Low
involvement
Choice
Usage
High
involvement
Utilitarian
Ego-expressive
(practical)
(ultimate choicest)
A
B
C
Version A
Version B
Version C
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Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior
caused by experience
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Experience need not be direct and can be by observing events
that affect others
We learn even when we are not trying
Intentional learning (careful search for info) Vs. Incidental
learning (causal, unintentional acquisition of knowledge)
Classical Conditioning (McDonalds, repetitions-pepsi slogan
‘yeh dil mange more’ with different slogans, fevi kwik ‘chutki
mein chipke’ for Learning Curve, stimulus generalizationstrategy for positoning to families like brands of lakme,
phillips, sony, bajaj, stimulus discrimination by the innovators
and leaders like maggi tomato chilli sauce saying slogan ‘it’s
different’, OC detergents, coldarin, pain relivers, shampoos ,
deodorants showing reward after embarrasement.
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Consumer learning … the process by which
individuals acquire the purchase and
consumption knowledge and experience that
they apply to future related behaviour
(Schiffman and Kanuk, 2000)
In order for learning to occur, certain basic
elements must be present
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Motivation, cues, response and reinforcement
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Motivation
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Cues
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…a weak stimulus, not strong enough to arouse consumers, but capable of
providing direction to motivated activity
Shopping environment is packed with cues, such as in-store promos,
displays
Response
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‘Cos motivation arouses individuals, thereby increasing their readiness to
respond
Prickly heat powder commercials during summer
… consumer’s mental or physical activity in reaction to a stimulus
situation
On-line shopping instructions – ‘How to’; 30-day free trial; samplers
Reinforcement
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…anything that follows a response and increases the tendency for the
response to reoccur in a similar situation
Using the express counter at Food-World/Counter once
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Classical conditioning
 … when a stimulus that elicits a response is paired with another
stimulus that initially does not elicit a response on its own. Over
time, this second stimulus causes a similar response because it is
associated with the first stimulus
 Ivan Pavlov’s experiments with Dogs
 Pepsi using Britney and ‘We’ll rock you’ in its commercials
 Oral-B toothbrushes with an ‘early warning system’ for timely
replacement
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Instrumental (or operant) conditioning
 … occurs as the learner learns to perform behaviors that produce
positive outcomes and to avoid those that yield negative outcomes
 Positive reinforcement (e.g. ads saying ‘get a beautiful skin’)
 Negative reinforcement (e.g. ads saying ‘get rid of dry skin’)
 Punishment (e.g. ads describing the consequences of not acting now;
e.g. Alcohol Ads, fear appeals like the bugler alarms, life insurance)
 Extinction (e.g. the consumer is no longer satisfied and marketer must
act; reduce advertizing for some reasons e.g. promise toothpaste)
Unconditioned stimulus
(UCS)-FOOD
Unconditioned
Response (UCR)SALIVATION
Conditioned stimulus
(CS)-BELL
AFTER REPEATED PAIRINGS:
Conditioned stimulus
(CS)-BELL
Conditioned
Response (CR)SALIVATION
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Forward conditioning
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Backward conditioning
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CS preceeds US (i.e., product before the celebrity)
US preceeds CS (i.e., celebrity before the product)
Simultaneous conditioning
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Both to be presented at the same time
THINK about the media choice for these variations!
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An example:
Unconditioned stimulus – Microsoft brand symbol,
the Windows icon
 Unconditioned response – the Windows icon that
implies technological superiority and trouble-free
operation
 Conditioned stimuli – New MS Office-XP bearing
the well-known Windows icon symbol
 Conditioned response – MS Office-XP embodies
technological superiority and trouble-free operation
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Repetition
Repeated exposures increase the strength of S-R associations and
prevent the decay of these associations in the memory (forgetting)
 Slogans, Logos … but beware of ad wear out and competitive
advertising
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 Cosmetic variation – same theme, different formats
 Substantive variation – same cosmetics, different content
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Stimulus Generalization
Refers to the tendency of stimuli similar to CS to evoke similar,
conditioned responses
 Explains the success of ‘me-too’ products and private label brands
(that make their packaging resemble the Leader)
 Other marketing applications – product-line extension (Pepsi Lemon),
product-form extension (Pepsi can), product-category extension
(Aquafina), Family branding (Nestle’s Maggi, HP), Licensing (Tommy,
CK, Disney), usage situation generalization (French Oil)
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Stimulus Discrimination
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Occurs when a stimulus similar to a CS is not followed by a UCS.
When this happens, reactions are weakened and will soon disappear.
Imitators want consumers to generalize their perceptions but market
leaders want to retain the top spot by convincing consumers to
discriminate (by effective positioning – establishing a unique image
for a brand in the consumer’s mind)
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Product line extension – Tylenol (J&J) makings its
products available in a number of forms (tablets,
capsules, gelcaps), strengths (regular, extra-strength and
children’s) and package sizes
Product form extension – Ivory bath soap to Ivory liquid
soap to Ivory shower gel
Product category extension – disposable BIC pens to
disposable BIC razors
Family branding – Campbell’s Soup company adding
new food products to its product line under the
Campbell’s brand name; Ralph Lauren designer label on
men’s and women’s clothing
Licensing – Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein on caps,
clothing, luggage, toys, …. (with the risk of
counterfeiting!)
