MR1500

**Welcome to MR1500 - Consumer Behaviour **
with Paul Tilley

Welcome to the course page. MR1500, Consumer Behaviour introduces you to the concepts, theories and techniques used to determine why consumers act as they do. You will explore the fundamentals of consumer behavior to gain a better understanding of the motivation behind purchase decisions. By understanding the consumer’s behavior, you will be able to make more market focused strategic decisions.

Recommended Text: Solomon, M. R., Zaichkowsky, J. L., and Polegato, R. (2008). Consumer behavior: Buying, having, and being (4th Cdn. ed.). Toronto: Pearson Education Canada. ISBN 10- 0131740407; ISBN 13-9780131740402.


 * Text Book Website**: []


 * Resource Links: **


 * [|Government of Newfoundland and Labrador] ||  ||
 * [|Statistics Canada] ||  ||
 * [|Marketplace, CBC Production] ||  ||
 * [|The Globe and Mail] ||  ||
 * [|Consumer’s Association of Canada] ||  ||
 * [|Community Accounts] ||


 * Course Objectives: **

Upon successful completion of this course the student will be able to:


 * 1) Analyze the consumer buying decision process and its influencing factors
 * 2) Create a customer personality profile for the purpose of making marketing decisions
 * 3) Create a consumer profile by applying the various psychographic segmentations
 * 4) Analyze the effect the consumer’s attitude can have on the buying decision
 * 5) Assess the role of communications in marketing and create a message
 * 6) Explain how consumer’s memory can affect purchase decision


 * Course Evaluation: **
 * 1) Three (3) Application assignments 20%
 * 2) Case analysis and presentation 20%
 * 3) Midterm examination 30%
 * 4) Final examination 30%


 * Major Course Topics **
 * 1) Introduction to Consumer Behaviour
 * 2) Perception
 * 3) Learning and Memory
 * 4) Motivation and Values
 * 5) The Self-concept (Internal)
 * 6) Attitudes
 * 7) Communications
 * 8) Age and Consumer Classification
 * 9) Purchase Decision and Product Disposal

=**Midterm Review**= =**Fall 2013**= || ||
 * =**Consumer Behaviour**=


 * Course Detail **
 * **1.0 Introduction to Consumer Behaviour**

Unit Objectives:


 * Define and distinguish between the types of consumer personalities
 * Construct a consumer personality profile
 * Define lifestyle and identify its components and trends as it relates to industry
 * Discuss and apply psychographic segmentation

=Chapter 1 Summary =
 * Read: Chapter 1 - Introduction & Chapter 6 - Personality and Lifestyle **
 * Introduction
 * Consumers' Impact on Marketing Strategy
 * Marketing's Impact on Consumers
 * Needs and Wants: Do Marketers Manipulate Consumers?
 * The Dark Side of Consumer Behaviour
 * Consumer Behaviour as a Field of Study
 * Personality
 * Brand Personality
 * Lifestyles and Psychographics
 * Lifestyle Trends

Consumer behaviour is the study of the processes involved when individuals or groups select, purchase and use or dispose of products, services, ideas or experiences to satisfy needs and desires.

A consumer may purchase, use and/or dispose of a product, but different people may perform these functions. In addition, consumers may be thought of as role players who need different products to help them play their various parts. Market segmentation is an important aspect of consumer behaviour. Our culture is evolving to one where consumers face a huge array of choices, making segmentation even more important. Consumers can be segmented along many dimensions, including product usage, demographics (the objective aspects of a population, such as age and sex), psychographics (psychological and lifestyle characteristics) and lifestyle (feelings, values, hobbies). Emerging developments, such as the new emphasis on relationship marketing and the practice of database marketing, mean that marketers are much more attuned to the wants and needs of different consumer groups. This is especially important as people are empowered to construct their own consumer space--accessing product information where and when they want it and initiating contact with companies on the Internet instead of passively receiving marketing communications.

The Web is transforming the way consumers interact with companies and with each other. Online commerce allows us to locate obscure products from around the world, and consumption communities provide forums for people to share opinions and product recommendations. Potential problems accompany the benefits; these include the loss of privacy and the deterioration of traditional social interactions as people log more time online.

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Marketing activities exert an enormous impact on individuals. Consumer behaviour is relevant to our understanding of both public policy issues (for example, ethical marketing practices) and the dynamics of popular culture. One of the biggest on-going debates about marketing is whether marketers manipulate consumers by creating artificial needs.

