There is a lot of research on Brand Communities, defined by Muniz and O’Guinn as “a specialized, non-geographically bound community, based on a structured set of social relationships among admirers of a brand.” (Muniz and O’Guinn 2001).
But do brand communities really exist?
Brand communities imply that the brand is at the center of the community. So in the Harley community it would mean that the Harley bike is at the center, in the Jeep community the Jeep Wrangler or the Cherokee, in the Mini Cooper community the Mini, and in the Fiskateer community, the Fiskars tools.
Is this really what is happening? I don’t think so.
For communities to work, the members need to be at the center of the community, and so the motivations have to be different from the pure hedonistic pleasure of owning a brand/product. The Fiskateers may be the people who come up with most of the new Fiskars products ideas. And they may be their staunchest defenders when the brand comes under attack. But the reason they form a tight-knit community, one that some members say changed their lives, is because they share a passion for scrap-booking. The reason that Harley owners get together is because they share a riding lifestyle passion. Jeep owners, probably because they have a shared aspiration for being adventurous by “off-roading” their cars. Mini owners? Not sure, but according to ethnographic research even people who no longer own a Mini Cooper stay with the community, so it cannot be that the car is at the center of the community.
So why Jeep and not Ford, why Fiskars, why Mini, why Harley ? Because in all those cases the companies have provided environments in which those member communities can operate and thrive. Jeep marketers are providing training camps, and are organizing the barbecues around which members can share their passion. Fiskars provided an online environment for their members to thrive and connected those with offline events as well. But in all cases they are enablers of a shared passion that exists within a tribe or community.
The result of that is what I described in a recent blog post – people use the Jeep, the mini, the Fiskars scissors, or the Harley as symbols to associate with others who share that passion. In some cases they take that a step further and create rituals around those brands, which make the brands more sticky. But at the end of the day, these are not brand communities, they are passionate rider communities, scrapbooker community, adventure seeker communities.
What do you think? Do you buy that, or do you think I am missing something?
http://www.emergencemarketing.com/2009/10/21/why-brand-communities-dont-exist/
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Itten's Color Contrasts
Johannes Itten was one of the first people to define and identify strategies for successful color combinations. Through his research he devised seven methodologies for coordinating colors utilizing the hue's contrasting properties. These contrasts add other variations with respect to the intensity of the respective hues; i.e. contrasts may be obtained due to light, moderate, or dark value. more here with images http://www.worqx.com/color/itten.htm
Introduction
In this report i shall cover the Black Box Model Theory in consumer behaviour, applying this theory to my own findings in order to better understand the consumer decision making process, and whether or not external influences do have an effect on this process.
In groups we had to conduct an investigation into consumer behaviour using Supermarkets as the basis for our research. The members of my group were Adriana, Hazel, Emma, Amina, Cat, Lily, Chloe and myself. Within our group we divided into pairs so that we could cover a wide variety of Supermarkets, using a flock and follow technique. This involved following consumers around the stores we visited and noting what items they bought.
After we had gathered our data our next step was to research key theories in consumer behaviour and apply them to our findings. I looked at the Black Box Model theory which has been applied to various subject matters in the past due to its broad scope for explaining the unknown. Although this is not a new theory, it explains best the consumer decision making process and what influences can have an effect on the consumer before a response can be generated.
I was partnered with Chloe and we first chose to conduct a census at the Tesco’s store in Chepstow, tallying the people who were shopping there whilst assessing which demographic age group they belonged in. To get some comparative information, I also got tallying data from another Tesco store from another geographical region.
Our second test was a brand recognition and taste test in which we asked consumers which brand of ketchup they bought and why. Customers also sampled a selection of ketchup portions, not knowing which brand it was they were trying, in order to determine which one tasted best. The results for both of these tests are featured in my report findings.
Results
Tesco
Chepstow, Wales vs Newbury, England
I visited both of these Tesco stores in order to tally the number of people who bought food there (see Fig.1). I sat outside the entrance and divided the people walking in and out into approximate age ranges. I remained out of sight so that I would not come into any contact with the customers.
Chepstow
The Tesco store in Chepstow is situated on the outskirts of the town centre. Its only competition is a small Somerfields in the town centre and is surrounded by many housing estates, car parks, retail stores and a school. It is easily accessible by car, train and foot.
During the day, the majority of people visiting this Tesco store were people over the age of 40. The majority of customers arrived by car while some walked. There was a private taxi service that ran, dropping off and picking up elderly customers who can no longer drive or walk.
The 20-40 age group were mostly women with young children or young families. Many of these women arrived together in a group often sharing trolleys and helping each other to look after their young children. At 3 o’clock, groups of 10-20 year olds went into the shop on their way home from school.
Late at night, the number of people going into the shop had decreased dramatically with only a handful of over 40’s shopping there. The 20-40 year olds arrived alone or in pairs, shopping late after work, buying only a couple of bags worth of shopping. The 10-20 years olds arrived in groups by car and were often seen racing up and down the car park, and beeping their car horns trying to wake up lorry drivers who had parked for the night in the car park.
They only bought bottles of soft drinks and snacks to eat then and there.
Newbury
The Tesco store in Newbury is situated about a half mile from the town centre and is considerably larger than the store in Chepstow. Its nearest competition is a Sainsbury’s store in the town centre and is surrounded by a retail park and an industrial estate. It is only accessible by car as there are no stations or housing estates near by.
