right turn as apposed to a left. This would benefit Andrex’s shelf positioning, as they would originally turn right when entering the store.
When approaching the product, the majority of consumers entered the aisle from the front of the store and encountered the Andrex brand first. Most stopped and picked up the middle shelf items first, before spotting the ‘3 rolls free’ offer on the larger packs situated on the bottom shelf. They then put their original choice back and walked off up the aisle towards the rear of the store, with the larger but more expensive special offer packs. The majority glanced at the cheaper own brands and competitors such as Charmin but did not stop to have a proper look. The bulk of consumers who purchased Andrex had shopping trolleys and seemed to be conducting a more thorough shop, where as the few exceptions who chose the own brand seemed to have baskets or were carrying a select few items in their hands. Consumers who chose the own brand toilet tissue were interestingly predominantly male.
The Andrex product packaging appears to consist of a relatively simple design. The brand name is extremely large and covers the entire width of the product wrapper. Images of the popular and playful puppies are on selected varieties of the product only. This would suggest the manipulation had a reached a stage which could be related to Bernays’ theory of stamping the image into the mind of the consumer. The brand uses warm yet friendly colours, which portray the softness and comfort qualities perfectly. Light shades of pink, blue, yellow and green are all used and all are blended in with touches of white. This is almost certainly a fully intentional well worked out marketing tactic. In Vance Packard’s book ‘The Hidden Persuaders’, he tells us about the Colour Research Institute who performed a test using three different packaging designs which all contained a washing detergent. Unbeknown to the people testing them all three detergents were identical. One was predominantly yellow, another predominantly blue, and the last one blue with splashes of yellow in what the researchers thought was an “equal balance”. The test found that the consumers thought the yellow box was too strong and “ruined clothes”, the blue box left clothes “looking dirty”, and the mixed coloured box “overwhelmingly received favourable responses”. Being described as “fine” and “wonderful”. Andrex would be fully aware of such factors when designing their packaging in a demonstration of careful research into the market having a positive outcome in seeking the consumer behavioural responses they desire.
In conclusion we have discovered that consumer behaviour is a loose term that can be interpreted and acted upon in a variety of different ways. It can be described as how, what when and why people buy things. The research conducted has outlined factors such as globalisation and consumer capitalism, which have changed the way consumers behave. The arrival of the Internet and advances in technology have succeeded in breaking down social and cultural barriers, but have not succeeded in stopping the masses from being continually manipulated by those who are learning more and more about them and the way they behave.
Consumer Behaviourisms and such
Consumer Behaviour
We have been studying consumer behaviour in supermarkets and researching into emotional brands over the past three months. We have also looked at key theories in consumer behaviour and how these apply to what we observed in the two supermarkets we chose, which were Sainsbury’s and Somerfield. We also looked at what factors could influence consumer’s decisions on what they buy such as offers, advertising and packaging. We even went as far as to devise a test to see if consumer’s can be manipulated on the spot to buy a particular product, even if the person manipulating them is a complete stranger. Furthermore, I have researched into the popular emotional brand L’Oreal and looked at how they advertise to sell their products.
