Download Consumer Psychology

Consumer Psychology
• The study of the interactions between
consumers and organizations.
• Advertisers and advertisements are
everywhere!
– We are exposed to up to 3000 advertising
messages a day
– Examples include signs, billboards, flyers,
scented advertisements, TV, film previews
Unique Research Methods
• Surveys and Public Opinion Polls – often
excellent at predicting public behavior. But
have failed famously at times.
– Sample selection is often the key
– Participants often fudge answers (under-report
alcohol and junk food)
• Some companies have moved toward target
samples (e.g., Toyota used VW Beetle
owners)
Focus Groups
• Paid participation of 8-12 members
• Match the profile of traditional product
owner
• Describe their reactions to a product
• Sometimes observed using the product
• More qualitative than quantitative
Projective Techniques
• Idea that people won’t directly express their
opinions. Thus need to uncover their
unconscious feelings
• Use role playing, personifications, have them
describe someone who uses the product
Observational Techniques
• Idea that behaviors do not always
correspond with attitudes
• Variety of techniques
– Purchasing Behavior: sales after an ad is aired.
Problem is that there are often other variables to
consider
– Supermarket Observers: costly and time
consuming, lack of experimental control (e.g.,
SES, ethnicity)
Observational Techniques Cont.
• Scanner Cable Panels – shopping behavior
is monitored electronically (UPC Codes).
Shoppers are then targeted for specific
advertising via cable television
• Brand Identification and Preference Tests:
Take the Pepsi Challenge!!
Testing for Advertising Effectiveness
• Aided Recall Technique – most popular method.
How much of the ad content can be remembered.
Aided by specific interview questions
• Recognition – where did they see it, what do they
recall
• Sales Tests – control and test areas
• Coupon Returns – tracks actual buying behavior.
Price reduction from coupon leads to more sales
than an equivalent price markdown
Television Programming Research
• What shows are watched by a lot of people.
Advertising money is at stake
• Poor pre-release research – over 90% of new
programs are cancelled in their first year
• New pilots are judged by audience reaction
– Viewer samples, unfortunately, are rarely random
Nielsen Ratings
• Most commonly used rating system
• Use mechanical devices to assess audience
size and composition
• Audimeter tracks what program is on, but
not who is watching or if it is being watched
• People Meter used during Sweeps period.
Asks for the above info., but only ½ the
respondents actually use it
The Seller
• Types of Advertising Used
– Direct sell: Designed to elicit an immediate
buying response
– Consumer Awareness: create a brand name and
maintain awareness of that name
– Product Image: create an image. For similar
products, need to make yours stand out
– Institutional Advertising: persuade the public
that the company is a good neighbor (e.g., Shell
advertises highway safety advice)
Types of Advertising, Cont.
• Comparative Advertising - compare one
brand to others. Only successful when
spokesperson has a high degree of
credibility
• Informational Advertising – Present facts.
Increased in last decade from 20% to 65%.
– Magazine ads tend to be more informative than
TV
Types of Advertising Appeals
• Primary and Secondary Needs
• Celebrity Appeals – social learning theory,
we often imitate those who we identify
with, resemble, or who are popular
– Not very effective. Credibility of celebrity
declines with an increase in products advertised
• Positive/Negative Appeals – negative
appeals fail if consequences that are shown
are overly unpleasant
Types of Advertising Appeals,
Continued
• Implied Superiority – No Pain Reliever
Works More Quickly!!
• Suggests that it is the fastest, but actually all
pain relievers work equally fast
• 70% of assertions in TV commercials utilize
implied superiority
Trademarks
• Shorthand symbol of the feelings and
images associated with the product
• In the 18-29 age group, the most recognized
trademarks are: Coke, Campbells,
McDonalds, Pepsi, Kodak, Disney, NBC
• Foreign Interpretations
• Updating Trademarks
Product Image
• The ideas, thoughts, and feelings associated
with the product’s personality
• Examples include –
– The Marlboro Man
– The Izod Alligator in the 1980’s
– Mr. Clean
Product Packaging
• Plays an important role in the products that
we buy
• Packaging costs comprise 1/3 the cost of
supermarket items
• Environmental concerns surrounding
packaging
Sex in Advertising
• Not very effective
– Target sex stares at pictures, ignores rest of ad
– Overall, poor recall for ads with sexual content
• Sexist portrayal of women in advertisements
Internet Advertising
• The power of the world wide web
• Number of people on the web grows
everyday
– Recently, women have begun to use the web
more than men
• Targeted advertising
– Cookies count the number of times a site is
accessed. Counts what site you came from
The Consumer
• Buying habits and brand loyalty – habit is
the key word
– Move cans of soup from normal shelf, people
unwittingly buy wrong soup
– Underscores importance of getting people into
your store and trying your product
– Logic behind introductory offers
• Product pricing
– Price frequently not considered for staples
– We use price as a meter for quality
Advertising to Different Groups
• Ethnic Groups
– Considering equal economic groups, blacks
spend more on clothing, but less than whites on
food, housing, and medicine
– Black spokespeople are more effective in ads
aimed at blacks
– For whites it depends upon the listener’s initial
state of prejudice. Low prejudice whites find
black spokespeople more memorable
Advertising to Different Groups
• Children
– Huge amounts of disposable income: 4-12 year
olds control $14 billion, Teenagers spend more
than $30 billion a year.
– Half of routine shopping is done by adolescents
– Is it ethical for psychologists to help target
advertising at children?
Advertising to Different Groups
• Gays – tend to be better educated than the
rest of the population. Thus they are
wealthier.
– Makes gays a large potential market with high
discretionary income
• Elderly – rapidly growing sector of the
economy. Currently a sector of the
population that struggles economically