Again, during the day, the majority of customers visiting the store were over the age of 40. In Newbury, the customers coming to Tesco were arriving by car as there are no houses close by to the store. Some had walked to the shop but they were walking over from the retail park which is across the road from Tesco. There were fewer 10-20 year olds coming to this store during the day which is due to the fact that there are no schools close by and very few school children needed to pass through Tesco’s to get home.
At night, the 10-20 year olds arrived in groups by car but did not stay long in the car park or race up and down. Many stayed to buy soft drinks and snacks before leaving. This could be due to the fact that there were more customers shopping late at night at this store and that this Tesco shop employs security to patrol the car park.
NO. OF PEOPLE
AGE GROUP Newbury Chepstow
11:13am-12:13pm
10 - 20 12 16
20 - 40 205 131
40+ 286 274
2:17pm-3:17pm
10 - 20 23 34
20 - 40 201 183
40+ 324 282
10:34pm-11:34pm
10 - 20 27 23
20 - 40 45 26
40+ 7 8 Fig. 1
Brand Recognition and Taste Test
My group and I conducted taste tests using a products that most customers would buy in order to understand whether brand, price or taste influenced the consumers decision in buying that particular product. Ketchup was the product that Chloe and I chose to use in the experiment as it is a product that most consumers have at home.
Before conducting the taste test we first asked customers what brand of Ketchup they usually purchased at Tesco’s (see Fig. 2).
Almost all of the people we asked said that they bought Heinz Tomato ketchup as it was a well known brand that they had been given as children and they had grown up using this brand. No one bought the Daddies’s brand ketchup as they did not know that that particular brand made ketchup. Many associated Daddie’s with brown sauce.
The remaining people answered that they bought Tesco’s own brand as they felt it was just as good as Heinz but that the cheaper price influenced their decision to buy Tesco’s rather than Heinz.
Fig. 2
For the taste test, customers sampled each of the three brands unaware of what brand it was that they were testing. They were then asked which of the three samples they preferred the taste of (see Fig. 3).
Customers unanimously agreed that the Daddie’s ketchup was the worst tasting as it was described as being salty and disgusting. The surprising results were that of the Heinz and Tesco’s own brands. Very few people liked the Heinz ketchup with some even saying it was their least favourite out of all the samples. The winner in the taste test was Tesco’s own brand of ketchup with the majority agreeing that it tasted best.
Fig. 3
Many of the customers that said the Tesco brand tasted best thought that it was the Heinz ketchup they were eating. This is because of the Heinz brands association with being the best tasting ketchup.
Discussion
The Black Box Model Theory
Fig. 4
The black box model is a theory that has been universally used to understand many unknown factors. In relation to consumer behaviour, the black box represents the buyers decision making process (see Fig. 4).
The theory behind the black box model tell us that the consumers decision making process and characteristics are influenced by stimuli or external factors generating a response from the buyer (WWW, 2009). The stimuli are often represented by the four p’s of marketing (price, place, promotion and product) and environmental factors such as demographics, politics and geography. The buyers response is considered as a result of a conscious decision process in which it is assumed the consumer has recognised an opportunity that would benefit them.
Belch and Belch (2008) define consumer behaviour as:
the process and activities people engage in when searching for, selecting, purchasing, using, evaluating and disposing of products and services so as to satisfy their needs and desires (Belch and Belch 2008, p.105).
Can the decision making process be influenced and controlled by external factors?
My tallying results suggest that environmental external influences do have an impact on consumers, with geographical stimuli being a prominent factor in the choice of supermarket people shop at. For example, the Tesco’s at Newbury is considerably further from suburban areas than the Chepstow store yet the number of customers shopping there is greater. Because of the Newbury stores location outside of a limited space area, Tesco’s were able to build a bigger shop with more room for parking, offering to the consumer a wider range of products and services.
The idea of multiple products and services is a key marketing strategy by Tesco’s as the consumer is able to shop for their needs and wants in one place rather than having to visit multiple shops.
Another stimuli that I recognised as having an impact on consumer behaviour was the need for consumers to shop with other people within their own demographic, with many shoppers arriving in pairs or small groups. For example, many mothers that had young children with them would shop together often helping one another with trolleys and looking after their babies.
Although this data has helped us to understand where and how people shop, it has so far not yielded any positive results as to whether or not the consumer can be influenced by stimuli to purchase a product or service.
The brand recognition and taste test showed that brand power has had a significant influence on decision making. Many consumers will buy a well known brand rather than a lesser known one as they make a connection between brand name and excellence. Chloe and I conducted a brand recognition test with Heinz Tomato Ketchup, a brand that has been established since 1876, and asked consumers whether or not they bought the brand name or a lesser known brand such as Tesco’s own brand of ketchup. It was a unanimous decision that consumers bought the Heinz Ketchup as it was a brand they had known since being a small child, they were familiar with that brand and they trusted that brand to be the best product.
Mark Earls (2009) mexican wave theory suggests that as individuals we are heavily influenced by others around us and that as a race we tend to move in herds, mimicking one another’s actions and responses. This applies to our need for familiar brands as we tend to adopt the rituals and thought processes our parents have used when making our decisions, just as our test subjects have done when choosing to buy Heinz rather than Tesco’s ketchup.
The surprising result came from the taste test when our test subjects preferred the taste of the Tesco’s brand rather than the Heinz. We did not reveal to the consumer what brand they were tasting until after they had tasted it removing the influence that brand power had on them. After this result Chloe and I asked our consumers if this taste result had any affect on their decision making process. Many were still influenced by the Heinz brand but others were beginning to think that they would be persuaded to change ketchup products because of the taste.