We originally compiled a report about what we found and observed in our chosen supermarkets. Here is what I contributed to that report:
Quality Versus Value We believe the credit crunch has greatly affected consumer’s decisions on what they buy. Although other research may show that brands and packaging are what persuades customers to purchase particular products, it seems that due to the current state of the economy, people are choosing value over quality. Drawing from our studies of consumer behaviour it would appear most people are opting for a cheap in store brand rather than up market brands that often cost more. Despite these expensive brands investing heavily in advertising their products, and generally being better quality, they are not doing as well in comparison to in store brands. Less people have some form of a disposable income that allows them to spend extra on better quality products. As a result, value has become more important than quality or buying into a particular label. This means that it is more difficult to make observations on how packaging affects customer’s decisions to buy products, as generally it is a case of how much it cost, rather than how it looks. Packaging Nevertheless, packaging, we believe does play a role in influencing consumers on what to buy, although it is much less significant. Our two chosen supermarkets both have their own “blue and white stripe” label range and a slightly more expensive and up market “own” brand. Although Sainsbury’s “basics” are incredibly cheap, it appears that the “own” store products did better. It seems that this is due to the packaging used on the products. Despite the product within being almost the exact same thing, the plainer basics range appeared not to do as well as the “own” brand. The basics range has white and orange, plain packaging, however the alternative generally has an image of the product on it. It seems that having this slightly more decorative packaging gives consumers’ peace of mind that they are buying something that is cheap but not the cheapest. It’s a happy medium for people who want a cheap product but aren’t buying the cheapest there is, as we believe a lot of people will not want to be seen buying “blue and white stripe” labels. Having a picture on the packaging of what they are buying seems to give consumer’s confidence in the product. Product Placement A further issue we found affected consumer behaviour, is product placement. We noticed that the supermarket’s brands came first when approaching a particular section of products, assuming the consumer will be taking a logical route through the store. The more expensive brands follow. We also found that the cheapest of the “own” brands, so Basics for Sainsbury’s, was right at the bottom. It seems as though people would not buy it as it highlights they are buying the cheapest, having to bend down to the very bottom shelf, which some people would not be comfortable doing. One particular case of an unsuccessful product placement was in Somerfield. In the drinks section the Pepsi had an offer on, as a result it had sold more than its main rival Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola in the drinks section was not showing as on offer, however elsewhere in the store there was a stand for Coca-Cola that was on offer. It seemed to have sold hardly any, in comparison to Pepsi. This is due to the Coca-Cola not being in with the other drinks, where consumers would expect them to be. If the offer had shown in the drink section as well as on its own stand, we believe it would have been more successful, as Coca-Cola has been proven to be the more successful brand over Pepsi in the UK. A further observation of interest is how confectionary and selective luxury items are placed at the end of supermarket tills. This is a psychological ploy by the stores to ensure shoppers are exposed to these items whilst queuing to pay for their goods. A sort of ‘last chance saloon’ if you like. Mothers may buy young children a pack of sweets as a reward for good behaviour during their shopping trip, or choose to treat themselves to a bar of chocolate. Adding to this, office workers buying their lunch may purchase an additional packet of chewing gum for their afternoon in work, or a drink for the bus journey home. These factors could prove to have a different set of results depending on store size and store location. Offers Another factor we found influenced consumers was offers on products. Consumers are much more likely to go for offers as it is cheaper and also allows them to buy better brands that they may not buy if it was full price. So they are getting better quality and still getting good value. The success of offers such as buy 1 get 1 free or 50% extra free was clear throughout the store, from lemonade, and tea, to toilet roll and chocolates. Brands that had offers did much better than their competitors, so if up market brands wish to sell more, they should put their products on offer to consumers, or market them in such a way so they appear better value for money.
The test we devised ourselves to see if we could manipulate other consumers right at the point of them deciding on what to buy proved to be quite successful. If we spotted someone looking indecisive or standing near a particular section in the supermarket, one of us would proclaim loudly to the other how good a certain product is, and wait to see if the person nearby follows suit and chooses the same product as us. The first successful example of this was with a product called ‘Pukka pies’ which is why we named this experiment the ‘Pukka Pie Manipulation Test’. We carried this test out on several different products, some occasions it would be one person who approached the product with confidence, to make the indecisive consumer feel assured that the product we had just picked up was good. The consumers varied in age and gender as well, which showed that most people could be manipulated when unsure of what to buy. However there were some consumers, particularly housewives who were in charge of the weekly shopping and always bought similar products. These women knew where they were heading and wanted to get in and out as soon as possible, so moved around the shop in a quick and decisive manner.
When consumers aren’t being manipulated by complete strangers in supermarkets, I believe that friends and family can play an important role in what they decide to buy. These are the most trusted people to a consumer, much more so then what any advertising is telling them about a product. If a friend or relative likes a particular brand or product they are likely to tell others about it. Furthermore if they have a bad experience or find they do not like a certain brand then they would advise others against it, which can also affect what people buy. In some cases, people will buy certain brands simply because it’s what their parents bought so they’ve grown up with it and have a loyalty to the brand and trust the product. In other instances it may be that they buy into a brand because their friends do and they want to fit in with their peers.
