It’s January, the month of ‘New Me’s’, ‘New Resolutions’ and ‘New Beginnings’ which all encompass the big theme of ‘change’. But rather than thinking about personal change, we should start thinking about global change, and yes I hear the eye roles, but I feel we can take some of our newly developed behaviours from last year into this year. 

Now you might be thinking, umm what? Why would we want to continue on with how things worked last year? But one thing that has become clear thanks to the coronavirus Pandemic starting last year and continuing this year for many countries, was that in order to survive, we need to be adaptable.

March in 2020 looked at lot different than many of us expected. Some of the most noticeable changes came from supermarkets. Firstly, people stockpiled everything, which then lead us to the inevitable second observation: items quickly became unavailable and out of stock. 

Let’s first explain point 1: The Psychology behind Consumer Stockpiling! 

How did we end up in a situation where toilet roll became the new currency. It didn’t take very long before it felt like you’d have to go on the black market to get a couple of rolls. Even my mum rang me at the beginning of March to warn me to get some toilet roll:

Me: “I’m fine I still have a packet, I don’t need to go out to get any”

Mum: “Yes but your father went to the shops the other day and things are getting low in stock”

Me: “Mum I’m fine don’t worry I won’t be out of any loo rolls”

Mum: “Well we have some I can send it up in the post”

Me: “aha don’t be silly I think I’ll be fine”

….  a few weeks and a trip to the supermarket later, I sadly admitted that my mum was right and there I stood looking at the empty shelves where loo roll once stood. But as most students know, we are always adaptable and after some brief negotiations with my roommate, a tub of hummus was exchanged for one loo roll and all was good. 

So what happened? Why was there this sudden appearance of empty shelves and lack of common goods. Consumers stockpiling can be explained through the ‘Commodity Theory’. This theory proposes that the value of a product is positively related to its scarcity, thus the idea that when you can’t get an item ‘you want it more’, stimulating stockpiling behaviour.

Consumer stockpiling can also be explained using ‘Prospect Theory’, this is a theory of decision making which attempts to explain how peoples decisions are influenced by their attitude towards risk, uncertainty, loss and gain. The theory suggests that people are unable to accurately evaluate probabilities correctly and are largely motivated by a strong fear of loss. In order to avoid potential losses in the face of uncertainty, we inevitability end up in a situation where consumer’s stockpile (well, more like hoard) essential items.

Now how does that affect point 2: Consequences of Consumer Stockpiling! 

Consumer stockpiling has immediate affects on retailers, but unlike more predictable environmental emergencies, the coronavirus pandemic led to widespread shortages, which left the supermarkets scarce of many things, not just toilet roll. Another product which was noticeably sparse was flour. Now if you got into the avid baking phase of lockdown you’d know that finding that last, elusive bag of flour gave you that same exciting rush that gold miners must feel when they find a nugget. 

But on a hopeful note, we as a society adapted, and supermarkets soon began packaging up their flour in nonstandard packaging, with one retailer using the packaging that they use for doughnuts. This may seem odd to be hopefully about, but this small introduction allows the idea that people will adapt to new ways of experiencing their shopping. By supermarkets selling their own, …..it shows that they can adapt when pushed, and it is likely that this small change of using their own packaging will have a knock in effect of helping reduce the excess packaging.  

*This Blog Post was written during my Masters Degree*

We have reached the end of our blogging adventure, and I can say that this has been one of the most enjoyable assessments that I have been faced with throughout my university experience. I have thoroughly enjoyed looking at everything consumer related, and using our knowledge to explain common themes in this consumer obsessed world.

So let’s continue on with this last blogpost, today’s topic will be all about LIMITED EDITION! Yes I have just spoken the words that will ignite severe shopaholics dreams (myself included). So why do we as consumer love the words ‘Limited Edition’? This blog will attempt to discuss three ways that explain how these words can affect consumers.

Language is a powerful tool! The way that marketers use language can affect how consumers will respond. One way that this is achieved is with message framing. This involves a persuasive communication strategy aimed at motivating behaviour through the appeals framed in either gains or losses. When using the words ‘limited edition’ we are talking about message framing, and in particular we are talking about loss-framed messages. Research has reported that messages that have loss appeals can shape decisions of consumers purchase intentions. So when marketers use the words ‘limited edition’, they evoke a sense of urgency and with the risk of the item never coming back it can shape consumer’s purchase intentions.

