What Has Four Months of Studying Consumption Taught Me?

What have I learned throughout this semester of Consumer Behavior? Well, its a loaded question really. I've learned that I will never grocery shop the same way ever again, and that marketers can use information about consumers to better serve their needs. The following is an overview of some of my favorite topics that were covered throughout the semester.

• The Self: People construct different ideas of who they are, how they would like to be, and what products they consume that make up their identities. These can be described as the Actual, Ideal, and Extended Selves. "We are the sum of our possessions"
• Nudge by Richard H. Thaler: What we consume can be greatly influenced by how our choices are presented to us. Giving people the ability to opt in to something will produce better (more) results than making people opt out of something. 
• The Persuaders: Why do we advertise the way we do? Because once a company has started advertising, "You can't stop or the competition will eat you alive" 
• Consumers don't know why they are consuming the way they are. Consumers make unconscious associations with everything they buy. 
• Motivational Conflicts: Purchase decisions involve more than one source of motivation. Consumers have different motives, both positive and negative that conflict with one another, that makes it difficult for consumers to make rational decisions. 
• Susan Fournier's article taught me that consumers develop brand relationships based on past consumption decisions and who we have been consuming with. 
• Ethnocentrism: We often forget to study the groups we most closely identify with. An example of this is when we watched Bend it Like Beckham and forget to recognize Jules' family as a reference group. 
• Predictably Irrational: Is being aware of our own biases enough to protect us from making bad consumption decisions? I'd say not really, but it does make us informed consumers! 
• Opinion leaders, early adopters, our surroundings, moods, age, and culture all affect what we buy
• Rituals are maps of our past consumption and serve as a way to remember why we do things the way we do.

Thanks for a great semester, I hope this blog was informant and interesting for all who read. 

Look Out, You May Become a Victim of "FREE!"

In case you didn't know, Patagonia is having its annual 50% off past season products sale! Hooray! As a habitual purchaser of Patagonia products, I am very excited about this sale, as I am every year. I currently have a total of $65.95 in my online cart, this includes shipping.

But wait, Patagonia offers free shipping on orders over $75! It seems like such great news, right? Whilst online shopping I am constantly reminded of Predictably Irrational when  see the words "FREE!" (and yes, it really is always in caps). Ariely's book teaches us that "FREE!" makes us perceive that what is being offered is immensely more valuable than it really is. Now I have a decision to make, do I buy the $14.00 trucker hat that I have kind of been looking at to get my total above $75 so that I can get free shipping?

NO! Even though I don't necessarily need a new hat I am only considering buying it because I want free shipping. My shipping total without the hat is only $7.95 which I was already prepared to pay for before I realized there was a free shipping option.  I have only one more day to make a final decision before the sale is over, hopefully I will do the rational thing and go with only my original purchase intent, but no promises...

If you'd like to check out the sale, and maybe get some free shipping, check out the site http://www.patagonia.com/us/shop/web-specials?k=ga

Eating Your Feelings?

With the coming of finals I figured that a post about the estranged consumption habits of students during this hellacious week was appropriate.  I began thinking about this when I realized that I'd had three cups of coffee yesterday afternoon to keep me up and going on my studying. This then made me ponder the question, do consumption habits change as a person is feeling more or less stressed? From personal experience I can say that consumption of food, alcohol, and exercise all drastically change as I begin to feel more stressed. 

One of the articles I found had some interesting information about stress eating. One of the highlights from that article was a small questionnaire that asked the following questions about determining if a person could be a stress eater. http://www.helpguide.org/life/emotional_eating_stress_cravings.htm

• Do you eat more when you’re feeling stressed?
• Do you eat when you’re not hungry or when you’re full?
• Do you eat to feel better (to calm and soothe yourself when you’re sad, mad, bored, anxious, etc.)?
• Do you reward yourself with food?
• Do you regularly eat until you've stuffed yourself?
• Does food make you feel safe? Do you feel like food is a friend?
• Do you feel powerless or out of control around food?