One of the key theories on consumer behaviour is consumer capitalism, whereby consumers are influenced by advertising and emotive branding; this is usually on a large scale through international or global campaigns and branding. Their decisions on what to buy are manipulated by different factors. Consumers may be told that certain products offer better quality or results, when the product is in fact almost exactly the same as its competitors. As I said above packaging can be a factor in influencing consumers. Vance Packard noted this in The Hidden Persuaders, an experiment was conducted whereby a group of housewives were given three boxes of washing powder to use. The first box was completely blue in colour, the second yellow and the third was an equal mix of the two. The housewives were then asked to describe the effects that each had on their washing. It was reported that the blue box was too harsh and ruined their clothes. The yellow box was said to be too weak and not clean properly. The third mixed coloured box was shown to be the best. However each box actually contained the exact same powder and shows how powerful colours can be when influencing people’s opinions and thoughts on them. Furthermore what we observed in the supermarkets about different packaging suggests that appearance is important to consumers, even if the product is in essence the same thing. Karl Marx commented in The Consumer Society Reader on how advertising and the presentation of certain commodities can change a person’s perception of the product, and make them view it as more than an object. He wrote (2000. p.10) “The form of wood is altered if a table is made out of it. Nevertheless the table continues to be wood, an ordinary sensuous thing”. This is what advertising and branding does to everyday commodities, particularly emotive branding, as it does not just sell a product but an image or lifestyle. So it is as though advertising is metaphorically crafting a table out of wood, by implying that their product is more than just a product. Emotive branding as I said before plays a big role in consumer capitalism as it promotes a way of life rather than just a product or service. Generally the more successful brands use this as consumers have grown immune to normal advertising, and want to buy into something that improves their life in some way rather than something that is just sold as a product of necessity. The brand L’Oreal that I studied uses the same techniques and also uses celebrity endorsements to sell their products and image.
Theorists believe that there are two types of people, individualists and collectivists. Individualists are people who are self-reliant and buy for themselves. Collectivists are a group of people who share a sense of community. So advertising is either directed at individualists, whereby the individual’s needs and wants are catered for, or collectivists where people are catergorised into different demographics such as teenagers or housewives, and targeted as a group. Advertising can differ on which type they target depending on the product. For example Johnson’s baby oil is targeted at mothers, a group of people who share the same interest in having the best for their newborn. Then there are advertisements by Nike who may be selling a particular type of sports shoe and they target the individual’s needs, promoting the product in a way that gives it a personal and unique feel. Collectivists are more likely to be persuaded by “the band wagon” strategy. Some adverts quote “9 out of 10 women” or “85% of men” which causes consumers to “jump on the band wagon” because they want to use the product that everyone else is using. Facts like these emphasise the success of the product and collectivists will want to be part of this as they enjoy being part of a community and having something in common with others. Some brands try to target both collectivists and individualists, an example of this is L’Oreal. They use facts to emphasise how well their product has done but at the same time use the slogan “Because you’re worth it” to add a personal element to the advertising. This way the consumer feels that they are buying into something that other women like, but at the same time it will make them as an individual feel good.
Brand identity is important to advertisers as it establishes them in the market place. Usually brands have their own particular niche or unique selling point that puts them in line with or ahead of their competitors. If a brand identity is prominent enough it can become rooted within the mind of the consumer. Some brands have such a powerful brand identity that it is referenced to in everyday situations. For example, Coca-cola and Pepsi are both brands of cola. However, due to the success of Coca-cola particularly in the UK, people often ask for a ‘coke’ rather than cola, even if there is only Pepsi available. Coca-cola is so successful that its name is used to describe a soft drink that is in fact produced by many different brands around the world. Another example of this was noted in Advertising and Popular Culture by Jib Fowles; in 1992 the President George Bush gave a group of school children a lengthy tour of the white house. When 11 year old Lonnie Thomas was asked about the tour the President gave he replied “He kept going and going and going, just like an energizer bunny!” (1996. p. 1) this proving that even children take notice of brand identity and quote slogans and taglines used in advertising. One of the brands we studied was Andrex, which also has a prominent brand identity. Andrex is renowned for using a very cute Labrador puppy in its advertising. Despite Andrex being a brand of toilet tissue, it is a regular occurrence that when someone spots a Labrador puppy they refer to it as an ‘Andrex puppy’, showing how embedded the brand has become, even if they don’t buy it themselves. These examples show how successful brand identity is and how important it can be to help define a brand in the market place.
