What team do you support?

            Throughout the world there are hundreds of different sports team in a variety of different sports. After reading my professors blog post, I was inspired to take a deeper look at sports team and their fan loyalty. I grew up watching mostly hockey and a bit of football so I am very familiar with the different teams. I currently work for the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre as a box office representative. This gives me the opportunity to interact and speak with Ottawa Senators fans on a weekly basis. It is truly incredible to watch the passion that some people have for their sports teams. From my experience, there is usually two common reasons that people become fans of a sporting team. First, there is an influential person whether it be a dad, brother, mom, friend who is already a fan and is able to convince you to become a fan. This can help make the game day events fun as a family and a more social event. The second reason is because of a person's actual location. Since I was born and raised in Ottawa it was only natural to be a fan of the Ottawa Senators!  I find most people do like their home town but some will have favourites for other reasons. Ottawa Senators are not just a sports team, they have been able to create an overall brand. They offer jerseys, scarfs, hat, bottles, basically anything you can think of with the Senator logo on it. This helps bring the fan together and be united by a common sports team. Below is a picture of the Ottawa Senators logo which helps reinforce the brand.

                         

             Last semester I attended the John Molson Sports Marketing Conference which had industry experts speak about their daily operations and marketing strategies. It was very interesting to hear their stories and strategies on how they not only built a sports team but a brand. This creation of a brand helps develop and retain loyal fans. This helps unite mass amounts of people to support their teams from the actual arena or from home or from anywhere.  Specifically, in the NHL there are 30 teams with completely different logo and brand identities. This helps create unique experiences for their fans and help develop a loyal following. I think the marketing team's must work hard to keep their fans coming back to the hockey games and increase their attendance rates. The picture below helps summarize all 30 team's and there different logos.


            An important element that marketers must analyze when building these brands are a person's attitude. An attitude can be defined as "a lasting, general evaluation of people, objects, or issues" (Solomon, White, and Dahl, 2013). The sports team must create a positive attitude about their team, although sometimes an attitude is already predisposed. This can happen when an influential other already dislikes a team or there is a rivalry. For example, Toronto fans are extremely loyal to their team and when playing Ottawa, is it called the "Battle of Ontario". Ottawa and Toronto have had a long lasting rivalry and will continue to because of the their fans. Attitudes can be described using a model of "ABC". "A" represents affect which helps describe how a consumer feels about an object (Solomon, White, and Dahl, 2013). "B" represents behaviour which is a person's intention or actions regarding the object (Solomon, White, and Dahl, 2013). "C" represents cognition which are the beliefs about the object (Solomon, White, and Dahl, 2013). Marketer's must strategically use this model to help ticket sales as well as merchandise sales. This model can also help described the level (high or low) of involvement a consumer has towards an object (Solomon, White, and Dahl, 2013). Any sports team wants their fans to be high involved consumers. The higher the involvement level the more the fans will spend and the more loyal they will remain. Below is a picture which helps summary the ABC model.
               
Source: https://www.google.ca/search?q=abc+model&biw=1607&bih=732&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=nDyrVN-hKIX1yASNmICgAw&ved=

            Overall I believe sports and sporting events are a large potential for marketers to help build a brand. Each team uses marketing strategies to help develop their individual brand identity. I think it is important to understand the fan's attitude to help create a loyal fan base. And for the record, Go Sens Go:)

            What sports team to you support? Are a loyal fan whether they are winning or losing? Do you believe sports marketing is important?


References

Solomon, Michael, Katherine White, and Darren W. Dahl. 2013. Consumer Behaviour: Buying, Having, Being Sixth Edition. Canada : Pearson.

Who is your mascot?

          Yesterday I got to the point where I finally had to go grocery shopping. I am not a fan of it because of all the options and alternatives available now. As a kid the only good thing about grocery shopping was that mom let my brother and I pick our own cereals. Years later as I went down the cereal aisle, I had a very different perspective. As a marketing student I picked up on all the different cereal brands. Each brand name fill the aisle including Captain Crunch, Foot Loops, Lucky Charms, and more. Each brand name has been able to create a brand personality. Brand personality can be defined as "a set of traits people attribute to a product as if it were a person (Solomon, White and Dahl 2013). This helps consumer put a favourable face to the brand, increase brand loyalty and valuable recognition (Solomon, White and Dahl 2013). Why are people paying almost double for Foot Loops versus the no name brand? It is because of this develop brand personality and brand equity. Below are just a few examples of some brand personality that have been popular for years.
                                    

