The Impact of Advertising on Consumer Behavior - Dissertation Example

The Impact of Advertising on Consumer Behavior Introduction Currently, the world has experienced high level of companies’ diversification as multinationals try to spread production risks to different parts of the world. According to Talloo (2007), this is due to increasing rate of globalization which has led to opening up of boundaries and liberalization of the global markets (p. 156). In addition, it has led to efficient flow of information an aspect that has made it possible for a company to operate different companies in different parts of the world, in a decentralized form of leadership (Armstrong and Kotler, 2011, p. 278). This has resulted to high level of advertising as companies are trying to segment and position their products in the minds of the target customers. Currently, there are new methods of advertising such as use of audio media e.g. radio, print media e.g. magazines and newspaper, internet etc (Schultz et al., 1992, p. 15). Social media such as Facebook and YouTube are the most recent advertising channel. Nevertheless, advertising requires a high level of competence in order for the advert to have an impact on consumer behavior (Murray, 1973, p. 156). In order to impact on the consumption behavior of the market, the management has to come up with appropriate strategies that will take care of customer interests and desires an aspect that will convince target consumers to shift towards the product. The drafting of the message to be used, selecting the budget, media to be used in spreading the message and the actual advertising plays a crucial role in determining peoples response towards the message. All these factors should, therefore, be taken care of in order to ensure that message has an impact on the target consumer (Armstrong & Kotler, 2011, p. 167). The use of visual ads or pictures has increased over the last few decades. Unluckily, availability of a marketing or consumer hypothesis to explain on the forms of pictorial gambits presented in promotion (Malkewitz et al, 2003, p. 13). This research will employ an empurpled strategy to understanding and organizing the advertising pictures (McQuarrie and Mick, 1996, p. 427). We will make several assumptions in this research. First, we will assume that the marketers choose the pictures from a palate; secondly, pictorial factors can be associated with consumer reactions. Thirdly, we will assume that the palette has an inner composition which aids in indicating the effects that each pictorial factor will bring to the consumers. Though, over the years, various scholars have developed a variety of organizations and categorization of rhetoric figures (Corbett and Connors, 1999, p. 128), the new assortment puts a new input by concentrating on the rhetoric figures developed from visual rather than verbal components and also identifies the effect of the distinct verbal components on consumer reaction and processing. In this case, we will use Tide detergent picture ad which shows clouds and the sky contained in a glass. Theoretical Development and Hypothesis Advertising is a form of marketing communication tool that a company uses to achieve both financial and nonfinancial goals. Armstrong and Kotler (2011) define advertising as a paid non personal message to a selected audience through mass media aimed to achieve a company’s goal (p. 245). Murray (1973, p. 17) asserts that advertisements affects the consumer behaviors. A superb advert aims at attaining a higher brand loyalty, creating brand awareness and increases its market share. The internet has become the best thing in e-commerce since its inception. Because of changes in consumer trends, all businesses are shifting to advertising and offering their products in the internet (Crutsinger et al., 2008 p. 32). The availability of the internet to all and sundry has led to development of online adverts, which appear as pop-ups or pop-downs. The internet provides remarkable benefits as a marketing medium. All marketing communications are rules by a key reality: The consumers increasingly want to be in control (Schultz, 1992, p. 123). Stibel (2005) asserts that an immediate response is one of the key factors that promote and builds strong consumer behaviors (p. 148). According to Koyuncu and Lien (2003), the internet provides consumers with a platform where they can have a one-on-one communication with the marketer or the company (p. 722). Armstrong and Kotler (2011) assert “an ideal marketing medium allows customers to identify themselves, to declare an interest and readiness to purchase and even to criticize or complain”. Various companies and firms across the globe have tried to adopt and employ indirect marketing. This