An article I found from Bright Eye, Online Alcohol Therapy, states "A lot of people consume alcohol as a way to manage stress. How often this is effective as a coping strategy probably decreases as the amount you drink increases. But although alcohol doesn't really work as a long-term way of handling stressful situations, it does provide relief in the short term. And this is where the problem starts".   

 http://www.brighteyecounselling.co.uk/alcohol-drugs/alcohol-consumption-stress-management/

And finally, this article from the Mayo Clinic suggests that exercise is a great way to alleviate stress. "Exercise increases your overall health and your sense of well-being, which puts more pep in your step every day. But exercise also has some direct stress-busting benefits." http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/stress-management/in-depth/exercise-and-stress/art-20044469

• It pumps up your endorphins.
• It's meditation in motion.
• It improves your mood. 

So, as the week progresses and we all begin to feel more and more stressed, keep in mind that alcohol will only help the problems short term and may give you a screaming headache! Food, though comforting needs to be consumed in a way that helps you maintain regular and healthy choices. And lastly, exercise can help you feel better. 

Abundance at It's Finest

Since our discussion about "We Gather Together": Consumption Rituals of Thanksgiving Day I can't help but be a little irritated by the article. Not that the U.S. tradition of celebrating the harvest is bad but really, eating competitions, eating so much we need to sleep or walk to regain comfort after gorging ourselves? It does seem a little silly, right? Especially when there are so many hungry people in our own country, not to mention other countries who are fighting the deadly battle against hunger. I realize that this article was not written for the purpose of showcasing how much Americans eat on Thanksgiving but rather to study the rituals that the holiday embodies. In the article the authors note the theme of abundance on Thanksgiving, the terms stuffing and loading are used throughout to describe the sheer volume of food, company, and dishes used during the celebration. The article says on the topic of abundance, "Photographs show plates so loaded with food that they are difficult to balance while walking from buffet to table" (Wallendorf & Arnould 1991).

So, while embracing our tradition of abundance what can we all do to help out those who are hungry? Why not drink beer and donate food to the hungry at the Big Sky BBQ Festival?! This event is not until August so you'll have plenty of time to prepare. The tradition of Thanksgiving is based around giving thanks for what we have. In keeping with the theme, have your traditional Thanksgiving celebration but remember to give thanks that you have the ability to stuff yourself on such an occasion.

To get more info on this event check out the Montana Food Bank Network at http://mfbnevents.org/

Wallendorf, Melanie, and Eric J. Arnould. ""We Gather Together": Consumption Rituals of Thanksgiving        Day." Journal of Consumer Research 18.1 (1991): 13-30. Print.

Can You Break Up With Your Gym? How About Your Bank?

Last week in our discussion on Robert V. Kozinets's article, "Can Consumers Escape the Market" we touched on the many highlights of consumption in regards to Burning Man. As we all now know, Burning Man encourages a sense of community at it's event as well as a theme of non-consumption. While the Burning Man committee nudges it's attendees to abide by these guidelines, Kozinets makes a strong argument that non-consumption is nearly impossible. Kozinets writes about the participants of the festival, "From their comments to me, people indicated that they were constantly judging others in terms of the degree of their participation in the event" (Kozinets 2002). When discussing this phenomena we brought up other situations in which the theme is common, some examples were; the Sturgis bike rally, online gaming sites, and my personal favorite, gyms.

My thinking in relating the theme of forced non-consumption was that when signing up for a gym membership, a person is often persuaded by an extremely fit looking individual who will give a run down all about how the gym has a great community and some very exclusive services offered only to members. This reminded me of an episode of Friends where Chandler tries to quit his gym  but requires the assistance of Ross to terminate the membership.

As you can see from the clip, ending Chandler's gym membership doesn't go over so well. Ross also becomes a member of the gym and then they end up with a joint checking account! Chandler and Ross feel pressure from the other members of the gym and bank communities to join and participate, much like the attendees of Burning Man. Kozinets says of his experience with less enthusiastic participants, "These outsiders were judged as inauthentic" (Kozinets 2002). One could argue that it is hard to win as a skeptic of the theme. Unless the participant is convincingly authentic about their participation they may be judged for their motives. Whether its joining a gym or attending Burning Man, consumers need to be aware of the choices they will be making, be it consumption or non-consumption. 

This couple has taken a relaxed approach to the consumption of clothing, but very practical footwear! 

