Consumer Behavior - in a nutshell

Chapter 4 of MKTG 4650 (Advertising and Promotion) tries to cram an entire course in a chapter... so in an effort to hit the high points, I've put together a prezi and panopto for my class.

The big problem when doing summary chapters about fields of study is what do you leave out - what do you keep, and the same was true for me trying to decide on the highlights for a 20 minute video/podcast.  For me that meant focusing on key concepts that are crucial in advertising and promotion.  The first of these is problem recognition and motivation.  Problem recognition is where the consumer decision making process starts - and if as advertisers we don't understand the start we have little hope of satisfying a consumer in the end.

Next, I talk about Motivation and drag out Maslow's hierarchy of needs - one of my favorite things.  I really think it is a simple way to understand the needs behind consumer purchases that we can use in creating advertising and promotional media.  We take a look at some flyers/ads created to encourage vaccinations.  The CDC's Vaccination campaign for 2012 has some great source material for you.  The Media Relations PDF download on the linked page has great examples of media deliverables for a campaign.  The Social Media Toolkit pdf can be found on the Web and E-tools page.  It also has some great information and examples.  Both are these are examples of how to educate multiple people across many offices about how to interact with the media and public using advertising and promotional tools.  We'll be revisiting both of these pdfs in the future as we cover different topics.

When we look at ads for the class - it is a good idea to start asking yourself four things:

• Who is the Target Market?
• What positioning strategy is being used?
• What is the Motivation that is being appealed to in the ad for the consumer?
• Is the ad effective in communicating with their target market? (in other words - critique it!)

Information search is a key part of the decision making process for consumers.  In today's technology driven society, information is at our fingertips.  With the increase use of smartphones, consumers can easily look up reviews on the internet to find out more information about a product.  Also, with the use if QRC codes (those codes you can scan) a brand can tell a consumer more about its product.  If anything, consumers are overloaded with information and learning when to say 'Stop, I can make a decision' can be difficult.  

The Sony "blogger" camera we first bought

You can ask my husband about my information overload while trying to decide on a video camera for us.  We purchased a cheap one at TigerDirect on a whim for our then upcoming trip to Ireland.  TigerDirect has a brick-and-mortar outlet on the way to his parents' house in Elberton, GA.  We frequently stop there to stretch our legs and get our tech geek on.  After we got back on the road, I was about to open our impulse video camera purchase when I thought - wait - I know nothing about this except the marketing information that was at the store.  Out comes my iPhone and I start doing google, Amazon and BestBuy searches for consumer and independent news reviews.  Ends up, the camera we bought had several flaws (can't add memory being the biggest).  I then search the internet and TigerDirect's website for different options.  On the way back home, we stopped at TigerDirect to return our first purchase and get a different video camera.  We ended up spending more (sadface!), but I was much happier and satisfied with our purchase.  It worked great on our trip and it not only takes video but pretty decent digital photos too!

The Toshiba 1080P we kept

Millenium Media releases reports quarterly about the use of smartphones and tablet devices.  Smartphones have deeply penetrated the mobile market as have tablets.  Ladies - good news for us - we make up about 45% (and climbing) of the tablet market now.  This means more apps/ads/etc.. targeted to women on tablets coming soon.  Social media is one of the big things we can access on our smartphones with ease and several studies have shown that consumers consult social media before making purchases.  With smartphones, the ability to do that is at our fingertips in the store.  If I'd been smart, I would've posted on Facebook or Twitter about looking for video camera suggestions.  I found a cool graphic illustrating social media using Maslow's hierarchy - I just had to share it.

At the top of Maslow's pyramid is self-actualization.  This is when you start to be motivated by making the world a better place - and understanding your place in and effect on the world.  Values.com is one of my favorite sites and advertising campaigns.  They focus on communicating to their target market that good exists in the world and you can make a difference.  They also work at breaking stereotypes.  Two of my favorite ads are about a purse 'snatcher' and a prom queen.  Take a look at their site to see behind the scenes footage and more great ads.