We studied five brands over the three month period, these were; Andrex, Lynx, Coco pops, L’Oreal and Bisto. We divided these between us and each researched into our own chosen brand. I studied L’Oreal and here is what I found.
The brand L’Oreal is aimed at mainly women aged from 25-45/50 as they have such a wide range of products. They use celebrity endorsements as their main advertising strategy. Most recently they have used Desperate Housewives actor Eva Longoria as well as Claudia Schiffer and singer Beyoncé. Their famous slogan “Because you’re worth it”, is used to make women feel special, and to give them confidence in themselves. The celebrities used are always very beautiful and successful, but speak to the viewer like they are a friend. They want to make these famous people seem accessible to ordinary women, and emphasise that they can look as good if they use L’oréal products.
L’oréal use a variety of celebrities of different ages to promote different products. They use older women to promote anti-ageing cream or hair-dye that covers greys. They use younger women to promote other products which range from hair care to cosmetics. L’oréal also have a small range of products for men. These are generally for anti-ageing, skincare or hair-dye, so they use more mature men such as Matthew Fox (Lost actor) to advertise these products. However they do have a line of hair-styling products which they use younger men to advertise. Nevertheless, L’oréal’s market is predominantly female, so the majority of their products cater for this.
In the supermarkets we observed, I found that L’oréal only really sell hair care products, and did particularly well if they were on offer. There are many varieties of shampoo and conditioner L'oréal sell, depending on what kind of hair care you would like, so they provide for all consumers different needs. However L'oréal’s competitors such as Head and Shoulders also provide these and dominate the hair care section, particularly in Sainsbury’s. I found L'oréal was quite dotted around the shelves. All products seemed to be doing well though. I feel this is because L'oréal advertise in a different way to other hair care brands. When it comes to shampoo and conditioner it seems L'oréal are the only ones who use celebrities in their advertising. I think that L’oréal use emotive branding and as a result they gain consumers who remain loyal to them, as they believe they are buying into a brand that will make them as beautiful as the celebrities that endorse them. As I said before, I believe L’Oreal target individualists and collectivists which may be another reason why it is such a successful brand.
In conclusion I have found through the research conducted that consumer behaviour can be influenced to a certain degree, through factors such as packaging, offers and advertising. Consumers can be manipulated by friends, family and even complete strangers. However, everyone is an individual and has a unique personality and therefore their needs and wants differ from everybody else which makes it impossible for brands to satisfy everyone all of the time. It also means that consumer behaviour cannot always be predicted even when a large amount of research has been conducted into the field.
We have been studying consumer behaviour in supermarkets and researching into emotional brands over the past three months. We have also looked at key theories in consumer behaviour and how these apply to what we observed in the two supermarkets we chose, which were Sainsbury’s and Somerfield. We also looked at what factors could influence consumer’s decisions on what they buy such as offers, advertising and packaging. We even went as far as to devise a test to see if consumer’s can be manipulated on the spot to buy a particular product, even if the person manipulating them is a complete stranger. Furthermore, I have researched into the popular emotional brand L’Oreal and looked at how they advertise to sell their products.
