Creating Powerful Brands - Essay Example

?Consumer Behaviour Introduction: Consumer attitudes can be viewed as both harmful as well as extremely profitable to the company based on whether such attitudes are positive or negative. The marketers hence, have the choice to either pursue or ignore these attitudes and use the same by leveraging them in their favour by developing effective marketing strategies to target and capture the positive attitudes or the change the negative attitudes through influence, and other advertising tactics. The attitude of consumers towards a product or brand plays a key role in influencing the success or failure of the company's marketing strategy. The type of attitude i.e. positive or negative towards a brand, may lead the consumers to either completely abandon the product or increase brand loyalty, depending on the consumer's experience regarding the product, which in turn is created by the marketers through a series of marketing tactics including advertisements. The key role of an advertisement is to bring about a positive change in attitudes of consumers towards a brand, which is accomplished by first creating an awareness regarding the brand, followed by communicating a positive message about the same, in a manner which appeals to the sensibilities of the target consumers. The information included in the advertisements exposes the consumers to a variety of information, thus in turn psychologically pressurizing them to buy the product through positive social pressures (Donovan, Henley, 2010). Pride and Ferrell (2011) define attitude as "an enduring evaluation of feelings about and behavioural tendencies toward an object or idea" (Pp. 138). The marketers try to capture and change the individual's feelings / attitudes through advertising. Advertising helps in creating awareness of brands and companies in the minds of the consumers, and the same can be done by appealing to one or all of the three key elements of attitude; which includes - cognitive, affective and behavioural. The cognitive element entails an individual's knowledge and information regarding the product or idea being marketed by the companies; the affective element entails the feelings and emotions of the individuals towards those products or ideas; while the behavioural element comprises of actions taken by the individuals with regard to the product or ideas. Of these components / elements of attitude, the affective component plays a major role in developing a positive attitude in the minds of the consumers with regard to a given product or idea. The emotions in turn comprise of both psychological as well as biological elements. Feelings such as love, hatred, anger etc., influence an individual's behaviour towards any object or idea; and if used effectively, can be used to generate positive responses towards a specific brand (Hoyer et al., 2008). Impact of attitudes on consumer behaviour: Attitudes of consumers are one of the key elements of marketing strategies, which is often targeted by the marketers and advertisers with a view to gain a positive response from the target customers. Attitudes are formed of various characteristics such as favourability, attitude accessibility, confidence, persistence, and resistance. Favourability refers to the likes or dislikes of consumers with regard to a product / brand attribute; accessibility refers to the ease with which the consumers can identify and relate a brand attribute and retrieve it from one's memory; confidence refers to certainty of one's feelings towards a given brand; persistence refers to the time-period for which a consumer can hold on to such an attitude; and resistance refers to the reluctance of consumers to change their attitudes towards a certain brand. Studies have shown that consumers, in most cases, frequently change their attitudes towards brands depending on the marketing strategies applied by the marketers, although bringing about such a change is a difficult task. The marketers hence use a variety of strategies and tactics to influence the consumers and develop a positive attitude towards their brands (Dierks, 2005; Assael, 2005; Hoyer et al., 2008). According to Assael (2003), consumer attitudes are formed on the basis of their beliefs with regard to the brand, which in turn are formed on the basis of characteristics or attributes of that brand. Thus in order to develop a positive attitude of the consumer towards a brand, it is imperative for the marketers to understand the consumers' attitudes and what causes such attitude formation (Ajzen & Fishbein, 2002). Various theories have been developed to understand the impact and relationship between attitudes and beliefs of consumers towards a brand and consumer behaviour. Most of such theories have mainly focused on the effectiveness of marketing strategies in influencing a positive attitude of consumers towards a brand. Some such theories are discussed hereunder: The Expectancy Value Theory: This theory is mainly aimed at understanding the intention of individuals with regard to certain objects or ideas and accordingly estimates their behaviour with regard to the same. The theory posits that if the marketers accurately identify the intention of the consumers with regard to buying a particular product, then their behaviour can easily be predicted and hence, this intent can then be used to attract them and change their attitudes towards a particular brand, object or idea by engaging and influencing their behaviour in favour of the desired brand. The fundamental premise of this theory is that "individuals choose behaviours based on the outcomes they expect and the values they ascribe to those expected outcomes" (Borders, Earleywine & Huey, 2004). The probability of change in consumers' attitude towards a product thus depends highly on their perception of the likely outcome of indulging in such behaviour. If the consumers believe that the brand is likely to result in positive outcomes, they will be willing to change their attitudes towards it. The marketers thus focus on changing the consumers' expectations regarding the brand which in turn affect their attitudes towards the same, resulting in positive purchase