Conclusions
The main conclusions I can draw from my results is that the decision making process is a complex tool that we as consumers use when making a purchasing decision. Despite its complexity, it is a fast process that goes unnoticed by the consumer as it is considered part of the human psyche passed down from parent to child. Many marketers and theorists have tried to explain why we make the decisions we do but in an environment that is constantly changing and adapting it is, I feel, impossible to fully understand consumer behaviour. I feel that consumer behaviour can never be fully predictable just as the future is never fully predictable. As Alan Fletcher (2001, p.6) says, ‘ Are we pawns of destiny or wildly improbable flukes?’.
It is, however, possible to influence behaviour as the Black Box Model demonstrates, through various stimuli set up to persuade the consumer where, when and what to buy. Many consumers do recognise these opportunities and will make a purchasing decision as a direct result of these stimuli. Some consumers though, make decisions that are not aware of the external stimuli but based on their own wants.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Behaving as a Consumer
What we have undertaken in our search to unveil the truth about consumers behavior. We looked at two supermarkets, Asda and Sainsburys.
We research store layout, the consumer decision process, observing consumers paths and the effects of branding. The average consumer is affected by a range of different external influences, a major source of this is due to conformity. Asch theory of conformity suggests that, conformity is caused by consumers feeling the need to adhere to the norms which are socially accepted in society. Conformity therefor must affect the decision making process, described by Hutt and Speh in 1981, which has five stages, from need of product to the brand that is chosen. Supermarkets then employ a range of different strategies, to influence a consumers choice of product. These strategies are; action ally, suggestive selling and positioning.
To look at these different strategies in action, we spent a lot of time in supermarkets, undertaking a range of observation techniques, such as mapping, tally charts, and attempting to influence consumers. We drew the stores layout to determine how customers move through the stores and whether they adhere to the action ally path created by the supermarket. The supermarket introduced action alley because it plays on our unconscious flocking behaviour, discussed in Herd by Earls, which will encourage large numbers to flock into specific areas of the store. These are also known as Hotspots. Hotspots within Asda can be found around the fresh meat and deli counters, and the fruit and vegetable sections as well as promotional ends. In Sainsburys the hotspot was again around the fresh meat section and on the promotional end. We found the path to be very effective in leading consumers both through-out the store, but also into the furthest sections of each department, for example the hotspots in both Asda and Sainsbury we in the meat section in the furthest section on the left area in the chilled department.
We also conducted an experiment with Tomato Ketchup to see if the branded product was chosen over the cheaper alternatives. The first time we did the experiment we did so without telling the consumer the price, and the second time we told them the price. In order to see whether this had any bearing on their decision. Our results showed that after knowing the price, a small number of people chose an alternative brand. Showing that although price can affect the decision the majority of consumers displayed brand loyalty.
We then conducted a taste test with, Heinz, Branston and Smartprice, The consumers each knew, which brand they were tasting and we first asked, which they preferred. This resulted with Heinz being the popular taste, but after being told the price they were again asked, which they preferred, Three people who had previously chosen Heinz chose Smartprice. This was a massive price jump, showing how important price can be to a consumers decision.
After these experiments we then tried to influence the consumers decision ourself, by using a negative or a positive comment about a brand, whilst they were trying to make their decision. These experiments did not work at all. The consumer appeared not to be affected by outside judgements. This may be due to cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance by Festinger, which is a theory suggesting that if two elements are contrary, for example opinions it will create dissonance. Consumers will actively avoid situations and information, which might increase it. This theory could suggest why people will only buy certain products, and ignore messages from others.
We have found that Flocking behaviour is present within supermarkets. They use this to manipulate consumers to walk throughout the store. Conformity also plays a major role in encouraging consumers to purchase products. More specifically we found that women are more loyal to their brands than men, therefore take a shorter time when deciding what to purchase. Where as men our undecided and take over a min to make a decision, making them more easily influenced by packaging and advertising.
References
EVANS, M. FOXALL, G. JIMAL, A. 2009. Consumer Behaviour. Second Edition. Wiley Publication.
McCRAKEN, G. 2006. Flock and Flow. First Edition. United States of America: Indiana University Press.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Brand Names versus Generic, what motivates people to buy?
This may be of use to some people was taken from here http://www.echeat.com/essay.php?t=27492
Why and under what conditions are people more likely to buy brand names rather than their generic counterparts?
Introduction
You think you are having Kellogg's for breakfast, catching the news on CNN, driving to Texaco to fill up your Ford while listening to Kiss 100. You ponder changing to diet Pepsi like Madonna. You arrive at work and curse Microsoft for the blue screen. But that was not what really happened. You were actually buying a life, getting deeply connected to cars and cold drink. Your experiences took place on an elevated plane, one made of dreams and wishes. Warner Brothers creates your reality, Adidas promotes it, and Picasso illustrates it.
