Chapter 4
Memory & Knowledge
Learning Objectives~ Ch. 4
Distinguish among sensory, working, long-term,
implicit, and explicit memory, and explain why
marketers must be aware of these different types of
memory.
Describe how schemas and scripts affect
consumers’ knowledge content.
Explain how and why the content and structure of
knowledge, including associative networks,
categories, and prototypicality, are relevant to
marketers.
Discuss what memory retrieval is, how it works, and
how marketers try to affect it.
Memory
Consumer memory/retrieval
Knowledge, attitudes, & memory
Memory, retrieval, & decision making
Memory & Retrieval
Sensory Memory
Echoic—Hearing
Iconic—Seeing
Characteristics
Short-Term Memory
Imagery processing
Discursive processing
Characteristics
– Limited
– Short lived
Imagery
May help create liking for product
Stimulates memories of experiences
Impact:
– Evaluation
– Satisfaction
Long-Term Memory
Autobiographical (episodic)
– Affects decision making
– Promotes empathy/identification
– Cueing/preserving
– Reinterpreting
Semantic
What are some of your childhood memories
with brands?
Are those brands still in your life?
Enhancing Memory
There are techniques to enhance
your memory:
Chunking
Rehearsal
Recirculation
Elaboration
Why are these techniques key for
advertisers/marketers to
understand?
Long-Term Memory Organization
Semantic/associative networks
– Trace strength
– Spreading of activation
Retrieval failures
– Decay
– Interference
Primacy & Recency
Retrieval errors
Semantic (Associative)
Network
Types of Retrieval
Explicit Memory
– Recognition
– Recall
Implicit Memory
Retrieval for Marketers
Communication objective
Affects consumer choices
Relates to advertising
effectiveness
Consumer segments
Enhancing Retrieval
Stimulus
Processing
Consumer characteristics
– Mood
– Expertise
Characteristics of Stimuli
A stimulus is a cue that triggers something in your
memory
What are examples of advertising/marketing
stimuli?
Characteristics of Stimuli:
Salience
Prototypicality
Redundant cues
Medium
Processing in short-term memory
Ad Stimuli: Old Spice Guy
A successful campaign to revamp a brand
©adage.com; ecosalon.com
Linking StimulusRetrieval Cues
Brand Name
Logos
Package
Category Names
Typefaces
Knowledge & Understanding
Knowledge content
Knowledge structure
Categorization
Comprehension
Knowledge Content
Schemas & Associations
- Types of associations
- Favorability
- Uniqueness
- Salience
Types of schemas
Images
Scripts
Images
Brand image
Brand’s personality
Brand extension
Licensing
Brand alliance
Protecting brand
images
Brand Personality Framework
Marketing Implications
Creating new schemas, images, & personalities
– Brand extensions
– Licensing
– Brand alliances
Developing existing schemas, images, &
personalities
Changing schemas, images, & personalities
Protecting brand images
Scripts
Special type of schemas that represent our
knowledge of a sequence of actions involved in
performing an activity
– Helps marketers understand how consumers
buy & use an offering
– May want consumer to consider brand as
part of scripted activity
Knowledge Structure
Categories & their structures
Taxonomic structures
Goal-derived structures
Why consumers differ in their knowledge
Taxonomic Category Structure
Taxonomic Categories
Graded structure
Position to prototype
- Close
- Away
- Competitive
- Retail store & site design
What affects prototypicality?
Correlated associations
Hierarchical structure
Hierarchical Structure Levels
Superordinate
Basic
Subordinate
Goal-Derived Categories
Things belong in the same category if they fulfill
same consumer goal
What are examples of your goal-derived
categories?
Construal Level Theory
Low-level construal—concrete
High-level construal—abstract
Why Consumer Knowledge Differs
Cultural system
–
–
–
–
–
Associations linked to concept
Category members
Category prototypes
Correlated associations
Goal-derived categories
Level of product/service expertise
Knowledge to Understand:
Categorization
Inferences
Elaboration
Evaluation
Consideration & choice
Satisfaction
Knowledge to Understand:
Comprehension
Objective
Subjective
Miscomprehension
Effects of:
- MAO
- Cultural system
Improving objective
comprehension
Comprehension & Product Warnings
Consumer Inference~1
Brand names/symbols inferences
- Misleading names/labels
- Inappropriate/similar names
Product features/packaging
- Product attributes
- Country of origin
- Package design
- Color
Consumer Inference~ 2
Price
Retail atmospherics/display
Advertising/selling
Pictures
Language
Ethical issues
Atmospherics Influence
Language Inference
Juxtaposed imperatives
Implied superiority
Incomplete comparisons
Multiple comparisons
Consumers make
inferences based on a
brand’s country-of-origin.
This ad for Barilla pasta
shows pictures of Parma,
Italy, and of delicious
looking Italian pasta.
Barilla wants consumers
to infer that since the
Barilla brand is Italian, it
must produce great tasting
pasta.
Courtesy Barilla America Inc.
Questions?