Reference no: EM13936940
The overall aim of the assessment is to show that you understand how psychological (from within), sociological (from society) and marketer controlled (marketing mix) factors combine to influence purchase behaviour and decisions.
1. In order to demonstrate your understanding you will make extensive use of the constructs, models and theories that we have learned about in the module. For example, motivation is a "construct". There are theories which attempt to explain it (Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs) and there is a model (Means-End-Chain analysis) which helps us to apply the theory to specific examples. The more constructs, theories and models you apply appropriately and correctly the more marks you will score for the theoretical content.
2. As illustrated in the marking scheme the theoretical content must cover psychological factors (such as attention, perception, motivation, learning and memory, personality, attitude), sociological factors (such as culture, values, peers and reference groups, social comparison, social categorisation, celebrity) and the decision making process itself.
3. In order to connect constructs, theories and models to marketing activity you will make extensive use of examples from the marketing mix of your chosen brand. There are many examples in the lecture slides showing how to do this. Marketing activities refers to the marketing mix and refers specifically to the product, the brand, its packaging and pricing, point-of-purchase activity and of course the brand's communications and advertising activities.
4. There is no one "correct" structure or approach but rather a number of possible approaches: CDP as structure; marketing mix as structure; psychological/sociological/decision making factors as structure. The "correct" structure is the one that works best for you.
5. If you take the CDP as the structure here are some ideas to guide you. The CDP starts with "need recognition". Marketers must make their brand the object for motive achievement thus they must demonstrate how their brand satisfies the consumer's needs and wants better than competitors. Products have features which deliver benefits. These benefits provide the motives for engaging in information search and evaluation of alternatives behaviour. A consumer's desire for the benefits is what motivates behaviour. Motivation is a "psychological construct" which Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs attempts to explain. Means-End-Chain is a model which allows us to connect needs and wants with product and brand specific valued consequences. Those consequences can be functional (cleaner teeth, fresher breath) but also psycho social ( important psychological and social benefits - more confidence in social interactions and increased self esteem). In this example therefore, you will show how advertisements for the brand stimulate need recognition and how they connect the brand with important consequences. You will work through each stage of the CDP connecting it with appropriate constructs, theories and models and using examples of marketing activity to illustrate your discussion.
6. Alternatively the marketing mix provides a possible structure. Product/brand has features which provide valued consequences (links to motivation and means -end chain - psychological theory. The valued consequences might be self esteem (link to personality theory), social recognition/basis for social comparison (sociological theory). Consumers compare the benefits provided by products (evaluation of alternatives - CDP theory). The model they use for comparison is Multi-attribute model - links to attitude (psychological theory). Again you are making links to theory and using examples to illustrate.
7. The marking scheme itself (Psychological factors, sociological factors, decision making theory) also provides a structure. You might begin for example by identifying the "information processing" component of the psychological factors which means attention, perception, learning and memory. You can connect these factors to stages of decision making and then use examples as illustrations. So, for example, all marketing activity depends upon getting exposure and grabbing the consumer's focal attention. What examples can you point to in your brand's advertising to show how it grabs focal attention? How does the brand promote positive consumer learning? What techniques are used to help consumers encode, store and retrieve the information?
8. Remember throughout what you are trying to achieve in this assignment task. Marketers must sell their brand to consumers. Consumers respond to marketing activities the way they do because of the way in which their own psychological "make-up" (their attitudes, experiences, memories, personality) interactswith the social world (culture, friendship, influence groups, values) in which they live. Consumers buy products and brands not only to satisfy functional needs but also because the marketer has connected the brand with more important psychological and social consequences that consumers value. This is the process that you are trying to explain.
9. Whatever structural approach you choose it is a good idea to begin with a mind map whereby you can plot how various factors connect with each other, how and where you will integrate your theories and models and which examples you will use to illustrate your discussion.
10. A good place to start this process is with a collection of artefacts related to your brand (the product itself, its packaging, various examples of advertising from different sources, links to new media marketing activities, brochures, point-of-purchase material.
11. When you have done this work out which part of the story can be told using each of your artefacts.
12. Before you attempt your answer it is a good idea to plan out your story and assemble the collection of brand artefacts that you will use. Here is a story. Your eye is caught by an advertisement for a skin care product in Marie Claire magazine. What was it that caught your attention? Was it the celebrity? You read the advertisement. What do you learn? What does the advertisement do to promote positive learning/development of a positive brand attitude? Is there a feature of the advertisement that is memorable? What is it? Why does this feature help you to encode, store and retrieve? Is the story more meaningful because the brand spokesman is a celebrity? The celebrity promises certain benefits if you use the product. What are those benefits? Why are those benefits important to you? These benefits provide your motivation to purchase the product. Some of the benefits are functional (smoother skin) but some are much more complex (smoother skin makes you look younger. If you look younger you will feel younger and you might feel better about yourself in other ways). This enhances your confidence and increases your self esteem. How are these things reflected in the advertisement and what model (means-end-chain analysis) can you use to illustrate this? You buy the product and use it. Your skin does feel smoother, firmer and your friend tells you how nice it looks. Your behaviour has been "reinforced". It is more likely to happen in future. Which model explains this? The story continues..........