My Family...Your Family...They're Family.....

“If we believe our overall values drive our behaviour, then we should be concentrating on the important, underlying motives that drive consumers to make product or service choices rather than simply product attributes” (Ries & Trout 1982)

Families ad Family values play a massive role in the consumer markets, after all your family is a group as well, please refer to blog about groups,there are specified group name for families and they are as follows;

• Nuclear Family - father, mother & children who live together
  
• Extended Family - nuclear family plus other relatives such as grandparents, aunts etc.
  
• Family of Orientation - the family you are born into.
  
• Family of Procreation - the family founded through marriage.
  

I am willing to place a bet that in the majority of households up and down the country the wives/lady of the house is the one to control the purse strings when it comes to purchasing, as in the traditional family "the man earns it,the woman spends it" as i said this is probably what happens all the time and will never change,are women just satisfied by spending money that is not really theirs in the first place.........? Yes is the answer!!!

Family Values

Although now in the modern family it appears that there would more involvement from both parties when it comes to wanting a bread winner and a parent at he same time there are more and more women slowly entering the higher stature jobs and i say fair play to them for wanting to do it,and actually succeeding...but how would this effect the buying power in the household? would it create a better understanding? or would it create a rift seeing as the woman is also earning money and wants more of a say in matters? i can see both scenarios happening but more so the latter one as women are and i quote again Dr Malcolm from Jurassic Park "Women will Inherit the earth" just have a look at the chart below to see if you would agree with me..........also click the link below it to watch the video....

Family Roles

Children Rule The Roost

The family unit is not as it used to be with the traditional 2.4 children where they would sit around the table every night and to enjoy time with each other children now seem to be co-dependent on their families,slowly but surely there are more and more latch key kids,they are the children who get home cook their own food and watch the television til their parents turn up from work.

With all these different lifestyles now going on it has become difficult for marketers and advertisers to keep a brand or product with the family home. By this i mean that if the parents always bought the same make of car for example a Mercedes or the same brand of washing powder lets say Daz the children in that family group could easily be persuaded to purchase completely different products, especially if they are latch key kids,the influence of television is constantly around them they will learn to trust a brand just by watching it on the television,the more you see something the more you recognise it as being something you can trust,whether or not you are used to it or not i just believe that seeing something enough will eventually make you want it,i know as a latch key kid myself from experience that it works,i used to see adverts for Audi on the television all the time when i was done making my own tea after school,and eventually i bought one,even though both my parents drove BMW's when i actually bought my car i remembered the adverts and that hit the memory bank ( nostalgia ) remembering seeing the advert made me want one....

AUDI

In the current financial climate, many family's buying behaviour may have changed with the emphasis being on greater value for their money. This could see a greater purchase increase in supermarkets own branded products, for example, a low involvement product such as buying Heinz baked beans could easily substituted for an own brand alternative saving a few pennies per tin. The decision to do so may be affected by the role of the individual in the family and their decision making.

This leads me nicely to the children of the house...they "Run the Roost"......
"Many parents our unable to establish dominance in their household. They let their children do whatever they want and then are afraid to set down strong punishments and follow through with them,children are impressionable and easily influenced by their friends and advertising. They have materialistic wants and over dramatically complain when their parents don't get them the latest toys." (taken from an article on yahoo) It is so true that now the children have the say as to what is brought it has become a case of want,want,want. Children have learnt to manipulate and convince parents that's the decision they made on their own when really the children conned the parents into that belief Seany said " I often convince my dad into believing that he made the decision to buy me something" and that really shows that the children really are where the buck starts and stops.......

Watch these...........there is some foul language in some of them but if you listen to what is actually being said you will find it to be true.....

Katt Williams

Marriage

Big Kid

Two Jobs

Talking About Whose Generation......?

The Who sang the song My Generation, but what generation are we talking about? In this blog i am aim to show the variations in Generational Marketing.....

The method of marketing to a specific generation is affecting the way that we promote and sell products and services. We are all a product of our generation. (Ruthy 2009)

1.Millennial or Generation 2001ers, born after 1980

2.Baby Busters or Generation Xe rs born between 1965 and 1980

3.Baby Boomers born between 1946 and 1964

4.Mature Citizens born between 1909 and 1945

•A person’s age impacts on his or her identity and often on spending patterns
•Age cohorts are groups of people of similar age who share similar experiences
•Marketers tend to refer to “generations” as potential targets

As we are now a nation getting older the marketing sector has to yet again adapt to the changing market place and what people want.

