It's your decision consumers so choose wisely.

       You're in control.  You are a consumer. You face many choices and decisions everyday.  

       Whether we realize it or not there is a process to the purchases we make throughout our days. Whether it is the routine purchase of running to the drugstore because the toothpaste ran out or it is time to look into getting a new car there is a decision making process. A five step process where at times only a few steps are used or all five are used in a more drawn out process, depending on the purchase. 

This is called the Consumer Purchase Decision Process. The five steps of this process are as follows... (Kerin, 111-112)

 

I'll just run through the steps really quick using a little scenario.

1) Problem recognition: To put it as simple as possible we as consumers realize we have a need or desire and that we want to fill it.  Maybe you are hungry and want to go get lunch at a restaurant, maybe you ran out of deodorant and need to restock, or maybe your house's roof is leaking. All of these are situations that will prompt a decision to be made.

2) Information search: Once we have recognized we want to make some sort of decision it is time to seek out some additional information.

3) Evaluation of alternatives: after searching for information you may find yourself with multiple options on whatever your decision may be. This is the time to evaluate and compare your alternatives using the information you have previously gathered. You're in the mood for Italian. You've narrowed it down to Olive Garden and the upscale Italian bistro in town. Are you willing to spend a little more for a specialty meal? Maybe you like the unlimited bread sticks from Olive Garden that you can't really get anywhere else.

 4) Purchase decision: Now is the time to make your decision. You decide to go to the higher scale, but smaller non-franchised Italian restaurant. Let's say you decided this because it's a business dinner and you really want to impress your guest. During your information search you heard from your neighbors that their food is amazing. You also evaluated your alternatives and decided that maybe the extra money will be worth it.

5) Post purchase behavior: This is the final step which is where you basically ask yourself if you were satisfied or not. Did you have any regrets with choosing this restaurant over Olive Garden? It turns out you did. Although your neighbors rave reviews about the Italian bistro's food was spot on, the service was absolutely horrible. Rude waiters, messed up orders, and an extremely long wait. You decided that based off of the amount you were paying that the service was detrimental to your expectations. You would have rather gone somewhere else with better service, even if it was not Olive Garden. So next time you decide to be more thorough gathering information and making your decision.

Okay enough of the hypothetical situation, but this was the best way for me to quickly and hopefully clearly offer an explanation to this decision process.

There are also other factors that affect this five step process. Depending on what is being purchased some steps aren't even really used. There are three different types of purchases which are...

1) Extended (Car, house, college, etc.)

• All of the steps are usually used
• Usually bigger and more important purchases
• Information search and alternative evaluations are a big steps and can be more drawn out
• More time may be taken to make this decision

2) Limited ( Restaurant, jeans, sunglasses, blender etc.)

• Can use all the steps, but does not require as in depth of use 
• These purchases do not have as big of an impact

3) Routine ( Toothpaste, laundry detergent, milk, etc.)

• Require very minimal use of decision process
• Small purchases that are routine enough you know what you want
• If what you want is gone you will most likely settle for something else with little thought to the decision

(Kerin,114)

 Basically we are blessed enough to have all of these choices at our finger tips, which gives us the power to choose what we want. I think we should use this to our advantage and try to be smart about the choices we make in purchase decisions and otherwise!

I feel like a lot of this post was me talking at you or typing, but this is what we have been going over in class and I found it pretty interesting! Sorry if it was dry to read, but I think people will really enjoy my next post, at least I hope :)



Cited
Kerin, Roger A., Steven William. Hartley, and William Rudelius. Marketing: The Core. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2013.

Think you know exactly what an ad is advertising? Think again.

       Sex. Money. Power. These are things that today many people would consider desirable. Marketing is all about realizing the needs and desires of consumers and trying to fulfill and satisfy them. On the surface a product can be marketed using the 4 P's in order to try to best meet the consumers needs and desires while still having a successful product and/or service.  The 4 P's also cover and take into consideration packaging, advertising, and image. I think the product and/or service should be appealing, different, and most importantly showcase that it is something that will satisfy the consumer's needs and desires.
       Packaging and advertisements are a great way to show consumers that "this," being whatever it may be, is something they need...and even if they don't need it, may be something they just want. So there's the on the surface advertisements and promotions, but sometimes those involved in the marketing world take it a little bit further. Have you ever heard of subliminal perception, or subliminal messages? If not I will try my best to explain and show you!