Starting Up - 4650 takes flight

The semester has finished it's first full week of classes, and believe it or not, I'm still trying to get access to all the websites and services that I need.  My netid/email was changed - and it has been amazing to find the places where I do and do not have access.  Hopefully, everything is turned on now and there will be no more surprises!

My 4650 class is going to get four videos quickly catching us up for the semester.  I thought I would summarize the first two here - and have a bit longer post on Chapters 3 & 4.

Chapter 1 introduces us to the idea of IMC - integrated marketing communications - where we tie together all the aspects of advertising and promotion that help develop a brand in a consumer's mind.  Advertising is one part of this picture - but so is Public Relations & Publicity, Internet/Interactive, Sales Promotion, Direct Marketing, and Personal Selling.  

The driving force behind IMC is the idea of 'one look, one voice' at every touchpoint with the consumer.  Starbucks has a great example of this in their Refreshers campaign that ran during the Summer Olympics.  The colors used in their IMC campaign for Refreshers is the same regardless of the medium that is being used.  McDonald's is another example that we can look at for creating brand identity and one look, one voice.

In Chapter 2, we take a look at how we can segment our markets as well as how we can position our brand/product in the consumer's mind.  Take a look at the prezi to get a better feel for the chapter.

Now, for Chapter 3, where we take a look into the world of Advertising Agencies.  I wanted to look at a few of the big agencies, but also a smaller non-traditional agency and a local B2B agency.

Leo Burnett Worldwide, a 77-year-old agency, is our first stop.  Leo Burnett stresses their culture that started with their founder - Leo Burnett.  You will often see big black pencils on their site which Burnett was known for - the big idea.  By the way, Burnett is the gentleman who brought us The Marlboro Man. 

They developed the ads Kellogg's ran talking about celebrating the start of an athlete's career.  Here's a behind-the-scenes look:



Another exciting thing at Leo Burnett is their idea of the social shopper - we'll take another look at this in Chapter 4, when we talk about Consumer Behavior.  You'll need to scroll up and down on the image to see all the social shopper types.

Social Shopping Archetypes from Leo Burnett Worldwide

Next we look at Ogilvy and Mather ad agency. David Oglivy started this agency about the same time as Leo Burnett.  If you have ever watched the TV show Mad Men, you have seen a dramatization of the time in which Burnett and Ogilvy were blazing trails in advertising.    His book - Ogilvy on Advertising - is one of the main reasons I fell in love of advertising and marketing. Their website is an interesting one and starts off with "Why choose Oglivy and Mather" - this takes you to a video Miles Young the current CEO and President talking about the foundation and culture of the company.  Oglivy believed in research and being creative - but he would have said it wasn't creative if it didn't bring results.

Saatchi and Saatchi is the last full-service worldwide agency we will take a look at.  Here you can see their point of differentiation as being the 'lovemarks company.'  A lovemark is "a product, service or entity that inspires Loyalty Beyond Reason."

These agencies may very well compete against each other for clients if an account goes up 'for review.' This means the brand/product company is looking for a new agency to develop their next campaign.  There is a variety of reasons for a brand deciding it needs a new agency from bad results from its current agency to conflicts with personnel and changes in personnel.  Barkley US, an employee owned agency, explains on their website: 

"When the review is over and you start a relationship with a new agency, what you get is people. Week in, week out. Their ideas. Their experiences. Their ability to listen. Their resolve. In the end, your new agency is not going to solve your problems. Its people are.  We believe we've got the best people in the business."

Barkley is stressing the idea that it is people that work together.  In many agencies it is the account executive who is the go-between the client and the agency.  Communication, patience and organizational skills are important for people who fill this roll.  While you are on the Barkley website, take a chance to click on the "Good" video in their header.  It will tell you a little bit more about them, and how they differentiate themselves - by being an ad agency that wants to do go.  

Lastly, let's take a trip to downtown Atlanta and look at the local ModoModo agency.  KSU graduate, Jennifer Beech, works at ModoModo - matter-of-fact - she did her internship there while she was a senior and has yet to leave.  Jennifer will hopefully be one of our speakers at KMA this semester.  (If you haven't already heard, KMA - the Kennesaw Marketing Association - is the student marketing organization at KSU.  I'm the faculty advisor and you can find out more on our website!)