behaviour (Chernatony et al., 2010). The theory of reasoned action: The theory of reasoned action proposed by Ajzen & Fishbein (1975) is based on the attitude and belief of individuals which are likely to have a significant impact on individual's behaviour. The theory posits that the attitudes and beliefs of the consumers play a key role in shaping their behaviour since the choice of a brand is dependent on their attitudes with regard to the same. The attitudes of consumers and their behaviour is one of the key influences of their intention to act in a certain way. This theory states that consumers consciously assess the consequences of their behaviour as well as the various alternatives available to them, and on the basis of the likely outcomes choose the most favourable outcome. The key components of this theory include - behaviour, intention to behave, attitudes towards the behaviour and the subjective norm. Figure: The theory of Reasoned Action: Source: Blythe, (2008) Pp. 147 The beliefs of consumers and the evaluation derived from such beliefs together help them in generating an attitude towards the behaviour. Also, the consumers take into consideration the perceptions and attitudes of others around them and the degree to which they care about the attitudes of such other individuals leads to the development of a subjective norm. The individuals then weight the importance of the attitude and the norm and ultimately form a final decision with regard to the most appropriate behaviour. This theory assumes that the consumers decision with regard to a given product / brand is derived from their attitudes towards the product or brand (Blythe, 2008). The Cognitive Response Model: This model states that the exposure of consumers to various advertisements generates different types of responses and that the responses so generated are based on their attitudes and purchase intentions (Egan, 2007). This model states that the stimulus caused by an advertisement with regard to a particular product leads to the generation of various thought processes on the part of the consumers. These include - the thoughts related to the product / message; the thoughts related to the source; and those related to the execution of advertisements. Figure: The Cognitive Response Model Source: Egan (2007) Pp. 196 The product / message related thoughts include those thoughts/messages which are directed at the products/services being promoted and the message or claims made in the advertisement; the source oriented thoughts refer to those thoughts which are associated with the origin of the message either positively or negatively; while the advertising execution thoughts are include the favourable or unfavourable messages received by the consumers. These elements combined help the marketers in ascertaining and judging the attitudes of consumers towards the brand. According to a study conducted by Ambler & Burne (1999) the marketers and advertisers are highly interested in assessing the reactions of the consumers with regard to the advertisements since their response determines their attitudes with regard to the brand, which ultimately results in a positive purchase decision. Thus attitude is a key component in advertising which affects and determines the consumers' purchase intentions (Egan, 2007). The Tri-Component Attitude Model: This model is composed of three key components i.e., cognitive, affective and behavioural. The cognitive component refers to the knowledge or perceptions acquired by the consumers through a variety of sources such as direct experience, or observation. Such knowledge leads to formation of a set of beliefs which in turn results in the formation of their attitudes towards a given product or brand. The affective component entails the emotions or feelings of the consumers with regard to the brand. These emotions and feelings play a key role in influencing their attitudes either positive or negative, and help them in making a final purchase decision. If the brand is portrayed as having positive characteristics or traits based on their image or reputation in the market, the consumers will generate a positive attitude towards it and vice versa. The conative component or the behavioural component of this model refers to the actual likelihood or tendency of the consumer to undertake an action or behave in a certain manner in response to the advertisement. This component is indicative of the consumers' intention to make an actual purchase decision with regard to the given brand. The decision to purchase the brand is highly dependent on the consumers' perception of the brand, and their experiences direct or otherwise with regard to the same. If the consumers have a positive attitude towards the brand based on the knowledge they possess, it is highly likely to generate a positive response from them with regard to the brand (Lantos, 2010). Strategies used by marketers to change consumer attitudes: The key role of any marketer is to attempt to change the attitudes of the consumers in favour of their brands. This is done by changing the three key elements of attitudes i.e. changing the affective, behavioural and cognitive components of attitudes. Changing the Affective (emotional) Component of Attitude: The attitudes of consumers can be modified, altered or changed by the marketers by providing information / evidence regarding the product / brand benefits and by eliminating negative perceptions or misconceptions regarding the brand in the minds of the consumers. The affective component of attitude includes the feelings or emotions of the individuals, which can be changed by the marketers through creative advertisements and by communicating positive messages regarding the brand, in order to generate positive attitudes from the consumers (Kurtz, 2010). The use of creative advertisements which sends out a positive message to the target consumers such as romance, appeal, love, concern, etc., are likely to generate a positive attitudes in the in minds of the consumers with regard to the brand. The feelings of the consumers can be changed through effective advertisements which appeal to their emotions and compel them to change their attitudes