Falling Down - I want breakfast: Marketing Lessons

Plot of the video:

At a fast food restaurant, William Foster (Michael Douglas) becomes angry when they refuse to serve him from the breakfast menu (and offers lunch menu), pulls a gun, and accidentally fires into the ceiling. He becomes further annoyed when the burger does not resemble its picture on the menu. 

Marketing Insight / Challenge for Marketers:

Insight-1

Instead of talking right on the face of customer (Foster), the restaurant manager could have been a bit more polite and should have used some intelligence and commonsense in convincing Mr.Foster by saying that they have some really good items to be served for lunch which will eventually satisfy Foster's hunger. The smartness of marketing/sales manager comes when he makes customer say yes to the product at hand (lunch, in this case)

Insight-2

Many a times marketers project things more than what it really is!! For example the kind of beauty that the Female model get after using the face cream, the  beautifully crafted look of Noodles that is both delicious & mouth watering, the larger-than-life excitement & thrill that the celebrity gets after drinking that cool drink etc. But this feat some times back fires, just as shown in this video - the pathetically thin burger in reality and surprisingly thick & Juicy burger in the poster on the wall. So marketers probably has to strike the balance while projecting the inflated imagery. Gimmicks may work in bringing the customer for the first time but it is not sustainable strategy as the customer will refuse to buy our product as soon as he/she perceives the value of our product to be lower than what he/she expected or being promised. So the lesson for marketers is "avoid dubious promises but stress on the existing product's benefits in a more innovative manner"

Lubrizol Positioning & Value

About the Company:

The Lubrizol Corporation is a provider of specialty chemicals for the transportation, industrial, and consumer markets. These products include additives for engine oils and other transportation-related fluids, additives for industrial lubricants, and additives for gasoline and diesel fuel. 

Sales Pitch / Value Communication:

Instead of directly talking about its product and its benefits, the company hit the right cord by first acknowledging the need of diesel engines for day-to-day work and world trade (Logistics). Then it talked about the internal fragility of today's complex engines and the need for better quality fuels especially with additives.It also explained how additives are the key to deliver superior diesel performance & Protection, that operators need most. It said additives are as important as mechanic in keeping today's powerful diesel engines running as they should.

Product Positioning:

Lubrizol through this video tried to position its product as "High Quality, Differentiated Diesel Fuel enabler". It says today's more sophisticated engines require more sophisticated Fuel and it's Performance-Fuel-Additives will convert the ordinary diesel into Suprior differentiated Fuel, with the benefits like 'Deposit Control', 'improved lubricity', 'Higher Ceatane', 'Cold Flow', 'Corrosion Protection'

Introduction to Marketing

Video 1

This video compares the brands and their advertisements/promotions in past and present situation.

In olden days there used to be few brands and clear unique selling propositions, the customers could easily select the brands they wanted due to fewer brands in the market.
The promotions of the brands in the past are based on one to one recommendation, covering all the houses and explaining them about their products and through mass media communications by using newspapers and television (prime time news).

About 60% of coverage is done through TV-spots, so TV became the first choice for advertising their brands since it is the easy way to reach more people. The advertisements made an impact on the minds of the people, whenever they want to buy any product they could recollect the advertisings on TV by this way it has become 100% successful. The result of this is few customer became loyal to a particular brand.

In modern world life isn’t so easy, because now the times have changed due to globalization, internet penetration and media explosion. Due to too many brands emerging about 65% of people feel they are continuously bombarded with ads. If a customer visits a super market he/she will come across lot of brands/products and sometimes it makes their choice difficult. In current situation customers are dependent on social media reviews, personal opinions from their colleagues, friends and family members for particular brands before buying them. Slowly the concept of one to one marketing is changed to many to many. With many brands in the market there is a chance that customers may not give importance to the advertisements of all the brands hence the customer feels it like spam and finally becomes skeptical about the particular brand.

What is Branding?

Video 3

WHAT IS BRAND

Brands are everywhere. Brands is not a logo, corporate entity, Advertising or marketing. Brand means setting up of confidence, Passion, Belonging, Action, Security and set of unique values in the mind of customer about product or services

HISTORY OF BRANDING

History of branding dates back to 1650, to denote ownership of property, at first cattle were branded with paint or pine tar; later, unfortunately, cattle and sheep were branded with hot irons. Humans were also branded for various reasons. Slaves were branded to mark ownership; criminals were branded with disgrace. During World War II, victims of Nazi persecution who were interned in concentration camps were branded with numbers. Then brands are used for Red Wine to guarantee source and quality of it.

