Consumer Learning and Brand Differentiation: A Marketing Perspective, Lecture notes of Dance

Download Consumer Learning and Brand Differentiation: A Marketing Perspective and more Lecture notes Dance in PDF only on Docsity!

GLOBAL

EDITION

Consumer

Behavior

TWELFTH EDITION

Leon G. Schifman

Joe Wisenblit

This page intentionally left blank

CHAPTER 5 • CONSUMER LEARNiNG 153

Offering the same product in a different form but under the same brand is a product form extension. For example, Listerine, a mouthwash in the form of liquid and a leading brand, introduced Listerine PocketPacks—a solid form of its product. Clorox Bleach—one of the most recognized brand names among clothing-care products—has been sold only as a liquid since its introduction many decades ago. Building on the brand’s universal recognition as a quality product, the company introduced Bleach Gel. Another strategy stemming from stimulus generalization is family branding, which consists of marketing different products under the same brand name. For example, Campbell’s, originally a marketer of soups, continues to add new food products to its product line under the Campbell’s brand name, such as chunky, condensed, kids, and lower-sodium soups; fro- zen meals named Campbell’s Super Bakes; and tomato juice. Licensing is contractually allowing a well-known brand name to be affixed to the prod- ucts of another manufacturer. The names of designers, manufacturers, celebrities, corpora- tions, and even cartoon characters are attached, for a fee (i.e., “rented out”) to a variety of products, enabling the licensees to achieve instant recognition and implied quality for the licensed products. Some successful licensors include Liz Claiborne, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, and Christian Dior, whose names appear on an exceptionally wide variety of products, from sheets to shoes and luggage to perfume.^7 For example, the Italian automobile brand, Ferrari, continues to expand with licensing agreements with theme parks (e.g., mega- rollercoaster in Abu Dhabi); Oakley (sunglasses); Puma (clothing and sport accessories); Cobra (golf equipment); Microsoft, Sony Polyphony, and EA (video games); Movado (watches); and LEGO. Licensing is big business. Companies that license their brand names are able to grow their brand awareness with licensing deals. Companies that make products are able to enter into a market with a well-known brand name (e.g., Ferrari) without having to build brand recognition. Figure 5.5. presents the top five companies that license their brand names, along with sales from licensing and examples of branded licensed products. Corporations also license their names and trademarks to marketers of related products. For example, Godiva chocolates licensed its name for Godiva liqueur. Corporations also license their names and logos for purely promotional purposes: for example, the phrase

family branding Marketing a whole line of products under the same brand name, which is a mar- keting application of stimulus generalization.

licensing An application of stimulus gen- eralization that contractually allows affixing a brand name to the products of another manufacturer.

F I G U R E 5. 4

Mr. Clean’s Product Line Extensions

product form extension Offering the same product in a different form but under the same brand, which is a mar- keting application of stimulus generalization.

Source: Procter & Gamble Co.

154 PART ii • THE CONSUMER AS AN iNDiviDUAL

“Always Coca-Cola” is printed on clothing, toys, coffee mugs, and the like, none of which are made by Coca-Cola. The number of different products affiliated with a given brand—originating in line and form extensions, family branding, and licensing—will strengthen the brand name, as long as the brand’s owner ensures that the additions are of high quality and consistent with the brand’s image and positioning. Failure to do so will negatively affect consumer confidence and evaluations of all the brand’s products. One study showed that brands that include diverse products are likely to offer more successful brand extensions than brands that include similar products. The study also confirmed that consumers’ reactions to the brand’s extensions are strongly related to the distinct benefits these items provide.^8

STIMULUS DISCRIMINATION AND BRAND DIFFERENTIATION Stimulus discrimination, the opposite of stimulus generalization, is the selection of a specific stimulus from among similar stimuli. The core objective of positioning (see Chapter 4) is to “teach” consumers to discriminate (or distinguish) among similar products (i.e., similar stimuli) and form a unique image for a brand in their minds. Therefore, the objective of marketers’ persuasive messages is to convey a brand’s unique benefits effectively and differentiate it from competition, which is termed brand differentiation. Unlike the marketers of brands known as imitators —which are often obscure or store brands—who hope that consumers will “generalize” by confusing their brands with well-positioned ones, market leaders’ objective is to convince and enable consumers to clearly distinguish ( “discriminate” ) between their products and the imitators. Most product differentiation strategies are designed to distinguish a product or brand from that of competitors on the basis of an attribute that is relevant, meaningful, and valu- able to consumers. It is always difficult to unseat a brand leader after stimulus discrimination

stimulus discrimination The strategy that is the opposite of stimulus generalization aimed at getting consumers to select a specific stimulus from among similar stimuli, whose objective is to position products and services in such a way that differentiates them effectively from competi- tive offerings.

