week 2: perception, attention and sensory marketing

sensation

the immediate direct response of the sensory organs to stimuli. information that is presented to our different senses but is yet to be interpreted.

perception

the way in which information acquired from the environment via the sense organs is transformed into experiences of objects, events, sounds, taste, touch etc. involves meaning attached to the sensation experiences from existing beliefs, attitudes and general dispositions.

three stages of perception

exposure, attention, interpretation

exposure

process by which consumer comes into contact with a stimulus

attention

the extent to which processing activity is devoted to a particular stimulus.

interpretation

refers to the meaning we assign sensory stimuli, which is based on a schema

sensory threshold

the point at which stimuli can make a conscious impact on the person’s awareness

absolute threshold

minimum amount of stimulation a person can detect on a given sensory channel

differential threshold

the point at which a sensory system detects changes between two stimuli

subliminal perception

processing of stimuli that are too weak or too brief to be conscious,y seen or heard. research suggests that effects are small, fragile and hard to replicate. little evidence that they work in real advertising settings.

just noticeable difference

the minimum difference we can detect between two stimuli

weber’s law

the JND is a constant proportion of the original stimulus: the stronger the original stimulus, the larger the change needed to notice it

shrinkflation

process of items shrinking in size or quantity, or reducing quality while their prices remain the same or increase.

elements of the sensory system

vision, smell, sound, touch, taste, vestibular

vision

dominates other senses: cortex devotes a large share to visual processing and when senses conflict people tend to rely on what they see

visual search

the process of locating a target among distractors. a core perceptual task and central to how consumers find products on shelves and in point of sale displays.

colour wavelengths

warm colours have the longest wavelengths and cool colours have the shortest wavelengths. warm colours are stimulating and cool colours are calming. but what a colour does depends on context and leaned associations, not on wavelength alone.

red associations

danger, excitement, passion, love. attracts attention so used in price promotions, sale signage and fast food branding. men perceive greater savings when prices are shown in red.

yellow associations

joy, optimism, warmth. also carries negative meanings such as caution and cowardice. legibility depends on contrast in lightness between text and background.

orange associations

energy, warmth, friendliness, fun. brands use it to signal approachability and value. not a favourite in adult preference studies.

green associations

nature, growth, freshness, health. widely used to signal environmentally friendly products. can make products seem greener than they are which is a greenwashing risk. the international standard colour for safe condition signs and go symbols.

blue associations

most preferred colour across countries and decades. trust, competence, calm. why banks, tech and healthcare use it. can make waiting feel shorter.

purple associations

link with royalty and luxury as dye was once extremely expensive to produce. creativity, spirituality, mystery. lighter shades feel romantic and nostalgic. premium brands use it to signal indulgence.

pink associations

femininity, nurture, softness. link established in 20th century. studies found that pink calms. studies found no affect on aggression or strength. bright pinks are energetic, playful, trendy, gendered colour coding is a marketing convention not a natural preference.

brown associations

earth, wood, home, reliability. brown packaging can signal natural, eco friendly or artisanal products. dark browns among least preferred colours, possibly because of link to rotting food and dirt.

grey associations

neutrality, formality, maturity, sophistication. metallic greys signal technology, precision, speed. can seem cold or gloomy alone so designers often pair with accent colour.

white associations

purity, cleanliness, simplicity, hygiene. minimalist premium positioning. white flag recognised as a request for truce under laws of war.

black associations

authority, sophistication, luxury. mourning in western culture. players perceived as more aggressive wearing black. people judge darker objects as heavier than lighter ones of the same weight so black packaging can signal substance and premium quality.

how sound can shape perception

background music can put shoppers in a more positive mood, make products more likeable through association with liked music, change how long waiting and shopping feel.

effects of sound on behaviour

tempo: slow in store music slows shoppers down and raises supermarket sales. fit: french music increases sales of french wine and german music increases sales of german wine.

sound symbolism

sound of a word shapes what we expect it to describe. plosives sound hard, strong, heavy. fricatives and sibilants sound soft, light, smooth. back vowels suggests big and rich, front vowels suggests small and

smell

reaches the brains emotion and memory centres directly without passing through the thalamus. trigger strong emotions and vivid memories. too strong can become unpleasant,

types of scent

ambient comes from the environment. non ambient comes from the product. can be congruent or incongruent with product or setting.

effects of smell on behaviour

evaluation: shoppers rate products more favourably in floral scented rooms than in unscented ones. memory: products infused with scent led to better recall of attributes. non conscious goals: citrus cleaning scent made people clean more

need for touch

how much consumers want to handle a product before judging them. consumers differ in their nft. high nft consumers less likely to buy products online

vestibular system

sensations related to balance and posture. standing postures induce greater physical stress on the body which decreases sensory sensitivity

what grabs attention?

size, colour, position, novelty, breaking expectations

personal selection factors on attention

perceptual vigilance (relates to current needs), adaptation, perceptual defence

what are gestalt theories?

research developed in the early 20th century. proposed a number of laws and principles regarding how stimuli are organised into shapes and patterns so that stimuli are perceived as one complete object

the four gestalt theories

law of proximity (stimuli near each other grouped together), law of closure (tend to see entire shapes), law of similarity (group together objects that are physically similar), figure ground principle (one stimulus appears to stand out as solid and well defined)