involves the use of a hidden message that lets the consumer think for themselves. Adidas Company, for example, has adopted the use of indirect advertising in its recent ‘impossible is nothing’ advert campaigns. Haig (2011) asserts that an indirect advertising involves the use of a hidden message through comparison to real life cases (p. 243). Over the last few decades, the use of visual adverts other than audio has steadily increased. A typical characteristic of advertising proportional to other structures of individual contact is its dependence on portraits to influence. Recent studies by Chandrasekar (2010) indicate a majority of companies effectively use pictures and other visual forms (p. 167). All the pictures that used in adverts have a visual structure which sends a message to the consumers. Phillips and McQuarrie (2004, p. 116) assert that the “visual figures, like all rhetorical figures, are fundamentally concerned with the relationship of one thing to another”. This implies that a picture’s visual structure juxtaposes the two images represented in the picture. For example, in the Tide ad, the visual structure of the picture juxtaposes both the glass and the sky in the picture. Phillips and McQuarrie (2004) denote that there are three visual structures that can be represented by a picture advertisement. The first is the picture that directly shows the product or service advertised (p. 123). The juxtaposed images create second visual structure. This is similar to the case of Tide detergent. The third visual structure is the structure where the only one image shows. In the third visual structure, the portrayed image has a hidden meaning and may take time for the consumer to understand. The assortment signifies that the palette of metaphorical figures accessible to the consumers range from moderately easy and easily interpretable to composite forms that are not easily interpreted and provide a wide range of interpretations (Phillips and McQuarrie, 2004, p. 128). There are various variables of advertising that profoundly influence consumer behavior. These variables include the internet, brand awareness, product positioning and brand loyalty (Phillips and McQuarrie, 2004, p. 128). Research Methodology We will consider the effectiveness of the pictures in order to come up with a typology that addresses the issue. We will consider the Tide ad which differs from the realistic portrayal in advertisements. By depicting the sky in the glass, some of the observers may term the advert as erroneous. In essence, this image is a visual rhetoric figure. Subsequently, though there might be various interpretations on the Tide ad, most of them will likely repose on positive resemblances between the clothes and the sky i.e. the breeze of the sky could signify freshness, blueness signify cloth brightness and the clouds signify softness of the cloths (Phillips, 1997, p. 83). We will take various advertisements and put them in the typology. The classification is a combination of cells generated within two attributes. First attribute is the visual structure. This denotes the way the elements in the rhetoric visual figure are physically depicted in the advert. The second element is the meaning operation. This denotes the spotlight of the cognitive processing needed to understand the picture. These two attributes are deduced in proportions from a contemplation of earlier taxonomies; Durand (1987, p. 303), Kaplan (1992, p. 201) and Forceville (1996, p. 167), and also from an evaluation of a magnanimous amount of ad pictures gathered by authors over previous years. In describing the patterns and the general trends in the data we will employ univariate analysis of descriptive statistics to test the hypothesis about the relationships or the differences in the populations grounded on the measurements of the samples. Timetable The research will take effect after identifying viable respondents. To make substantial contribution to the body of the knowledge, the research will follow an original contribution. The research will pass through various primary stages which include data collection, formulation of hypothesis, primary synopsis and documentation (Toncar and Munch, 2001, p. 57). Every research starts with an observation and collection of data observed (Wiggin and Miller, 2003, p.143). This leads to inquisitiveness to learn and understand more about what was observed (p. 144). We will collect data in tables from the respondents and later analyze the data. The hypothesis will be formulated on the basis of the observation of the consumer behavior trends (Kaplan, 1992, p. 198). The synopsis will give the time needed for presentation of the primary subject. Documentation will involve the recording of files and diaries which