'The mind of which we are unaware is aware of us.' R.D. Laing
Maslow's hierarchy of needs
To better understand the phenomena of branding, I have explored Abraham Maslow's (1954) popular theory of human motivation. Maslow's hierarchy of human needs include deficiency and growth needs. Within the deficiency needs, each lower need must be met before moving to the next level and if in future a deficiency is detected, the individual will act to remove the deficiency. Deficiency needs in order of power are physiological, safety, love and self-esteem, followed by growth needs, cognitive, aesthetic and self-actualization. Branding implies that buying the brand will satisfy a subconscious desire. A psychological appeal is a visual or aural influence on your subconscious mind and emotions. These psychological appeals take advantage of the effect of millions of years of evolution on our minds and behavior, and that behavior is to buy. I have classified this essay according to Maslow's hierarchy, but only as a framework to expand other related psychological aspects, as it been criticized for being socio-politically insensitive. (Bulhan 1993)
Physiological
Brands unconsciously advocate that buying the brand can improve your chance at meeting physiological needs, concurred by Dichter's (1960) motivation research. Physiological needs are instinctive and they influence our mental responses and resulting behaviors to stimuli, even if we 'think' our reactions are conscious. People buy brands because brands satisfy their utilitarian value and provide enjoyment, i.e. brands enable people to affect and control the environment (Prentice 1987). A brand only has to show an attractive model and imply that he or she is attracted to the kind of person who uses the brand.
Maslow said, 'a feeling which, if left unsatisfied, produces anxiety or tension ... yet if satisfied, imparts a sensation of well-being'. Needs manifest as feelings. Feelings inform us of differences between how we want and how we do feel. The more the contrast, the stronger the motivation. Brands relate to humanness and uniqueness by helping us solve problems. Brands placate our negative feelings stemming from needs and support our feeling and thinking self through the decision-making process. We buy brands because we feel the brand understands us, not because we understand the brand.
Branding also exploits conditioning. B.F. Skinner's operant conditioning suggests that learning results from our responses to events in the environment. A response produces a consequence. We become conditioned to respond when a particular Stimulus-Response pattern is reinforced. A reinforcer is anything that strengthens the desired response, like verbal praise or a feeling of satisfaction. Classical conditioning is found in many beer ads which prominently feature attractive women. The women naturally elicit a favorable, mildly aroused feeling in most men. The beer is associated with this effect.
Security
The security need is a strong motivator to avoid doing certain things. Some fears include rejection or not fitting in, i.e. not using a brand everyone else uses. It is also the preference for the familiar rather than the unknown. Hence brands ensure the same set of values is adhered to with consistency. Consistency means security.
Branding takes place in a competitive environment, and persuades people to prefer the brand to competition. Global brands can provide relevant meaning and experience to people across multiple societies. 'In technocratic and colorless times, brands bring warmth, familiarity and trust,' says Peter Brabeck, boss of Nestlé.
Love and the need to belong
After safety needs are met, the urge for love and a feeling of belonging emerge. Brands have a cultish quality that satisfies this need. People empathize with characters that experience positive results from using a product, i.e. Head 'n' Shoulders.
Humans are inherently social and the most powerful information source for consumers are people to whom they look as a basis of self-appraisal. Group influence is determined by reference groups. The aspirational reference groups are those against who you compare yourself. Associative reference groups realistically represent your current equals. The dissociative reference groups are people you don't want to be like. Brands assign us to our ideal groups.
Esteem and recognition
We all need to feel important and worthwhile. This is the need for self esteem. 'If you can tell me how you get your feeling of importance, I can tell you what you are.' (Dale Carnegie) Everybody acquires an image of themselves, partly from our interactions with others. Research shows that the self-concept is perhaps the basis for all motivated behavior (Franken 1994). We develop and maintain our self-concept by acting and then reflecting on what we have done or can do, what others tell us about what we have done in comparison to our and others expectations and accomplishments. By using the brand, brand characteristics extend to us and we attain an image.
Social constructionism explains the symbolic function of possessions. Possessions are socially shared symbols of identity (Dittmar, 1992). We become creators, transmitters and recipients of the meaning of objects. The 'symbolic consumption' perspective proposes people don't just consume actual brands, but also or instead, consume their symbolic meanings. Research (Powderly and MacNulty 1990) identified needs for appearances and materialism are increasing.
By communicating identity, you and the brand connect and form a relationship (Belk, 1988). During the last century, in developed countries, there has been an increasing shift from buying to satisfy physiological needs towards buying as postmodern means of acquiring and expressing self-identity (Lunt and Livingstone, 1992). People buy and relate to brands in ways that fit their preferred self-image. "When I turned 50, my last kid left home, the cat died and I got me a Harley. I got me a life!" says Dianne Colwell, 61, a retiree from Daytona Beach, "It appeals to the wild side in all of us. I am a woman -- watch me roar!"
Charles Horton Cooley's theory of the looking glass self, postulates that we are who we are because of our perceptions of how others view and judge us and our response to their judgments. A brand is a collection of perceptions in the consumer's mind. (Buildingbrands) This definition illustrates that brands are very different from their generic counterparts. Brands are intangible. They positively influence people's perceptions.
Fromm's theory describes authoritarianism, who fuse themselves with others, i.e. within a brand name. We escape our separate identity by becoming like everyone else, eliminating the need to acknowledge our freedom, feel alone or take responsibility. Research illustrates people often use television to learn about desired lifestyles (O'Quinn and Shrum 1997). We try to imitate stereotypes by consuming similar brands (Dittmar 1994). We gain self-esteem from imitating the appearance, behavior and adopting the possessions of persons we admire. This supports Albert Bandura's observational learning theory, which assumes learning occurs through observing others. Fromm also proposes that the orientation of the modern industrial society is that success is a matter of how well I can sell, package and advertise myself. The surface is everything and branding represents the surface! Wicklund and Gollwitzer (1982) explain via symbolic self-completion, that people acquire and display possessions to compensate for perceived shortcomings in their self-concept.