The Walt Disney Company

• Licencing Sales $56.6 B
• Examples - Disney princesses, Frozen, Star Wars

Meredith Corporation

• Licensing Sales $22.8 B
• Examples - Better Homes & Gardens, EatingWell, Shape and Allrecipes

PVH Corp.

• Licensing Sales $18 B
• Examples - Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger

Iconix Brand Group

• Licensing Sales $12 B
• Examples - Peanuts - based on the iconic comic strip, by Charles Schulz.

Warner Bros. Consumer Products

• Licensing Sales $6.5 B
• Examples - Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Justice League

F I G U R E 5. 5 Top Five Licensing Companies, 2016 Adapted from “The Top 150 Global Licensors,” April 1, 2017, by License Global. http://www. licensemag.com/license- global/top-150-global- licensors-

Source: carloscardetas / AlamyStock Photo

Source: digital-reflections /Shutterstock

Source: B Chris-topher / AlamyStock Photo

Source: Entertain-ment Pictures /Alamy Stock Photo

Source:tanuha2001 /Shutterstock

156 PART ii • THE CONSUMER AS AN iNDiviDUAL

has a cold and also hates swallowing pills. Her mother convinces her to take Advil and her cold symptoms go away (i.e., the unpleasant stimulus is removed). The next time she has a cold, most likely the girl will readily agree to swallow a pill, and might even ask specifically for an Advil. Therefore, marketers of headache remedies use negative reinforcement when they illustrate the unpleasant symptoms of an unrelieved headache, as do marketers of mouth- wash when they show the loneliness suffered by someone with bad breath. In each of these cases, the consumer is encouraged to avoid the negative consequences and remove the unpleasant stimulus by buying the advertised product. Either positive or negative reinforcement can be used to elicit a desired response. How- ever, negative reinforcement should not be confused with punishment, which is designed to discourage behavior. For example, receiving a speeding ticket and having to pay a fine is not negative reinforcement; instead, it is a form of punishment designed to discourage future speeding. But what constitutes “punishment” is tricky. For example, a driver can perceive the fine as “paying” for a bad behavior and continue speeding; this individual apparently believes that each time he speeds he will merely have to pay for his bad behavior. Therefore, in addition to paying fines, speeding drivers receive “points” on their licenses and can lose their driving rights (and the opportunities to speed) if they speed too many times. In a frequently cited study, researchers discovered that when a daycare center started “punishing” parents who picked up their kids late by charging them about $3, late pickups actually increased because parents viewed the fine as the price for being tardy.^9 The “pun- ishment” actually legitimized being late and encouraged the behavior it was designed to lessen. A relatively new application of positive reinforcement is incentivized advertising. In many instances, consumers look for ways to avoid watching advertising (e.g., internet ad blockers, recording TV programs and skipping ads) and marketers are looking for ways to increase viewership of their ads (e.g., product placement and incentivized ads). Incentivized advertising provides consumers with rewards for watching ads. For example, gamers can be rewarded with extra lives or game boosters for watching an ad.^10 Product quality must be consistently high and satisfy customers every time they buy the product. Additional rewards do not have to be offered during every transaction however, primarily because occasional rewards often effectively reinforce consumers’ patronage. For example, airlines occasionally upgrade a passenger at the gate; here, the possibility of receiv- ing a reward is the reinforcement and incentive for continued patronage. Psychologists have identified three reinforcement schedules: continuous, fixed ratio, and variable ratio. These are presented in Figure 5.7.

F I G U R E 5. 6

Instrumental Conditioning

Try Brand B

Try Brand C

Try Brand D

Unrewarded: Legs too loose

Unrewarded: Tight in seat

Unrewarded: Baggy in seat

Reward: Perfect fit

Repeat Behavior

Try Brand A

Stimulus Situation (Need good- looking jeans)