We originally compiled a report about what we found and observed in our chosen supermarkets. Here is what I contributed to that report:
Quality Versus Value We believe the credit crunch has greatly affected consumer’s decisions on what they buy. Although other research may show that brands and packaging are what persuades customers to purchase particular products, it seems that due to the current state of the economy, people are choosing value over quality. Drawing from our studies of consumer behaviour it would appear most people are opting for a cheap in store brand rather than up market brands that often cost more. Despite these expensive brands investing heavily in advertising their products, and generally being better quality, they are not doing as well in comparison to in store brands. Less people have some form of a disposable income that allows them to spend extra on better quality products. As a result, value has become more important than quality or buying into a particular label. This means that it is more difficult to make observations on how packaging affects customer’s decisions to buy products, as generally it is a case of how much it cost, rather than how it looks. Packaging Nevertheless, packaging, we believe does play a role in influencing consumers on what to buy, although it is much less significant. Our two chosen supermarkets both have their own “blue and white stripe” label range and a slightly more expensive and up market “own” brand. Although Sainsbury’s “basics” are incredibly cheap, it appears that the “own” store products did better. It seems that this is due to the packaging used on the products. Despite the product within being almost the exact same thing, the plainer basics range appeared not to do as well as the “own” brand. The basics range has white and orange, plain packaging, however the alternative generally has an image of the product on it. It seems that having this slightly more decorative packaging gives consumers’ peace of mind that they are buying something that is cheap but not the cheapest. It’s a happy medium for people who want a cheap product but aren’t buying the cheapest there is, as we believe a lot of people will not want to be seen buying “blue and white stripe” labels. Having a picture on the packaging of what they are buying seems to give consumer’s confidence in the product. Product Placement A further issue we found affected consumer behaviour, is product placement. We noticed that the supermarket’s brands came first when approaching a particular section of products, assuming the consumer will be taking a logical route through the store. The more expensive brands follow. We also found that the cheapest of the “own” brands, so Basics for Sainsbury’s, was right at the bottom. It seems as though people would not buy it as it highlights they are buying the cheapest, having to bend down to the very bottom shelf, which some people would not be comfortable doing. One particular case of an unsuccessful product placement was in Somerfield. In the drinks section the Pepsi had an offer on, as a result it had sold more than its main rival Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola in the drinks section was not showing as on offer, however elsewhere in the store there was a stand for Coca-Cola that was on offer. It seemed to have sold hardly any, in comparison to Pepsi. This is due to the Coca-Cola not being in with the other drinks, where consumers would expect them to be. If the offer had shown in the drink section as well as on its own stand, we believe it would have been more successful, as Coca-Cola has been proven to be the more successful brand over Pepsi in the UK. A further observation of interest is how confectionary and selective luxury items are placed at the end of supermarket tills. This is a psychological ploy by the stores to ensure shoppers are exposed to these items whilst queuing to pay for their goods. A sort of ‘last chance saloon’ if you like. Mothers may buy young children a pack of sweets as a reward for good behaviour during their shopping trip, or choose to treat themselves to a bar of chocolate. Adding to this, office workers buying their lunch may purchase an additional packet of chewing gum for their afternoon in work, or a drink for the bus journey home. These factors could prove to have a different set of results depending on store size and store location. Offers Another factor we found influenced consumers was offers on products. Consumers are much more likely to go for offers as it is cheaper and also allows them to buy better brands that they may not buy if it was full price. So they are getting better quality and still getting good value. The success of offers such as buy 1 get 1 free or 50% extra free was clear throughout the store, from lemonade, and tea, to toilet roll and chocolates. Brands that had offers did much better than their competitors, so if up market brands wish to sell more, they should put their products on offer to consumers, or market them in such a way so they appear better value for money.
The test we devised ourselves to see if we could manipulate other consumers right at the point of them deciding on what to buy proved to be quite successful. If we spotted someone looking indecisive or standing near a particular section in the supermarket, one of us would proclaim loudly to the other how good a certain product is, and wait to see if the person nearby follows suit and chooses the same product as us. The first successful example of this was with a product called ‘Pukka pies’ which is why we named this experiment the ‘Pukka Pie Manipulation Test’. We carried this test out on several different products, some occasions it would be one person who approached the product with confidence, to make the indecisive consumer feel assured that the product we had just picked up was good. The consumers varied in age and gender as well, which showed that most people could be manipulated when unsure of what to buy. However there were some consumers, particularly housewives who were in charge of the weekly shopping and always bought similar products. These women knew where they were heading and wanted to get in and out as soon as possible, so moved around the shop in a quick and decisive manner.