            I believe companies must be very strategic in choosing there brand personalities. It must correlate to their product offerings and incorporate a memorable impression. Research has shown that their are five main categories for brand personalities (Solomon, White and Dahl 2013). I think it is important for brands to understand where they want to position themselves in the market. For example, Duck Commander has been excellent in the ruggedness dimension and has successful integrated their product offering with packaging and adverting. It is a hunting company that provided a large portfolio of hunting accessories.


Source: http://business-fundas.com/2011/brand-personality-dimensions

            In addition to brand personality, something I find very creative is the use of animism in marketing. Some of the most successful brands have been able to use their marketing tactics to their advantage. For example, Ronald McDonald represents McDonald's and it recognizable around the world. I think having brand mascots help increase brand recognition and helps create a sense of brand loyalty. One of my favourite childhood brand mascots is Tony the Tiger who helps represent Frosted Flakes. I think it creates a more personal connection and helps increase the overall brand equity.

            What are the most memorable brand mascots to you? Do you think all companies should use animism?  Who is your favourite brand mascot?


References
Solomon, Michael, Katherine White, and Darren W. Dahl. 2013. Consumer Behaviour: Buying, Having, Being Sixth Edition. Canada : Pearson.


Kar, Arpan. 2006. Brand Personality Dimensions. June . Accessed October 2014. http://business-fundas.com/2011/brand-personality-dimensions/

What defines real beauty?

            There are hundreds, even thousands, of consumer products that aim to enhance or improve the women's body. I think that the standards set for women by television, magazines, and celebrities is unattainable and usually unrealistic. The majority of companies market their beauty products with models, while Dove is taking a new approach. Dove offers a diverse line of products for men and women. They have body washes, beauty bars, lotions, hair care, and facial care products. Dove is taking a new marketing approach and developed the Dove Real Beauty Campaign. The campaigns main objective is to widen to definition of beauty. To begin this campaign, Dove conducted an international beauty survey. Dove then chose to feature six "real women" of different sizes and ethnicities to laugh their campaign in print advertisements. The picture below compares the advertisements of Dove "Real Beauty Campaign" against Victoria Secret "Love my Body Campaign".
 

                            

                

            I think that this encourages young and older women
to love their body and love themselves the way they are. Dove plays up the concept of self-esteem and tries to improve individual self-esteem. This refers to the attitude someone has about themselves in a positive manner (Solomon, White and Dahl 2013). There are two aspects of one's self. The first is the ideal self of how someone wants to be and the second is the actual self which is a more realistic perception. In order to help reach this ideal self, women purchase Dove or similar products to enhance their beauty. The marketing campaign focuses on a women's body image. Body image can be described as an individual’s evaluation of themselves. Dove performed a national survey of 3,200 people in 10 countries. The results found that only 2% of women would call themselves beautiful (Dove Inc. 2012). This lead to the second level of the campaign of the Dove Real Beauty Sketches. The video below shows a subject describing themselves in a more negative light, while a second photo is described by a stranger in a more positive light. It is worth the 3 minutes and gets to the core of how people view themselves.

                                  

         Source:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpaOjMXyJGk

          Dove is trying to widen the definition of beauty by encouraging women to love themselves. Although I think it is refreshing to see this kind of campaign, Dove has also faced much controversy. Unilever is the parent company of Axe and Dove meaning that both brands are under the Unilever umbrella. Both marketing campaigns focused of different things. Axe is focused on attractive women to swoon over a man who wears their products. In many Axe commercials, attractive women are chasing handsome men after applying the products. Dove looks the other way and tries to empower women and help love themselves the way there are. These controversies have been published and Unilever responded with "Each brand talks to its consumers in a way that's relevant. The Dove campaign aims to give women more confidence, where that Axe campaign is a spoof, not to be taken seriously" (Keilla 2012). As a parent company, I think that Unilever might need to rethink their marketing strategies to reduce more potential backlash. From a different perspective, Unilever has over 400 brands in its portfolio so each brand is treated as a separate, distinct unit.

    
           

            What beauty products do you use? Do you think Dove and Axe can continue there separate marketing campaigns? Is Dove effectively changing the beauty and body image market?


References

Dove Inc. . 2012. Real Beauty Campaign . Accessed October 2014. http://www.dove.ca/en/default.aspx.

Keilla. 2012. Fashionably Informed: Hypocrisy in Beauty Marketing. August 1st . Accessed 2014. http://www.collegefashion.net/fashion-news/fashionably-informed-hypocrisy-in-beauty-marketing/.