Product differentiation – ‘teaching’ the consumers (thru
advertising and selling) to associate the brand name with
a specific product
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Learning based on mental (problem-solving) activity
Emphasis is NOT on WHAT (say, repetition or association of a
reward with a specific response) is learned, but on HOW (i.e.
information processing) it is learned
Observational Learning
 Also called as Social learning or vicarious learning or
modeling
 Application: Testimonial ads,
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Involvement Theory
 Based on hemispherical lateralization or Split-brain theory
 Left-hemisphere is primarily responsible for cognitive
activities (reading, speaking, attribution information
processing) – it’s rational, active and realistic
 Right-hemisphere is concerned with nonverbal, timeless,
pictorial and holistic information – it’s emotional,
metaphoric, impulsive and intuitive
 Impact on Media strategy – TV viewing is considered a rightbrain activity (passive learning thru low-involvement info
processing) and Print media and interactive media are
considered high-involvement media.
Components of observational learning
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Memory is availability and
Retrieval is accessibility
Memory affects the exposure,
attention, and comprehension
stages
How consumers store, retain and
retrieve information
Memory allows consumers to
anticipate the stimuli they might
encounter
External Inputs
Encoding
Information is
Placed in Memory
Storage
Information
is Retained in Memory
Retrieval
Information Stored
in Memory is Found as Needed
… are the methods of handling information which
may operate consciously or unconsciously to
influence the encoding, placement, and retrieval of
information.
 Encoding … the process by which we select a word
or visual image to represent a perceived object
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Examples: Kellogg’s, Asian paints
Retrieval cues create a response by actively
reconstructing the stimulus
Response generation is when a person develops a
response by actively reconstructing the stimulus.
Rehearsal … silent, mental repetition of
information; failure to rehearse an input, either by
repeating it or by relating it to other data, can
result in fading and eventual loss of the
information
An associative network for perfumes
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Research finding
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It is difficult for consumers to remember product
information from ads for new brands in heavily
advertised categories
Consumers can become cognitively overloaded
when they are given a lot of information in a limited
time
Interference: the greater the number of competitive
ads in a product category, the lower the recall of
brand claims in a specific ad
 Example: when consumers attributed the Eveready
Energizer Bunny to the market leader, Duracell
Inputs
Sensory memory
Short-term memory
(working memory)
Available capacity
Affect and
arousal
Encoding
Retrieval
Long-term memory
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Sensory memory
 Iconic (regarding what we see) and echoic (regarding
what we hear) memory
 Sensory memory happens in the pre-attention stage
where a stimulus is briefly analyzed to determine if it
will receive additional processing. E.g if we close our
eyes we can remember the after image in our mind’s
eye for just a fraction of second.
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Short-term memory (STM) (can be
viewed as Conscious thought)
 Imagery and discursive (i.e. language) processing
 Short-term memory is where information is
temporarily stored while people are actively processing
it. Also called working memory.
 If information in short-term memory is not rehearsed it is
lost within 30 seconds. E.g. a long number 91-0141-550053
can be grouped to generate a short term memory or there
can be brand name and symbols for the same
 Involvement (split brain theory) and short-term
memory
 High involvement makes the consumer more aroused and
attentive, expanding the short-term memory capacity.
 Low involvement tends to keep a consumer’s arousal levels
low so the consumer focuses relatively little memory
capacity on the stimulus.
 Long-term
memory (LTM)
 Long-term memory is connected to short-term memory
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through encoding and retrieval processes.
Long-term memory has essentially unlimited capacity
to store information permanently.
Stored information is either semantic or visual
Autobiographical (episodic) memory – represents
knowledge we have about ourselves (In CB context, it
refers to acquisition, consumption and disposition)
Semantic (associative) memory – represents knowledge
about the world that is detached from specific episodes.
Examples: Schemas and categories with connecting
links (called beliefs or associations)
 e.g frequent repeated advertizing i.e learning the
information already stored in the memory.
Sensory Memory
Attention
Short-Term Memory
Elaborative Rehearsal
Long-Term Memory
Relationships among memory systems
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Chunking
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Marketing communication to serve as a chunk
(group of items that can be processed as one unit)
 Example: Maruti, Rs.2599, other benefits
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Rehearsal
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Recirculation (continual repetition)
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Active and conscious interaction with the material to
remember (say, repeating the help-line number,
engaging jingles and slogans)
Example: Energizer’s line – ‘it goes on and on and
on’; engaging jingles and slogans (esp. when
motivation is low)
Similar to rehearsal, but does not involve active
processing; because of repeated exposures
Example: Where all do you see ‘Pepsi’ on a given
day?
Elaboration
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Processing information at deeper levels
Interactive ads, Q&A type of ads
Familiarity
State-Dependent
Retrieval
Age
Oldish
Interference
Retrieval
Forgetting
Salience
Pictorial/Verbal
Cues
Newer Brands
(many of them)
Not enough
Cues
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By characteristics of the stimulus
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By what the stimulus is linked to
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Priming, Retrieval of cues
By the way in which the stimulus is processed
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Favourability, Salience, Prototypicality (graded
categorization), Congruence (as per the expected
attributes), redundancies (when brand is named,
claims and visuals convey the same info)
As pictures and words in memory
The characteristics of the consumers
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Mood and expertise
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Consumers tend to remember the product’s
benefits rather than its attributes
Incongruent (or unexpected) elements pierce
consumers’ perceptual screens and improve the
memorability of an ad when these elements are
relevant to the advertising message
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Example: ad for a brand of stain-resistant, easy-toclean carpet
Incongruent elements that are not relevant to
an ad also pierce the consumers’ perceptual
screen but provide no memorability for the
product
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Example: Glamour in advertising