Tis the Season to Follow Norms

As most of you know, it was recently Christmas! A day to celebrate with family and friends, feast upon turkey and sweets, spend quality time together and let’s not forget opening gifts. Some people realize that spending time loved ones is a much more significant gift than any material object. So why does our society continue to purchase gifts and consume more around this time of year?

This year I found myself not only getting gifts for my immediate family, but also for the family of my boyfriend. I started thinking to myself, yes I do enjoy their family and company, but why as consumers are we inclined to make purchases for people who may may not know well. One concept I learnt in university was about gift giving, more specifically about reciprocity norm.

Reciprocity norm is the feeling of obligation to return the gesture of a gift with equal value (Solomon 2014). For example, this year I knew my boyfriend’s parents were going to give me a gift for Christmas. I felt the obligation to present them with a gift when we would visit next for the holidays. In this example, even though I felt obligated to give them a gift, it was a pleasant feeling as I enjoy their company and have a friendship with them.

             Another example however is an old friend of mine who recently got in contact. In the past, we would send each other gifts in the mail since they live in the United States. In the past few years however, we did not exchange gifts and our friendship has since faded. This year however, they suggested we exchange gifts again and even though I have no idea what their preference of style is or interests are now a days, I sent a generic gift. This exchange also follows the concept of reciprocity norm, as I knew they were going to sending me something, so I felt obligated return the gesture. However, this time I felt more pressured and did not enjoy the experience of gift giving. This experience made me feel as though I am not a good gift giver, which reminded me of the video below. 

                So why in two different scenarios, one with people I enjoy and one with a long lost friend, did I feel the same emotions of obligation? One factor is strongly tied to the culture I have grown up in and been thought through (Solomon 2014). Though I do enjoy giving gifts to others, it is our society who tells us to consume not for ourselves but to give to others. This concept of reciprocity norm opens my understanding of why I am making purchases for others.  It has been established in my mind that when someone, or yourself, is presenting a gift to another, that there is a notion that it is the norm to return similar value to that person. 

Sometimes my boyfriend will surprise me with gifts with no need for a gesture in return, yet I always feel compelled to return the surprise and give a gift back.  That is just another of many example of reciprocity norm in action in my everyday life, not only for the holidays.

Do you feel like you owe someone back if they give you a gift? Or do you accept the gift with no intentions of returning the gesture? I am curious to know how others are affected by this concept.

References

Solomon, White, Dalh. "Consumer Behaviour ." 435. Pearson, 2014.

This topic (Reciprocity Norm) is in Chapter 14 - Interpersonal Influences

Buying on a Budget

I recently went shopping at a local grocery store to stock up on food. I typically look at flyers to see which stores have sales on items I usually buy, however this time I went without looking. I was surprised to see that I was able to get many items for a fraction of the standard price for some of the products. I am a student, so my disposable income is limited, however this trip made me realize and appreciate some of the positioning dimensions the grocery store used. These dimensions will be discussed below but first I will briefly describe the items I purchased, to help with the analogy of the positioning dimensions.

These photos show the purchases made and the price of each item. Seeing a total or $37.92 may not appear to show great savings considering the amount of items purchased. However, there were two items, the gingerbread house kit and the Tassimo coffee which were bought at full price, $9.99 and $8.99 respectively. Therefore, if I had not bought those two items, the total would be almost $20 less. Every other item was either on sale or was a reasonable price. For example, the margarine was on sale for $1, where a container can easily be over $5 at regular price.

There are six positioning dimensions for brands which include price leadership, attributes, product class, occasions, users and design (Solomon 2014). These concepts will be discussed with respect to the purchases made while grocery shopping. Positioning strategy is how the marketer want the product to be viewed in the eyes of the consumer.  They can use a variety of strategies to influence the perception of a product from consumers (Solomon 2014).

Price leadership is when a product is placed at a certain price in a certain location. The pork chops for example where a low price of $3.21 for the pack. If I were to have gone to a butcher shop, a purchase the same cut of meat or better quality pork would be available, of course with a higher price. In the store there were various cuts of pork all for different prices per kilogram; however as a student with a budget I was not fussy.  This is an example of price leadership because a consumer may assume that going to a butcher shop rather than a grocery store, will yield better quality meat since the prices are typically more per kilogram, even if the cut of meat may be equal or similar in quality.