Here are just a few examples of generations that would of been hit by marketing in a big way whether it is directional or un-directional marketing these generations would of seen the same product being advertised but in different mediums. Click the links below to view the videos

Generation Y

Silver Surfers

Baby Boomers

This really is where all the previous Blogs that have been done really tie into together from self-concept to nostalgia all the areas are covered by generational marketing....for example look at these posters advertising Coca Cola,notice the difference in styles and what they are trying to sell to the market at the time the first poster is from the 50's the second from the 70's and the third from the 90's.

We were put into groups to create a power point presentation but unfortunately our group presentation did not work,we decide to edge away slightly from the brief showing how marketing effects three different countries "silver surfer generation", we decided to find out about Abu Dhabi, Poland and the UK, interestingly with the U.A.E being a relatively new country,with all their grandeur and technological advances in buildings their level and perception to advertising mediums was very poor, where as in Poland being a European country i would of thought that there would of been a vast amount of advertising being noticed by the older generations but as Maria explained to the group "Poland has been put under a blanket and hidden away from the westernisation" with the wars that Poland have been involved with they have some what been put on high alert to any kind of media that could break traditional values.

But in the UK there is a substantial amount of advertising done aimed at the older generations, and it seems more and more so now that ever,The number is projected to increase to 5.5 million by 2016 and to 8.2 million by 2031, a rise of 76 per cent over twenty-five years. that is staggering.........everyone needs to start making babies NOW!!!!!!!!!!!

Kerry made a point in the lecture that her Grandad buys Old Spice the aftershave,because that what he knows and trusts which brings us nicely back to a previous blog yet again,if you trust a product and know what it does then why change it.......? For generations people have been trying to work out the formula to what each generation wants and i think i have the resolution to their problem........why not just employ some from each generation to tell them what they want,surely that will give advertisers and marketeers a better idea of what consumers want?

It would also appear that slowly but surely things make a come back....so i wonder what the next trend will be for people.........post a comment and let me know what you think will make a come back when we are silver surfers.... i have put up a video to show you things that were sold on when i was a youngster....the worst thing is some of were not even born when i saw these on the television............

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lB8g_RkuEY8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93HorvwRdXY

www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9RH3upe0gs

The last video at the bottom is the last century in 5 minutes............enjoy.........


1900 - 2009

Are We Who We Are Because We Want To Be........?

This week the topic was groups,and what an eye opener it really was, to realise that there is possibly so many people out there who want to appeal to their peers rather than being their own person, does peer pressure impact you? do you buy what people tell you to buy? do you feel a need to fit in? must you keep up with latest trends and fashions?


•A group is two or more individuals who

–share a set of norms.
–have role relationships.
–and experience interdependent behaviours.



Groups have been around for centuries for example the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat's, Mods and Rockers, ant through the 60's The Hippie's.


People are often often drawn to groups Solomon says "Groups do not push they pull,similar to the positive and negative of magnets" I believe this to be so true as for example when we all started this year at University people were not pushed into making friends with others it was by their general integument to want to know someone else (the pull towards a group or person) and it is like that with everything from where people go out,the restaurants people eat in,what people decide to wear in some places down to the drink you order at a bar.


Certain groups my even have aspirational qualities,not saying that every group has an Adolf Hitler but there will always be someone in every group that will set trends and critique their so called (followers) its a horrible thing to say but it is true....right...? As long as the trends of the future and present generations keep changing and evolving there will always be groups to follow trends.

After doing some research there have been studies carried out and there is a lot more behind the actions of a person and the specific groups he or she may fall into not only does it have to to with Group Decision but also the Development please click the link to read through the paper ( http://fds.oup.com/www.oup.co.uk/pdf/0-19-925691-8.pdf )

Dr Zimbardo States "Only by understanding peoples behaviour you can change their behaviour" does this mean that when people enter a group they are suddenly brain washed with new ideas and outlooks to create a better environment for themselves in a group? Does that little Hitler all of sudden have control? No is the answer people just want to be wanted by others.....(Click Me)

Talking about groups this was taken from the link above " They evolve historically, being formed sometimes for social reasons, sometimes to fight common causes, sometimes to produce (or consume) goods collectively " Etzioni and Lawrence (1991)

This takes me back to my point earlier of generational groups i have put a board together below for you to see the different groups over the decades......

Reference - looked to for reference; this is applicable to products.

Acquired - a group that you will have moved into or joined; behaviours are acquired, this group may be most influential whilst in education, a time where behaviour is easily influenced, especially by peers.

Peers - people of equal standing to yourself.

Aspirational - wanting to belong; this may be achieved through the possession of brands.

Disassociation - hating to belong; trying to do all that you can to stand out from the "norms".

Contrived - formed for a specific reason; classes and social groups etc.