Live Young with Evian and Babies

Generally speaking, I'm not much of a bottled water consumer but this Evian commercial is hilarious! On the Evian website there are all kinds of resources and information about water consumption and what it can do for the human body. Evian's tag line, "Live Young" along its adorable baby ads encourage people to drink water to stay healthy and youthful. The site includes information about where its water is sourced as well as a water quality report for all U.S. states. Evian also produced a video of the making of this crowd pleasing commercial.

To learn more facts about water and see cute babies, check out Evian's website http://www.evian.com/en_us

Can You Hear Me Now?

http://www.businessinsider.com/mobile-usage-how-consumers-are-using-their-phones-and-what-it-means-2013-1

Above is a link to an interesting article I found today about consumption trends in phone usage. Not surprisingly, mobile usage has shot way up. "Mobile is no longer a communications utility, but a media distribution hub" (Business Insider, 2013). There are four content consumption categories in this article that outline what we are doing and why we are spending so much time on the phone, and not just for chatting. You can see in the graph below that mobile is the only category with a positive trend, year after year. 

1. The rise of gaming: Gaming is the largest category in the app store on mobile devices. This category also is responsible for 70% of Apple's top-grossing apps. 

2. Mobile- social synergies: Social networking on mobile is the second largest time suck. Be it Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Google+, or Twitter, we are all doing it. Myself included... 

3. The piggyback rule: Developers are smart, so they develop apps and programs that can be integrated with phone usage, hello Instagram! 

4. Portal Erosion: "No one has succeeded aggregating services via a single app or mobile website. The desktop portal is fading with the advent of mobile" (Business Insider, 2013). 

Consumer - Brand Relationships

After having read Susan Fournier's article, "Consumers and Their Brands: Developing Relationship Theory in Consumer Research" I found that I have since been making consumption decisions with the various relationships outlined in the text in mind. For example, when I returned home from spring break I was out of almost everything; groceries, shampoo, paper towels, and laundry detergent. So naturally, I waited till Sunday night to finally drag myself to the grocery store to spend a substantial amount of money (On a college student's budget) for the things I would  need to get me by.

To preface this paragraph I should say that I love the smell of clean laundry and it is actually true that we do all turn out like our mothers. With that said, I have a lasting kinship relationship with Gain laundry detergent. Fournier's article defines a kinship as a non voluntary union with lineage ties. I have always bought Gain for the sole purpose that it was always the brand my mom bought when I was growing up, little did I know that I would develop the same brand preference. A few months ago I was at Costco and was tempted by that gigantic size Kirkland laundry detergent. It was much cheaper and it came in individual packs. I figured it would help me monitor how much detergent I was using per load. After bringing home my economy size Kirkland detergent, I set out to do a load of laundry. After drying that load, I was so disappointed by the outcome of my clothes. Not only did they smell wrong, and by wrong I mean not like Gain, they were also covered in an odd residue... Because I had this experience with Kirkland laundry detergent, I am now hesitant to buy other Kirkland products.

So, on Sunday night when I cruised around Smith's looking for what I'd need, I came to the cleaning products isle and bought yet another gallon of Gain laundry detergent. I suppose using gain gives me this feeling:

Over Developed Egos

In our class discussion, last Thursday we touched on the topics of brand personality versus individual personality. The examples described in class were, Beyonce Knowles and her alter-ego Sasha Fierce, or the band Kiss and the actual musicians that make up the band. To begin the definition of personality refers to a person's unique physiological makeup and how it consistently influences the way a person responds to her environment. We can learn from our textbook that some psychologists find that personality may not be a valid concept, as often times people do not display consistency in their personalities. Because this concept is so common, we as marketers can use this information to our advantage by appealing to consumers in various ways that are related to Freudian Systems. To summarize, there are three parts to this system; the id, superego, and ego. The id functions for the propose of immediate gratification and maximizing our basic desire for pleasure and pain avoidance. The superego is the counterpart to the id, which can be defined as a person's conscious that is responsible for keeping societal rules in check. Lastly, the ego is the mediator between the id and the superego. It functions for the purpose of the reality principle which finds a way to gratify the id in such a way that the outside world will find it acceptable.