Attributes are when a product is known for a quality or characteristic.  For example, as a younger child I would see television commercials for Mott's Fruitsation. These commercials were for various flavors of apple sauce and would either have young children enjoying the product or have intriguing movement of the product along with its jingle. See the video below for an example of a commercial that aired on television.  One of their messages was that it is a healthy snack with a serving of fruit per cup. Therefore, for myself Mott’s applesauce has healthy and fun attributes which lead me to make the purchase over no name brands for the same product.

Product class is when items are seen to fit a certain class or category. For example, on the shopping trip I purchased some vegetables that were on a separate discounted rack. Some of the items that are places here have been damaged or are expiring and are therefore put for a lower price than the fresh produce. I bought some peppers and zucchini, once again keep in mind I was shopping on a budget. However for some individuals, this would not even be considered as produce is typically affordable and has more nutrients and freshness even when purchased at full price. Therefore to some, the reduced rack can be associated with low quality and low cost. Individuals with lower income or those who are not aiming to purchase top quality produce would be the typical consumers of these products.

The ginger bread house I purchased is a good example of occasion positioning. This item typically comes out during the holiday and Christmas season. Due to traditions and availability, most consumers will not and may not even be able to purchase such an item during the summer. Therefore, this product is positioned to be a holiday treat. Not only is this a fun product for families and friends to create, but consumers may not be as selective when it comes to the price as it is a specialty item. Occasion positioning is a good positioning dimension for a company and product because if they can associate their good or service to a certain time of day, season or year, then consumers may be more willing to buy the product for that occasion.

You can ask yourself, will you buy a product at full price if it is for an occasion? 

The users positioning dimension could be explained with the Tassimo Maxwell coffee purchased. Tassimo is a single serve coffee machine. They are becoming quite popular as they offer many brands of well known coffee such as Maxwell, Tim Hortans and Second Cup (Tassimo 2013). This product is popular for individuals who live alone as they do not need to make a whole pot of coffee to get their fix in the morning. Although I could not find a specific user position for Tassimo, I have an opinion on Maxwell. Although I am a 20 year old student, I have always seem Maxwell as a coffee brand for older adults. Whether it was print ad or television ads I saw in the past, I never felt as though they were directed at me. See an example of a commercial below. So I believe Maxwell has a user positioning of men and women who are established and are family oriented. Therefore, this purchase does not aligned with what Maxwell's user positioning is, but they still got my sale! 

Design is a dimensions which suggests that the way a product is created and presented to consumers will determine its worth. We can take something as simple as the Green Giant. This brand provides various canned vegetables year round. I personally bought corn from the Green Giant, rather than the no name brands. There are some other brands like Unico, Dole and Yves which produce similar products. So although the design of the product itself fails to differ, the design of the brand and its image is what gives the advantage to the Green Giant. They advertise on television and paper ads very well compared to the others. They are proud to promote their methods of crop growing and harvesting and promote healthier lifestyle if you purchase their brand. To me the design of Green Giant is a classy, strong, healthy and reliable name. 

All in all a company can use one or many of these positioning strategies to get ahead in the market. I have seen first hand all of these dimension in play, whether they be from my shopping trip or shopping elsewhere. Which of the six dimensions do you believe is the most effective? Can you recall a time that one of the strategies has influenced your purchase?

References

Solomon, White, Dalh. "Consumer Behaviour ." 56. Pearson, 2014.
Tassimo. "Brands and Beverages." 2013

This topic (Positioning Dimensions) is part of Chapter 2 - Perception. 

Time to Drink and Drive

Recently while walking through a grocery store I saw a small display for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). On the display were bottles of red and white wine. At first I did not think much of it, but I picked up a bottle to see what it was all about. MADD is an organization to stop drunken driving, support victims of the crime and to prevent underage drinking (Mothers Against Drunk Driving, 2014). Therefore, I found it ironic that they were selling wine. The bottles however turn out to be alcohol free and are promoting alternative ways to support MADD. Upon further research, not only does MADD produce virgin wines, but virgin margarita, mojito, craft brewed and brut. They are promoted as “The drinks to drink when you are not drinking” which is a clever marketing campaign.

