Perception
Ch. 2
Session 3-4
Overview of the Perceptual Process
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Sensation:
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Exposure:
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The extent to which we (our brains) devote processing activity to a
particular stimulus
Interpretation:
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Occurs when a stimulus comes within the range of someone’s
sensory receptors
Attention:
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The immediate response of our sensory receptors (eyes, ears, nose,
mouth, fingers) to basic stimuli such as light, color, sound, odors, taste
and textures
The meaning that we assign to sensory stimuli
Perception:
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The process by which sensations are selected, organized, and
interpreted
Overview of the Perceptual Process
Sensory Systems
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External stimuli, or sensory inputs, can be
received on a number of different
channels
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Inputs picked up by our five senses are the
raw data that triggers the perceptual
process
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Sensory branding
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Paying extra attention to the impact & interplay of various sensations on our product
experiences
Sensory signature (Read: Brand Sense by
Martin Lindstrom)
Car Ad  Trying to Appeal to All Senses
Vision
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Stimulated through:
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design, size, shape, colors (visual
elements)
of packaging, product design,
advertising, store design (visual
channels)
Examples:
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Coca-Cola bottles have a unique
contoured shape
Banks use ‘blue’ as it depicts
‘corporate culture’ globally
3M Post-it Notes have a registered
canary yellow color
Shape of Hershey’s Kisses
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Examples:
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Hardee’s Thickburgers have their
appeal in size & juiciness
Olper’s milk used ‘red’ to
differentiate its packaging
Tall thin glasses look more
voluminous than short broad ones
Size of plate also determines how
much we eat
Older people see colors as more
dull (with yellow tinge)
Warmer & darker colors incite
activity & excitement and cool
colors bring relaxation
Meat needs to be brown enough
Smell
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It’s a chemical sense so
forms strong bonds
Examples:
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Starbucks & the aroma of
freshly brewed coffee
Dunkin Donuts & the smell
of freshly baked doughnuts
New car smell (spray)
Scratch & sniff ads for
perfumes
Smell of food cooked in
ghee (portrayed in ads)
People spend more time in
nice-smelling stores
Hearing
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Examples
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Sound affects moods; fast
music energizes, slow music
relaxes (concept used in
stores & restaurants)
Spoken words/speech has
unique meanings & effects
(brand names)
Sound effects used in
advertising (jingles, signature
tunes)
May signify product
attributes/quality
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‘Sizzle’ of a steak
Crunch of cornflakes
Taste
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It’s a chemical sense so may
affect on a deeper level
Examples
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Taste houses create & test
flavors everyday (Murree
Brewery)
Taste sampling of food & drink
items try to create customer
pull
Cigarette ads stress on ‘taste’
of smoke
Backfired in New Coke’s case
Touch
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Examples:
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Contoured Coca-Cola bottle
identifiable in the dark
Perfume bottles are always glass
(have tactile appeal)
Value of cloth/material
associated with how they ‘feel’
People prefer touching
products before buying
(unpopularity of online buying)
Ads for men’s shaving razors
(smooth skin gets love)
Important Concepts in ‘Exposure’
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Marketers (at the basic level) try to increase
the likelihood of exposure of their brand
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Factors that may influence exposure include:
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Exposure is selective
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Position / placement of communication within
media / contact points
Product distribution & shelf placement
Zipping zapping on electronic media, pop-up
blockers on internet
Measures of exposure include
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People-meters (TV) - viewership
Traffic counters (outdoor) - OTS
Important Concepts in ‘Exposure’
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Absolute Threshold:
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The minimum amount of
stimulation that can be detected
on a given sensory channel
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Important in selecting font / image
size, background music levels,
intensity of fragrance in stores, etc.
Also important when you ‘don’t’
want people to notice something
Important Concepts in ‘Exposure’
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Differential Threshold:
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The ability of a sensory system to detect
changes / differences between two stimuli
The minimum difference that can be
detected between two stimuli = j.n.d. (just
noticeable difference)
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Important in reference pricing, change in
product sizes, change in serving size,
amount of discounts
Weber’s Law:
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The amount of change that is necessary
to be noticed is directly related to the
intensity of the original stimulus
Important Concepts in ‘Attention’
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Attention is selective
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Personal selection factors (relevance,
experiences, habituation)
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Stimulus selection factors (size, color,
position, novelty of idea, etc.)
Attention can be divided (multi-tasking)
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We attend to only a small portion of the
stimuli to which we are exposed
(perceptual selection)
We select based on
Need for repetition / reinforcement
Attention is limited
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Unfamiliarity reduces division of attention
to many stimuli
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Standardized store design (Gourmet)
Important Concepts in ‘Interpretation’
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Two people can be exposed to the
same stimulus, attend to it but
interpret it in very different ways
depending on the schema (set of
beliefs to which we assign the stimulus)
evoked by the stimulus
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We use different criteria to evaluate the
product, message or package
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Warm tetra-packaged milk in US holds a
different meaning than in Pakistan
Food cooked in Ghee may hold different
meanings for people
Concept of ‘family restaurant’ doesn’t
appeal to youth
Djuice ads
Sooper ‘disco’ ad – what schema does it
evoke?
Important Concepts in ‘Interpretation’
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Marketers also use
‘symbolism’ to give desired
meaning to products &
create product image