So now that we have touched the language of ‘limited edition’ and how it can increase purchase intention, what is it that encourages consumer to buy the ‘limited items’. Another reason why the phrase ‘limited edition’ causes hype amongst consumers is that it brings forth the feeling of scarcity. This can be explained by the commodity theory that deals with the psychological effect of scarcity.  Scarcity enhances the value of an object that can be possessed, is useful to the possessor or can be transferred from one person to another. The commodity theory suggests that marketers can increase the perceived value of the product by manipulating the perceiver’s scarcity of the object, such as releasing ‘limited editions’.

So we have talked about language and scarcity but what can motivate consumers on a personal level to buy a ‘limited edition’ item. This can be explained through the idea of conspicuous consumption. This is defined as the spending on or consumption of luxury items which are on a lavish scale in an attempt to enhance one’s own prestige. 

Purchasing a conspicuous good not only satisfies our materialistic need but also our social need to be seen as having prestige. This can explain why consumers will purchase a “limited edition’ item; they know there will only be a certain number of these items and once they are gone the product is gone. Therefore, giving the consumer a sense of self prestige knowing that they had succeeded in getting one of these ‘limited editions’ items. 

This blogpost has explained the three ways that we can use consumer psychology to understand the power the phrase ‘Limited Edition’ will have on consumer’s purchase habits. It also explained how by the use of language, scarcity, and prestige, marketers can create hype when selling ‘limited edition’ items. 

*This Blog Post was written during my Masters Degree*

For this week’s blog I have decided to talk about purpose-driven content. Purpose-driven content is the term for when marketers create an authentic campaign based on a valuable shared interest that stands up for an important cause. 

There have been many recent great examples, including Barbie’s ‘You Can Be Anything’ campaign. https://youtu.be/l1vnsqbnAkk

But I decided to talk about the more male driven campaigns which are fighting to break down male stereotypes of how men are ‘expected’ to act in order to be ‘men’. The first campaign I will mention is Lynx ‘Presents Shower and Shave ASMR Tutorials’. This campaign was released at the beginning of this year. The second campaign that I will talk about is Doves Men+Care ‘Care for every position you play’ campaign which was released in partnership with the Rugby World Cup. 

Let’s start with the Lynx ‘Shower and Shave’. If you have not seen these adverts, and need a good laugh, have a watch. The adverts wanted men to express their individuality through their hair, with three ‘shavetorials’ on how to shave their: ‘Legs’, ‘Chest’, and ‘Balls’. 

“I think this campaign from Chris Baur and Rachel Sato-Banks shows that guys today don’t have to be buff, or swim, or bike or have an excuse to shave themselves. They can just be regular dudes who like the comfort of being cleanly shaven on all different kinds of body parts.” The Creative Quote from the Director at 72 and Sunny Amsterdam.

So why does this style of advertising work? According to research by Cone Communications and Edelman, 79% of Americans are more loyal to purpose-driven brands, and 77% feel that they have a stronger emotional connection to the purpose-driven brand, compared to non-purpose driven brands. What I especially enjoyed about this campaign is that it has come from a brand whose main marketing theme was previously sex-oriented, but who are now using their brand to help reverse what they once were a symbol for. To keep with their purpose-driven context Lynx has now made it their mission to ‘Ditch the Label’. The shavetorials remain in line with Lynx mission to ‘Ditch the Label’ as it is breaking down those stereotypes of male body hair. 

The campaigns also used humour as a way of engaging the consumer. A meta-analysis looking at humour in adverts showed that humour enhances attitudes towards both the advert and the brand. Lynx has created a funny, entertaining campaign that has tried to break the male body hair stereotypes of how men should look, and by doing so they are trying to encourage men to express their individuality. 

The next campaign that I am going to talk about featured during the Rugby World Cup. I think i’ve spent just enough time mourning that I can now refer back to the World Cup and not be deeply gutted about that final match. Inbetween shouting at the tv, I remember going ‘Oo this is a great ad’ when Dove’s Men+Care ‘Care for every position you play’ advert was shown.