Consumer behavior has a dark side that can lead to poor decision making and long term consequences. This MADD display reminded me of the negative side to consumer behavior. Consumer addition is the most relatable, where consumers will have a physiological or psychological dependency on a product or service (Solomon 2014). This could be anything from alcohol addiction, to drugs or smoking addictions. This can even be related to the new dependency many of us have with technology. Have you ever thought for how long you could go without having your phone or checking your Facebook? This proves consumer addiction takes on many form. MADD is trying to be creative and not only spread more awareness, but take the addiction they are trying to prevent and use it to their benefit. By creating alcohol free drinks, it suggests you can still drink while being responsible.

Another interesting aspect of the dark side of consumer behavior is compulsive consumption. Compulsive consumption is when individuals feel compelled to consume, rather than doing it for their own pleasure. It is repetitive shopping trips which are often excessive and could be related to anxiety, depression, boredom or tension (Solomon 2014). Sometimes these addictions can go as far as causing self-harm. MADD is presenting an alternative option to compulsive consumption because for those who buy alcohol without much thought or even consciousness, can now buy these drinks to satisfy their addiction however not consume the alcohol levels they typically would. This may not be what the consumers have in mind when they are going to buy alcohol, but at least it is present and a feasible option if they decide to do so.

I personally was not shopping for any drinks or alcohol when I spotted the display. This means that MADD is doing a good job of attracting consumers who walk by. If I were searching for this type of product I may have bought it since it was new and creative product. I went back another time and saw the display was almost empty. This suggests that the product is a success and is selling. Therefore, although there is a dark side to consumer behavior with respect to consumer addiction and compulsive consumption, there are products whose goal is to better the world and support a cause. So with all dark sides of consumer behavior, there is always a positive side. 

  

 References

Solomon, White, Dalh. "Consumer Behaviour ." 19. Pearson, 2014.

Driving, Mothers Against Drunk. The Drinks to drink when you're not Drinking. 2014. http://www.maddvirgindrinks.com/ (accessed November 29, 2014).

This topic (the dark side of consumer behavior) is part of Chapter 1 - Introduction to Consumer Behavior. 

Interacting in the Dark

       I have recently had the enjoyment of going to the movie theaters to view a film on big screen. I decided to watch the movie Big Hero 6, an animated action adventure film. Keep in mind, I have not been to a movie theater for a few months but one thing in the movie theater took me by surprise.

         Prior to not only to the feature film but to the coming soon movie trailers, there are always commercials upon commercials playing for the audience as they wait. They include either the theaters own commercials and interviews, as well as partnering or sponsoring companies playing their commercials. This of course if not new for me. What differed was that they have now created interactive commercials! What is an interactive commercial? No longer will the audience simply view and absorb the information from a commercial but can now be a part of it. Here is an example of an interactive commercial for Coca Cola, which gets the audience to compete against each other CLICK HERE.  

Another interesting example to explain how this can be used is this video. It has the audience decide what happens on screen. 

                The example I experience firsthand was an ad for Koodo Mobile, a Canadian mobile company. During their commercial they asked the audience to get out their phone to play along. They were told they can shoot hockey pucks at the Koodo mascot who was acting as a goalie. If they players got their puck past the goalie into the net, they would accumulate points. Throughout the few seconds of mayhem, the screen also flashes the names of those who earn points as they occur. After the timer is up, the individuals with highest points are shown on a board. This type of ad not only got the attention of most of the audience but created an energetic excited environment for the whole theater.

         I was sitting further back so the whole time I could see individuals on their phones playing along or interacting with the other commercials. The next commercial was for Cineplex, the theater we were watching the film at. It required participants to guess answers correctly for a question about films. It asked which of the motion pictures listed were based on car racing. Some of the options were Turbo, Cars, Ratatouille and so on. So for the movie lovers who have seen many films, this question would be a no brainer, while for others it is more challenging. For that reason, Cineplex would slowly eliminate wrong answers as the timer came to an end to help the audience with their answers. Here is a video of the application the audience used to interact with the big screen. 

                It is an interesting concept since in many instances we are usually told to not interact on our phones at the movie theater. What companies have now realized is they must utilize the technologies to gain out attention and use it for their own advantage. For the interactive commercial, I observed much more of the audience paying attention to what was on the big screen rather than the audience playing on their phones while they wait for the film to start. I remember in the past I would also pay attention to my phone rather than watch the commercials, since they were of no interest to me at the time. There was an application users were informed to download prior to the interactive session, which I will 
have ready to play along next time.