Associative - realistically belonging.

Groups have a massive influence over purchasing,as certain brands carry stigma's, and this can be of putting to consumers of different groups from purchasing that brand. Burberry for example (my favourite label mmmmmmaaaaaahhhhhh) "thats my sarcastic noise" may carry the image of a "Chav", therefore deterring others from buying it, even if it is not bought of Bovingdon Market.

This is all because people do not want to have the slightest association with something negative, in this example their image. Although i will be honest i cant really see 45 + year old walking around high street Kensington in a Burberry Mac whilst on an ASBO.....maybe people just need to relax on their image conscious lives and do what they want to do...........?

Dr Zimbardo

Group Conformity

Can People Get It Right...?

Values -
"If we believe our values drive our behaviour, then we should be concentrating on the important, underlying motives that drive consumers to make product or service choices rather than simply product attributes." (Ries and Trout 1982)

Fulfillment - Meaning - Optimism - Truth Dedication - Responsibility - Will - Vision Humor - Knowledge - Wisdom - Education Strength - Courage - Creativity - Ingenuity Development - Progressivism - Integration Justice - Kindness - Magnanimity - Altruism Lightheartedness - Acceptance of the Absurd Passion - Willingness to Risk - Self-Awareness, these are just a few words that enter peoples value system, do we as consumers take into consideration any of these words when we make a purchase of a product or service?

Involvement-
Refers to how much time, thought, energy and other resources people devote to the purchase process.

As a member of Generation Y my values have changed over the years which probably helps me to make a decision when it comes to the purchasing process,over time ideas and values are bound to of changed in every person,certain things may change peoples out look to purchases such as their money situation and family circumstances.






"Innovator/Experiencer Your primary VALS type is Innovator, and your secondary type is Experiencer."

The comment above is my result from taking the VALS test (Values, Attitudes, Lifestyle test) the results i believe were honest to my character take the test yourself you may be pleasantly surprised or may be horrified.






Another motivation involved in the purchasing decision is that consumers have certain terminal values (such as self-fulfillment) which are achieved through a series of decisions made from weighing up the alternatives. Laddering techniques means that there can be a link found between product functionality and desired end states (often a value).

Yet again this leads us back to the "Consumer Decision Process" and ponders the question do we make the purchase for ourselves in the end or do we actually do it for the receiver.......?

Which ties in nicely to another of my previous blogs,(what a coincidence).But do people regret purchases that they have made? and do they want to openly admit they have made a bad decision to their peers....? lets see what John Cleese and President Obama have to say on these matters one is on values and the other is on decision...also i have put a video in there for a bit of fun....


Compaq


The Future


Decision

Will Christmas,Birthdays and Valentines Day ever be Abolished.....?

The amount of effort and thought that has to be put into the process of gifts and presents is quite possibly the most painful thing i can think of doing after gauging out my eyes with a toothpick.....a slight exaggeration i hear you say but it really is not.

The consideration process is immense its like sitting my year 9 s.a.t's test, i suppose the the purchase of a present is highly dependent on who i am purchasing for,after i have written this blog i am sure that i will be buying for people in the near future is socks....

The purchasing of gifts of any sort has a a level of involvement whether it be high or low there will always be a thought a process behind each process, for example you know to get your aunt a tin of shortbread as all your going to get is a horrible jumper that the moths love and that you get your other aunt a bottle of smelly stuff as you know what ever present she produces will be cracking!!



Obviously the higher the cost the higher the consumer involvement,as there is a higher risk when making a purchase of high value,things like this would be a car,holiday or house.

This can be described by Laurent and Kapferer (1985) who argue there are 4 components that affect a consumers purchasing decision.



1. Importance and Risk. FTPEPS - Finance, Time, Performance, Ego, Physical and Social.



2. The probability of making a bad purchase (the product may not work, or there may be a problem).



3. Pleasure value of product category ( enjoyment in purchase transaction).



4. Sign value of product category (What will others think of the product; will they make an assumption about you based on the product?)



but with this i ask the question,are you being judged on the gifts you are giving to people? i say with this economic climate people should be happy with what they are given!?!



Consumer Involvement By Pirjo Laaksonen says that "Confusion arises between product importance and involvement"

Taken from the same online text Mital 1989 argues that it is the importance facet that is the proper representative of involvement itself.