 
 Here is a still frame from a KFC commercial.

This commercial was advertising the 99 cent KFC Snacker. It is an inexpensive food product, which satisfies a consumer's need/ desire to fulfill their hunger as well as be frugal with their cash. The sandwich looks relatively appealing and fresh with steam coming off of it and the 99 cents is large and in bold which should really grabbing the attention of a viewer.  This is what I initially took from looking at the ad on the surface, but on a second glance there is something more. 

Taking a closer look at the sandwich clearly shows a small dollar bill hidden in the lettuce. It was only clear to me once it was pointed out and because this is a still shot from the commercial so the frame is frozen. The original commercial really promoted and played upon the sandwich being 99 cents and only needing a dollar to purchase it. The dollar hidden in the sandwich can easily go undetected by consumers. They are still physically seeing it, but are unaware, which is what subliminal messages and perception is all about. 

       The KFC example has to do with money, but many subliminal messages in products take a turn toward the inappropriate. A lot of these messages advertise sex for products that do not necessarily have anything to do with that subject. In a day and age when products that have nothing to do with sexual activity are advertised in a sexual way, (mostly I've noticed with food products) is it really necessary to add sexual subliminal perception into the mix? 

Yes the sexual message may play on the consumer's desires and may lead them to purchasing it without ever being aware the message was there.  I personally don't think this type of message is right, because what does it do to a younger generation, to children, etc.? Is it morally or ethically right to use these tactics? 

Here is a rather obvious example. "Berry [S]Explosion?" I don't think that initial Skittle placement was unintentional.

People do say sex sells, I just think there is a line when it comes to subliminal perception and messages of this nature and a younger generation, especially with products who's target market is specifically children.  Disney is a specific example of a company where a lot about their use of sexual subliminal messages can be found through a simple Google search, but I don't want to get into that now, but maybe in a future post.

   Personally as a consumer I want to purchase a product for the quality of it as well as to fulfill my INTENDED need/desire. Basically what I mean is if I am looking for a cleaning product to buy and I want to buy a Swiffer to fulfill this cleaning need, I want advertising that will help me decide that Swiffer would be the best product for me based on the performance, quality, price, etc. I would prefer Swiffer's marketing or advertising team not to play on a desire for sex, money, or power.  I honestly don't think if the word "sex" is hidden on the box somewhere that this is going to make me want to buy a Swiffer anymore. Although some of these tactics have a really comical or interesting turnout!

 Two examples

• The arrow in Fed Ex
• The Christian fish in Jack in the Box

 I don't think all use of subliminal perception is distasteful. Some companies use it in a very professional way which even helps further promote their business and/or message. There is a great list of some business logos that incorporate some sort of subliminal massages that we discussed in  my marketing class linked here!










Cited
http://www.11points.com/Food-Drink/11_Hidden_Messages_In_Food_Ads_and_Logos

      

Marketing: It's more than just ads. It's a mix.

        Hi my name is Arianna Aquadro.  I am twenty years old and am a junior at Saint Michael's College near Burlington,VT. I am majoring in Business with a minor in Spanish. I am currently taking a Marketing course, which is what this blog will mainly focus on. Both blogging and marketing are new to me, so hopefully I will be able to bring these two together to share what I am learning in a somewhat fun and different way.
       So far the first two weeks of class have gone well. I definitely have high expectations and goals for myself when it comes to my schoolwork and for this course it is no different. I hope to take a lot out of this course. Ultimately I want to leave with a better understanding of all the factors that go into marketing and how to apply them.
       Many people who are interested in marketing, including myself, are attracted to the creative aspect. It is an area in business that offers an opportunity to be more free and out of the box. However, when many people think of marketing they immediately think of creativity and advertisements and stop there. Although ads are a huge part of marketing there is so much more that drives this area than just choosing which bright colors, logos, and text to use and who can have the funniest commercial- not complaining about funny commercials because who doesn't like those?
       Yes, catching people's attention is a very important part of marketing, it can be what makes or breaks a business depending on their ability to do this, but so is keeping the attention. So far I have learned the best way to do this is to always keep in mind and use something called The Marketing Mix.  (You can find a more in depth explanation of what it is linked here.) If you followed the link or maybe you already know, there are four VERY important P's in the world of marketing- those 4 P's being product, place, price and promotion.
       I was first introduced to the terms "4 P's" and the "marketing mix" last semester in an intro to business course that touched on marketing as well as finance and management. Although this was my first time learning about these terms I have been seeing examples of them everywhere. Everyone sees examples of them all day, everyday, for the most part. The logo on your best friend's hoodie, the convenience store down the street from your house, and the buy one get one half off sale at your favorite shoe store are all just a few examples of what we see on a daily basis that have undergone decisions based on the 4 P's and marketing mix.
        Although marketing is more than just ads, one of my first assignments in class was to choose any ad I wanted and reflect and analyze it in more depth to how it related to the 4 P's.  I thought I would share the ad I chose and a little bit about my presentation. So here it is...