BRANDS AS BIG BUSINESS

Brands are always big business. In 2010, Coca Cola was valued at 7045 crore dollars which is more than the total GDP of Bolivia, Kenya and Bahrain. In 1886 only 9 bottles of Coke were sold, but in 2010 more than 160 crore bottles of Coke were sold that is enough for every person of London to drink 206 bottles each day.

WHAT CAN BE BRANDED?
 Products: Ford and Apple are major examples
 Services: American Express, Manchester United etc.
People: Lady Gaga, Messy etc.
Places: Underground, I love NY etc.
 Religions: Buddhism (laughing Buddha), Christianity (Cross) etc.

WHAT CAN BRANDS DO?

Brands can take your company and Products to different places

Example: Virgin as a brand in different parts of world.

Virgin Australia, Virgin America, Virgin Drinks, Air Nigeria, Air Asia, Virgin Megastore, Virgin Banks, Virgin Active, Virgin Trains, Virgin Records, Virgin Radio, Virgin mobile, Virgin Blue holdings Ltd, Virgin Media, Virgin V Festival, Virgin Charter Mobile, Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Galactic

BRANDS AND THEIR INFLUENCE

Brands influence customers in large extent that they use them as verb. Example: Google it, Skype your family, Photoshop the picture, Hoover the Carpet etc.

Brands guarantee quality, evoke the desire and help customers to make them feel belong to them.

BRANDS IN PRESENT SCENARIO

Brands work in different way in a ways that never could be used before. These brands say use me to customer for their needs. Examples: Finding info – Google info, Sharing film – YouTube film, Selling stuff – EBay stuff, Making friends – Facebook friends, Adding to Knowledge – Adding to Wikipedia etc.

BRANDS: TO WHOOM THEY BELONG?

Brands from past belong to farmers, manufacturers, advertisers, organisations etc. Presently Brands belong to everyone, Brands can be made and unmade by everyone. They mean what an individual want to say. Now Brands are everyone’s property and creation and destruction is in hands of everyone.

MACRO PERSPECTIVE OF MARKET: BRANDING

The evolution of product from simple extraction to higher level can be seen in the following table. The definitions of commodities, Goods and Brands are explained.

Time period	Definition of product	Remark
Starting Days	Extractions
Olden Days	Extractions+Value	Commodities (Improved Extractions)
Later  Days	Extractions+Value+Refinement	Goods(Improved Commodities)
Modern Days	Extractions+Value+Refinement+Subjective Benefits	Brands
Present Days	Extractions+Value+Refinement+Subjective+Benefits Buying Experience	Environment
Future Days	Extractions+Value+Refinement+Subjective+Benefits Buying Experience+ Higher Level needs	Higher level

BRANDS ASSOCIATION and VALUE:

Blindfold test is conducted to find the association of brands with customers. A blindfold test of cool drinks showed that when customers are blindfolded they preferred local cool drinks but, when customers are allowed to see the product then they preferred the major brands.  This shows the extent of associations brands produce on people by their perception .

Brand value is the price which customer wants to pay more for the product compared to other similar products available in market.

VALS Framework

US Framework and VALS™ Types

VALS  is a proprietary research methodology used for psychographic market segmentation. Market segmentation is designed to guide companies in tailoring their products and services in order to appeal to the people most likely to purchase them.

VALS segments US adults into eight distinct types—or mindsets—using a specific set of psychological traits and key demographics that drive consumer behavior. The US Framework, a graphic representation of VALS ("Values, Attitudes And Lifestyles"), illustrates the eight types and two critical concepts for understanding consumers: primary motivation and resources. The combination of motivations and resources determines how a person will express himself or herself in the marketplace as a consumer.

VALS assigns individuals a VALS type on the basis of their responses to questions in the VALS Survey. VALS-typing populations of interest, such as customers or constituents, is the first step in a VALS approach to achieving strategic marketing and communication goals.

Using VALS provides clients with:

• A fresh perspective by effectively "putting them inside the head" of their customers
• Rich, customized, consumer profiles or personas
• Distinctive communication styles of their best targets.

The main dimensions of the VALS framework are primary motivation (the horizontal dimension) and resources (the vertical dimension). The vertical dimension segments people based on the degree to which they are innovative and have resources such as income, education, self-confidence, intelligence, leadership skills, and energy. The horizontal dimension represents primary motivations and includes three distinct types:

Consumers driven by knowledge and principles are motivated primarily by ideals. These consumers include groups called Thinkers and Believers.

Consumers driven by demonstrating success to their peers are motivated primarily by achievement. These consumers include groups referred to as Achievers and Strivers.