Brands are the accessories needed to play various roles (Goffman, 1959), because they boost or give definition to self concepts (Solomon, 1983). People also express a need for uniqueness (Snyder and Fromkin 1977), which is an outcome of the social comparison process (Festinger 1954) and is satisfied by the inherent scarcity of some brands.
Branding's growth in the last century, has had a profound impact on people needs, the comparisons they make and how they identify with others.
Cognitive - knowledge & understanding
People selectively perceive what they want and it affects how people see risks in a purchase. We want to maintain consistency between our beliefs and our practices, even if it conflicts with reality. Brand names are the most prized means of avoiding perceived risk (Roselius 1971).
Internal search involves scanning your memory to recall previous experiences concerning solutions, sufficient for frequently purchased brands. Today we are bombarded with more information than we can process. Each brand represents a chunk of information, which is constructed by people to avoid explicit multiple attributes of each brand on purchase occasions (Peter and Olsen, 1994). Brands guide us through a variety of competitive products and help people reach better, quicker decisions, providing simplicity and reassurance. Brands come in varying quality ranges, though late-twentieth-century people take consistent quality for granted. We choose the quality level that suits our budget and needs. When offered a choice, respondents chose brand name first and price second. (Jacoby et.al. 1971; 1977) Research was conducted in the U.S. and involved mostly convenience goods.
Anything you learn becomes a part of the vast neuronal associations in the brain. When you learn that Kentucky is finger licking good or Nike evokes a positive reaction, your brain ties these concepts together into a neural association in your brain that gradually develops neural pathways to make your 'practicing' automatic. Neural pathways assist in quickly selecting products or services and avoiding perceived risk. Each link in long term memory creates new means of accessing information. The more associations the brand has, the better we recognize the brand (Keller, 1993). The associations between a brand, its heritage and values increases accessibility and recall of the brand and identifies the uniqueness of the brand.
Gestalts are learned patterns of response that become compelling, involuntary and rigid. Attitudes are learned predispositions to respond to situation(s) in a consistently favorable or unfavorable way. Brand loyalty is habitual, connected to gestalt learning. A favorable attitude and continuous acquisition of a brand progresses over time. Brands become an attitude, which can become gestalt.
'Our intelligence is imperfect, and newly arisen; the ease with which it can be sweet-talked, overwhelmed, or subverted by other hardwired propensities, sometimes themselves disguised as the cool light of reason, is worrisome.' (Sagan and Druyan, 1992). The subconscious appeals of branding can be countered by our intelligence, if we are aware of them, where they come from and how they work.
Aesthetic
Personal matters such as aesthetic taste and sensory emotion may also independently encourage consumption. Research has continually identified the emotional responses associated with brands, such as sensory pleasure, aesthetic beauty, or excitement (Alleres 1990). BMW's slogan for years has been 'Sheer Driving Pleasure'.
Self actualization
Self-actualization is the need to be all that you can be. Motives are the reasons for behavior, as we move towards our primary goal of feeling well. If a need is threatened or unsatisfied, wants emerge. Wants are our conscious expression of our striving to meet unconscious needs, which may or may not be conscious until they become specific problems. Brands provide solutions that satisfy our needs.
Carl Rogers theory suggests the actualizing tendency, the need to make the very best of our existence. Growing up, our peers and the media lead us astray with conditions of worth. They only give us what we need when we are 'worthy' and we therefore like ourselves only if we meet their standards, rather than actualizing our potential. Branding targets wanna-be's, who rather conform than face exclusion or ridicule; brands therefore are the standard of the masses. Does branding have a negative impact on the self?
Alfred Adler's theory, proposes a single motivation behind all behavior and experience; striving for perfection. Motivation involves moving towards the future, towards our goals and ideals, superficially personified via brands, rather than being driven by the past.
Beliefs, involve stories whose interpretation can give people insight into how they should feel, think and behave. Coca-Cola is a take-it-or-leave-it proposition, if it doesn't value its customers, it will fail. Brands don't challenge your own personal god. In the developed world, some feel brands have expanded into the void left by the decline of organized religion. Brands have become a lifestyle, characterized by opinions, self-concept, motives, attitudes and personality, that tie them to everyday life. We have become more actively involved in the brand creation process, i.e. the ATM machine. This interaction strengthens the relationship that we feel with the brand. It is generally very difficult to change strongly held beliefs, even if inaccurate.
Value systems differentiate right feelings, thoughts and behavior from wrong ones and exist independently of formal belief systems. That could be its appeal. Implicit within the images and the lifestyle that brands portray, they involve a value system that is packaged for consumption.
Personality makes people prefer brands, explained by Carl Jung's work. Some brands appeal to our rational part (thinking), such as toothpaste which prevents decay. Others appeal to the senses, such as fashion. Some brands attract our emotional part, evoking feelings of affection and belonging. Some people intuitively feel comfortable with some brands, experiencing them as an extension of themselves, i.e. the Body Shop, with its environmental approach. Jung's theory suggests a collective unconscious, which indirectly influences all of our experiences, especially emotional ones. Examples of archetypes, which are part of the collective unconscious, are the immediate recognition of certain symbols (brand logos) and the meanings of certain myths. Brands harness the myth behind these meanings and enter the personal space of the consumer where they enhance, complement or transform our world. This explains the tendency of people to seek fulfillment of higher needs by means of products traditionally associated with lower needs. Brand personalities create a strong bond with people, i.e. Joe Camel.