The assignment and my brief presentation

• Which 4 P's
• Product
• The product is the Audi S6, but this commercial is more for the Audi brand in general because it was not specifically mentioned in the commercial that this is the specific car it was advertising. 
• Place
• The ad takes place in a city setting. 
• The ad also take place during a prom. By making it a prom setting it can appeal to adults who have gone to prom and have them reminiscing, but also to teens who are waiting to go to prom some day. I think by doing this it makes the car more universal because even those in rural areas have a prom and this car can still appeal to them.
• Price
• Though price was not specified in the commercial, the car is owned by a two parent family with two children, making it seem like a general, average middle class family.  In my opinion by putting the car in a family setting it makes it seem affordable for couples and families, even if you have kids.  
• Promotion 
• "Bravery. It's what defines us."
• "Truth in engineering."
• "#BraveryWins"  Using the hashtag trend that has become popular on social media such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.
•  The effectiveness of the ad 
•  The choices and actions of the teen boy make it seem like owning or even driving this car can give you the bravery or confidence one needs in life.
•  The music choice definitely has an effect because it adds to the atmosphere of the whole commercial and is in good pace with adrenaline the boy is experiencing and the dramatic pause is a nice touch.
•  The city scape during the night time and the lighting choices in the ad all showcase the car's design. It somehow makes it seem sleeker in my opinion.
• The target market
• Teens/ Young adults
• Going to prom
•  Who are going to get or already have their license
• Parents
• It's the dad's car
• Parents might see this and think it can give their kids confidence or that it might be a good car for them.
• People who need a little bit of bravery and/or confidence in their life
• This car seems to give this insecure teen in the commercial the bravery he needs to do things he really wants to do, but probably otherwise wouldn't...like kiss the prom queen.
• The intent or focus
•  You can be brave by owning or even driving this car. It will help you go where you want and do what you want. Even if your bravery doesn't turn out having the best results...like getting a black eye, it will still have been worth it. 
• "Bravery in design makes us who we are..." can relate to the Audi brand, but also people as humans. 
• The intent is showcasing the cars design and how it can affect us and make us better if we own it. 
• Its success/failure and why 
•  This ad is successful because it does a good job of appealing to a large audience.
• Humor from the little sister and with the black eye at the ending
• Showcases the product well and sends a message while doing it (this product can make you brave).
• Teens will see this and want the car or want to be the kid from the commercial and do the things he does.
• Parents will see it and either want to own the car themselves or will think about it for their children
• Makes the car seem like a higher scale car and like a privilege drive by the dad letting the son drive the Audi to prom
• Why you chose it  
• I chose this ad because I think it is very well made. It has aspects of humor with the little sister's comment and the ending with the black eye.  Personally, I enjoy ads that tell a little story and this ad does a great job of doing that. It was entertaining, showcased the product, and creates a desire for the product. This ad makes me want an Audi.

To wrap things up the following link was suggested to me to the making of a different type of Audi commercial from the Audi Australia S Line. This type of commercial is still creative, but goes in a different direction than the one I chose for my presentation, focusing more on the design/exterior and how the car drives as opposed to sending a message through the brand. It also shows how they focus on music and imagery.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=553180854794064&id=111742658937888&refid=17&_rdr