can help in the research (Katz et al., 1998, p.167). Once all this is in place, I will contact the supervisor to assess the research. The research will encompass various topics which include the introduction, Research methodology used, theoretical development and hypothesis, the sample used, procedure of data collection, the end results, Analysis of the data collected, discussion of the results, future research, limitations and relevance of the research to advertising (McQuarrie and Mick, 1992, p. 187). The Sample The sample will consist of 300 young consumers from different institutions. Selection of these young people will take place in different colleges across the country. This research will seek the young consumers who have made at least five purchases in the last month, books, bag, clothing, watch or even detergent. From a research by done by Vazquez and Xu (2009, p. 410), in the present day, most of the companies are targeting the young age group. Adidas, Nike and Fubu, are world brands that are trying to win brand loyalty among the young people. The procedure Consequently, this research will employ the use of old picture ads that were in use a long time ago. This will give efficient results examining the effect of the picture ads since none of the young person will have encountered such pictures. The research will employ the Tide advert about the sky in a transparent cup together with other clear images of Nike and Adidas. According to Phillips and McQuarrie (2004, p. 117), the young consumers are exposed to various picture ads. One of the ads will have a direct meaning with the image of the product being portrayed without any comparison, the other will have juxtaposed images and the last one had a picture with a hidden meaning picture. The following table will be used to gauge the effect of visual ads on the consumer’s behavior. Visual Structure Meaning Operation: Richness/ Effect Meaning operation: Richness/ Effect Meaning Operation: Richness/ Effect Juxtaposed Images Single plain Image of the product Hidden meaning product picture The respondents will be asked to fill the table together with a questionnaire on the effects of picture advertising on consumer behavior. The questionnaires and the tables will all be administered, sealed and brought to the same centre for analysis (Gentner et al, 2001, p. 204). The main aim of the research is for the consumers to identify various effects of advertising on their behavior. Expected Results We expect the research to show that visual structure of the picture advert greatly influences consumer behavior. Also we expect to get hidden meaning picture had a substantial effect on the consumer’s behavior (Phillips and McQuarrie, 2004, p. 125). The use of pictures has an effect on the consumer’s behavior. In addition, we expect to get results that the use of the juxtaposed images had a higher influence on the respondents because it offered them an opportunity to compare the product being advertised with the image portrayed on the picture. Also, Tide ad portrays good and quality results which could be compared to the sky. Phillips and McQuarrie (2004, p. 126) asserts that consumer processing of pictorial rhetoric figures varies with the alterations in the meaning operation and visual structure. Discussion The results of the study will support the relationship between advertising and consumers behavior. Because there are remarkably few studies on the relationship between advertising and consumer’s behavior, this study will help us understand the consumer behavior-advertising relationship. Previous studies show that various advertisement affect consumer behavior differently. They denote that visual structure of an advert determines consumer behaviors. This indicates that comparisons between two variables help familiarize the product or service advertised with the image portrayed. In the case of the Tide advert, it will show that the effectiveness of the detergent metaphorically equates to the sky. When we conduct the analysis of the data, we will argue that the performance of comparison is better in advertising in creating an image among the consumers. Consumers need to compare one product with another other than connecting an item to another. In connection, the consumer will only consider the association between one product and another item e.g. “How is A associated with B?” In comparison, the consumer will generate a wide variety of probable resemblances between the two items. In comparison, the consumer will answer the question “How is A like B?” Phillips and McQuarrie (2004, p. 130) asserts that the “most correct or the most satisfying inference as to the combination of similarities and differences intended by the advertiser may not be obvious”. The shore