Conclusion
But brands aren't as powerful as alleged, nor is the public as easily manipulated. Many established brands are in danger, losing customer loyalty. (Tom Barnes, Brands in Crisis) People have become increasingly unreliable. Every age group is relatively equally capricious. Brands are making more noise out of desperation. In the developed world, people are becoming closer to self-actualization, as deficiency needs are met and we move beyond them. Some traits consistently found in Maslow's self-actualizing subjects were that they see through phoniness, deception, and 'games' and avoid them, such as branding ploys. They cope with problems, rather than avoid them or find an answer in brand names. They accept themselves and others. Who you are is different from the brand you choose. They resent unfairness caused by social roles and prejudice, on which branding relies. They think for themselves, even in the face of social criticism. As humanity moves closer to self actualization, we will eventually disregard branding. But until then, as I have explained in this essay, branding will continue to influence the majority of lives significantly.
'Losing an illusion makes you wiser than finding a truth.' Ludwig Borne.
Why and under what conditions are people more likely to buy brand names rather than their generic counterparts?
Introduction
You think you are having Kellogg's for breakfast, catching the news on CNN, driving to Texaco to fill up your Ford while listening to Kiss 100. You ponder changing to diet Pepsi like Madonna. You arrive at work and curse Microsoft for the blue screen. But that was not what really happened. You were actually buying a life, getting deeply connected to cars and cold drink. Your experiences took place on an elevated plane, one made of dreams and wishes. Warner Brothers creates your reality, Adidas promotes it, and Picasso illustrates it.
'The mind of which we are unaware is aware of us.' R.D. Laing
Maslow's hierarchy of needs
To better understand the phenomena of branding, I have explored Abraham Maslow's (1954) popular theory of human motivation. Maslow's hierarchy of human needs include deficiency and growth needs. Within the deficiency needs, each lower need must be met before moving to the next level and if in future a deficiency is detected, the individual will act to remove the deficiency. Deficiency needs in order of power are physiological, safety, love and self-esteem, followed by growth needs, cognitive, aesthetic and self-actualization. Branding implies that buying the brand will satisfy a subconscious desire. A psychological appeal is a visual or aural influence on your subconscious mind and emotions. These psychological appeals take advantage of the effect of millions of years of evolution on our minds and behavior, and that behavior is to buy. I have classified this essay according to Maslow's hierarchy, but only as a framework to expand other related psychological aspects, as it been criticized for being socio-politically insensitive. (Bulhan 1993)
Physiological
Brands unconsciously advocate that buying the brand can improve your chance at meeting physiological needs, concurred by Dichter's (1960) motivation research. Physiological needs are instinctive and they influence our mental responses and resulting behaviors to stimuli, even if we 'think' our reactions are conscious. People buy brands because brands satisfy their utilitarian value and provide enjoyment, i.e. brands enable people to affect and control the environment (Prentice 1987). A brand only has to show an attractive model and imply that he or she is attracted to the kind of person who uses the brand.
Maslow said, 'a feeling which, if left unsatisfied, produces anxiety or tension ... yet if satisfied, imparts a sensation of well-being'. Needs manifest as feelings. Feelings inform us of differences between how we want and how we do feel. The more the contrast, the stronger the motivation. Brands relate to humanness and uniqueness by helping us solve problems. Brands placate our negative feelings stemming from needs and support our feeling and thinking self through the decision-making process. We buy brands because we feel the brand understands us, not because we understand the brand.
Branding also exploits conditioning. B.F. Skinner's operant conditioning suggests that learning results from our responses to events in the environment. A response produces a consequence. We become conditioned to respond when a particular Stimulus-Response pattern is reinforced. A reinforcer is anything that strengthens the desired response, like verbal praise or a feeling of satisfaction. Classical conditioning is found in many beer ads which prominently feature attractive women. The women naturally elicit a favorable, mildly aroused feeling in most men. The beer is associated with this effect.
Security
The security need is a strong motivator to avoid doing certain things. Some fears include rejection or not fitting in, i.e. not using a brand everyone else uses. It is also the preference for the familiar rather than the unknown. Hence brands ensure the same set of values is adhered to with consistency. Consistency means security.
Branding takes place in a competitive environment, and persuades people to prefer the brand to competition. Global brands can provide relevant meaning and experience to people across multiple societies. 'In technocratic and colorless times, brands bring warmth, familiarity and trust,' says Peter Brabeck, boss of Nestlé.
Love and the need to belong
After safety needs are met, the urge for love and a feeling of belonging emerge. Brands have a cultish quality that satisfies this need. People empathize with characters that experience positive results from using a product, i.e. Head 'n' Shoulders.
Humans are inherently social and the most powerful information source for consumers are people to whom they look as a basis of self-appraisal. Group influence is determined by reference groups. The aspirational reference groups are those against who you compare yourself. Associative reference groups realistically represent your current equals. The dissociative reference groups are people you don't want to be like. Brands assign us to our ideal groups.
Esteem and recognition
We all need to feel important and worthwhile. This is the need for self esteem. 'If you can tell me how you get your feeling of importance, I can tell you what you are.' (Dale Carnegie) Everybody acquires an image of themselves, partly from our interactions with others. Research shows that the self-concept is perhaps the basis for all motivated behavior (Franken 1994). We develop and maintain our self-concept by acting and then reflecting on what we have done or can do, what others tell us about what we have done in comparison to our and others expectations and accomplishments. By using the brand, brand characteristics extend to us and we attain an image.