Solomon, Michael, Katherine White, and Darren W. Dahl. 2013. Consumer Behaviour: Buying, Having, Being Sixth Edition. Canada : Pearson.

What motivates you?

            Motivation occurs when a consumer discovers a need and they must find a way to satisfy that specific need (Solomon, White and Dahl 2013). Consumers are driven to purchase products or service that will reduce or complete their need. I think motivation is key to many personal purchases and helps influence behaviour. It helps drive individual actions and it critical for marketers to understand the underlying causes of motivation. There are many different types of needs and one of the most influential approaches to motivation is Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (Solomon, White and Dahl 2013). The theory is developmental based meaning that an individual must achieve each level to move onto the next (Solomon, White and Dahl 2013). The first level is physiological needs (water, sleep, food) and the highest level is self-actualization (enriching experience, self-fulfillment) (Solomon, White, and Dahl 2013). This is important to marketers because it can help segment individuals and products based on their overall needs (McLeod 2007). Marketers must understand that consumers have different needs at different times in their life. Below is a diagram that summarizes Maslow's Hierarchy.
 
                        
            When researching motivation, there were many of theories and underlying conclusions derived of why consumers purchase the products and services that they do. In addition to this, I found motivational conflicts quiet interesting. Motivational conflicts can be placed into three different categories (Solomon, White, and Dahl 2013). Within the next paragraphs, I will explain all three conflicts using my own personal examples.
            The first conflict is the "approach-approach conflict". This happens when a consumer is faced with two alternatives that are very similar and both desirable (Solomon, White, and Dahl 2013). A personal example of this is when I must choose between Starbucks and Tim Horton's for my morning coffee. Both have advantages to purchasing their products and both have very good coffee. Because both are desirable options, the conflict is positive.

                              
             The next conflict is "approach-avoidance conflict". This happens when their is a positive purchase decision that is met by a negative consequence (Solomon, White, and Dahl 2013). An example of this is choosing to buy a DQ Blizzard when I know I really should not because of my diet. This conflict is very difficult for me and I constantly try and rationalize my decision. How can you resist these DQ Blizzards?

                   

            The last conflict is "avoidance-avoidance conflict". This happens when consumers a seeking a choice between two products that are undesirable (Solomon, White, and Dahl 2013). An example of this in my personal life would be saving money to purchase textbooks or to put towards tuition. Either way you are stuck paying for something that will take a huge chunk out of your savings. I think it is extremely important for marketers to understand the underlying factors of motivation and how it can influence consumer behaviour. Motivation can help segment the market based on needs or help develop products that help satisfy consumers needs.

            What was the last product you bought because you needed it? What motivates you to choose certain brands over others? Have you ever experienced a motivational conflict?


References

McLeod, Saul. 2007. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Accessed October 2014. http://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html.

Solomon, Michael, Katherine White, and Darren W. Dahl. 2013. Consumer Behaviour:
Buying, Having, Being Sixth Edition. Canada : Pearson.

What was the last impressionable advertisment you remember?

            What was the last advertisement you remember watching, hearing, or seeing? Consumers see hundreds of advertisements per day and are overwhelmed with product and company information. Advertisements and marketing efforts can be seen in everyone's daily life. For example, today I heard advertisements on the radio driving to school, print advertisements throughout campus, bus billboards driving home, commercials watching television, and even on my social media accounts. I believe that marketers must effectively reach their consumer base and provide advertisements that offer information about their product or services. In order to retain a consumer's attention, the advertisements must not only be informative but also entertaining and impressionable. What works best in catching your attention? Is it humor, or an emotional appeal or an educational advertisement that will make you stop and pay attention? For me, I find humour advertisements have the longest impression and stay in my memory the longest. Below is an advertisement that is able to provide branding information with a humours approach. 

                        

            A critical element of consumer behaviour is learning and memory (Solomon, White and Dahl 2013). Marketers must create and implement advertisements that help a consumer learn about their product, but also remember the brand. A main goal of marketers is to increase the consumers evoked set so the next time the consumer is shopping, they remember their product or service as an alternative (Solomon, White and Dahl 2013). A marketer's goal is to involve the consumer in the memory process. The memory process is made up of four steps including external inputs, encoding, storage and retrieval (Solomon, White and Dahl 2013). Marketers want to provide consumers with information, in the hopes that they will use the information in later dates when purchasing the product or service. Each step in critical in developing advertisements for consumers and must be analyzed thoroughly (Solomon, White and Dahl 2013). Below is the memory process as summarizes by Michael Solomon, Katherine White, and Darren W. Dahl in the Consumer Behaviour textbook.  