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">The field of consumer behaviour is interdisciplinary; it is composed of researchers from many different fields who share an interest in how people interact with the marketplace. These disciplines can be categorized by the degree to which their focus is micro (the individual consumer) versus macro (the consumer as a member of groups or of the larger society).

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">There are many perspectives on consumer behaviour, but research orientations can be roughly divided into two approaches. The positivist perspective, which currently dominates the field, emphasizes the objectivity of science and the consumer as a rational decision maker. The interpretivist perspective, in contrast, stresses the subjective meaning of the consumer's individual experience; this perspective suggests that any behaviour is subject to multiple interpretations rather than to a single explanation. **<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Chapter 6 Summary ( **__<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5;">Link to Audio here __**<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 1.5;">) **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The concept of personality refers to a person's unique psychological makeup and how it consistently influences the way a person responds to his or her environment. Marketing strategies based on personality differences have met with mixed success, partly because of the way these differences in personality traitshave been measured and applied to consumption contexts. Some approaches have attempted to understand underlying differences in small samples of consumers by employing techniques based on Freudian psychology and variations of this perspective. Others have tried to assess these dimensions more objectively using large samples and sophisticated quantitative techniques.A consumer's lifestyle refers to the ways he or she chooses to spend time and money and how his or her values and tastes are reflected by consumption choices. Lifestyle research is useful for tracking societal consumption preferences and also for positioning specific products and services to different segments. Marketers segment by lifestyle differences, often by grouping consumers in terms of their AIOs (activities, interests and opinions). <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Psychographic techniques attempt to classify consumers in terms of psychological, subjective variables in addition to observable characteristics (demographics). A variety of systems, such as VALS 2, have been developed to identify consumer "types" and to differentiate them in terms of their brand or product preferences, media usage, leisure-time activities and attitudes towards such broad issues as politics and religion.Interrelated sets of products and activities are associated with social roles to form consumption constellations. People often purchase a product or service because it is associated with a constellation that, in turn, is linked to a lifestyle they find desirable.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Place of residence often is a significant determinant of lifestyle. A set of techniques called geodemography analyzes consumption patterns using geographical and demographic data, and identifies clusters of consumers who exhibit similar psychographic characteristics.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Important changes are occurring in consumer priorities and practices in the 2000s. Some major lifestyle trends include an emphasis on environmentalism, a resurgence of the importance placed on value-oriented products and services and a decreased emphasis on nutrition and exercise. There is renewed interest in devoting more time to families versus careers, and more emphasis on individuality as consumers gravitate to marketers that practise mass customization, in which products and services can be tailored to the specific needs of individual consumers. **<span style="color: #000080; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Review Questions **<span style="color: #000080; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1) Provide a definition of consumer behaviour. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2) What are demographics? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Give three examples of demographic characteristics.3) What is the difference between a culture and a subculture?

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> 1)How does the concept of personality relate to product positioning? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2) How can marketers use the concept of lifestyle as a predictor of consumption behaviour? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3) Can products be positioned to appeal to our egos, and if so, why would marketers wish to do so?

Ads Discussed in Class

=<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">[|9/11 anniversary 'advertising fails' provoke outrage] =

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Paul's Class <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 1.5;">Powerpoint Week 1 - Chapter 1 -

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Powerpoint Chapter 6 - ||
 * **2.0 Perception**

