Consumer Attitudes Attitudes What is an attitude? – Expressions of inner feelings that reflect whether a person is favorably or unfavorably predisposed to some object – in marketing, “object” can be a brand, a brand name, a service, a service provider, a retail store, a company, an advertisement, in essence, any marketing stimuli. Attitudes attitudes are acquired, we are not born with them attitudes can be positive or negative attitudes may be complex and contradictory attitudes are functional for an individual's lifestyle attitudes have different intensities attitudes fit our central values, attitudes are unique to each individual attitudes can be modified and influenced by persuasion attitudes are assumed to be linked to behaviour (e.g purchasing) Why, From a Marketer’s point of view, is it important to know about Attitudes? If a consumer is favorably disposed towards your product or service (i.e. have a positive attitude) then you want to keep them so disposed If they are unfavorably disposed or neutral then you want to change their attitude. Therefore we need to know Why Consumers Form Attitudes? How Consumers Form Attitudes? How to Measure Consumers Attitudes How Consumers Change Their Attitudes? Development of Attitudes Attitudes are learned predispositions; therefore, their development is influenced by – – – – – – – personality of the individual family peers experience education culture subculture, nationality Functions of Attitudes Utilitarian: Do the products provide some benefit or reward? Any attitude adopted in a person’s own selfinterest Value-expressive: Does the product say something about who I am or would like to be? Is it selfexpressive. Ego-defensive: Does the product protect my self-esteem Does it help overcome any self doubts Edna's plight: Bad breath. A Listerine ad from the 1920s. “If it’s bad you won’t be welcome… Play safe….use listerine” Knowledge function: does the product help me to organize the information – does the product meet the needs for order and structure Rooibos ad provides reassurance that product is organic and caffeine free Which is more likely to be affective in forming a positive attitude toward a particular brand of coffee? Copy that said the coffee was flavourful Copy that said the person was discriminating What type of function do each of the above appeal to? Three Components of Attitudes The ABCs of attitudes: The Affective Component (feelings) I feel good about myself when I drive a BMW The Behavioral Component (action toward object) I will buy a BMW next time The Cognitive Component (beliefs) I think BMWs are quality cars Attitudes and the HighInvolvement Decision Process • Need arousal • Information search • Evaluation of Alternatives – Beliefs – Feelings – Intention to Act Hierarchy of Effects • Purchase • Post-Purchase behaviour Fishbein’s Multi-attribute Theory Fishbein’s model argues that consumers’ attitudes towards a brand derive from their beliefs about the attributes of the brand and their evaluations of those attributes Three factors influence attitude formation: 1. salient attributes for an object/product 2. extent to which consumer believes product contains these salient attributes 3. Importance of the attribute to the consumer Fishbein’s Multiattribute Theory Step One: List of Attributes Step Two: Obtain the relative importance of them (weights). The more important the higher the weight Step Three: Obtain the evaluation of each brand with respect to each attribute. (6=Excellent, 5=Very Good, 4=Good, 3=Bad, 2=Very Bad, 1=Poor) Step Four: Apply Fishbein’s Formul to obtain the mathematical solution Fishbein’s Multi-attribute Theory Aijk = (Bijk x Iik): – – – – – – where A = Attitude toward brand/product/etc.; i = attribute j = brand k = consumer I = Importance weighting B = Extent to which the brand is believed to possess the attribute Example Application of Fishbein’s Multi-attribute Theory In Crowfoot, there are 3 banks: TD, CIBC, Royal. We would like to know the overall or general attitude consumers have to each Step One: List of Attributes: quickness in service, office hours, locality, parking facilities, etc Step Two: Obtain the relative importance of them (weights). Service 1, Parking 2 Locality 3, Hours 4 Step Three: Obtain the evaluation of each bank with respect to each attribute. (6= Excellent, 5=Very Good, 4=Good, 3=Bad, 2=Very Bad, 1=Poor) Step Four: Obtain the mathematical solution, applying Fishbein’s Model. Example Application of Fishbein’s Multi-attribute Theory Importance Royal Service Hours Locality Parking Total 1 4 3 2 4 5 4 2 ___ 40 TD CIBC 3 3 3 2 ___ 28 1 4 3 5 ___ 36 Which Bank does the customer have the best attitude toward? Which the worst attitude? What would you do if you were responsible for TD? Implications of Attitude Research for Marketing Strategy Product positioning and repositioning Shows which attribute has a competitive advantage and which a disadvantage Advertising-focus on certain attributes/benefits Marketing research Segmentation Problems with Fishbein’s Model Measure of Attitude not equal to Behaviour Does not address situational factors Not all attitudes are equal - some strongly held others weakly (conviction) Does not consider social factors e.g. influence of friends and family ‘my family think I should buy X’ Assumes that we have been able to specify