This week in class we talked a lot
about the psychology behind marketing. For example, have you ever wondered why
we prefer certain brands to others? How about what it is that even gets us
thinking about a particular product in the first place? Questions like these
can best be answered when we take a step back to examine some of the different
techniques that marketers use to draw our attention to their brands through the
power of advertising.
One of the biggest pieces to
marketing is perception, which is defined by our textbook as “the
process by which an individual selects, organizes, and interprets information
to create a meaningful picture of the world.”
Perception is key
here because it is something that all marketers are well aware of and try to
harness. Without a proper understanding of perception, marketers are at risk of
ultimately failing to properly promote and generate sales for their product. The
two main types of perception are selective and subliminal. Selective
perception is a process involving exposure, comprehension, and retention.
Basically, selective perception occurs when we see an ad that is consistent
with our own wants and needs, therefore leaving us with a memorable impression
on our minds. This in turn increases our likelihood of buying that particular
product we saw the ad for. Selective perception also enables us to remember
certain brands we may like all due to the fact that we were exposed to an
advertisement that stuck with us.
Subliminal
perception, on the other
hand, occurs when we see ads that stick with us even though we may or may not
be aware of them. Subliminal messages are a really interesting topic, primarily
because they can often be somewhat controversial. Our textbook talked a little
bit about the ethics behind subliminal messages and how many customers believe
that they lead them into purchasing products they never even wanted or intended
on buying. How fascinating is that!
The main tool that marketers use to
promote their products is branding. Branding simply refers to the name,
phrase, or symbols a company uses to associate with their products. In class we
discussed a big success of branding, which is celebrity endorsement.
Celebrity endorsements attract a lot of positive attention to a brand and
therefore have the potential to dramatically increase sales revenue. All in all
they can be a very effective tactic marketers use!
This is something I myself even
admit to falling victim to, and on a regular basis! While writing this very
blog post I noticed an online advertisement for Fabletics, which is an online
active wear clothing company designed for women who love to exercise and look
good while doing it. Kate Hudson is the celebrity ambassador for the brand, and
she in fact is also a co-founder of the company.
Like branding, brand loyalty is
another important concept to remember. A good way to understand brand loyalty
is to think of a market that you may not have a lot of expertise in, and then
to think of a product within that market that a close friend or relative uses.
Take for example the automobile industry. Especially with younger customers,
they are much more likely to purchase a car made by the same company that made
their parents car. The reasoning behind this goes back to the principles of
trust, value, and exposure.
The psychology behind marketing truly
is fascinating and should definitely be apart of every marketing student’s
knowledge. This was a really fun week for discussion in class and I hope that
my blog post reflected it!
That's all for now,
-XOXO M
Sources:
Marketing, 12th Edition Roger Kerin,
Steven Hartley, William Rudelius. McGraw-Hill: New York, 2015