= = = =
 * Week 2**

= = For this week, please read Chapter 2 = =

= = **Summary**

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Perception is the process by which physical sensations such as sights, sounds and smells are selected, organized and interpreted. The eventual interpretation of a stimulus allows it to be assigned meaning. A perceptual map is a widely used marketing tool that evaluated the relative standing of competing brands along relevant dimensions.Marketing stimuli have important sensory qualities. We rely on colours, odours, sounds, tastes and even the "feel" of products when forming evaluations of them. Not all sensations make their way successfully through the perceptual process. Many stimuli compete for our attention, and the majority are not noticed or accurately comprehended. People have different thresholds of perception. A stimulus must be presented at a certain level of intensity before it can be detected by an individual's sensory receptors. In addition, a consumer's ability to detect whether two stimuli are different (the differential threshold) is an important issue in many marketing contexts, such as changing a package design, altering the size of a product or reducing its price. A lot of controversy has been sparked by so-called subliminal persuasion (also known as subliminal perception) and related techniques, by which people are exposed to visual and audio messages below the absolute threshold. Although evidence of subliminal persuasion's effectiveness is virtually nonexistent, many consumers continue to believe that advertisers use this technique. Some of the factors that determine which stimuli (above the threshold level) do get perceived are the amount of exposure to the stimulus, how much attention it generates and how it is interpreted. In an increasingly crowded stimulus environment, advertising clutter occurs when too many marketing-related messages compete for attention. A stimulus that is attended to is not perceived in isolation; it is classified and organized according to principles of perceptual organization. These principles are guided by a gestalt, or overall pattern. Specific grouping principles include closure, similarity and figure-ground relationships. The final step in the process of perception is interpretation. Symbols help us make sense of the world by providing us with an interpretation of a stimulus that is often shared by others. The degree to which the symbolism is consistent with our previous experience affects the meaning we assign to related objects. Marketers try to communicate with consumers by creating relationships between their products or services and desired attributes. A semiotic analysis involves examining the correspondence between symbols and the meaning assigned to them. The intended meaning may be literal (e.g., an icon such as a street sign with a picture of children playing). The meaning may be indexical, relying on shared characteristics (e.g., the red in a stop sign means danger). Finally, meaning can be conveyed by a symbol, in which an image is given meaning by convention or by agreement of members of a society (e.g., stop signs are octagonal, while yield signs are triangular). Marketer-created associations often take on a life of their own as new relationships between products and customers are created by inventing new connections between products and benefits, a condition is known as hyper reality. ||
 * **3.0 Learning and Memory**


 * For this week, please read Chapter 3**

**Key Topics**

• The Learning Process

• Behavioural Learning Theories

• Cognitive Learning Theory

• The Role of Memory in Learning


 * Summary**

Learning is a change in behaviour that is caused by experience. Learning can occur through simple associations between a stimulus and a response or through a complex series of cognitive activities.

Behavioural learning theories assume that learning occurs as a result of responses to external events. There are two major approaches to behavioural learning: classical conditioning and instrumental conditioning.

Classical conditioning occurs when a stimulus that naturally elicits a response (an unconditioned stimulus) is paired with another stimulus that does not initially elicit this response. Over time, the second stimulus (the conditioned stimulus) comes to elicit the response as well.This response can also extend to other, similar stimuli in a process known as stimulus generalization. This process is the basis for such marketing strategies as licensing and family branding, in which a consumer's positive associations with a product are transferred to other related products.

Operant, or instrumental conditioning occurs as a person learns to perform behaviours that produce positive outcomes and avoid those that result in negative outcomes. While classical conditioning involves the pairing of two stimuli, instrumental learning occurs when reinforcement is delivered following a response to a stimulus. Reinforcement is positive if a reward is delivered following a response. It is negative if a negative outcome is avoided by not performing a response. Punishment occurs when a response is followed by unpleasant events. Extinction of the behaviour will occur if reinforcement is no longer received. Marketers often rely on reinforcement to encourage consumers to buy their products.

Cognitive learning occurs as the result of mental processes and problem-solving. For example, observational learning takes place when the consumer performs a behaviour as a result of seeing someone else performing it and being rewarded for it.

Memory refers to the storage of learned information. The way information is encoded when it is perceived determines how it will be stored in memory. The memory systems known as sensory memory, short-term memory and long-term memory each play a role in retaining and processing information from the outside world.

Information is not stored in isolation; it is incorporated into knowledge structures, where it is associated with other related data. The location of product information in associative networks, and the level of abstraction at which it is coded, help to determine when and how this information will be activated at a later time. Some factors that influence the likelihood of retrieval include the level of familiarity with an item, its salience (or prominence) in memory, and whether the information was presented in pictorial or written form.

Products also play a role as memory markers; they are used by consumers to retrieve memories about past experiences (autobiographical memories) and are often valued for their ability to do so. This function also contributes to the use of nostalgia in marketing strategies.

Memory of product information can be measured through either recognition or recall techniques. Consumers are more likely to recognize an advertisement if it is presented to them than to recall one without having any cues. However, neither recognition nor recall automatically or reliably translates into product purchases. ||
 * **4.0 Motivation and Values**

For this week please read Chapter 4


 * Chapter 4 **

• Introduction

• The Motivation Process

• Motivational Strength

• Motivational Direction

• Consumer Involvement

• Values


 * Summary**

Marketers try to satisfy consumer needs, but the reasons any product is purchased can vary widely. The identification of consumer motives is an important step in ensuring that a product will meet the appropriate needs. Motivational theory recognizes that consumers are motivated both towards positive outcomes and away from negative outcomes.