up for the differences between opposition and similarity evaluations come from various research fields. For example, Creusere (2000, p. 35) denotes that children build the aptitude to comprehend similarity comparison before opposition comparisons. According to Katz et al (1998), other scholars denote that dispensation of opposition statements is exigent than synthesizing resemblance expressions (p. 168-182). The key postulation inherent to the research is that the metaphorical statures in adverts will have nearly equal positive effect on consumer response (McQuarrie & Mick, 2003, p. 585). However, we expect that the adverts with both verbal and visual rhetoric figures will have a higher impact than verbal rhetoric figure adverts (Huhmann et al., 2002, p. 163). Consumers respond with pleasure when a picture or image portrayed diverts from anticipation (Berlyne, 1971, p. 126). This pleasure partly comes from expounding on the picture and figuring out the puzzle it represents. McQuarrie and Mick (1999, p. 48) have documented elaboration of the visual figures. McQuarrie and Mick (1996) document the delight that arises from elaborating and solving the puzzle (p. 427). The consumer’s synthesis of the advertisement may build up as a role of acculturation (McQuarrie and Mick, 1999, p. 45), artifact family skillfulness, or acquaintance to that advertising genre (the frequent magazine and newspaper readers). Various variables such as participation (Toncar &Munich, 2001, p. 59), huge purchases by consumers and the message differences such as the strength of the arguments (Swasy and Munch, 1985, p. 27) and the significance of the advert message (Huhmann et al., 2002, p. 167) determine the consumer's motivation to process the information in the advertisement. These motivating elements impact on the ability of the consumer to deal with the complexity in an advert (Anand & Sternthal, 1990, p. 349). In order to understand these aspects more clearly, a detailed research will be required. Limitations This proposed classification was obtained from advertising samples of a single culture (North American) that aired in the early 20th century. This research lacks empirical data to back it up. There are little empirical data on ad pictures that exist and the model purely exists on altered and communicated assumptions. Before obtaining the information, recruiting the respondents will be a time consuming exercise. The competent respondents may show little interest in the research process. We may be forced to entice various respondents who we think can help us in achieving the research goals. However, this model will be developed with high specificity and back up data gathered. One of the major strengths of this theory is that it is able to be examined experimentally. In my own view, if metaphorical methodologies are to recognize their hope for differentiating and integrating the opportunities for influence, they should be examinable. Relevance to advertising This classification tries to show the advertisement system and the individual system can be connected to furnish a better comprehension of promotion. This corresponds to McQuarrie and Mick (2003, p. 579). This classification accounts for the various meaning operations and visual structures usable by the advertisers. This typology distinguishes an organization of abstract classes that encompass vital variations among real advertisements. These differences will be connected to a scheme of consumer reactions and depict models of consumer reactions developed over the last decades. Conclusion From this research, we will conclude that the various forms of advertising have an effect on the consumer behavior. A firm that intents to increase its market share will need to employ advertising as a marketing tools. References Abed, F. 1994. ‘Visual Puns as Interactive Illustrations: Their Effects on Recognition Memory’, Metaphor and Symbolic Activity 9(1): 45–60. Anand, P. and Sternthal, B. 1990. ‘Ease of Message Processing as a Moderator of Repetition Effects in Advertising’, Journal of Marketing Research 27(3) (August): 345–53. Andreasen, A. 1997. Prescriptions of Theory-Driven Social Marketing Reseach: A Response to Goldenberg's Alarms. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 6(2), 189-196. Armstrong , G., & Kotler, P. (2011). Marketing: An intriduction. Pearson. Berlyne, D. 1971. Aesthetics and Psychobiology. New York: Appleton. Chandrasekar. 2010. Marketing Management: Text & Cases. Tata McGraw-Hill Education.363 Corbett, E. and Connors, R. 1999. Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student (4th Ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. Creusere, M. 2000.