I believe both of these statements to be true because if the product has a functionality then the idea behind purchasing it is high and if it will be an everyday object like socks then although it is important the functionality and involvement behind the purchase is low compared to the amount of use a computer could possibly be.
One of the main factors affecting purchasing decisions currently, whether it be for a gift or for a regular purchase, is value. People are wanting to spend less but obtain the same results for their money.
Do emotions really effect the purchasing process.......? what i have found is that when i am buying a gift for a friend which is rare i tend to buy an item that will create a nostalgic feeling for him or her, i feel that buying a gift should make the recipient feel good and actually remind them of a time or a person ((PREFERABLY ME))
emotions affecting purchases supports the fact that gift selection is right brain dominated, the emotional side of the brain, the process begins by the selection of the store to get the gift from however,this is decided by the rational thinking side,the left side of the brain, This has a big impact on marketing as it is is the experience of the shopping experience in the particular shop that will affect whether the customer will return or not.

Danzinger (2004) takes a different approach to gift- giving and suggests that gift-giving emotionally connects the giver and the receiver, therefore creating emotional shopping where the goal is to achieve a special feeling by giving a gift that communicates a message.

Shops and stores a always trying to create a more enjoyable shopping experience by offering extras, extras such as wrapping the product and placing it in elegant looking bags; making the purchase feel special, creating an emotional connection with the purchaser before the gift has even been given to the receiver.

A post from myself just would not be the same without a video so here is one for you to enjoy....

Practical

Giving

Emotional

I stick to my earlier point that from now on all i will ever be buying for anyone is a sock...not a pair just a sock,there for they can look forward to me giving them the other sock for their birthday,Christmas or Easter if i am feeling generous....

Whats In You're Memory Bank.....?

Advertisers have never had it so hard,with regards to new ideas and innovations in product advertising,they have to keep on out-doing themselves time and time again, the creation of adverts for a product are to install a small piece of information into the consumer mind,whether its through a piece of well known music or a super famous person like Kerry Katona.... Adverts have also now become educational to a point, take a look at these adverts and see the difference in details;

Old School

New School

Can you see that one will sell you a box on four wheels and the other is trying to sell you the lifestyle and elegance?


Adverts like the first one will bring back memories for some people as will the advert from 2008 for my generation but the thing is what is it that we really remember? There is a link below to a video that brought back so many memories when i watched it....



Music from the 90's


Kotler's Buyer Decision Process assumes optimisation rather than satisfaction, but in terms of purchasing a product heuristically (buying quickly with not much thought), it is not optimisation that is focused on, but satisfaction of the purchase. For myself a good example would be the fact i buy Cheerios for my cereal because i am satisfied with the product and it means i will keep buying and stick with the product (also because it has the green band it means it has 100% wholegrain) WOW!!! Have i just proved that,that piece of advertising works?


"Learning is the acquisition of knowledge. Memory is the storage of internal representation of that knowledge." Blakemore 1988.


This entire concept relates back to researching into finding out what the target audiences are most likely to take interest in (e.g. humour and simplicity for males and details for women), please read through my other blog "can you really remember what you saw on television or a magazine?" to find a better understanding of this concept.

What can you remember from a smell or a taste....? do certain things mean different things? does the taste of a Chicken and Mushroom Pukka Pie remind you of the last game at the old Wembely Stadium Between England and Germany and Germany won, One to Zip!! If the answer is No then you missed a rubbish game but if the answer is Yes then you enjoyed that atmosphere as much as i did........?!?!?!?!?

Solomon states "Nostalgia has been described as a bitter sweet emotion, where the past is both viewed with sadness and longing."

"When a stimulus is capable of recreating a personal event, even after many years, there often follows a bitter sweet feeling of nostalgia." Du Bois 2000 (research)




The idea of an item bringing back memories either of good time or bad times is just normality i have found a site that allows you to look back at what you may or may not remember... (NOSTALGIA)


By using certain music, a feeling of happiness can be achieved through triggering memories from the particular era. This ultimately creates a link between the nostalgic memories and the product being advertised. Can someone please tell me what happened to the guy that delivered Milk Tray? I have uploaded a collage to show just a few things that role back the years for me.......

Please wacth all these links about memory they will really help you to understand what is going on........

Memory 1

Memory 2

Flash Bulb Memory

What's that film called....? What Women Want.....?

This week i have come to conclusion that the women in this group completely believe us males to be from the neolithic times and slightly falling towards the neanderthal end of the progression chart of the development of "MAN" after all was it not once said "one small step for MAN, one giant leap for MANKIND" notice how there was no mention of women in that statement, i know there are those of you who will be all pedantic about it and will want to tell me there is the word (man) in (woman) but frankly i believe you are just grabbing at straws!

Here is a list of things that are supposedly able to impress a woman:


•Compliment her
•respect her
•honour her
•cuddle her
•kiss her
•caress her
•love her
•stroke her
•tease her
•comfort her
•protect her
•spend money on her
•wine and dine her
•buy things for her
•listen to her
•care for her
•stand by her
•support her
•hold her
•go to the ends of the Earth for her.


