perception (CBA) #1

what is perception?

different consumers may have differing perceptions of the same stimulus

• “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”

consumer’s responses are based on their perceptions

• marketing communication →

perception is a multi-step process

1. selective exposure: is your message reaching your target consumers?

2. selection attention: are consumers noticing and paying attention to your message?

3. comprehension (selective distortions): do consumers understand your message? how are they interpreting it?

4. selective retention/memory: are consumers recalling the message that they need to?

exposure in the CBA context

• Consumer comes in physical contact with a stimulus; comes within range of sensory receptors

• Consumers have the possibility of noticing the stimulus

(selective) exposure. consumers determine exposure an marketers react accordingly.

consumers choose…

• to be exposed to lifestyle, hobbies, preferences

• NOT be exposed by skipping, blocking, pop-ups, leaving the room

marketers react by choosing a channel so that (intended) consumers might be exposed

characteristics of attention

1. limited: cannot pay attention to every stimulus around us (system 1 is used to monitor surroundings/environment

2. divided: “split” attention to multiple stimuli (“multi-tasking”)

3. selective: we pay attention to certain stimuli and exclude others

   1. cocktail party effect: the brain focuses a person’s attention on a particular stimulus, usually auditory.

   2. inattentional blindness: failure to notice something fully visible because attention is engaged elsewhere

two types of attention

voluntary attention

• personal relevance (interest, importance) → increases attention

• marketing message must have content that is relevant to them

involuntary attention

• occurs when a consumer is exposed to something that is

  • intense: bold; colorful; bright; etc.

  • moves (flashing light, floppy balloon figures)

  • contrasts from surrounding

  • surprising: unexpected

  • interactive

  • pleasant humor, music, attractive people and/or characters

examples of pleasantness in ads

• humor

• music

• attractive people and/or characters

why is attention important?

• various ways to breakthrough and grab consumers’ attention

can too much attention backfire?

yes,

grabbing attention should not be the final objective, you must convey something substantive and lasting

what is lay belief?

comprehension is passive and we are only “reading” o taking in the stimulus just as it is/was presented to us

lay belief is WRONG ← consumers construct interpretations of the stimulus to decide what the stimulus means

interpretations of the stimulus to decide what the stimulus means is influenced by two major factors:

1. stimulus characteristics: actual stimulus/event; bottom-up

2. consumer characteristics: state of mind; prior expectations and experiences; beliefs: values attitudes, emotions, etc.; “top-down”

similar elements are seen as…

belonging to each other more than non-similar elements

elements in close physical proximity are…

grouped together or seen as belonging to each other

closure/gestalt principle

• perceived stimuli as what is it rather than as parts

• meaning is derived from the totality of the set of stimuli

  • letter order doesn’t matter as long as the first and last letter are in the right place. the brain reads the word as a whole, not by letter

vertical-horizontal illusion

most people think vertical line are longer.

implications for packaging design → if packaging designers exploit this bias to influence consumer behavior

what is mere exposure?

• consumers prefer stimuli they’ve previously been exposed to

• more exposure to a stimulus → increase familiarity → increased liking → preference over other unfamiliar stimuli

• even if exposure is negative

cola experiment takeaway

• bottom up (stimulus based) and top-down (consumer based) influences work together in the perceptual process

• importance (and sometimes dominance!) of top-down processing in interpreting stimuli and in driving subsequent actions taken by consumers

Absolute threshold

• minimum amount of stimulation required so that the stimulus is detected

• point at which you move from detecting nothing to detecting something

Differential threshold

• just noticeable difference

• point at which you from detecting stimulus A to detecting stimulus A’

just noticeable difference

smallest difference/change in a specified amount of sensory input that is detectable

Weber’s Law

the stronger (more intense) the initial stimulus, the greater the change needed for the second stimulus to be perceived as different

Just Noticeable Difference

• want consumers to notice change → go above the JND

• want consumers not to notice change → fall below the JND

• quality: features, benefits

• quantity: downsizing, more product

• change in spokescharacter

• price: discounts, increases, “The Charge Effect”, Add-on purchases

Price: the change effect (rounding)

stores ask if you want to round up and donate the difference

• consumer spends $12.25 → “do you want to round to the nearest dollar?”

keep the change savings program

• consumer spends $12.25 → “round up to the nearest dollar and the difference goes into savings account.”

Price: add-on purchase

add on to your purchase for an upgrade or to go with your main purchase

• buying a laptop? add on a protection plan, charger, mouse

behavioral pricing

determined by

• consumer’s response to price changes: JND

• consumer’s willingness to pay

just meaningful difference (JMD)

smallest amount of change in a stimulus that would influence consumer consumption and choice

• jewelry originally $5,500 is now on sale for $4,099.99

willingness to pay

perception of a “good” price and/or “good” value

• sale signs

• prices ending in 9 ($29.99 vs $30.00)

reference price (point)

price that consumers carry in their minds and refer to when looking at a particular product

• price comparisons with other consumers

• retailer / manufacturer costs