           

            In my personal opinion, some of the funniest and more impressionable advertisements come from the Super Bowl. Huge companies pay millions of dollar for a commercial slot that will be televised during the Super Bowl. Some companies take a humours approach while some try an emotional appeal. Although all the advertisements are very different, I believe they are have one common goal: to stand out and be memorable. They want to increase their brand awareness which will hopefully subsequently increase company sales. A personal favourite of mine is the Budweiser commercials. Since the 2014 Super Bowl, the commercial has been viewed on YouTube over 52 million times. I think it's incredible the reach advertisements can have in this age with the internet and social media sharing. Budweiser successfully created an commercial that was shared worldwide and remembered by consumers. It's worth the watch but you might need to grab a tissue!

        
                      Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQB7QRyF4p4



            What do you think of the Budweiser commercial? Do you think humour or emotional appeal have a more lasting affect? How can companies improve their consumers memory?


References

Solomon, Michael, Katherine White, and Darren W. Dahl. 2013. Consumer Behaviour: Buying, Having, Being Sixth Edition. Canada : Pearson.

 

Do you think a colour can define a brand?

            When it comes to jewelry, what does every (most) girls want? The answer is usually Tiffany & Co.. Whether it be Christmas, a birthday or an anniversary, no girl would say no to the "little blue box". The upscale jewelry company was founded in 1837 (Tiffany & Co. 2014). Tiffany & Co. has been designing bracelets, earrings, rings, and all types of jewelry for a over a hundred years. Tiffany & Co. believes in jewelry to help celebrate the worlds greatest love stories (Tiffany & Co. 2014).
            Tiffany & Co. has successfully positioned itself in a competitive, international market. The majority of their consumers would be able to recognize the baby blue box and acknowledge the branding completed by the company. The distinct shade of baby blue is recognized internationally by consumers and has been trademarked by the company (Solomon, White and Dahl 2013). This demonstrates the new era of sensory marketing in consumer products. In this consumer market, in order to compete companies must pay attention to how their products offer memorable experiences (Solomon, White and Dahl 2013). Some main sensory focuses are sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch. Tiffany and Co. excels at the sensory marketing of sight which includes their trademark colour. I find it amazing how something as simple as a colour can help define a brand and influence consumer purchase decision. Colours have the ability to influence emotions and some colours can even help stimulate arousals (Solomon, White and Dahl 2013). The video below demonstrates how Tiffany & Co. has utilized the perception of colour in their advertisements.   

              Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OGltxRxN04

 

            Marketers must be careful when selecting colours in their advertisements, packaging and branding because of their cultural meanings and symbolism (Ciotti, 2013). Colours play a large role in purchase decisions and the appropriate perception of the brand. Research conducted called the "Impact of Colour in Marketing", has discovered that up to 90% of product judgements are derived from colour (Ciotti, 2013). Colour is extremely important in creating brand identity and differentiating companies from their competitors (Ciotti, 2013). The figure below shows some of the most recognizable international brands based on their brand colours. I think it is truly remarkable how a simple colour can define a brand and help increase its overall brand awareness. 

                                    
Source: https://www.google.ca/search?q=colour+emotion&biw=1607&bih=732&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=Vx6rVLDqB9imyASrkoLYAw&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&dpr=0.85#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=Bc9xihQ5k2nyFM%253A%3BtA8dJlbA37MhWM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fthelogocompany.net%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2013%252F01%252FColor_Emotion_Guide22.png%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fthelogocompany.net%252Fblog%252Finfographics%252Fpsychology-color-logo-design%252F%3B1500%3B1314


            Chapter Two in the Consumer Behaviour textbook by Solomon, White and Dahl, is all about perception and how important it is to consider in the marketing mix. I think Tiffany & Co. has taken full advantage of the importance colour has and used it very effectively on an international level. The “Tiffany & Co. Blue” represents high-quality jewelry, elegant stores, romance, distinctive product positioning, and excellent customer service (Tiffany & Co. 2014). The distinctive shade of blue has been successfully integrated into marketing materials, advertisements and their high-quality packaging. I think that the packaging is represents sophistication, elegance and is something every girl wants to receive. 

         

             When you think about colour, what brands stick out to you? What colours do you think companies should avoid using? Do colours make a difference to you when faced with alternatives?  

 

References

Ciotti, Gregory. 2013. The Psychology of Color in Marketing and Branding. August 3rd. Accessed September 2014. http://www.helpscout.net/blog/psychology-of-color

Solomon, Michael, Katherine White, and Darren W. Dahl. 2013. Consumer Behaviour: Buying, Having, Being Sixth Edition. Canada : Pearson.

