Internal Influences
perception, memory, learning, motivation,
personality, emotion, etc.
Application: “Neuromarketing”
 Study of the brain’s responses to ads,
brands, and other marketing messages
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Pepsi Challenge
Men & Cars
Politics
Issues? Problems?
INFORMATION PROCESSING:
PERCEPTION
Attractive Models:
Attraction or Distraction?
How effective is this strategy?
Attractive Model/Conservative Dress
Vs.
Attractive Model/Revealing Dress
Where is the focus? What is remembered?
What is Information Processing?
Information Processing:

The process through which consumers are exposed to
information, attend to it (perceived), comprehend it
(transform into information), place it in memory, and
retrieve it
Why is information processing important to marketing?
How does information processing apply to consumer behavior?
The Process of Perception
Sensation
Perception
Vision
Our eyes play tricks on us
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Food
Tables
What are the
dimensions of the
two tables?
What is the ratio of
length to width of each?
Two tables (adapted from Shepard 1990)
Vision: Two Tables
Tabletops are identical
Smell
Odors create mood and promote memories:
 What are some of your early associations
with smell?
 How does smell influence your buying
behavior?
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Coffee = childhood, home
Cinnamon buns = sex
“the Cinnabon Effect”
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Successful marketing is about positive
associations and memory
Smell is hard wired to memory
Cinnabon stores are positioned beside
stores that don’t sell food so there’s no
smell competition
Why does this matter?
$$$$

Companies exist solely because they infuse
odors into packaging
But will the smell cause you to eat more?
YES
Hearing

Effect of Sound: Physiological, Psychological,
Behavioral
Affects mood, behavior, and memory
What is Muzak?

Muzak uses sound and music to create mood
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High tempo = more stimulation
Slower tempo = more relaxing
Touch & Taste
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Allowing consumers to touch products
increases sales
Touching consumers (on shoulder or arm)
increases sales
Allowing free tasting increases sales
 Feel obligation to buy
Lots of research going on in tasting
Buyology

How would assess a consumer’s visual perception of a
store environment?
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Do you think you spend more or less with a grocery list?
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Alternative explanations?
Are you always paying attention in the grocery store?
Driving a car?
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What are the two modes of processing?

Why do we buy more than we need?

What influences your choice of brands?

Other consumer behavior factors or psychological
influences?
Stages in Perception: Exposure
Sensory
Receptors
Eyes
Ears
Sensory
Stimuli
Sight
Sound
Nose
Mouth
Smell
Taste
Skin
Touch
Exposure
Absolute Sensory Threshold
Minimum amount of stimulation that canAny specific demographic
be detected on a sensory receptor =
group(s) seem more likely to
difference between something and
Differential
avoid
exposure
to
ads?
nothing
Threshold
What does it take to be noticed?
- When will the billboard be noticed?
- Will the garlic in the sauce be tasted?
- Will the new scent in the detergent be
smelled?
• men
• younger
Sensory
Ability to sense changes or
differences between two stimuli
consumers(J.N.D.)
• higher social classes
Subliminal Perception/Advertising
Definition: Stimuli presented below the level of
conscious awareness
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Example: political ad, 1957 movie theater
Does it work?
Do you believe these messages are harmful
or manipulative? Why or why not?
Any other ads, movies or other media with
hidden symbols?
Stages in Perception: Attention
Sensory
Receptors
Eyes
Ears
Sensory
Stimuli
Sight
Sound
Nose
Mouth
Smell
Taste
Skin
Touch
Exposure
Attention
• activates a nerve
• sensations go to brain
• consumer needs to
allocate mental resources
Determined by 3 factors:
-Stimulus (e.g., novelty)
-Individual
-Situational
What happens after you’ve viewed an ad several times
or driven by the same billboard several times?
Adaptation Level Theory
If a stimulus doesn’t change over time we get
used to it and it’s less noticeable
Stages in Perception: Attention
Sensory
Receptors
Eyes
Ears
Sensory
Stimuli
Sight
Sound
Nose
Mouth
Smell
Taste
Skin
Touch
Exposure
Attention
• activates a nerve
• sensations go to brain
• consumer needs to
allocate mental resources
Determined by 3 factors:
-Stimulus
-Individual
-Situational
What types of products have high personal relevance?
Stages in Perception: Attention
Sensory
Receptors
Eyes
Ears
Sensory
Stimuli
Sight
Sound
Nose
Mouth
Smell
Taste
Skin
Touch
Exposure
Attention
• activates a nerve
• sensations go to brain
• consumer needs to
allocate mental resources
Determined by 3 factors:
-Stimulus
-Individual
-Situational
Do you think if you are interested in a tv program that
you will pay more or less attention to ads?
Attention
Situational Factors
Program Involvement
Program involvement
refers to interest in the
program or editorial
content surrounding the
ads.
Program involvement has
a positive influence on
attention
Source: 1”Cahners Advertising Research Report 120.1 and 120.12 (Boston: Cahners Publishing, undated).
Application Assignment
Examples:
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Product changes
Communication campaigns
Social marketing issues
Economic issues
Politics
Tuesday, October 13
 Draft Idea
 2 potential CB concepts chosen