Much research has been done on classifying needs. [|Maslow's hierarchy] is one of the most widely-cited classification systems. As demonstrated by Maslow's hierarchy of needs, the same product can satisfy different needs, depending upon the consumer's state at the time (i.e., whether basic physiological needs have already been satisfied).

In addition to his or her objective situation, the consumer's degree of involvement with the product must be considered. Many marketers aim to increase customer involvement through interactive marketing techniques.

Underlying values often drive consumer motivations. In this context, products take on meaning because they are seen as being instrumental in helping the person to achieve some goal that is linked to a value, such as individuality or freedom.

See: =<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 24px;"> [|Tims Team - Drive Thru Song] = ||
 * Involvement**
 * **5.0 The Self-concept (Internal)**

**<span style="color: #979a7e; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Week 5 **

 * ===** Read Chapter 5 – The Self **===
 * ===** Answer assigned questions **===

**<span style="color: #979a7e; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Chapter 5 **

 * ===<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Perspectives on the Self ===
 * ===<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Consumption and Self-Concept ===
 * ===<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Gender Roles ===
 * ===<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Body Image ===

=<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Summary =

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Consumers' self-concepts are reflections of their attitudes towards themselves. Whether these attitudes are positive or negative, they will help to guide many purchase decisions; products can be used to bolster self-esteem or to "reward" the self. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Many product choices are dictated by the consumer's perception of a similarity between his or her personality and attributes of the product. The symbolic interactionist perspective on the self implies that each of us actually has many selves, and a different set of products is required as props to play each role. Many things other than the body can also be viewed as part of the self. Valued objects, cars, homes and even attachments to sports teams or national monuments are used to define the self when these are incorporated into the extended self.

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">A person's gender role identity is a major component of self-definition. Conceptions about masculinity and femininity, largely shaped by society, guide the acquisition of "gender-typed" products and services. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Advertising and other media play an important role in socializing consumers to be male and female. While traditional women's roles have often been perpetuated in advertising depictions, this situation is changing somewhat. The media do not always portray men accurately, either.

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">A person's conception of his or her body also provides feedback to self-image. A culture communicates certain ideals of beauty, and consumers go to great lengths to attain these. Many consumer activities involve manipulating the body, whether through dieting, cosmetic surgery, or tattooing. Sometimes these activities are carried to an extreme, as people try too hard to live up to cultural ideals. One example is found in eating disorders, where individuals -- women in particular -- become obsessed with thinness. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Body decoration and/or mutilation may serve such functions as separating group members from nonmembers, marking the individual's status or rank within a social organization or within a gender category (e.g., homosexual) or even providing a sense of security or good luck.

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 1.5;">1) List three dimensions by which we can describe the self-concept. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 1.5;">2) Compare and contrast the real versus the ideal self. List three products for which each type of self is likely to be used as a reference point when a purchase is considered. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 1.5;">3) How do feelings about the self influence the specific brands people buy?
 * <span style="color: #979a7e; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Review Questions **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Powerpoint Chapter 5 -

Saudi cleric says driving risks damaging women's ovaries: [] Barney Stinson - Metrosexual [] Modern Family: []
 * Changing Gender roles**


 * Concepts at Work for Tattoos**

See: [] Story: [] [|www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/05/tattoos-hired-job-chances-study_n_3873425.html] ||
 * **6.0 Attitudes**


 * <span style="color: #979a7e; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Week 6 **
 * ** Read Chapter 7 - Attitudes **

=<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Summary = <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">An attitude is a general evaluation of people, objects or issues. The functional theory of attitudes suggests that attitudes exist because they serve a function for the person.
 * <span style="color: #979a7e; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Chapter 7 **
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Power of Attitudes
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Forming Attitudes
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Attitude Models
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Using Attitudes to Predict Behaviour

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Attitudes are made up of three components: affect, behaviour and cognition. The order in which these occur will vary depending on the degree of involvement and the circumstances of the decision.