Social constructionism explains the symbolic function of possessions. Possessions are socially shared symbols of identity (Dittmar, 1992). We become creators, transmitters and recipients of the meaning of objects. The 'symbolic consumption' perspective proposes people don't just consume actual brands, but also or instead, consume their symbolic meanings. Research (Powderly and MacNulty 1990) identified needs for appearances and materialism are increasing.
By communicating identity, you and the brand connect and form a relationship (Belk, 1988). During the last century, in developed countries, there has been an increasing shift from buying to satisfy physiological needs towards buying as postmodern means of acquiring and expressing self-identity (Lunt and Livingstone, 1992). People buy and relate to brands in ways that fit their preferred self-image. "When I turned 50, my last kid left home, the cat died and I got me a Harley. I got me a life!" says Dianne Colwell, 61, a retiree from Daytona Beach, "It appeals to the wild side in all of us. I am a woman -- watch me roar!"
Charles Horton Cooley's theory of the looking glass self, postulates that we are who we are because of our perceptions of how others view and judge us and our response to their judgments. A brand is a collection of perceptions in the consumer's mind. (Buildingbrands) This definition illustrates that brands are very different from their generic counterparts. Brands are intangible. They positively influence people's perceptions.
Fromm's theory describes authoritarianism, who fuse themselves with others, i.e. within a brand name. We escape our separate identity by becoming like everyone else, eliminating the need to acknowledge our freedom, feel alone or take responsibility. Research illustrates people often use television to learn about desired lifestyles (O'Quinn and Shrum 1997). We try to imitate stereotypes by consuming similar brands (Dittmar 1994). We gain self-esteem from imitating the appearance, behavior and adopting the possessions of persons we admire. This supports Albert Bandura's observational learning theory, which assumes learning occurs through observing others. Fromm also proposes that the orientation of the modern industrial society is that success is a matter of how well I can sell, package and advertise myself. The surface is everything and branding represents the surface! Wicklund and Gollwitzer (1982) explain via symbolic self-completion, that people acquire and display possessions to compensate for perceived shortcomings in their self-concept.
Brands are the accessories needed to play various roles (Goffman, 1959), because they boost or give definition to self concepts (Solomon, 1983). People also express a need for uniqueness (Snyder and Fromkin 1977), which is an outcome of the social comparison process (Festinger 1954) and is satisfied by the inherent scarcity of some brands.
Branding's growth in the last century, has had a profound impact on people needs, the comparisons they make and how they identify with others.
Cognitive - knowledge & understanding
People selectively perceive what they want and it affects how people see risks in a purchase. We want to maintain consistency between our beliefs and our practices, even if it conflicts with reality. Brand names are the most prized means of avoiding perceived risk (Roselius 1971).
Internal search involves scanning your memory to recall previous experiences concerning solutions, sufficient for frequently purchased brands. Today we are bombarded with more information than we can process. Each brand represents a chunk of information, which is constructed by people to avoid explicit multiple attributes of each brand on purchase occasions (Peter and Olsen, 1994). Brands guide us through a variety of competitive products and help people reach better, quicker decisions, providing simplicity and reassurance. Brands come in varying quality ranges, though late-twentieth-century people take consistent quality for granted. We choose the quality level that suits our budget and needs. When offered a choice, respondents chose brand name first and price second. (Jacoby et.al. 1971; 1977) Research was conducted in the U.S. and involved mostly convenience goods.
Anything you learn becomes a part of the vast neuronal associations in the brain. When you learn that Kentucky is finger licking good or Nike evokes a positive reaction, your brain ties these concepts together into a neural association in your brain that gradually develops neural pathways to make your 'practicing' automatic. Neural pathways assist in quickly selecting products or services and avoiding perceived risk. Each link in long term memory creates new means of accessing information. The more associations the brand has, the better we recognize the brand (Keller, 1993). The associations between a brand, its heritage and values increases accessibility and recall of the brand and identifies the uniqueness of the brand.
Gestalts are learned patterns of response that become compelling, involuntary and rigid. Attitudes are learned predispositions to respond to situation(s) in a consistently favorable or unfavorable way. Brand loyalty is habitual, connected to gestalt learning. A favorable attitude and continuous acquisition of a brand progresses over time. Brands become an attitude, which can become gestalt.
'Our intelligence is imperfect, and newly arisen; the ease with which it can be sweet-talked, overwhelmed, or subverted by other hardwired propensities, sometimes themselves disguised as the cool light of reason, is worrisome.' (Sagan and Druyan, 1992). The subconscious appeals of branding can be countered by our intelligence, if we are aware of them, where they come from and how they work.
Aesthetic
Personal matters such as aesthetic taste and sensory emotion may also independently encourage consumption. Research has continually identified the emotional responses associated with brands, such as sensory pleasure, aesthetic beauty, or excitement (Alleres 1990). BMW's slogan for years has been 'Sheer Driving Pleasure'.
Self actualization
Self-actualization is the need to be all that you can be. Motives are the reasons for behavior, as we move towards our primary goal of feeling well. If a need is threatened or unsatisfied, wants emerge. Wants are our conscious expression of our striving to meet unconscious needs, which may or may not be conscious until they become specific problems. Brands provide solutions that satisfy our needs.