When consumers aren’t being manipulated by complete strangers in supermarkets, I believe that friends and family can play an important role in what they decide to buy. These are the most trusted people to a consumer, much more so then what any advertising is telling them about a product. If a friend or relative likes a particular brand or product they are likely to tell others about it. Furthermore if they have a bad experience or find they do not like a certain brand then they would advise others against it, which can also affect what people buy. In some cases, people will buy certain brands simply because it’s what their parents bought so they’ve grown up with it and have a loyalty to the brand and trust the product. In other instances it may be that they buy into a brand because their friends do and they want to fit in with their peers.
One of the key theories on consumer behaviour is consumer capitalism, whereby consumers are influenced by advertising and emotive branding; this is usually on a large scale through international or global campaigns and branding. Their decisions on what to buy are manipulated by different factors. Consumers may be told that certain products offer better quality or results, when the product is in fact almost exactly the same as its competitors. As I said above packaging can be a factor in influencing consumers. Vance Packard noted this in The Hidden Persuaders, an experiment was conducted whereby a group of housewives were given three boxes of washing powder to use. The first box was completely blue in colour, the second yellow and the third was an equal mix of the two. The housewives were then asked to describe the effects that each had on their washing. It was reported that the blue box was too harsh and ruined their clothes. The yellow box was said to be too weak and not clean properly. The third mixed coloured box was shown to be the best. However each box actually contained the exact same powder and shows how powerful colours can be when influencing people’s opinions and thoughts on them. Furthermore what we observed in the supermarkets about different packaging suggests that appearance is important to consumers, even if the product is in essence the same thing. Karl Marx commented in The Consumer Society Reader on how advertising and the presentation of certain commodities can change a person’s perception of the product, and make them view it as more than an object. He wrote (2000. p.10) “The form of wood is altered if a table is made out of it. Nevertheless the table continues to be wood, an ordinary sensuous thing”. This is what advertising and branding does to everyday commodities, particularly emotive branding, as it does not just sell a product but an image or lifestyle. So it is as though advertising is metaphorically crafting a table out of wood, by implying that their product is more than just a product. Emotive branding as I said before plays a big role in consumer capitalism as it promotes a way of life rather than just a product or service. Generally the more successful brands use this as consumers have grown immune to normal advertising, and want to buy into something that improves their life in some way rather than something that is just sold as a product of necessity. The brand L’Oreal that I studied uses the same techniques and also uses celebrity endorsements to sell their products and image.
Theorists believe that there are two types of people, individualists and collectivists. Individualists are people who are self-reliant and buy for themselves. Collectivists are a group of people who share a sense of community. So advertising is either directed at individualists, whereby the individual’s needs and wants are catered for, or collectivists where people are catergorised into different demographics such as teenagers or housewives, and targeted as a group. Advertising can differ on which type they target depending on the product. For example Johnson’s baby oil is targeted at mothers, a group of people who share the same interest in having the best for their newborn. Then there are advertisements by Nike who may be selling a particular type of sports shoe and they target the individual’s needs, promoting the product in a way that gives it a personal and unique feel. Collectivists are more likely to be persuaded by “the band wagon” strategy. Some adverts quote “9 out of 10 women” or “85% of men” which causes consumers to “jump on the band wagon” because they want to use the product that everyone else is using. Facts like these emphasise the success of the product and collectivists will want to be part of this as they enjoy being part of a community and having something in common with others. Some brands try to target both collectivists and individualists, an example of this is L’Oreal. They use facts to emphasise how well their product has done but at the same time use the slogan “Because you’re worth it” to add a personal element to the advertising. This way the consumer feels that they are buying into something that other women like, but at the same time it will make them as an individual feel good.
