The Theory Of Consumer Behaviour

Consumers are creatures of habit: they buy the same products time and time again, and such is their familiarity with big brands, and the colors and logos that represent them, that they can register a brand they like with barely any conscious thought process. The packaging of consumer products is therefore a crucial vehicle for delivering the brand and the product into our shopping baskets.

In Chapter Seven of Practices of Looking, we start to explore in the ideas of advertising, consumer cultures and desire. Everyday, we are faced with advertisements through newspapers, magazines, TV, movies, billboards, public transportation such as buses and taxis, clothing, the internet, etc. Logos, such as signs, or anything that resemble a brand, are everywhere, they are on clothing, household items, electronics, cars, etc. Consumers are always showing off their brands and advertisements and we are used to seeing those brands and advertisements in an everyday setting. In modern media, advertisers are pressured to always change the ways they show off and get the attention to consumers, old and new. Advertisers also used present figures who were glamorous. Advertisements set up a certain relationship between the product and its meaning to sell the products and the hidden meaning we link to each of the products. Advertisements use the language of conversion. Advertisers try to create a customer relationship to the brand to try to form them as familiar, necessary, and also likeable.

Consumer behavior is an elaborate part of marketing, without it marketing would not be entirety. The human conduct is perplexing, loaded with discussions and inconsistencies, does not shock anyone to marketing academicians and in addition practioners, consumer behavior is no special case, against the background of far reaching acknowledgement of consumer behavior just like the way to contemporary marketing success (Demirdjian & Mokatsian, 2014). Some consumer behaviors are profoundly established, for example, outside habitations, for example shopper’s way of life, home life, demographics, and economic wellbeing. Other inside elements, for example, feelings, demeanors, observations, recollections, and learning are pliable characteristics that have the ability to influence in another direction. Inspiration, observation, learning, convictions, states of mind, and so on all have been utilized as part of clarifying why the consumer behaves on the way he or she does, ideas, for example, social observations, social impact, social prizes, companion weight, expressive gestures, social approvals, and so forth all shed light on the puzzles of consumer behavior (Demirdjian & Mokatsian, 2014).

It is interesting to see how branding, advertising, and marketing, that are in place to achieve specific commercial goals, completely rely upon the complex elements of human psychology, as well as on how cultural norms and values influence the individual. This has in fact been an integral concern of marketing historically; the mere presenting of a product or service is ineffective unless some reflection of its deeper value or meaning to the potential consumer is reinforced. In the mid-20th century, for example, advertisers placed a large emphasize on the post-war norms within American society, and stressed how products provided ideal supports for the idealized suburban household. This in turn affirmed existing ideas of gender roles so then, as now, marketing simultaneously employs and shapes cultural norms. This being the case, the ways in which socio-psychological principles are employed in branding, advertising, and marketing are intrinsically multifaceted and evolving as the cultures evolve. In a very real sense, marketing is perpetually “keeping pace” with social changes, just as it impacts on those changes through creating ideas exposed so widely to the society. As the following review of literature supports that, social and psychological concepts and principles are essential to successful marketing and branding, just as commercial agendas seek to instill or reinforce traditional norms going to product appeal.

Sampson stated, “Advertising makes us remember and recognize brands better while also affecting our preferences and perceived needs. It changes our attitudes towards products.” He is explaining that companies have implanted brands into our heads, thus making their products very recognizable. Companies feel the need to materialize our lives. By doing this, they cause us to buy expensive engagement rings and other products that people do not necessarily need. Sampson also stated, “Store managers may also manipulate environmental cues to change our buying behavior. For example, research in a wine store found that people bought more expensive wines when classical music was played in the background than when they heard Top 40 music.” This shows how companies go to the extent of changing the environments that we shop in to further prompt us to buy more expensive items.

Modern consumerism coupled with creative marketing tactics have created a vast array of advertisements designed to convince the public’s subconscious to purchase a target product. In other words, companies are making people feel like they need whatever it is they are selling, but how often is this actually true? Do advertisements actually focus on the physical aspects and usefulness of their product? Sometimes these companies stay true to the right objective, but the more common route that companies take is trying to associate seemingly unrelated characteristics and mannerisms with their product. Details such as stylish background music is added, the attractive actor or sports star is hired, or the perfect environment is presented to consumers

1. Using the tricomponent attitude model, compare the differences in attitude of consumers towards Kraft Foods versus their attitude towards Vegemite.