The advert featured British players including Courtney Lawes, Stuart Hogg, Peter O’Mahony and Alun Wyn Jones, who all give their take on balancing their rugby life and their home life. 

These adverts keep in line with Dove’s Men+Care purpose-driven content which aim at raising awareness for championing better paternity leave worldwide. These social media adverts have also built a connection with the consumer. This is because the brands have created social relatedness, through the joining of the paternal community.  A study explored engaging consumers and building relationships in social media, they reported that consumers who were extrinsically motivated were more enhanced by perception of high social relatedness. 

The Dove Men+Care the adverts were shown during the Rugby World Cup. Having a large male audience allows the campaign to vocalise the importance of Father’s being involved in looking after their children. That fathers don’t have​ to fit the stereotype of typical gender roles. This campaign is in line with their purpose-driven content by raising awareness for championing better paternity leave worldwide. 

Purpose-driven content can be a perfect way for a brand to vocalise their alliance with an important topic among their consumers, while also benefiting their brand perception among their consumers. Hopefully this will become a trend and we will see more adverts that are taking current trending topic and aligning with them to engage in more change in our world.

*This Blog Post was written during my Masters Degree*

At the start of this blogging venture I had a list of topics that I knew I wanted to write about and I have been eagerly anticipating writing this post! 

I am the crazy dog girl, if you get me talking about my dogs I won’t stop. I will have you trapped while I show you a million photos of them sleeping going ‘they are so cute, look at them!’ and will no doubtably end up just making inaudible, high pitched noises.

So now after all the rambling and the dog photos (see I told you I’d show anyone), let’s get on with this blogpost. I recently came across Subaru’s ‘Let the dogs out’ campaign, which featured a series of dog themed adverts. 

Using animals is a popular theme within advertising. Companies use animals in advertising because by associating their brand with an attractive stimulus it can favourably influence the consumers liking of a brand. Here Subaru have used a Golden Retriever family because they are aware that the majority of their consumers have pets. This means that their consumers will associate positive feelings from the animals and transfer those feelings onto the brand, connecting the brand with feelings of happiness and joy. 

Another reason why advertisers use animals in adverts is because humans have had a long association with animals, from the basic necessity of providing food to an emotional level of providing companionship. Research has looked into the symbolic role of animals in advertising, analysing the use of dogs, cats, horses and birds. They reported that dogs were the most commonly used animal to represent either durable or nondurable products. Dogs are often used to represent warm relationships or constant loyal companionship which is reflected in the advert above, showing Subaru consumers elements that they may come across in their family life. 

Another successful aspect of Subaru’s dog adverts is that they are humorous. Who doesn’t enjoy watching animals doing human tasks? I certainly do! Research has found that humour is a strong emotional appeal in advertising. This is because it can attract the consumers attention which can lead to deeper levels of remembering. The Subura advert above shows the dog learning to parallel park (which even for some humans is a hard task), resulting in the dog crashing into the curve. This creates a humorous tone for the adverts which can then make it more memorable for the consumers. 

We know that advertisers use animals in adverts but what is the consumer reaction to these ads? Research has looked at how dogs in adverts can affect the way consumers form attitudes towards the advert and subsequently what are the purchase intentions. 

This research used the heuristic-systematic model to explain how individuals process information. Highly motivated individuals engage in systematic processing by making an effort to analyse and understand relevant information. Less motivated individuals use heuristic processing which is done by using mental shortcuts to understand information. The research found that if readers only evaluated the messages argument they did not find the ad appealing, but if they process the heuristic cues they enjoyed the ad more. The presence of the dog in the ad suppressed the systematic processing while increasing the heuristic processing, which lead to an increased attitude towards the ad. By having dogs present in their advert, Subaru are increasing consumer’s heuristic processing which ultimately increased consumer’s attitudes towards the adverts. 

What we can take from this post is that animals in adverts is always a win (in my opinion), that consumers can associate our feelings of the animals and then transfer them onto the brand. To end this post on a high, why not enjoy these dog bloopers Subura created!