Consumers driven by a desire for social or physical activity, variety, and risk taking are motivated primarily by self-expression. These consumers include the groups known as Experiencers and Makers

Primary Motivation: Ideals, Achievement, and Self-Expression

The concept of primary motivation explains consumer attitudes and anticipates behavior. VALS includes three primary motivations that matter for understanding consumer behavior: ideals, achievement, and self-expression. Consumers who are primarily motivated by ideals are guided by knowledge and principles. Consumers who are primarily motivated by achievement look for products and services that demonstrate success to their peers. Consumers who are primarily motivated by self-expression desire social or physical activity, variety, and risk. These motivations provide the necessary basis for communication with the VALS types and for a variety of strategic applications.

Resources

A person's tendency to consume goods and services extends beyond age, income, and education. Energy, self-confidence, intellectualism, novelty seeking, innovativeness, impulsiveness, leadership, and vanity play a critical role. These psychological traits in conjunction with key demographics determine an individual's resources. Various levels of resources enhance or constrain a person's expression of his or her primary motivation

VALS type of individual:

Primary Type- Striver, Secondary Type – Experiencer

As is clear from the framework, a striver is one who stresses on Achievement but lacks resources compared to an Achiever. The resources in this case are not necessarily financial and could also mean the efforts put in or the energy levels of the individual. In addition being someone who places a great emphasis on Achievement, it is imperative for a Striver that his achievements are valued by others and hence he seeks the approval of those around him and emulates the behavior of those that he perceives to be affluent and successful.

A case in point could be a Tata Nano. Indeed for someone switching from a 2-wheeler to a 4-wheeler, buying such a product is an achievement, a way of showing others that he too can buy what those around him are buying.

Another example could be light-weight jewellery, or American diamonds, which look just like their more expensive counterparts but are definitely more affordable and define success for the striver.

Tanishq Commercial

So what kind of market strategy would work for a Striver?

Take a look at the following ad:

Medium : TVCs work best to showcase emotions and have a wide reach. This ad by Tanishq for affordable diamond jewellery targets a striver who wishes to own exquisite diamond jewellery and flaunt it.

Message: The TVC essentially says “Now you can show off your very own diamond set, that looks as good if not better than your rich neighbors and guess what? It is within your budget”. So we see that, the strategy to market a product to a striver, is to emphasize on the point “because you are worth in” , not in a way that a premium brand like L’oreal does rather in a way that says “ you deserve it, you can afford it, so why not go for it!?”

VALS Type- Thinker

Now a thinker is someone who is motivated by ideals, and has a well- defined thought process. She takes informed decisions after a thorough research on the product, its features and functionality. She is conservative, practical and knowledgeable and has a high regard for institutions and authorities.

Marketing and selling a product to a Thinker would involve taking her through the buying process by assisting her at each stage of information search and evaluation of choices, in such a manner that information is readily available at every stage. The product could be anything from a can of juice to a television set or a car, but the strategy is the same. Provide all the information about the features, attributes and benefits and educate her on the benefits of the features rather than the feature itself.

The thinker looks for comfort, durability and value in the products she purchases, so services and warranties are crucial. Also since they are governed by ideals a high emphasis is placed on quality, and compliance to standards and rules. In essence they are rationalists and not driven by emotions

The best example in this regard could be for a savings scheme or a product that ensures health for the family. The ads below illustrates this :

AIG Aqua Guard

Why the ad works?

Message: A thinker is motivated by ideals. The message of the ad resonates with this ideology of the thinker, as it talks about the importance of saving, regardless of the amount. The option of saving is conservative and practical and talks of value, just like the thinker desires.

Relationships: The father-son scene towards the end of the ad, is indicative of the concerns that a parent has for his child and how inculcating a savings mentality can go a long way in ensuring a secure future for the child. It makes every parent and individual give a serious thought to the management of their wealth.

Value: The value is high in terms of durability, practicality and consistency. This value proposition is conveyed effectively through the ad.

Customer Perceived Value

Definition: Customer Perceived Value

It is the value that a customer perceives to obtain by buying a product. It is the difference between the total obtained benefits according to the customer perception and the cost that he had to pay for that. The customer will buy the same product again only if he perceives to be getting some value out of the product. Hence delivering this value becomes the motto of marketers.

Perceived Value = Total Perceived Benefits – Total Perceived Costs

The benefits and costs also include the emotional benefits and costs.

Global Smartphone shipments share in the first quarter of 2015

Samsung contributes near to 25% of the world market ,apple with 18% and follow on.

Why people are buying more Samsung Smartphones than Apple?

Price???

iPhone 6, at $599 for 16GB and $699 for 64GB

Galaxy S the Samsung Vibrant for $199

Samsung's rise has been driven by:

a blend of elegant hardware designs (Functional Value)

popular Android services, (Social Value)

memorable sub-brands and (Emotional Value)

extensive global distribution (Functional Value)

Source: BBC(October 28, 2011)

Identifying Customer Perceived Value of Apple Smartphone (iPhone)

Customer perceived value=Benefits/costs

Even though Apple’s Smartphone market share felt, many sources revealed that it is due to the delaying  in launching iPhone 5 (BBC, October 28, 2011).