Brand identity is important to advertisers as it establishes them in the market place. Usually brands have their own particular niche or unique selling point that puts them in line with or ahead of their competitors. If a brand identity is prominent enough it can become rooted within the mind of the consumer. Some brands have such a powerful brand identity that it is referenced to in everyday situations. For example, Coca-cola and Pepsi are both brands of cola. However, due to the success of Coca-cola particularly in the UK, people often ask for a ‘coke’ rather than cola, even if there is only Pepsi available. Coca-cola is so successful that its name is used to describe a soft drink that is in fact produced by many different brands around the world. Another example of this was noted in Advertising and Popular Culture by Jib Fowles; in 1992 the President George Bush gave a group of school children a lengthy tour of the white house. When 11 year old Lonnie Thomas was asked about the tour the President gave he replied “He kept going and going and going, just like an energizer bunny!” (1996. p. 1) this proving that even children take notice of brand identity and quote slogans and taglines used in advertising. One of the brands we studied was Andrex, which also has a prominent brand identity. Andrex is renowned for using a very cute Labrador puppy in its advertising. Despite Andrex being a brand of toilet tissue, it is a regular occurrence that when someone spots a Labrador puppy they refer to it as an ‘Andrex puppy’, showing how embedded the brand has become, even if they don’t buy it themselves. These examples show how successful brand identity is and how important it can be to help define a brand in the market place.
We studied five brands over the three month period, these were; Andrex, Lynx, Coco pops, L’Oreal and Bisto. We divided these between us and each researched into our own chosen brand. I studied L’Oreal and here is what I found.
The brand L’Oreal is aimed at mainly women aged from 25-45/50 as they have such a wide range of products. They use celebrity endorsements as their main advertising strategy. Most recently they have used Desperate Housewives actor Eva Longoria as well as Claudia Schiffer and singer Beyoncé. Their famous slogan “Because you’re worth it”, is used to make women feel special, and to give them confidence in themselves. The celebrities used are always very beautiful and successful, but speak to the viewer like they are a friend. They want to make these famous people seem accessible to ordinary women, and emphasise that they can look as good if they use L’oréal products.
L’oréal use a variety of celebrities of different ages to promote different products. They use older women to promote anti-ageing cream or hair-dye that covers greys. They use younger women to promote other products which range from hair care to cosmetics. L’oréal also have a small range of products for men. These are generally for anti-ageing, skincare or hair-dye, so they use more mature men such as Matthew Fox (Lost actor) to advertise these products. However they do have a line of hair-styling products which they use younger men to advertise. Nevertheless, L’oréal’s market is predominantly female, so the majority of their products cater for this.
In the supermarkets we observed, I found that L’oréal only really sell hair care products, and did particularly well if they were on offer. There are many varieties of shampoo and conditioner L'oréal sell, depending on what kind of hair care you would like, so they provide for all consumers different needs. However L'oréal’s competitors such as Head and Shoulders also provide these and dominate the hair care section, particularly in Sainsbury’s. I found L'oréal was quite dotted around the shelves. All products seemed to be doing well though. I feel this is because L'oréal advertise in a different way to other hair care brands. When it comes to shampoo and conditioner it seems L'oréal are the only ones who use celebrities in their advertising. I think that L’oréal use emotive branding and as a result they gain consumers who remain loyal to them, as they believe they are buying into a brand that will make them as beautiful as the celebrities that endorse them. As I said before, I believe L’Oreal target individualists and collectivists which may be another reason why it is such a successful brand.
In conclusion I have found through the research conducted that consumer behaviour can be influenced to a certain degree, through factors such as packaging, offers and advertising. Consumers can be manipulated by friends, family and even complete strangers. However, everyone is an individual and has a unique personality and therefore their needs and wants differ from everybody else which makes it impossible for brands to satisfy everyone all of the time. It also means that consumer behaviour cannot always be predicted even when a large amount of research has been conducted into the field.
supermarket tricks
Supermarket Psychology
What does psychology have to do with a supermarket?
You'd be surprised.
Did you ever notice that smell of baking bread when you enter? The pricier items installed at eye level on the shelves? The fact that common food items are placed in separate corners so you have to go through the entire store to pick up a few items? You may have just gone in for 2 items. Instead, you leave with 20. What happened?
Nothing is accidental.
Supermarkets do a tremendous amount of research to analyze their customers' shopping habits and encourage them to buy more.
The Techniques
Food items are positioned for specific reasons:
- Most commonly-used items are placed in the middle of an aisle so people have to go down aisles for specific items. Exposure to all the other foods may lead you to buy more.
- Foods that go together in recipes and meals are often placed together so you'll buy all of them.
- High-profit foods are placed at eye level; the bigger food corporations pay for the best exposure for their food. Visual cues may encourage you to buy.