*This Blog Post was written during my Masters Degree*

Halloween is over, so now I feel like it is perfectly socially acceptable to start talking about Christmas! You may have noticed the slow introduction of Christmas adverts on TV, or you could be thinking about what Christmas presents to buy or simply looking at what the Christmas party clothes you want to get for the festive period. 

Companies have already started with the introduction of the Christmas jumper, and one brand in particular was trending when they released this seasons womens Christmas jumper. 

This is a Christmas jumper from FatFace’s 2019 Winter collection. You may be thinking okay cool, that’s a pretty standard Christmas jumper. But, if you are like most of us and can’t help but see the dirty side of a Christmas jumper, you may have spotted that the patterns looks like….well she has boobs going across her boobs. 

I should have apologised in advance because when you spot it, it’s hard to ‘un-see’ it. As you can imagine social media was very quick to point out this design flaw, or planned design depending if you like boobs on you jumper. 

People were quick to call FatFace out but FatFace took this in their stride and turned this blooper (boober?) into a marketing opportunity.  

Whoever does the marketing for FatFace needs a round of applause, because not only have they used this as free public advertising but they have now assigned 10% of the sale of the jumper to be donated to breast cancer. 

This marketing technique that was used here is covert advertising. Covert advertising is where the product is placed covertly so the consumer will observe them indirectly. This can be seen here as the intended purpose of the post was to advertise the product, but the post has a greater emphasises on the charity donation that would be given once the product is purchased. Therefore making the consumer more aware of the charitable aspect rather than the advertisement of the Christmas jumper. 

FatFace has also been clever by not only creating a campaign based on public buzz, but also by linking that jumper to a charitable campaign. If a brand holds a similar value to that of their consumers, their consumers will choose them over another brand. This means that when consumers are doing their Christmas jumper shopping, they will be more likely to purchase this FatFace jumper as they believe they have the same values as this brand. 

Lastly, not only is the jumper associated with a charitable campaign but it is also Christmas related. Christmas time often evokes goodwill, generosity and altruism, and research has shown that consumption can be driven by these feelings. FatFace happen to be in the perfect situation, where their product is Christmas themed which then consumers will often purchase more items due to feelings of goodwill. But also combined with the fact that consumption will be doing good by buying the jumper it can only encourage more sales. 

Christmas also brings on an array of emotions of  nostalgia, research has found that nostalgia increases charitable donations among consumers. This means that consumers will be more likely to buy the jumper as they will have higher feelings of nostalgia and they feel that buying the jumper is a charitable donation. 

One thing we can take from this article is that with the right post, a social media mistake provides a great tool for advertisers. One trending item can help boost a brand’s ad campaign, and that one boob related jumper can provide consumers with a feeling of goodwill! And to end on a high note check out M&S Christmas Jumper Advert!

*This Blog Post was written during my Masters Degree*

If you haven’t just read this line in the over the top, sultry way that Dervla Kirwan (the voiceover actress) in Marks & Spencer’s (M&S) food adverts then I applaud you. Even M&S  themselves have mocked their famous ‘Food Porn’ ads, see the video below.

What is it about this advert that keeps us intrigued? But more importantly, how can I stop the voice in my head from saying everything in that slow and sultry style when I’m writing this?

So why have M&S tailored their food adverts to have a sultry appeal. We can use Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs to explain how these style of adverts can motivate consumers to go out and purchase M&S food.  We start with the fact that M&S foods adverts satisfy our basic physiological needs. As humans we are heavily influenced and motivated to get food. M&S have masterfully  utilised this approach as they want you to think of them whenever you buy food. They want to help satisfy our need for food, but while also making it clear that ‘this is not just food, this is M&S food’. They have taken what was once just a basic message, ‘I need food’, to ‘I need  M&S food’. 

Now where does the sultry voice come into play? Well we’ve all heard the phrase ‘sex sells’ but how true is it? Research that looked into sexuality in advertising reported that both gender don’t mind the use of overt sexuality as long as men and women are equally involved. In the case of M&S their food adverts do both involve men and women which can put them in favour with the consumers as research has shown that consumers can be turned off by too much sexual imagery. 