1 paragraph explaining what topic you would like to study
Right Now:
 Brainstorm 5 assignment ideas/interests
 Identify relevance to consumer behavior
Stages in Perception: Interpretation
Sensory
Receptors
Eyes
Ears
Sensory
Stimuli
Sight
Sound
Nose
Mouth
Smell
Taste
Skin
Touch
Exposure
Three aspects of interpretation:
*relative process rather than absolute
*subjective and open to a host of
psychological biases.
*cognitive “thinking” process or an
affective “emotional” process.
Attention
Interpretation
Interpretation
Assigning meaning to
sensations
Stages in Perception: Interpretation
Sensory
Receptors
Eyes
Ears
Sensory
Stimuli
Sight
Sound
Nose
Mouth
Smell
Taste
Skin
Touch
Exposure
Stimulus Organization: we seek to
make sense of things
* Gestalt Psychology: derive meaning
from the totality of a set of stimuli
rather than from any individual stimulus
*Perceptual Categorization:we match
cues to things we already know
*Consumer Inference: going beyond
information that is presented
Attention
Interpretation
Is what you see
what you get in
marketing?
Why?
Gestalt Psychology: Figure/Ground
Absolut
Vodka
Gestalt Psychology: Proximity
What do you see in Figure a? What about Figure b?
Things that are close together in space or time tend to be perceived as
grouped together.
Thus, if you want your audience to associate the product with the presenter,
put them close together.
If you want them to perceive two ideas as associated, present them in close
proximity.
Gestalt Psychology: Closure
Gestalt Psychology: Closure
Cna yuo raed tihs?
i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg.
The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearchr
at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a
wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the
rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit
a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by
istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot
slpeling was ipmorantt!
Perceptual Categorization: Lysol’s Family of Products
All-purpose cleaners
Air fresheners
So, does it make
sense
for Lysol to introduce
…?
Sanitizing wipes
Bathroom cleaners
Would it make sense for
them to introduce a
mouthwash?
Interpretation
Consumer Inferences
Interpreting Images
Consumer inferences are becoming
increasingly important as advertisers
increase their use of visual imagery.
A picture is worth a thousand words
not just because it may convey
reality more efficiently than words but
because it may convey meanings
that words cannot adequately
express.
Courtesy Partnership for a Drug-Free America
What does this demonstrate about CB?
Consumer Inferences
Health Halos
McDonald's vs. Subway
Which is healthier?
Do people pay attention to nutrition information?
How does this affect our behavior?
McDonald’s
Subway
• 57/250 were able to recount nutrition
information
• 157/250 recalled some form of
nutrition information
• Most recounted nutritional
information – food is caloric and not
healthy
• general impression food was
healthy but did not pay attention to
the specifics
• estimated they ate 876 calories but
actually ate 1,093 calories (25% more
than they thought)
• estimated they ate 495 calories but
actually ate 677 (34% more than
they thought)
Consumer Inferences
Health Halos
McDonald's vs. Subway
Implications:
• many people inferred all Subway food was less caloric
• people made decisions under the illusion that everything at Subway is
healthier
• consumers get false confidence in what they are eating and it gives them a
health halo to all Subway foods, including mayo, bacon, chips, cookies, and
large drinks
Still not all that bad:
• Subway diners still remembered more nutrition information and ate less than
those at McDonald’s
Absolute Sensory Threshold: Identify the brand
return
Differential Sensory Threshold: JND –
Who is this person?
next
Differential Sensory Threshold: Just Noticeable Difference
1907: What brand is this?
1935: color added
1960: corner curl
1971: more complexity
1987: contemporary type font
2005: logo is simplified
return