One could argue that celebrities such as Beyonce Knowles and the members of Kiss, who have both individual and brand personalities have an over developed ego. Because these celebrities need to find a way to pursue their work in a way that aligns with societal rules, they must make the ego system very seriously. The benefits of having a healthy ego are that it gives these celebrities the ability to differentiate their work life from their personal lives. Having both brand and individual personalities can also act as a defense mechanism against criticism. A brand personality is the set of traits people attribute to a product as if it were a person. Fostering a successful brand personality is of utmost importance in trying to build brand loyalty. If marketers can find ways to appeal to the various personalities of consumers in a way that can satisfy both their id and their superego, they can eventually capitalize on brand loyalty.

Olympic Motivation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywfIREWf6Bw

This PowerAde commercial demonstrates many of the topics discussed in chapter four of our textbook, titled Motivation and Global Values. As stated in the text, "motivation is the process that leads people to behave as they do. This occurs when a need is aroused that the consumer wishes to satisfy. This need creates a state of tension that drives the consumer to attempt to reduce or eliminate it" (Solomon 2012).

One type of motivation is utilitarian: a desire to achieve some functional or practical benefit. The other type is hedonic: an experiential need, involving emotional responses or fantasies. Watching Bode Miller's interview after his tie for third place in the Super G, we learn that Miller's rode to the 2014 Olympics was both for his own personal need to ski well, but also to make his late younger brother proud. The following clip highlights some of Bode's goals for this year's Olympics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq6fcDcYWxs

 

This article is about how we, as future marketers can motivate our customers to become loyal to our brands. http://www.fastcompany.com/3026280/how-to-really-transform-loyal-customers-into-brand-advocates?partner=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+fastcompany%2Fheadlines+%28Fast+Company%29

Women Who Eat Burgers and Men Who Make Copies? Madness!

A few weeks ago we had a discussion in class about the responsibility that marketers have to promote healthy gender roles. Throughout the discussion, our class decided that marketers are trying to appeal to consumers who are seeing themselves how other people see them, known as metaperception. By reinforcing gender stereotypes advertisers are enabling consumers to think that these stereotypes are true. The following are examples of such advertisements: Burger King's "I am Man" commercial followed by Xerox's commercial about the subordinate office assistant. In class we also discussed how women can more easily align with men's actions than men can with women's actions. This is due to the fact that women's role in society is still being established. Thank goodness we've made moves from this day and age, ladies.

 

My Extended Self

      For my first post I had better mention a little bit about myself, especially since we are conveniently studying, "The Self" as it relates to marketing. I am an avid recreationalist with an affinity for classic rock and really fluffy dogs. I grew up in Red Lodge, MT which is nestled at the feet of the Beartooth Mountains. It is like a small Bozeman with no stoplights.

     When composing my love letter for class I had an extremely difficult time deciding upon one item that I would run into a fire to save. And after reading Belk's "Possessions and the Extended Self" I have new insight as to what extensions of the self include. Belk defines the extended self as such, "The extended self is seen not to be limited to external objects and personal possessions, but also includes persons, places, and group possessions as well as such possessions as body parts and vital organs." In my opinion the reason the love letter assignment was so hard was because it seems asinine to be so attached to mere objects. However, through writing my own paper and listening to the love letters of my classmates I think we can all agree that it is not simply the object that we are so strongly attached to, but rather the feeling we have about the object; when it was given to us, by whom it was given, how it was presented, how we've used these objects over the years, these are the things that we become attached to.

     With all of this prefaced, my most loved objects include, my skis, bike, kayak and my running shoes. Without these mere objects I would not have had some of the greatest experiences of my life. Some of them have been the scariest things I've ever been through, but they certainly left an impression on me. While getting to do all of these things I get to be my ideal self.
      When I think about my skis, I think about my sister. She and I grew up sliding around Red Lodge Mountain together since we were little kids. We've had some really hard falls, debilitating knee surgeries and epic powder days. We also got the opportunity to do a half marathon together last summer. Growing up ski racing neither of us had what one would call "runner's legs" but we trained together and had an awesome time. We have another one planned for the month of March in San Francisco!

 



 

     When I recall the countless mountain bike rides and river runs I've been on I have no one else to thank for those memories than my dad. He has put up with a lot of whining over the years but I would bet that he thinks it was all worth it to do some really fun trips.

 

 

Belk, Russell W. "Possessions and the Extended Self." Journal of Consumer Research Inc. 15.2 (2011): 139-68. Web. 29 Jan. 2014.