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Consumers form attitudes in different ways, including classical and instrumental conditioning. Some attitudes are held with more or less commitment. In general, people like to hold consistent attitudes and will seek harmony in their thoughts, feelings and behaviours by changing some of their attitudes to be in line with others. Such theoretical approaches to attitudes as cognitive dissonance theory, balance theory and congruity theory stress the vital role of the need for consistency.

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">The complexity of attitudes is underscored by multi-attribute attitude models, in which sets of beliefs and evaluations are identified and combined to predict an overall attitude. Factors such as subjective norms and the specificity of attitude scales have been integrated into attitude measures to improve predictability.


 * <span style="color: #979a7e; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Review questions **

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">1) Describe the ABC model of attitudes.

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">2) List the three hierarchies of attitudes and describe the major differences among them.

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">3) Describe a multiattribute attitude model, listing its key components

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 * **7.0 Attitude Change and Communications**

=Links=
 * <span style="color: #979a7e; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Week 7 - 8 **
 * ** Read Chapter 8 – Attitude Change & Communications **
 * <span style="color: #979a7e; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Chapter 8 **
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Changing Attitudes Through Communication
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">An Updated View: Interactive Communications
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Source
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Message
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Source versus the Message: Sell the Steak or the Sizzle?
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Source versus the Message: Sell the Steak or the Sizzle?

Miley Cyrus' 'Wrecking Ball' Is No. 1, But Is It A Real Hit? []
 * Hype vs.Buzz**

[]
 * Emotional Appeal - Oxfam**

[]
 * Rational Appeal - Walmart**

[]
 * Sex Appeal - Kate Upton **

[] = = =<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Fear Appeal - Seat Belts =
 * Humorous** **Appeal - Pepto**

[]

=<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Chapter = =<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Summary =

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Persuasion refers to an attempt to change consumers' attitudes. The traditional view of communications tends to regard the consumer as a passive element in the communication process. Proponents of the uses and gratifications approach instead regard the consumer as an active participant who uses media for a variety of reasons.

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">New developments in interactive communications highlight the need to consider the active roles a consumer might play in obtaining product information and building a relationship with a company. A product-related communication that directly yields a transaction is a first-order response. Customer feedback in response to a marketing message that is not in the form of a transaction is a second-order response. This may take the form of a request for more information about a good, service, or organization, or perhaps a receipt of a "wish list" from the customer that specifies the types of product information he or she would like to get in the future.

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Two important characteristics that determine the effectiveness of a source are its attractiveness and its credibility. While celebrities often serve this purpose, their credibility is not always as strong as marketers hope.

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Some elements of a message that help to determine its effectiveness are whether it is conveyed in words or pictures, whether an emotional or a rational appeal is employed, the frequency with which it is repeated, whether a conclusion is drawn, whether both sides of the argument are presented and whether the message includes fear, humour or sexual references.

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Advertising messages often incorporate such elements from art or literature as drama, lecture, metaphor, allegory and resonance. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">The relative influence of the source versus the message depends upon the receiver's level of involvement with the communication. The elaboration likelihood model specifies that a less involved consumer will more likely be swayed by source effects, while a more involved consumer will more likely attend to and process components of the actual message.


 * <span style="color: #979a7e; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Review Questions **

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">1) Describe the elements of the traditional communications model, and tell how the updated model is different. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">2) When should a marketer present a message visually versus verbally? <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">3) Do humorous ads work? ||
 * **8.0 Age and Consumer Classification**


 * <span style="color: #979a7e; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Week 9-10 **
 * ** Read Chapter 14 & 15 – Age Subcultures **
 * ** Answer assigned questions **


 * <span style="color: #979a7e; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Chapter 14/15 **

=<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Summary = <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Subcultures are large groups that exist within a society where members share beliefs and common experiences that set them apart from others. Subcultures can have major influences on consumption, and membership in them often give marketers clues about individuals' consumption decisions. A person's ethnic origins, religious background and regional roots often determine a large component of his or her identity.
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Subcultures and Consumer Identity
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ethnic Subcultures
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">French Canadians
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Chinese Canadians
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Regional Subcultures
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Canadian Identity

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">The three largest ethnic subcultures in Canada are English, French and Chinese Canadians, but consumers with many diverse backgrounds are beginning to be considered by marketers as well. Segmenting consumers by their ethnicity can be effective, but care must be taken not to rely on inaccurate (and sometimes offensive) ethnic stereotypes.