‘A Developmental Test of Theoretical Perspectives on the Understanding of Verbal Irony: Children’s Recognition of Allusion and Pragmatic Insincerity’, Metaphor and Symbol 15(1/2): 29–45 Crutsinger, Christy, Jeon, Sua, & Haejung, Kim. 2008. Exploring Online Auction Behaviors and Motivations. Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences, 100(2), 31-40. Retrieved March 22 2012: http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/recordDetail?accno=EJ797387 Durand, J. 1987. ‘Rhetorical Figures in the Advertising Image’, in J. Umiker-Sebeok (ed.) Marketing and Semiotics: New Directions in the Study of Signs for Sale, pp. 295– 318. New York: Mouton De Gruyter. Economist Intelligence Unit (Great Britain). 1990. Retail Business: Market Reports, Issues 383-388 pp.61,74. Egan John. 2007. Marketing Communications. Cengage Learning EMEA. Forceville, C. 1996. Pictorial Metaphor in Advertising. New York: Routledge. Gentner, D., Bowdle, B., Wolff, P. and Boronat, C. 2001. ‘Metaphor is Like Analogy’, in D. Gentner, K. Holyoak and B. Kokinov (eds) The Analogical Mind: Perspectives From Cognitive Science, pp. 199–253. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. Haig Matt. 2011. Brand Success: How the World’s Top 100 Brands Thrive and Survive. Kogan Page Publishers. Hansen Flemming, Christensen R. Sverre. 2007. Emotions, Advertising and Consumer choice. Copenhagen Business School Press DK. Huhmann, B., Mothersbaugh, D. and Franke, G. 2002. ‘Rhetorical Figures in Headings and Their Effect on Text Processing: The Moderating Role of Information Relevance and Text Length’, IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication 45(3): 157–69. Katz, A., Turner, M., Gibbs, R. and Cacciari, C.1998. ‘Counterpoint Commentary’, in Figurative Language and Thought, pp. 158–92. New York: Oxford University Press. Kaplan, S. 1992. ‘A Conceptual Analysis of Form and Content in Visual Metaphors’, Communication 13: 197–209. Koyuncu, Cuneyt, & Lien, Donald. 2003. E-commerce and Consumer’s Purchasing Behavior. Applied Economics, 35, 721-726. DOI: 10.1080/0003684022000020850 Malkewitz, K., Wright, P. and Friestad, M. 2003. ‘Persuasion by Design: The State of Expertise on Visual Influence Tactics’, in L. Scott and R. Batra (eds) Imagery: A Consumer Response Perspective, pp. 3–15. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. McQuarrie, E. and Mick, D. 1992. ‘On Resonance: A Critical Pluralistic Inquiry into Advertising Rhetoric’, Journal of Consumer Research 19(2) (September): 180–97. McQuarrie, E. and Mick, D. 1996. ‘Figures of Rhetoric in Advertising Language’, Journal of Consumer Research 22(4) (March): 424–38. McQuarrie, E. and Mick, D. 1999 ‘Visual Rhetoric in Advertising: Text-Interpretive, Experimental, and Reader-Response Analyses’, Journal of Consumer Research 26(1) (June): 37–54. McQuarrie, E. and Mick, D. 2003. ‘The Contribution of Semiotic and Rhetorical Perspectives to the Explanation of Visual Persuasion in Advertising’, in L. Scott and R. Batra (eds) Persuasive Imagery: A Consumer Response Perspective, pp. 191–221. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Murray, B. B. 1973. Consumerism, the eternal triangle: Business, government and consumers . Goodyear Publication Company. Phillips, B. 1997. ‘Thinking Into It: Consumer Interpretation of Complex Advertising Images’, Journal of Advertising 26(2): 77–87 Phillips, B. J., & McQuarrie, E. F. 2004. Beyond Visual Metaphor: A new Typology of Visual Rhetoric in advertising. Marketing Theory, 4(113), 113-136. Shimp A. Terence. 2008. Advertising, promotion and other Aspects of Intergrated Marketing Communications. Cengage Learning. Schultz, D. E., Tannenbaum, S. I., & Lauterborn, R. F. 1992. The new marketing Paradigm: Integrated Marketing Communications. McGraw-Hill Professional. Stibel, J.M. 2005. Mental Models and Online Consumers Behavior. Behavior & Information Technology, 24(2), 147-150. DOI: 10.1080/01449290512331321901 Swasy, J. and Munch, J.1985. ‘Examining the Target of Receiver Elaborations: Rhetorical Question Effects on Source Processing and Persuasion’, Journal of Consumer Research 11(4) (March): 877–86. Talloo. 2007. Business Organization and Management. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. 207 Toncar, M. and Munch, J. 2001. ‘Consumer Responses to Tropes in Print Advertising’, Journal of Advertising 30(1): 55–65 Vazquez, D., & Xu, Xingang. 2009. Investigation Linkages Between Online Purchase Behavior Variables. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 37(5), 408-419. DOI: 10.1108/09590550910954900 Wiggin, A. and Miller, C. 2003.‘Uncle Sam Wants You!: Exploring Verbal-Visual Juxtapositions in Television Advertising’, in L. Scott and R. Batra (eds) Persuasive Imagery: A Consumer Response Perspective, pp. 141–52. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Read More