Tiffany & Co. 2014. Tiffany and Co. . Accessed September 2014. http://www.tiffany.ca/WorldOfTiffany/TiffanyStory/Default.aspx

What was your first car?

            Welcome readers! This is officially my first blog post, ever. My name is Emily Dowsett and I am a fourth year Commerce student with a concentration in Marketing and Management. In my free time I love to play soccer, to snowboard, am obsessed with my two golden retrievers and enjoy spending time with my friends. This blog is going to be centered around my own consumer behaviour as well as societies with a specific focus on common purchases. In addition, my own opinions and thoughts about my personal experiences will be provided to give more of an insight into my life. I think this blog gives me a great opportunity to reflect on marketing strategies and common purchase behaviour.
            My first post is called "Conflicting Car Choice" because I officially purchased my very first car. Consumer behaviour can be studied in terms of “when individuals or groups select, purchase, use, or dispose of products, services, ideas or experiences to satisfy needs and desires” (Solomon, White and Dahl 2013, 4). This was extremely relevant when I was deciding what kind of car to purchase. Due to a series of events, I had to research and purchase the car within a short time period of only two weeks. I had moved out to my dad's house in Carp and need a car to be able to drive to school each day. This was an on going, complex process due to the large purchase and multiple competing factors. I was only at the beginning of the process. The first stage is the pre-purchase issue which is when someone decides that they have a need for a specific product. The next stage is the purchase issue which is the actual purchasing of the product (aka my car). A consumer perspective on the ongoing process is much different when comparing it with the perspective of the marketer. A consumer is concerned with functionality, cost and convenience. A marketer will concentrate on the four marketing P's of price, promotion, product and place. For example, during the purchase stage, the marketer is more concerned with the situational environment and making the product as easily accessible to the consumer.

            As you may know, there are hundreds of questions concerning the purchase of a car. The top questions and/or requirements for me were the following: cost, new or used, gas efficiency, safety features (this was my dad's list topper), colour (more me), and length of the warranty.

                             

           



           

              There were so many options to consider and so many different types of cars. From the colour of the cars to the different companies to the costs. It was very overwhelming as a first time consumer with only having a very, very basic knowledge of cars. I began my search online and there was mass amounts of information for me to read through. There were so many advertisements between the different car dealerships which all including features, pictures, promotions, warranties, and much more. In addition to print and online advertisements, there were also multiple commercials that caught my attention when searching online. One of my top choices was the Mazda 3. Below is a recent commercial highlighting all of the product features and showcasing its technological advanced ability. I found it interesting how some car commercials differed in their focuses. Some car commercials focus on humor, others have an emotional appeal (family brands), or even focus on comparisons to other cars.   

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHLROr5awgU

            Academic sources confirm that a “consumers’ decision making is the integration process by which knowledge is combining to evaluate two or more alternative behavior and select one” (Yee, C.J. and N.C. San, 2011). This was extremely relevant during the first week of primary research. After the first week, my father and I had narrowed down the choices to a Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra, or the Mazda 3 as mentioned above. We then needed to make a decision between these three alternatives. In order to have a better feel for the product, we went on three test drives at three different dealerships. Every sales person was very informative and asked personal questions to get a better understanding of my personal needs and wants. As mentioned above, there are many stages in the consumer purchase decisions process. By the end of all three visits at the dealerships, I need to evaluate all of the alternatives and make a purchase decision. After experiencing the steps in consumer purchasing, I able to drive away in my brand new, harbour grey, 2014 Hyundai Elantra. I absolutely love my car and believe I made the best decision that suited me. Something I found interesting from a marketing perspective  was the amount of effort the sales representatives put on after sales service. I think because its such a purchase decision, the sales representatives want to limit cognitive dissonance. They make effort in making sure everything is okay with the car and provide all kinds of service check-up's. So far, after three weeks, I am very happy with my decision and gain a greater understanding of making a large consumer purchase.   

            What was the last big purchase you made? What criteria did you follow in making the purchase decision? Have you ever experienced cognitive dissonance after making a large purchase?  


References

Solomon, Michael, Katherine White, and Darren W. Dahl. 2013. Consumer Behaviour: Buying, Having, Being Sixth Edition. Canada : Pearson.

Yee, C.J. and N.C. San, 2011. Consumers' perceived quality, perceived value and perceived risk towards purchase decision on automobile. Am. J. Econ. Bus. Admin., 3: 47-57.