In this section, I will break down the common consumer in attempt to understand what sways him/her into purchasing certain goods—especially those that “they do not need” In addition, I will discuss how consumers determine a certain product to be “worth it”

With advertising emphasizing what consumers can relate to on a daily basis, they also rely on brand recognition. We are more willing to buy what is familiar. For generations people have been eating quaker oats, it’s a recognized and reliable brand. Consumers enjoy eating out of the same box they did when they were kids. When Quaker Oats changed the appearance of their box, it could have resulted in loss of revenue. A focus group stated that many like the old look but a modern appearance could appear to more buyers. The brand placed on their box “New Look”, informing the buyer that the taste will never change. Many buyers may be put off by a “New Look”, it takes away that familiar feel that consumers look for in super markets. But a change in look could also entice new consumers to try the product. While older generations prefer Quaker Oats, the younger generations can always identify with eating Kellogg's Froot Loops. Kids in numerous countries recognize the famous Toucan on the front of the box. The brand itself is even recognized throughout many countries for their wide variety of products, making them a staple in the cereal aisle. These common products rely on the consumer buying them based on habit. If a consumer has to decide between two products they are more likely to chose something familiar. If you chose a product on the basis of knowing a brand or because you've seen the logo everywhere, you are letting marketers decide for

Firms spend large amounts on advertising, estimated to reach $600b in 2015 , this spending represents sunk costs . Increases in spending will not necessarily prove successful; moreover an effective campaign will engage consumers and provide positive brand attitudes. For this reason this area of research is important and should be noted. Increasing the effectiveness of one’s advertising campaign is not an easy task; there are many issues that have to be acknowledged and, more importantly, understood. A plethora of research has been undertaken regarding consumer behaviour; one only needs to look at the sheer volume of academic articles and books on the topic. There are however several categories within consumer behaviour that a firm can target dependant on their product offering. Exposure, memory and attitude pose these issues. Foremost exposure refers to the process by which the consumer comes in to physical contact with a marketing stimulus and they can be exposed to this stimulus during any stage of their decision making process. Exposure is mostly affected by three factors; the position of the advert in mediums (e.g. TV or print); product distribution; and shelf placement. Furthermore consumer memory refers to the persistence of learning over time ; information is retrieved both consciously and unconsciously. Such memories can be retained for any given period of time and stem from experiences and evaluations. Finally attitude is an evaluation a consumer expresses

Advertising is something we see throughout our lives, sometimes without even knowing it. The issue is that some are so small that we don’t even know we’re being told what to buy. Simple placement of branding in our favorite movies and tv shows gives us a bias for that product already. Companies know how to use many rhetorical devices to play towards our emotions and thought processes to make us more apt to try their specific product over the competitor. Sometimes, the devices used in ads are so small and hidden that we do not even see them, but they still affect the way we think and even see some things. Through logos, pathos, and ethos, advertisements change the way we think and feel about their products.

Many people in today's society are distressed greatly with ones rank in the social hierarchy; material possessions of all sorts seem to construct, shape, and style the lives of consumers all over the world. Consumers all over the world are becoming more and more demanding as more and more is being advertised. Many companies, such as Apple, often advertise months in advance for products creating commotion, attentiveness, and desire among the world. Stores, such as Old Navy, inspire consumers to shop at stores like theirs to feel pleased and satisfied with how much can be bought with such small amounts of money; when in reality, the consumers are spending money on their identity.

Baker, W. 2013. Brand Familiarity and Advertising: Effects on the Evoked Set and Brand Preference by William Baker, J. Wesley Hutchinson, Danny Moore, and Prakash Nedungadi. [online] Available at: http://www.acrwebsite.org/search/view-conference-proceedings.aspx?Id=6570 [Accessed: 12 Nov 2013].

Advertising is a persuasive communication attempt to change or reinforce one’s prior attitude that is predictable of future behavior. We are not born with the attitudes for which we hold toward various things in our environment. Instead, we learn our feelings of favorability or unfavorability through information about the object through advertising or direct experience with the object, or some combination of the two. Furthermore, the main aim of advertising is to ‘persuade’ to consumer in order to generate new markets for production.

Consumption is a process of acquiring, using and disposing of goods and services. Emotions play a very large role in consumer behavior. This behavior and emotions are affected and created by the society and the culture in which the consumer lives. For example, an American may approach the purchase of a costly car with relatively less pressure than a person in a developing country where a car could be a high unaffordable luxury. The customer will comprehend brands, offers and the meaning of the product based on the understanding that he or she has of similar brands and their experience by analogy or by hearsay from peers and form an opinion. For example a new soft drink from Pepsi may not be very informative in its advertisement but that it is from the stable of PepsiCo makes the users of Pepsi brands take it in without much research. Such an opinion is not based mostly on the complete set of facts. Where there are many alternatives or the information is scarce the customer has to make a lot of effort or 'high effort' to reach a decision and such a situation could be a turnoff. On the other hand the customer may not be inclined to devolve deep into facts in case where the brand value is established and may make a decision on little or even sometimes no information. (Hoyer;