But how effective are sex appeals in advertising campaigns? A meta-analysis looked at the effects of sexual appeals on memory and found that consumers recognise adverts and can recall adverts that have sex appeal more than adverts without sex appeal. But sex appeal has no effect on consumers remembering the brand that was featured in the adverts. 

Yet M&S seem to have the balance of both being sultry but also having a slogan that will remind you of the brand. Research that looked into impact of brand image and advertisement on consumer buying behaviour found that if people are aware of the brand, have good brand perception, loyalty and association they will automatically have a stronger brand image in their minds and the brand will become part of their buying behaviour. Which can be seen in the M&S food adverts due to the slogan of ‘this is not just food, this is M&S food’. But also because their brand has a good brand perception as seen in this advert below. 

M&S have found that perfect combination of a sultry tone while still enabling them as approachable to their consumers, and while bringing some humour to their previous food adverts. 

*This Blog Post was written during my Masters Degree*

The way we advertise has evolved throughout history, starting with print media , advancing to televised adverts and now with the help of the internet, social media is the new frontier of advertising. None are more at the front of this new form of advertising then social influencers.

A social influencer can act as a role model and even sometimes a leader affecting the way consumers act. One such way is how and what consumers buy!

One type of social influencers are celebrities. It has been a common trend to use celebrities to endorse new products to the everyday consumer. But with the new use of social media, we can use these celebrities in more subtle ways than simply using them in ad campaigns. We can utilise these celebrities to create new purchase habits amongst the consumers. One habit can be making sustainability more fashionable among everyday consumers.

Celebrity endorsements can be a useful way of demonstrating and introducing sustainable fashion brands that the everyday consumer may not be aware of. For instance, Katie Holmes was recently seen wearing ballet shoes, you may think this isn’t particularly noteworthy, but the ballet flats she wore to Rothy’s fashion event were not your average ballet shoes. They are made from recycled single-use plastic bottles, a recurrent theme throughout their clothes, keeping in line with their ethos of putting sustainability first.

So why are we influenced by social influencers? One reason is that we can learn social information from them such as new buying behaviours. We may see the influencer use a particular brand which we are uncertain off, the more people who use that brand the more we observe, the more self- reinforcement we get.

The second reason is based on social needs that people have. The particular need that influencers have an impact on is the need to belong to a group, and to express their status and personality. By using a product that a social influencers uses the consumer can be portrayed as having those same extra values, which will then give them a high value of themselves and sense of belonginess. 

Using a social influencer can make the consumer feel they ‘know’ them in a personal way as if they are friends who share similar interests. The sense of similarity influencers create can therefore influence the effectiveness of the endorsement .

Research has looked at how consumer decision making is influenced by peers. Finding that peer consumption can enhance the purchase intention of the individual as they put higher value on the products. This can explain why if a consumers feel as if they ‘know’ a social influencer on a personal level, it can influence their purchasing decisions.

Social influencers are often seen as glamorous, well put together individuals, which we will assign other greater attributes to their personality due to the ‘halo effect’. If a social influencer is seen as glamorous, the consumer may also assign them other traits positive such as honestly, trustworthy, etc. These traits will then benefit the product as the consumer will believe in the product the influencer is endorsing.

But it is important for brands to carefully choose which social influencer to endorse their products with. A meta-analysis which looked at 30 years of celebrity endorsement literature, found that negative information regarding a celebrity can pass on to having a negative association with the endorsed brand.

For instance, when Pepsi had a contract with Madonna to use her ‘Like a Prayer’ single for a series of adverts. But the song had a controversial  music video, which lead to the Catholic Bishop from Texas, Rene Gracido asking for a boycott of Pepsi. The negative feedback from the music video was then transferred onto Pepsi, demonstrating that a negative information can be the passed on and associated with the brand.

Yet positive information linked to celebrities can later transfer onto the endorsed brands. For instance, Rihanna became an endorser of Puma in 2016 leading to a spike in sales after she signed up for a sneakers campaign, showcasing the power a well-chosen influencer can have. That a positive association can than transfer onto the brand.

Social influencers are an interesting marketing tool, which if used correctly can help introduce consumers to newer or different brands. It would be interesting to see if through social influencing we can change consumer habits with how they consumer and whether it can change their buying habits to include more sustainable habits.