The Consumer Audience

1. The Consumer Audience Part 2: Planning and Strategy Chapter 5

2. Need recognition Information search Evaluation of alternatives Purchase decision Postpurchase evaluation The consumer recognizes the need for a product Advertising should activate or stimulate this need The Consumer Decision Process

3. Need recognition Information search Evaluation of alternatives Purchase decision Postpurchase evaluation Can be casual or formal Advertising helps the search process by providing information and making it easy to find, as well as remember The Consumer Decision Process

4. Need recognition Information search Evaluation of alternatives Purchase decision Postpurchase evaluation Consumers compare various products and reduce the list of options Advertising helps sort out products on the basis of tangible and intangible features The Consumer Decision Process

5. Need recognition Information search Evaluation of alternatives Purchase decision Postpurchase evaluation Often a two-part decision Select the brand Select the outlet from which to purchase In-store promotions affect these choices The Consumer Decision Process

6. Need recognition Information search Evaluation of alternatives Purchase decision Postpurchase evaluation The customer reconsiders and justifies the purchase Determines whether the customer will keep the product, return it, or refuse to buy the product again The Consumer Decision Process

7. The Impact of Involvement • Involvement • Situational • Generalized • Decision Process will vary • Low involvement will involve little information search, and it will be primarily internal • Heuristics may replace alternative evaluation • Post purchase evaluation may only occur in the presence of cognitive dissonance

8. Figure 5.8 Two different Decision Processes

9. The Elaboration Likelihood Model • Two routes to persuasion • Central route (high involvement): involves deliberate and conscious effort to process ad content and claims (message arguments) • Peripheral route (low involvement): involves little if any deliberate effort to process information; persuasion occurs through association with non-message stimuli such as music, visuals, humor, etc. (peripheral cues)

10. Simple ELM Central route Message Arguments Attitude Toward the Brand Purchase Intention Peripheral Cues Peripheral Route Involvement

11. Early Problems with theOriginal ELM • While they do mention the role of cognitions, they do not explicitly include them in the model • Cognitions are necessary to describe the attitude formation process • No mention of attitude toward the ad (Aad) • Aad has been shown to be a mediating factor influencing attitude toward the brand

12. AlternativeElaboration Likelihood Model Involvement Peripheral Cues Ad Cognitions Aad Message Arguments Brand Cognitions Ab

13. In High Involvement Conditions,Central Route ProcessingDominates the Attitude Change Process Involvement Peripheral Cues Ad Cognitions Aad Message Arguments Brand Cognitions Ab

14. In Low Involvement Conditions,Peripheral Route ProcessingDominates the Attitude Change Process Involvement Peripheral Cues Ad Cognitions Aad Message Arguments Brand Cognitions Ab

15. What does all this mean? • Low Involvement = Creativity rules • High Involvement = Message rules

16. The STP Framework forMarketing Strategic Planning • Segmenting • Dividing the market into groups of people who have similar characteristics in certain key product-related areas • Targeting • Identifying the group that might be the most profitable audience • Positioning • Establishing a brand image or personality within the minds of the target market

17. Segmenting and Targeting • Market aggregation strategy • When planners purposefully use one marketing strategy that will appeal to as many audiences as possible • Market segmentation • Assumes that the best way to sell is to recognize differences within the broad market and adjust strategies and messages accordingly

18. Types of segmentation Figure 5.8 Segmenting and Targeting

19. Segmenting and Targeting • Targeting the right audience • The target is described using the variables that separate this prospective consumer group from others who are not in the market • Profiling the target audience • Describing the target audience as if they are people you know • Used in developing media and message decisions

20. Use of Perceptual Maps for Positioning Strategy • A visual depiction of product positioning • Identify two (or more) key product attributes on which differentiation may occur • Score each competing brand on the attributes • Plot the attribute scores for each brand • Can be used to analyze product position relative to competitors • Find gaps • Identify brand clusters • Guide repositioning strategy

21. Question to Ponder • Which element within the STP framework is most directly affected by advertising? • Why is an understanding of the involvement level of a target market vital to developing effective communication strategy?