adequately all the relevant attributes (e.g. interest rates) Fishbein’s Theory of Reasoned Action A refinement of his multi-attribute model Now considers conviction with which attitude held - more of a behavioral intention model Introduces ideas of importance of opinions of significant others (subjective norms) and a consumer’s motivation to comply with the opinions of these significant others. Attitudes can also apply to ads? Most people hate pop-up ads How do the ads influence attitudes towards the brand? Attitude-Toward-the-Ad Model A model that proposes that a consumer forms various feelings (affects) and judgments (cognitions) as the result of exposure to an advertisement, which, in turn, affect the consumer’s attitude toward the ad and attitude toward the brand. Measuring Attitudes Ideally one would measure – consumers’ beliefs towards a brand – consumers’ feelings towards owning or using the brand – consumers’ intentions towards purchasing the brand In practice most measures focus on measuring beliefs and feelings ATTITUDE MEASUREMENT Likert scale Semantic differential scale Rank-order scales ATTITUDE MEASUREMENT Semantic Differential Scale For each statement tick ( X ) the box that best describes your feelings about K-Mart. Modern Store Old- fashioned store Low prices High prices Unfriendly staff Friendly staff Narrow product range Wide product range Sophisticated customers Unsophisticated customers ATTITUDE MEASUREMENT Likert scale Cost is the most important consideration when buying a new car Strongly agree disagree Neither agree nor disagree agree Strongly agree 1 2 3 4 5 AGREEMENT IMPORTANCE FREQUENCY QUALITY LIKELIHOOD ATTITUDE MEASUREMENT Rank-Order Scales Rank the following soft-drinks from 1 (best) to 5 (worst) according to your taste preference: Coca-Cola _____ 7-Up _____ Dr. Pepper _____ Pepsi-Cola _____ Mountain Dew _____ –Top and bottom rank choices are ‘easy’ –Middle ranks are usually most ‘difficult’ General Strategy e.g. general attitude towards buying a car 1. elicit important attributes. E.g. reliability, security, economy, cost, style, acceleration. 2. quantify the beliefs and feelings about these attributes by ranking the attributes according to some scale (e.g.. Likert) 3. Compare brands on various attributes Attitudes and Marketing Strategy Market research to track changes in attitude over time and for brand comparison In new product development - focus on preferred attributes In segmentation - focus on those attributes which particular segments favour In helping tailor promotional strategies and in measuring the effectiveness of promotions Attitude Change The Marketer’s Challenge Deep seated attitudes are internalised and become part of the person's value system Attitudes are difficult to change because they are so important to the individual – e.g. New Coke What is this ad trying to do? Branding America Persuasion - the active attempt to change attitudes Marketing messages are designed to persuade consumers to change brands The effort to persuade will influence how to market/advertise Who will be depicted using the product in the ad How the message should be constructed What media to use Where to advertise Strategies of Attitude Change Changing the Basic Motivational Function. Associating the Product With an Admired Group or Event. Resolving Two Conflicting Attitudes. Altering Components of the Multi-attribute Mode. Changing Beliefs About Competitors’ Brands. THE ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION NO NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NO NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NO NOISE NOISE NO Source NO NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NO Encoding NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NO NOISE NOISE NO NO NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NO NOISE NOISE NOISE Message NOISE NOISE NOISE NO NOISE NOISE NO NO NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NO NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NO NOISE NOISE NO NO NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NO Transmission Medium Feedback NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NO NOISE NOISE NO NO NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NO NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NO NOISE NOISE NO Receiver NO NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NO NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NO NOISE NOISE NO Decoding NO NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NO NOISE NOISE NOISE Feedback NOISE NOISE NOISE NO NOISE NOISE NO NO NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NO NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE NO NOISE NOISE NO THE SOURCE Who is delivering the message can have a big impact on whether it will be accepted. a credible source can be particularly persuasive Expertise Attractiveness Trustworthiness Objectivity source credibility Expertise Source Credibility Credibility can be enhanced if the source’s qualifications are perceived as relevant to the product being endorsed. If they are seen as experts. Celebrities as Credible Sources Awareness Due to their fame and high profile, celebrity endorsers enable messages to stand out and break through the media clutter. hold the viewer's attention a consumer is more likely to keep