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A classroom and research blog about marketing in general and consumer behavior in particular for the MBA Buyer Behavior (MGT 580) class.
Tuesday, January 27, 2004
To go along with the readings on perceptual mapping, you might find this site interesting if you want a little more depth on the subject. SurveySite.com also has a useful tutorial on perceptual mapping.
On to the issues that relate more directly to the class. First, since we will be talking quite a bit about brand loyalty, brand image and brand extensions during this class. Brand loyalty is defined as "consistently purchasing a brand over time due to an emotional attachment to the brand" (see Hawkins Best and Coney, 8th Ed., p. 647). Brand extensions (we'll talk about brand image later) occur when a additional products are created using the same brand name. Some extensions seem natural (try and think of some examples of brand extensions for class discussion) and others seem more of a stretch. Take a look at one strategy that Disney is considering pursuing. Does this seem like a workable extension for the Disney brand?
Chapter 2 focuses on issues relating to perception, which is the process by which sensations are "selected, organized, and interpreted." Each of the five senses are implicated in this process and in very different ways. As your book notes, the sensations we recieve are important factors in hedonic consumption (if you want to read more in depth about hedonic consumption, click here)and creating assocations with brands or products. The book cites a couple of good examples of sensory qualities creating unique associations with products, namely the sound of Harley Davidson and the color of Owens Corning Pink Fiberglass and the relation to the Pink Panther character. Although we will talk about all of the senses, some of the things that marketers are doing with smell are especially interesting.
Chapter 2 focuses on issues relating to perception, which is the process by which sensations are "selected, organized, and interpreted." Each of the five senses are implicated in this process and in very different ways. As your book notes, the sensations we recieve are important factors in hedonic consumption (if you want to read more in depth about hedonic consumption, click here)and creating assocations with brands or products. The book cites a couple of good examples of sensory qualities creating unique associations with products, namely the sound of Harley Davidson and the color of Owens Corning Pink Fiberglass and the relation to the Pink Panther character. Although we will talk about all of the senses, some of the things that marketers are doing with smell are especially interesting.
Wednesday, January 21, 2004
Several things jumped out at me as I was reviewing the first day of class and in getting ready for tomorrow's lecture. Since we talked at some length about online music and file sharing, it was interesting to see that the recording industry is engaging in a new round of lawsuits against file-sharers. The Washington Post has a very informative article on this issue. CNN also has an interesting video clip with its article on the suits.
On a different tack, think about the State of the Union address (for those of you who watched it or have read it) from a consumer behavior perspective. What groups was the address directed towards? What type of messages were being sent? ALthough this was an address and not an advertisement, political marketing is becoming increasingly sophisticated. The Internet and webblogs are just a few of the tools that marketers are using to get political messages to consumers. For example, see this story on how Howard Dean's campaign has made extensive use of blogs. Retired General Wesley Clark's campaign has also been aggressive in making use of blogs.
Finally, the globalization of culture is an issue that we will discuss throughout the class, as well as marketing's role in this process. The Financial Times reports that demand for American brands is very strong worldwide, and has not been hurt by political differences.
On a different tack, think about the State of the Union address (for those of you who watched it or have read it) from a consumer behavior perspective. What groups was the address directed towards? What type of messages were being sent? ALthough this was an address and not an advertisement, political marketing is becoming increasingly sophisticated. The Internet and webblogs are just a few of the tools that marketers are using to get political messages to consumers. For example, see this story on how Howard Dean's campaign has made extensive use of blogs. Retired General Wesley Clark's campaign has also been aggressive in making use of blogs.
Finally, the globalization of culture is an issue that we will discuss throughout the class, as well as marketing's role in this process. The Financial Times reports that demand for American brands is very strong worldwide, and has not been hurt by political differences.
Tuesday, January 20, 2004
Just to get us started thinking about Consumer Behavior, you can follow up the discussion of online music sharing we had in class today by checking out the Tech section of the New York Times entitled Digital Copy Fight. Registration is required by the NYT, but it is free and you will need it for our class. There are several articles here that deal with the legal, ethical and behavioral aspect of file-sharing. We will probably talk about some of these issues at the beginning of the next class so take a look.
An early posting about your class materials. I will be passing out a sheet with the necessary information for XanEdu, where most of your course materials are available, but probably you just want to use this link. Let me know if you have any problems or try XanEdu customer support. There is also one treatise on Consumer Behavior that will have to be purchased through the UNM bookstore. It should be in by the end of the week if not sooner.
Monday, January 19, 2004
We are getting ready for the new semester and the blog is going to be an intregal part of the class. We will be using the blog both for informational purposes and as a supplement to in-class reading assignments and exercises. Each member of the class will be required to make postings to the blog during the course of the class. To familiarize yourself with Blogs and Blogging take a look at this article from Rebecca's page and the recent BloggerCon. We will talk more about how this works in the first few classes.