         The whole notion of interactive commercials reminded me of a concept I learnt in class about hierarchies of effect. Hierarchies of effect are part of the ABC model of Attitude for consumer behavior. ABC model refers to the affect (A) or the way people feel about an attitude object, the behavior (B) which involves the contagion or intentions of people to do something with an attitude object and the cognition (C) peoples beliefs about an attitude object (Solomon 2014). The hierarchies of effect refer to the level of relative impact these three components have. There is high-involvement, Zajonc’s model and low-involvement. The low-involvement is the level which is relevant and will be discussed further.

           Low-involvement refers to consumers collecting only minimal information before acting and only shows emotional response after the product has been consumed (Solomon 2014). This may include consumers who don’t have a strong preference about the object or similar objects to begin with. With respect to the Koodo example above, low involvement would be someone who has a phone but is not dedicated to their current phone contract or service provider. Perhaps they would see the interactive commercial and switch over to Koodo because they were impressed by their inattentiveness. Only after they switch providers they would them have positive or negative feedback with respect to how the product or service is working for them. For instance, let’s pretend someone has Koodo service then goes to the movie theater to see the film. They then see the interactive Koodo advertisment and play along. This may reinforce positive notions that they made the correct choice in investing in Koodo’s service. To summarize low-involvement, it is attitude were we could say “Try it, you’ll like it.”  

                Therefore all in all interactive commercial are definitely an improvement to the waiting time at movie theaters and although I could not observe the result of such advertisements, I would say that this innovative marketing definitely has an impact on consumers and can reinforce how we perceive companies. Technology is affecting consumer behavior and will continue to do so as long as technology is around. 

 References

Solomon, White, Dalh. "Consumer Behaviour ." 189. Pearson, 2014.


This topic (Hierarchies of Effect and the ABC Model) is part of Chapter 7 - Attitudes. 

Hand to Hand

        Recently while at work I was asked by a customer to see our battery section. Unfortunately for the customers the batteries are located behind the cashier work station and are only within the cashiers reach. As I assisted in pointing out the size of battery they required in various brands, the consumer constantly kept asking for the brand Duracell. Despite their initial request of the cheapest choice, which would have been a no name brand, the customer insisted on Duracell.

     Along with Duracell there were few other battery choices such as Energizer and Panasonic. According to The Top Ten website, Duracell is in second place, after Energizer, for cheaper no name brand that the store was selling. Please see The Top Ten link above.  

                When I informed the customer that Duracell was much more expensive and had more batteries in the pack than they were requesting, they once again insisted it was what they wanted. This got me thinking, why are some customers so loyal to a brand, when the other brands offer similar products at a lesser price.

One marketing campaign video comes into my mind right away when I think of Duracell. Earlier this year in Montreal, Quebec Duracell set up an intriguing public display. The display was a functional bus shelter alongside a road.  This campaign took place during winter and it appears in the video that participants were cold. The idea of the campaign was to have a human chain or connection within the bus shelter, with a contact point on each side of the shelter. When a full circuit or connection was made, it would turn a heating system on within the bus shelter.  I interpreted it as, would rather touch hands with a stranger to create heat or stay in the cold alone. It was a surprisingly memorable campaign although short and not on a global scale.

   My interaction with the customer buying Duracell batteries reminded me of a concept called brand personality. This term refers to a set of traits which are attributed to a product as if it were a person (Solomon, 2014).  Sometimes creating strong brand or product personality is more important than the product or service offered. For Duracell, its brand is supposed to be seen as long-lasting, compact and durable (Procter & Gamble, 2014). These are features of someone you would be able to trust and rely on to do the job or follow through. Perhaps, the consumer buying batteries in the store did not want to be associated to a cheaper not as well-known brand and wanted to purchase something they categorize as more dependable, despite the products being very similar in design.

            Personally, there are some products which I give a brand personality too that influences my consumption patterns. It could be as large as giving a brand personality to the University I an enrolled at or as small as giving traits to certain toothpaste brands which makes me go back to the same brand each time. For example, Crest toothpaste has words such as healthy and beautiful in its slogan which are traits I associate to it, while another toothpaste such as Arm and Hammer simply reminds me of baking soda. I would much rather be healthy than think about baking soda every time I brush my teeth.  So the question is, is the product brand more important than the product itself?