towards the brand, thus resulting in a positive purchase decision. Expensive perfume brands for instance, rely heavily on this component and aim to alter this component in order to generate a favourable response from the consumers (Shrimp, 2008). According to a study conducted by Heath et al (2006) with regard to a total of 43 advertising campaigns in the U.S. and England, covering a variety of products ranging from toilet paper to cars, it was observed that emotions and feelings were the key components and fundamental premise of most of these advertisements. The study concluded that the use of emotional content in advertising helps the marketers in generating a positive attitude towards the brands, and in establishing long-term relationships with them. Emotions influence the consumer attitudes in various ways, generating either positive or negative attitudes towards the product / brand. Emotions help in enhancing the arousal and energy levels of the consumers thus enabling them to make a positive purchase decision in favour of the brand (Dahlen et al., 2009). Changing the Behavioural component of attitude: This component of consumer attitude can be changed to generate positive attitudes towards a brand, by various marketing strategies such as offering discounts, free samples or coupons, POP displays or by reducing prices of the products. Such a marketing activity increases the consumers’ interest in the brand, and attracts their attention, ultimately leading to a positive attitude towards the brand (Pride & Ferrell, 2011). Changing the Cognitive component of attitude: This is done by changing the existing beliefs about a given product or brand in the minds of the consumers, altering or modifying the relative significance of these beliefs and eventually adding a new belief through effective advertisement campaigns. The strategy to change beliefs of the consumers requires them to shift their existing beliefs regarding the performance of the brand on one or more attributes of that brand. The beliefs can be changed by providing information regarding the performance of the brand, or making statements which inform the consumers regarding the key attributes of the brand. Once the beliefs are changed, the marketers must then try to shift the importance to other key attributes of the brand. This can be done by convincing the consumers regarding the attributes which are relatively stronger and are perceived to be most important by the consumers. This is done by General Motors which uses distressed drivers to highlight the ease and comfort offered by their products thus enabling the consumers to change their attitudes in favour of their brand. The next step in changing cognitive attitude is adding new beliefs to the consumers' existing belief system. This is done by announcing or informing the consumers regarding a new component, feature or attribute added to the existing product to enhance its features for instance, the new shock absorber feature added by IBM in their laptops was conveyed to the customers as extremely beneficial since it protects their laptops from being damaged on account of sudden jolts. The final stage is changing the ideal which includes changing the perceptions regarding the ideal brand. This can be done by introducing revolutionary features such as eco-sustainable or environmentally friendly products which appeal to the consumers' ideals and change their beliefs in favour of the brand. This strategy was adopted by Toyota when it first launched the Prius - an eco-friendly automobile which received wide spread appreciation from various consumer segments (Hawkins et al., 2007). Marketing strategies to generate positive attitudes among consumers: One-sided v/s Two sided message: More often than not the marketers focus on providing only positive messages (i.e. one sided message) to the consumers regarding their product. However some marketers in a bid to attain more consumer attention and create a positive attitude towards their brand convey and present a two-sided message through a smartly planned advertisement campaign. The two-sided message comprises of both positive as well as negative aspect of the product, whereby the negative aspect is used effectively to project and highlight the benefits offered by the product. Such type of advertising helps in generating an attitude of trust among the consumers towards the brand, and increases the brand credibility in the eyes of the consumers (Hoyer et al., 2008). Example: Buckley’s Cough Syrup This cough syrup brand has been advertising the product’s positive attributes – that of cure for cough, along with its negative attributes i.e. bad taste. The promotion of the product using this type of appeal known as the refutational appeal, helps the marketers in refuting the viewpoints and opinions of the target consumers by presenting both sides of an issue and thus succeed in appealing to the target audience, at the same time thwarting the claims of the competitors in the process. Such type of appeals are deemed to be extremely successful and used by marketers widely in case of promoting products to consumers who are reluctant to change. This helps the marketers in influencing the consumers’ attitudes in their favour, by breaking through the communication barriers and ultimately building customer loyalty (Belch, 2003). According to researchers the use of a two-sided refutational advertisement is an extremely successful advertising strategy since it helps in communicating the message effectively to the consumer and helps in diffusing counter-arguments on the part of the consumer regarding the negative aspects of the product / brand. According to Linder & Worchel (1970) "Attitudes resulting from effortful self-generated conclusions should be more positive than attitudes resulting from less effortful processing of conclusions explicitly provided in a message" (Weitz & Wensley 2002, Pp. 298) References: Ajzen, I. (2002). Perceived behavior control, self-efficacy, locus of control and the theory of planned behavior. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 32, Pp. 1-20. Ambler & Burne (1999) in Egan, J., (2007). 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