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">While the impact of religious identification on consumer behaviour is not clear, some differences among religious subcultures do emerge. The quest for spirituality is influencing demand in some product categories including books, music and movies. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Both French Canadians and Chinese Canadians tend to be extremely family-oriented, and they are receptive to advertising that understands their heritage and reinforces traditional family values. Chinese Canadians are beginning to be actively courted by marketers. The size of this group is increasing rapidly, and in the coming years they will dominate some major markets. Key issues for reaching the Asian market are consumers' degree of acculturation into mainstream Canadian society and the recognition of important cultural differences among Asian subgroups.

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Canadians also often identify themselves with a regional subculture. There are differences in habits, consumption patterns and culture across the country. Many Canadians, however, connect strongly with the Canadian identity, and many products use this as part of their branding, at home and abroad.


 * <span style="color: #979a7e; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Review questions **

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">1) What is the difference between a high-context and a low-context culture? What is an example of this difference?

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">2) Why is it difficult to identify consumers in terms of their ethnic subculture membership?

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">3) What is de-ethnicization? Give an example. ||
 * **9.0 Purchase Decision and Product Disposal**

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Links:

[]
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Statistics Canada - Summary of 2011 Census **
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">GFW- **

[]
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Clarenville- **

[]
 * St. John's CMA -**

David Foot - []
 * The influence of Demographics on Canadian Buyers**

The SLEFIE - A discussion on the photo trend
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 * Appealing to Teens** - Know what they are going through - Skittles Pox Commercial

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 * Hunting for Cool**

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 * Baby Boomers - The WOODSTOCK GENERATION**

= = = = =<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Chapter Summary = <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">The act of purchase can be affected by many factors. These include the consumer's antecedent state (his/her mood, time pressure or disposition towards shopping). Time is an important resource that often determines how much effort and search will go into a decision. Mood can be affected by the degree of pleasure and arousal present in a store environment.
 * <span style="color: #979a7e; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Week 11 **
 * ** Read Chapter 10 – Buying and Disposing **
 * <span style="color: #979a7e; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Chapter 10 **
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Introduction
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Situational Effects on Consumer Behaviour
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Postpurchase Satisfaction
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Product Disposal
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Product Disposal

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Consumers have a wide variety of emotional reactions to shopping. Some consumers are very utilitarian when it comes to shopping, and others are hedonistic. Often the differences are gender-related.

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">The shopping experience is a pivotal part of the purchase decision. In many cases retailing is like theatre; that is, the consumer's evaluation of stores and products may depend upon the type of "performance" he or she witnesses. This evaluation can be influenced by the actors (salespeople), the setting (the store environment) and props (store displays). A store image, like a brand personality, is determined by a number of factors, such as perceived convenience, sophistication, knowledge-ability of salespeople and so on. With increasing competition from non-store alternatives, the creation of a positive shopping experience has never been more important. Online shopping is growing in importance, and this new way to acquire products has both good (e.g., convenience) and bad (e.g., security) aspects.

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Since many purchase decisions are not made until the time the consumer is actually in the store, point-of-purchase (POP) stimuli are very important sales tools. These include product samples, elaborate package displays, place-based media and in-store promotional materials such as "shelf talkers." POP stimuli are particularly useful in stimulating impulse buying, where a consumer yields to a sudden urge for a product.

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">The consumer's encounter with a salesperson is a complex and important proce <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">ss. The outcome can be affected by such factors as the salesperson's similarity to the customer and his or her perceived credibility.

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Consumer post-purchase satisfaction is determined by the person's overall feeling towards the product after purchase. Many factors influence perceptions of product quality, including price, brand name and product performance. Satisfaction is often determined by the degree to which a product's performance is consistent with the consumer's prior expectations of how well it will function. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Product disposal is an increasingly important problem. Recycling is one option that will continue to be stressed as consumers' environmental awareness grows. Consumers may also introduce products into secondary markets during the process of lateral cycling, which occurs when objects are bought and sold second-hand, fenced or bartered.