References:

Solomon, White, Dalh. "Consumer Behaviour ." 293. Pearson, 2014.

            Procter & Gamble. “AboutUs.” Company History 2014.

           This topic (Brand Personality) is part of Chapter 6 - Personality, Lifestyles and Values.

Scrolling to New Heights

     Imagine rather than analyzing a static website page for information, you are able to get an in depth view of a product or of how something was created with a more interactive approach. 

         A concept I stumbled across is called parallax scrolling. Parallax scrolling if a form of computer graphics techniques which create a unique illusion to the viewer. It works by having background images move at a different speed than the foreground images, creating an astonishing sight when scrolling up or down on the page. The first time I came across this design technique was for Sony USA, Be Moved (Sony Website). 

           Not only did Sony create an engaging site for viewers but they went to the extent of incorporating their own products giving readers an in-sight scoop of the products components. Throughout the site there are videos, gifs, information on products and photos to elaborate more on each product, which becomes assembled as you scroll through. If the reader is to scroll through without stopping, the page almost seems to turn into a video.

               E-commerce, also known as electronic commerce, is the future of marketing. From multi-national to local organizations, more businesses are making a presence online whether it be a company website, forum, blog or other outlets of social media such as Facebook or Twitter. Sony is not the only company to take a company website to the next level. Upon more research I have also discovered another great example of parallax scrolling (Journey Website). The website Journey gives the readers an inside view of the computer generated imagery (CGI) techniques used to create the film Life of Pi. View the link provided to view the site.

              One thing both the Sony and Journey site have in common is the purpose to sell their products. With Sony they attempt to sell the consumers their technologies such as phones, gaming consoles and hardware. Journey on the other hand ended their parallax scrolling with several options for consumers to purchase the film Life of Pi. Are consumers more willing to purchase a product if the site incorporates new technologies to showcase the products?

             Parallax scrolling however is not only a marketing tool for organizations to gain profits. Some organizations are using the method to create awareness in a more interactive and appeal way for consumers. Take the company called Nice and Serious, who partnered with Waterwise to create a parallax site for water consumption (Everylastdrop Website). The site gives readers information and statistics about water consumption. 

            Like all marketing tools, there are always pros and cons. The pros in this instance are the visually appealing creations made, allows the creators to present all information on one page rather than having readers navigate themselves and the options for innovation are endless.  The disadvantages however are that since it is a more advanced form of technology, the concept may not work on all browsers may frustrate readers and takes more animation on the creator’s side.  
            Not only does an e-commerce tool like this allow organization to reach out to target markets, but the companies who take hold of the techniques can gain a competitive advantage on a global scale (Solomon, 2014). For example, in the recent past there was a decreasing demand for the movie store Block Busters, due to the new technological age. Consumers were no longer going into the store to purchase films but were now going online to get the same product for less hassle, with sites such as Journey shown above. As a result, Block Busters went out of business and selling moving online has become a growing trend. E-commerce can make the companies who embrace it stronger but threaten the companies who cannot grasp the technological generation.

          There are fears attached to e-commerce for consumer, for example the violation of privacy. If a consumer were to visit the Journey website and decided to purchase the film, would their personal information such as banking details be released? The consumer has to decide if they think the organization has enough security before they make a purchase. Therefore there are still obstacles companies using e-commerce tools must watch out for (Solomon, 2014). 

           Personally, I enjoy this new marketing method and find it to be very effective. I was much more engaged with the site and wanted to learn more about it and the products. The vivid images, creative use of space and movement capture and keep the attention of readers, including myself. Although I made no purchases on these sites, I would be more inclined to go back to these sites to make purchase as their site have a lasting impression. 

           Due to the nature of the younger generation who are born in the technological world, marketers are continuously trying to grab the short attention span of these individuals. I have only found parallax scrolling on a number of sites and does not seem to be a mass marketing tool at this time. Do you think parallax scrolling is an effective way for marketers to grab the attention of the younger target market?

References

Solomon, White, Dalh. "Consumer Behaviour : Buying, Having and Being, Sixth Canadian Edition." 293. Pearson, 2014.

This topic (E-Commerce) is part of Chapter 10 - Buying and Disposing.