This was the list to impress a man:

•Show up naked
•Bring food

There area few things i would like to add to the male list and they are as follows:

• Watch Match Of The Day on Saturday and Sunday Nights
• Laugh if he says something even she does not think its funny
• Also don't talk to him because silence is Golden
• Compliment him,he has feelings too!

Advertising to the different sexes has become a multi billion pound fragment of getting the product to the specific genders, with adverts of epic proportions such as the new channel advert with Nicole Kidman in just hit the emotions of the females, the advert seems to touch on all emotions from lucky breaks for the guy and heart breaks for the pair of them i have added the full video for you to have a look at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfoMbir_Qd4

It is now pivotal that advertisers and marketers take into consideration the most effective ways to reach their target audience whether they are male or female.
Do males care about the heart string emotional adverts? Do they put there hands in their pockets and donate Cash? Do they even pay attention to them? the answer from me personally is NO!!

Females tend to have an easier barrier to break down when it comes to empathy what ever that is........? Females have been found to donate more money to charities than the males as it would seem the charitable organisations have found what they can use to attract the loose change in the bottom of women's bags there is research that actually proves this with thanks to Natasha for the link....
It was also found that women prefer strong colours and evocative images, whereas images were unimportant to males and the use of colours did not generate much interest...
It was also found that women prefer strong colours and evocative images, whereas images were unimportant to males and the use of colours did not generate much interest, this refers to one of my earlier posts which is entitled "can you really remember...what you saw on tele or in a magazine?" have a look if you have not already. Some adverts have become slightly aspirational

I have added some links to show just what i mean, but before you disappear into that sworded world of You Tube let me just say that there are some men out there who are willing to do their bit........in bed that is..........enjoy the videos.
(some of the adverts shown may not be suitable for children under the age of 21)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b1Y1CrNWgU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dElUq3xoikQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG96exYFj7w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtLp4dzC5wQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4L3bm6m3KQ

An Eye Opener.......

Yet again unfortunately i was not able to attend this almight eye opening event,although from what others have said and what they have witten in their blogs i feel as if i was actually there.....
In this post i will be using information from other postings about enterprsie week.

Alan Rich believes that "a well run business will always come through a recession" the business will survive because the employees will really know and understand their business. He explained that at times like this businesses should focus on brands that willbe most likely to survive and concentrate the budget on these brands, to be sure of success. He thinks all you need is enthusiasm and not just for the job but for each other.Ivor Peters explained "there is no solution because there is no problem". He went on to say that clients will always be lookking for 3 key things:

Measurement-(very important in current climate)
Accountability-(transparent with brands/clients)
Innovation- (the stand out factor)

He believes there is a huge opportunity with recession.
This infomation was retrieved from Lois Simpsons blog
" http://parttimemrs.blogspot.com/ "

Below is a link to a Richard Branson interview explaining what he believes can be done during the current financial climate to create awareness of a company.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk2AO67dn3w

Tom Vick from worldwide advertising agency JWT hosted a session where the message that came across was that currently online and digital marketing are killing TV advertising, however, this will gradually change.
Another piece of advice given was that "word of mouth is the new marketing sensation".

• There will be a return to the full service agency. This will save on outsourcing and expenditure as every process to do with a campagin would be able to be completed by the one company.
  
• The disciplines of account and channel planning will merge.
  
• There will be an increase in global outsourcing and the "always on" agency. The idea of this is to pass work over to different time zones so that it is continually worked on 24 hours a day.
  
• There will no longer be a purely digital agency or advertising agency.
  
• There will be an emergence of mobile becoing a significant marketing channel. This can already be seen as mobile phones are adapting and are equippped with numerous applications, the Apple iPhone and the Blackberry can be examples of this.
  
• Finally, there will be a greater focus on cost efficiency.

Whilst reading through some of the postings on enterprise week i was astonished at this piece of information which i found reading through Natasha Stokes' blog http://natteringnatasha.blogspot.com/

"In terms of advertising, it is still very much alive and the typical 30 second advert is still very successful; but it is all about whether it is actually being seen. In the 1970's, only 3 adverts were needed to be broadcasted to get the message out. Today however, 117 adverts are needed to have the same impact. Advertising therefore is starting to get very costly as with more and more people swapping to digital television (87% of people with TVs now have digital), it is easy to simply cut out the ads. This issue is backed up by the fact that recently it was announced that Google is bigger than ITV in advertising revenues."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKGGjpbYTb8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uhdUV_GQ0s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doZH8_ueR3I