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">1) List three separate motivations for shopping, giving an example of each <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">2) List three factors that help to determine store image. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">3) What is the difference between unplanned buying and impulse buying? <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">4) How do a consumer’s prior expectations about product quality influence his satisfaction with the product after he buys it? ||
 * <span style="color: #979a7e; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Review questions **
 * **Application Assignments** ||
 * **<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">Application Assignment # 1 (5% - Due at the end of week 3) **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">In short, concise point-form on no more than 2 pages:
 * 1) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%; line-height: 1.5;">Think about a product that you are familiar with that is sold in the Canadian Market.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%; line-height: 1.5;">State the brand name and product class of the specific product
 * 3) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%; line-height: 1.5;">Add to this a few words to tell me what this thing is, if it is not immediately obvious from its name. For example, if you have the product class soft drinks and you tell me that your current product is Coca-Cola, you don't need to tell me that that's a cola. But if you've got time keepers as a product class and you tell me that you're researching thesubmariner (it’s by Rolex), tell me what it is.
 * 4) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%; line-height: 1.5;">State the current target market for the current product; then, using 2 paragraphs or less
 * 5) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%; line-height: 1.5;">For each the market’s characteristics, state the 5 most important characteristics of the current target market for this product
 * 6) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%; line-height: 1.5;">State, in not more than 2 paragraphs, the most important customer need that your product meets (don't analyze it; just state it); tell me only the most important customer needs served by the product. Try as much as you can to be sure that this most important need relates directly to the product.
 * 7) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%; line-height: 1.5;">In no more than 2 paragraphs, state where the current product is currently sold, both geographically and in terms of its type of distribution State the price range at which the current product is usually sold
 * 8) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%; line-height: 1.5;">State the single most important environmental variable (demographic, geographic, economic, natural, technological, political/legal, socio/cultural) that affects your current product, out of the basic seven environments; Explain why it is the most important environment
 * 9) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%; line-height: 1.5;">State your best idea at this time for a proposed product extension to be sold to this same target market and describe it.


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">Application Assignment # 2 (5% - Due at the end of week 6) **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%; line-height: 1.5;">Choose one print ad for a current product being sold in Canada and attach a copy (scan) of it to this to your report; make another copy - you will need it later. Identify the customers for the product and describe them in ways specifically relevant to the course material to-date and in ways that clearly relate to how the product and the attached advertisement appeal to those customers. Put the material relevant to each chapter on separate pages, and label them. Be specific; think of this partly as an outline of what is most important in these chapters.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">Realize that while you are in essence being asked to follow the outline of the chapter, you don't have to list everything. Write in point form and you will have room to cover all of them. Be sure you use the terms in ways that show me that you understand what they mean. You may relate the terms to the current product, the target market, or your advertisement.


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">Application Assignment # 3 (10% - Due at the end of week 9) **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">In this assignment you will examine the role of culture in advertising. Select at least two ads (print, video, billboard, internet, etc.) and discuss how cultural factors are reflected in and/or influenced by the ads. You should carefully choose ads that will offer an opportunity to explore the role of culture in persuasive communications. Your analysis should illustrate an understanding of the theoretical concepts and frameworks from your readings. In addition, you should attempt to identify important similarities and differences among the ads selected for analysis.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">Consider:

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">A comparison and contrast of how the same brand is advertised in different cultures, how different brands are advertised within the same culture, or how the advertising of a brand in a specific culture has evolved over time.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">Discuss the specific elements of the selected ads that reflect or influence values, beliefs, language, and norms.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">Identify the target audience for the ads and whether you believe the ads successfully appeal to those consumers (i.e., Do the ads encourage purchase of the product? How do they work? What are the risks and benefits of using the ads?).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">The assignment should be no more than 4 double-spaced pages of text, and you must include a copy of your selected ads as an appendix. If you choose to analyze video ads, you must make the ads available with your paper (provide URL). || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I will be selecting appropriate case(s) for consumer behaviour analysis (case length will be between 2 – 3 pages). Cases will be assigned to case groups of either 2 or three people: # <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The case(s) will be presented to you in the first three weeks of the course to allow time for reflection on class discussions and readings as they analyze the assigned case. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The case(s) will be made available to you in the first three – six weeks of the semester and will be due at the end of the semester. A group approach to this case study is advisable, depending on class size. ||
 * **<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Case Analysis & Presentation (20% - Due at the end of week 12) **
 * 1) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">The case will require you to apply your understanding of consumer behaviour theory to a realistic situation. For example, marketing industry trends can be identified through trend analysis.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">You will submit a properly formatted written report (10 – 12 pages). (See rubric on following page.)
 * 3) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">You will present a 10-minute PowerPoint presentation of their case analysis. (See rubric on final two pages of this document.)