- The check-out counter has candy and magazines, tempting you to buy them as you wait.
- Narrow aisles and displays will slow down your shopping time; the goal is to keep you in the store longer, in hopes that you'll buy more.
- Shopping while hungry can lead you to buy more items than planned.
- Children are targeted as well. Kids' food items are placed at their eye level, especially ready-to-eat and snack foods.
What to Do
There are some ways to combat these problems. Here are a few:
- Planning is key. Make a list ahead of time and stick with it. Impulse shopping will add up in dollars, and pounds, if you eat more.
- Shop AFTER a meal. It's much easier to stick to a list when you're not starving.
- Don't buy something only because it's on sale. While everyone likes a bargain, purchase foods you normally eat and like. Stay with your list and find sales for those food items.
- Try not to shop with children, the ultimate impulse shoppers, if possible.
- Check for store brands which tend to be cheaper than name brands and sales on produce.
- Remember that larger-sized containers of foods aren't always better bargains, and the visual cues of more food may lead you to eat more.
- Shop online. You won't be tempted by smell or sight.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
My friend said PC is dead
Ok so time to be honest with you all about buying my mac...
Since my first year at Uni I've heard so much about how great Macs are, apparently once you've had Mac you never go back. I has taken me three years to purchase one but here I am typing on it, but why? I want to say it's because they are better designed for using CAD programs, they run faster or are less likely to break. Mac's are all these things but they are not the reason I bought one. I bought one because;
a) the cool (open to interpretation) group of graphic students -the pissy Spanish one, the cute one and the tattooed one- who would sit at their own desk with their Mac's.
b) The better design work other students (mainly Rich) began producing when they bought a Mac
c) I wanted people at interviews to know that I'm part of the 'Apple Club'.
d) The Don's unwavering support and love for all things Apple and Mac (and as much as I hate to admit it he is a role model)
So there you have it Peer Influence on your own doorstep, and by somebody who claims to think for herself.
Friday, January 9, 2009
chief executive of Asda talks about consumers shopping habits
Recession is changing consumer s' shopping habits
11:07am Friday 19th December 2008
Comments (0)THE president and chief executive of Asda has predicted the recession will fundamentally change consumer behaviour.
Andy Bond warned that retailers who fail to adapt to the new reality will not survive.
Addressing an Asda seminar in London he said: "We can already see how changing attitudes are affecting customers' shopping habits.
"Consumers are not prepared to pay a premium when they cannot taste the difference. The era of conspicuous consumption is over. Saving money by cutting out waste of all kinds will be the priority.
"I don't see this as being a short-term response to the recession but a fundamental shift that will see the emergence of a new breed of customer."
He believes the new consumer will demand more value for money than ever before and genuine price transparency.
"Retailers will have to respond by adapting their business models if they are to survive," said Mr Bond.
"Retailers with authentic low cost operating models, who embrace sustainability as a means of reducing costs and who are transparent about how they pass savings on to their customers will be the winners.
"Those who continue with high/low pricing will become increasingly distrusted."
He warned politicians that regulation was the enemy of low cost retailing.
"Government needs to stimulate competition by carrying through the proposed reforms to the planning system and at the same time resist the temptation to bind retailers in red tape, codes of practice and ombudsmen," he said.
Douglas McWilliams, chief executive of the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), said UK households would become increasingly thrifty.
"The stark economic realities we now face will encourage saving not spending," he said.
A raft of facts and figures were given showing how people are cutting back on spending where they have alternatives.
They included a 39pc drop in visits to hairdressers and 27pc rise in sales of hair colour; still water sales down 15pc; ready meal sales significantly down but sales of core ingredients up 43pc.
Steps to reduce waste are becoming the norm with 69pc freezing more things, 40pc no longer throwing away leftovers and 31pc washing clothes less often.
Customers are also more careful when buying 40pc look for the longest date codes and 38pc buy less perishable food.
But customers will still pay extra where they see a real benefit smoked salmon sales are up 17pc, balsamic vinegar up 70pc, olive oil up 19pc.
Ethics are also still important with sales of barn eggs down 22pc, caged eggs down 5pc but free range eggs up 8pc.
ends
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