the television on the channel showing a commercial with Wayne Gretzky than a commercial with an unknown actor. provide testimony for a product or service, especially effective when the product has contributed to their celebrity eg. consumers may be more likely to try a motor oil endorsed by Al Unser, Jr. This relationship can increase a consumer's belief and trust in the product and its benefits. Instant credibility when consumers see a credible celebrity endorsing a product, consumers think that the product must be at least ‘OK’ PR coverage: celebrities are topical and create high PR coverage. Celebrity-company marriages are covered by most media To create positive attitudes towards products and generate sales EG for sports figures, people know they are not going to be as good as these athletes, but having their equipment makes them feel better. Approximately 20% of all television commercials feature a famous person from the world of sport, television, movies or musical entertainment The goal of the “got Milk” campaign is to reverse the 30-year decline in milk consumption by increasing consumers’ awareness of the nutritional value of milk and changing their attitudes toward the product. Celebrities and athletes are appropriate endorser for a product such as milk since they are highly recognizable and respected (at least in most are) Drawbacks of using Celebrities $$ Pepsi Shaquille O'Neal $25 million Nike Tiger Woods $40 million Reebok Venus Williams $40 million Reebok Allen Iverson $100 million (lifetime) Shick Andre Agassi $19 million Nike Michael Jordan $40 million Drawbacks of using Celebrities Consumer cynicism People know celebrities get paid a lot of money for endorsements and this knowledge leads them to cynicism about celebrity endorsements. There has to be a link between product and celebrity Cybill Shepherd was endorsing beef industry when said she did not eat meat. Sainsbury’s used Catherine Zeta Jones for its recipe advertisements when she was caught shopping in Tesco (UK grocery stores) Source Attractiveness Beautiful people are used in advertising because consumer's pay more attention to ads containing attractive models degree of attractiveness influences consumer's product evaluation - the more attractive the higher we evaluate the product. Trustworthiness The Message What makes a marketing message persuasive? stress a unique attribute or benefit of the product - USP showing convenience of use showing new product or improved features people incidental to the message indirect comparison with other products demonstration of the product in use demonstration of tangible results no principal character - i.e. more time is devoted to the product Words Versus Pictures Message as Metaphor Vividness Factors Affecting Persuasiveness Type of Appeal Repetition Argument Words or Pictures Which conveys the message best? Visual affects aesthetic evaluations stress on creativity don't convey factual information well Verbal Take more time for consumer to process Better suited to high involvement medium - eg print harder to remember therefore more repetition needed verbal elements are more effective when reinforced by an accompanying picture Bloomingdales 1898 Throughout the 20th century pictures have gradually replaced words. Early advertising tried to persuade the reader with a series of facts about the product contained in the ad. Corn Flakes, 1933 Royal Crown Cola, 1963 Cosmopolitan, 2003 VIVIDNESS precise descriptions or vivid graphics command attention remembered more than vague messages Companies that focused attention on the culture kept employee turnover to just 6.2% compared to 20% for industry at large. Vs Companies that focused attention on the culture kept employee turnover lower than for the industry at large. according to industry sources three out of every four watch breakdowns are due to water getting into the case Vs according to industry sources, many watch breakdowns are due to water getting into the case Repetition is the mother of teachers increases familiarity and brand awareness The idea behind the use of repetition in advertising is that we, like Pavlov's dog, will become conditioned to behave in a certain manner; namely, we will respond by buying the product Not only are ads repeated, but repetition is also used within the ads or commercials themselves too much repetition leads to habituation -ignores stimulus because of boredom. consumer boredom can be eliminated by slightly varying the content of ads around a common theme Constructing the Argument One-Versus two-sided arguments One-sided arguments persuasive messages that support one side of an issue or one product stress on attributes and benefits cannot address questions usually more persuasive with audiences who have little or no comprehension of an issue.. two-sided arguments provide information about both positive and negative attributes of a product or service Negative attributes trivialised or refuted Help to differentiate the product works well when receivers are not already loyal to the product Why would a marketer want to draw attention to the negative aspects of their product? audience may pay more attention to it. • By presenting the opposing side, the advertiser causes its audience to question the product or service. •By questioning it, the individuals are made to