Carl Rogers theory suggests the actualizing tendency, the need to make the very best of our existence. Growing up, our peers and the media lead us astray with conditions of worth. They only give us what we need when we are 'worthy' and we therefore like ourselves only if we meet their standards, rather than actualizing our potential. Branding targets wanna-be's, who rather conform than face exclusion or ridicule; brands therefore are the standard of the masses. Does branding have a negative impact on the self?
Alfred Adler's theory, proposes a single motivation behind all behavior and experience; striving for perfection. Motivation involves moving towards the future, towards our goals and ideals, superficially personified via brands, rather than being driven by the past.
Beliefs, involve stories whose interpretation can give people insight into how they should feel, think and behave. Coca-Cola is a take-it-or-leave-it proposition, if it doesn't value its customers, it will fail. Brands don't challenge your own personal god. In the developed world, some feel brands have expanded into the void left by the decline of organized religion. Brands have become a lifestyle, characterized by opinions, self-concept, motives, attitudes and personality, that tie them to everyday life. We have become more actively involved in the brand creation process, i.e. the ATM machine. This interaction strengthens the relationship that we feel with the brand. It is generally very difficult to change strongly held beliefs, even if inaccurate.
Value systems differentiate right feelings, thoughts and behavior from wrong ones and exist independently of formal belief systems. That could be its appeal. Implicit within the images and the lifestyle that brands portray, they involve a value system that is packaged for consumption.
Personality makes people prefer brands, explained by Carl Jung's work. Some brands appeal to our rational part (thinking), such as toothpaste which prevents decay. Others appeal to the senses, such as fashion. Some brands attract our emotional part, evoking feelings of affection and belonging. Some people intuitively feel comfortable with some brands, experiencing them as an extension of themselves, i.e. the Body Shop, with its environmental approach. Jung's theory suggests a collective unconscious, which indirectly influences all of our experiences, especially emotional ones. Examples of archetypes, which are part of the collective unconscious, are the immediate recognition of certain symbols (brand logos) and the meanings of certain myths. Brands harness the myth behind these meanings and enter the personal space of the consumer where they enhance, complement or transform our world. This explains the tendency of people to seek fulfillment of higher needs by means of products traditionally associated with lower needs. Brand personalities create a strong bond with people, i.e. Joe Camel.
Conclusion
But brands aren't as powerful as alleged, nor is the public as easily manipulated. Many established brands are in danger, losing customer loyalty. (Tom Barnes, Brands in Crisis) People have become increasingly unreliable. Every age group is relatively equally capricious. Brands are making more noise out of desperation. In the developed world, people are becoming closer to self-actualization, as deficiency needs are met and we move beyond them. Some traits consistently found in Maslow's self-actualizing subjects were that they see through phoniness, deception, and 'games' and avoid them, such as branding ploys. They cope with problems, rather than avoid them or find an answer in brand names. They accept themselves and others. Who you are is different from the brand you choose. They resent unfairness caused by social roles and prejudice, on which branding relies. They think for themselves, even in the face of social criticism. As humanity moves closer to self actualization, we will eventually disregard branding. But until then, as I have explained in this essay, branding will continue to influence the majority of lives significantly.
'Losing an illusion makes you wiser than finding a truth.' Ludwig Borne.
noam chomsky manufacturing consent doc
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5631882395226827730#
Monday, November 30, 2009
Social Pressure And Perception
Solomon Asch Experiment 1958 - A Study Of Conformity
Imagine yourself in the following situation: You sign up for a psychology experiment, and on a specified date you and seven others whom you think are also subjects arrive and are seated at a table in a small room. You don't know it at the time, but the others are actually associates of the experimenter, and their behavior has been carefully scripted. You're the only real subject.
The experimenter arrives and tells you that the study in which you are about to participate concerns people's visual judgments. She places two cards before you. The card on the left contains one vertical line. The card on the right displays three lines of varying length.
The experimenter asks all of you, one at a time, to choose which of the three lines on the right card matches the length of the line on the left card. The task is repeated several times with different cards. On some occasions the other "subjects" unanimously choose the wrong line. It is clear to you that they are wrong, but they have all given the same answer.
What would you do? Would you go along with the majority opinion, or would you "stick to your guns" and trust your own eyes?
To Asch's surprise, 37 of the 50 subjects conformed to the majority at least once, and 14 of them conformed on more than 6 of the 12 trials. When faced with a unanimous wrong answer by the other group members, the mean subject conformed on 4 of the 12 trials. Asch was disturbed by these results: "The tendency to conformity in our society is so strong that reasonably intelligent and well-meaning young people are willing to call white black. This is a matter of concern. It raises questions about our ways of education and about the values that guide our conduct."
Why did the subjects conform so readily? When they were interviewed after the experiment, most of them said that they did not really believe their conforming answers, but had gone along with the group for fear of being ridiculed or thought "peculiar." A few of them said that they really did believe the group's answers were correct.
Apparently, people conform for two main reasons: because they want to be liked by the group and because they believe the group is better informed than they are. Suppose you go to a fancy dinner party and notice to your dismay that there are four forks beside your plate. When the first course arrives, you are not sure which fork to use. If you are like most people, you look around and use the fork everyone else is using. You do this because you want to be accepted by the group and because you assume the others know more about table etiquette than you do.
Reference:
http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/psychology/social/asch_conformity.html
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