Customer Perceived value of iPhone can be analyzed using Seth, Newman and Gross’s consumption value model

Model of Consumption Values

Functional  Value

The perceived utility acquired from an alternative’s capacity for functional, utilitarian, physical performance. An alternative acquires functional value through the possession of salient functional, utilitarian, or physical attributes (reliability, durability, and price). Functional value is measured on a profile of choice attributes.

 Social Value

 The perceived utility acquired from an alternative’s association with one or more specific social groups. An alternative acquires social value through association with positively or negatively stereotyped demographic, socioeconomic, and cultural-ethnic groups.  Social value is measured on a profile of choice imagery.

 Emotional Value

The perceived utility acquired from an alternative’s capacity to arouse feelings or effective states.An alternative acquires emotional value when associated with specific feelings or when precipitating or perpetuating those feelings.Emotional value is measured on a profile of feelings associated with the alternative. The perceived utility acquired from an alternative’s capacity to arouse curiosity, pro-vide novelty, and/or satisfy a desire for knowledge.An alternative acquires epistemic value by questionnaire items referring to curiosity, novelty, and knowledge.

Conditional Value

The perceived utility acquired by an alternative as the result of the specific situation or set of circumstances facing the choice maker. An alternative acquires conditional value in the presence of antecedent physical or social contingencies that enhance its functional or social value. Conditional value is measured on a profile of choice contingencies.

Customer Perceived Value: Smartphone (iPhone)

Functional Value

A defining functional value of the smart phone offering is born from the integration of many utilitarian attributes into a single, mobile, always-available device. constant access to the internet, search, and email; coupled with telephony and text messaging satisfy many modern ICT needs. The ability to navigate unfamiliar areas with GPS adds value

The MP3 player, games, and other entertainment features plus productivity tools like the calendar and address books, add additional functional value to the device

The ability to download additional games and productivity tools from a big software library further enhances the user experience

Customer Perceived Value: Smartphone (iPhone)

Social Value

Significant social value is embedded and conveyed through the iPhone itself. It can generate conversations as people ask questions and strike up conversations.  It serves as an icebreaker for users to begin talking to other users, thereby facilitating social interaction and forming new relationships

The iPhone provides social value by helping the owner convey an image to others in a way similar to many fashion items.

 It is a type of personal branding that sends a message to affect friendships and relationships.

Customer Perceived Value: Smartphone (iPhone)

Emotional Value

 Emotional need to be connected to others, similar to Maslow’s (Maslow, 1946) need of belonging

Constant connectivity helps fulfill this emotional need.

For example, access to social networks and Twitter enables people to maintain their social relationships in different ways than other types of communication.

Communication features such as telephone and SMS provide a connection to family and friends. Having multiple, different communication media make it easy to maintain relationships with people with whom he might otherwise lose contact Aside from facilitating a sense of belonging, a smart phone’s integrated technologies provide tools for altering one’s emotional state. Many participants use the music player because music can change their mood. Others use specific add-on applications.

In addition to the emotion-enabling features, the device itself can trigger emotions through iPhone design (beautiful and esthetic feelings) Stores photo albums on the phone, describes the familiar feeling enabled by iPhone making customer feel secure.

Customer Perceived Value: Smartphone (iPhone)

Epistemetic Value

The iPhone satisfied epistemic value in multiple ways

First, the artifact itself inspires curiosity. People like exploring new technology, learning how to use a new device, and experiencing a GUI. As such, the device itself provides novelty value (“cool factor”) and appeals to those seeking to satisfy their curiosity iPhone derives epistemic value is through the availability of downloadable applications and various media. Thousands of programs are available for download, many of which are free. Access to websites like YouTube also provide a constant stream of novelty.

Finally, the integration of a standard web browser enables users to find whatever information they seek. This helps satisfy curiosity and cure confusion.

Customer Perceived Value: Smartphone (iPhone)

 The conditional preference for the iPhone was based on convenience-related measures.

 Much of the iPhone’s value was conditional depending upon the availability of a laptop computer with an internet connection. When time was limited, a computer’s long boot up time added conditional value to the iPhone, which was ready for use.

When a Wi-Fi or landline internet connection was unavailable, the conditional value of the smart phone rose dramatically because it was the only alternative. None saw much value in typing email on the iPhone unless a computer was unavailable, the message could be conveyed in a few words, and it must be sent immediatel

First Post

Hoping to share Some tidbits on Consumer Behavior through this blog