think about the attributes. •The more these attributes are considered...the longer the product or service is in the mind of the consumer. When topics are made more interesting or involving messages are processed more thoroughly. •Consumers think more highly of products, brands, and services which make them think. •The process is viewed as novel and pleasant. more credible than one-sided ads because they admit that the advertised brands have shortcomings. those exposed to the two-sided messages were more likely to have a more favourable attitude after the exposure. •That is: the negative aspects of the message can yield a positive, desired attitude after exposure provides a built-in counter claim, or opposing message. •By providing only mild negative information to the consumer, the consumer is prevented from concocting potentially worse negative images on their own. •Thus, it leads the consumer to perceive that the positive attributes presented are the stronger attributes. Comparative advertisement type of two-sided message includes positive attributes about a product or service and some negative aspects of its competitor's product product A is better than product B.” Can be direct or indirect. the negative inclusions may lead a consumer to believe that there are more positive attributes to associated with the product or service when it admits that it has competitors. often works in pricedbased advertising in print media, where competitors' prices are compared side-by-side. This ad positions Savin against Xerox. The X is obviously in reference to Xerox. Canon and Mita are also mentioned in the ad Pitfalls of Comparative Advertising Confusing Every mention of a competitor's name or product in an advertisement increases the probability that the audience will think the ad is for that competitor. audience may also doubt the credibility of the biased ad Free exposure for the compared brand Pitfalls of Comparative Advertising false or misleading statements could lead to litigation. Eg. 1992 Ad for Maytag dishwasher said that "Nobody, But Nobody Cleans Better than Maytag or Holds More Dishes!" supported by results of a proprietary test. Whirlpool argued that its dishwasher cleaned better based on independent tests. Comparative Advertising The FTC considers comparative advertising deceptive unless: 1. The comparisons are based on fact. 2. The differences advertised are statistically significant. 3. The comparisons involve meaningful issues. 4. The comparisons are to meaningful competitors. Emotional Versus Rational Fear Types of Message Appeals Humourous Sex EMOTIONAL APPEALS emotional versus rational appeals to head or heart depends on the product and the type of relationship the consumers have with it. - ads for cars focus on emotion recall for ad contents tends to be better for thinking ads than for feeling ads Products are sold today through the use of emotional appeals and identifications. images and text in this ad are designed to have the maximum emotional effect for one purpose: to persuade the reader to make an act of charity Heart or Head? Humorous appeals Effective humour surprises the audience, and at the same time, speaks some sort of truth. The goal in using humour in advertising is to make the audience laugh, and, more importantly, have them walk away thinking "this company understands me" Advantages of Humorous Appeals Effective at catching people's attention. Recognition scores high for humorous ads Inhibit consumer from counter arguing which increases the likelihood of message acceptance more effective when brand is clearly identified – creates a positive attitude subtle humour usually best Humor enhances liking. Brands will be remembered more if they are intimately entwined in the humour Humor is more appropriate for lowinvolvement products and feeling-oriented products than for high-involvement products. 1996 advertisers spent $10 billion on humorous ads out of the total $100 billion spent on all ads 72 percent of the 100 Best Commercials of All Time use humor to reach the target audience Pitfalls of Humorous Appeals funny material can dominate the message and thus the product recognition is lost Culturally relative Reduces Comprehension a punch line that doesn't pay off – can backfire Fear Factor Highlight the risk or negative consequences of not using the brand or of engaging in unsafe behaviour Fear of social physical harm or social disapproval Fear stimulates message involvement common factor for publicpolicy issues e.g. stop smoking Pitfall - distract customer from focal product (ie. dwell on the fearful event rather than the proposed solution) Ads with fear appeals are also effective in capturing people’s attention. However, self-defense mechanisms (distraction and counter arguing) may decrease its evaluative effects Fear appeals are usually most effective when only a moderate amount of fear is induced increasing levels of fear do no result in increased change Which ad is more effective? a solution to the problem should be presented. otherwise consumers will tune out the ad since they can do nothing it solve the problem Sex Appeal Resonance a literary device that employs a play on words (a double meaning) to communicate a product benefit. puns are used as “attentiongrabbers The ad we’ve all been waiting for: THE SACK O' SAUCE IN A CAN O' MEAT!