How top world organizations use consumer psychology for their

marketing strategy;

1.COCA COLA;
focus on the Coca Cola Advertisement strategy and how it affects consumer
behaviour, whether in terms of good (positive) or bad (negative) behaviour. In
doing so, only two advertisements will be discussed including the share a coke
campaign in the UK and Coca Colas American Super Bowl commercial in
2013.
According to Hoyer, MacInnis, & Pieters (2012), marketing communications
intend to trigger strong emotions in consumers; however, advertisements are
better at creating low-level moods than creating strong and intense emotions.
Consequently, they give Coca Colas advertisements as an example of lowlevel moods creation in the consumers, or sort of a soft power that makes
viewers to be in good mood and stirs their behaviours towards buying the
product. This is achievable by watching people enjoying sips of ice-cold Coca
Cola in the Ads. However, Coca Cola adopted some new strategies, other than
the classical ice-cold Coca Cola drinking Ads, through the share a coke
campaign. Dorbin (2013) emphasizes that Coca-Cola has decided for the first
time to replace its iconic brand name on some of its bottles with 150 of
Britains favourite names, through which it encourages consumers to share a
coke with their family, friends, and loved ones including posting pictures of
themselves with a Coke bottle bearing the name of a pal. Dorbin (2013) also
indicates that this campaign had achieved some significant results as the
campaign was effective on the social media. Moreover, share a coke
campaign increased both sales and consumer perception of the brand over the
period of the campaign, after which Coca Cola released an Ad to thank its
customers for sharing a coke as shown below (OReilly 2013).
Although Coca Cola achieved success in the UK through the share a Coke
campaign, its American Super Bowl Advertisement (that can be accessed
through youtube, did not achieve the same success as it was sharply criticized
by Arab-Americans due to what they considered to be a racist Ad due to
depicting an Arab walking through the desert with a camel, which portrays
Arabs as being backward and foolish Camel Jockeys (Zeidler 2013;
dailymail.co.uk 2013). Moreover, an Arab community leader in the USA and
a member of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee stated that
this advertisement could harm Cokes business within Arab Community in the
USA and Coca Cola should understand and respect their consumers and have
a better understanding of the market they are sharing (Zeidler 2013). To sum
up, Coca Colas advertisements are usually successful as they help change
consumer behaviours through low-level mood creation in such a way that

encourages consumers to buy the product. An example of this success was

highlighted through the share a coke campaign in the UK. However, not all
Coca Cola advertisements achieve their goal as some could be misperceived,
misunderstood, or even could be seen and considered as racial such as the
American Super Bowl Coca Cola Ad.
2. UNILEVER:
With 7000 marketers and brand partners around the world, collaborating on
strategy development is a mammoth undertaking for Unilever, not to mention
executing considering its the worlds second largest advertiser, with two
billion people in 180 markets using one of the packaged goods giants
products each day.Unilevers senior vice president of global media, Luis Di
Como, spoke about the organisations marketing strategy, newly defined for
the connected world, during a keynote presentation at the annual customer
and user conference of tech partner Salesforce.com, which is taking place in
San Francisco this week.In one sentence, Unilevers marketing strategy is this:
Crafting brand for life.
It is the combination of three key pillars:
1. People first: Putting people first, is the first pillar. Putting people at the
heart of everything we are doing. We dont talk about shoppers or consumers,
we talk about real people with real lives, needs and dreams.
2. Indispensable brands: Di Como spoke about building brands that people
cannot live without. Brands need a clear purpose, with a clear point of view,
he said.
3. Magical experiences: Unlocking the emotion, sharing in those magical
brand experiences across the whole path to purchase, across the whole
consumer journey. And theres one thing that weve learned in this connected
world, and that is the power of cooperation, collaboration, crowdsourcing.
In regard to the second point above, an example Di Como referenced,
regarding clear values, is the famous Real Beauty campaign/theme for the
Dove brand, including the Sketches video that enjoyed wide popularity
earlier this year. He spoke about the huge amount of effort that went in to
making that piece of content spread virally, including social listening and fluid
reaction and content publication (with Salesforce products Radian6 and Buddy
Media, respectively).We have learnt a lot over the years about how to create
and distribute content in this digitally connectetd world, Di Como said.The
first half of the equation is the content itself. Insightful content. Compelling
content that is really rooted in a deep human truth, is a key ingredient, Di
Como explains, and at the same time, [content thats] aligned with the brand
purpose.Equally as important, but more commonly overlooked, is the

distribution of that content, using all of the power of mobile social and the
whole digital ecosystem.Critically what we have learned is to really start with
a plan, see whats working, see what is not working, and have the agility and
be nimble in the response and have a real-time publishing approach in order to
have the success, he said. The next endeavour Di Como hopes will spread
across the globe is one launching today, called Project Sunlight. As Dove
tackled the issue of body image, Project Sunlight hopes to tackle social,
economic and health disparity, especially in children, in developing nations.
3. AMAZON:
Amazons marketing strategy goes beyond the current, where the founder used
a different kind of psychology. mazon.com bases its marketing stratagem on
six pillars.

It freely proffers products and services.

It uses a customer-friendly interface.
It scales easily from small to large.
It exploits its affiliates products and resources.
It uses existing communication systems.
It utilizes universal behaviors and mentalities.

Much of its marketing is subliminal or indirect it does not run $1 million

dollar ads during Super Bowls nor post flyers in mall marketplaces.
Amazon.com relies on wily online ploys, strong partner relations and a
constant declaration of quality to market itself to the masses.
PAY PER CLICK ADVERTISING
Independent Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising has been the black sheep of
Amazon.coms marketing campaign. No big banners, loud colors, or pristine
men casually conversing about Amazon.com on Americas tube just a
demure advertisement on a web page which, incidentally, may wordlessly lead
thousands to Amazon.com
CONTINUAL WEBSITE IMPROVEMENT
In todays stop-and-go internet traffic, an engaging, simple and easy-to-use
website is a necessity. Amazon.com expends millions of dollars and hundreds
of man-hours to identify problems, develop solutions, and further enhance the
customers online experience.
OFFLINE ADVERTISING
Martin McClanan, CEO of upscale gift cataloger Red Envelope, notes that TV
and billboard ads are roughly 10 times less effective when compared to direct
or online marketing when concerning customer acquisition costs.

Amazon.coms strategy is simple: since customers shop online, online is

where they will be found.
STREAMLINED ORDERING PROCESS
Easy ordering is Amazon.coms Holy Grail. It eagerly develops technology to
allow customers to better navigate and explore their online retail mall. When
you have everything you need, you make just one payment and your orders are
processed. This simple system is the same whether a customer purchases
directly from amazon.com or from one of the Associates.
PARTNERSHIPS & WEB SERVICES
Amazon.com has shook hands and signed contracts with quite a few partners.
Not only does it operate many of its own websites, including A9 and CDNOW,
but it hosts and manages retail web sites for an array of other retailers,
including Target, Sears Canada, Bebe Stores, Timex Corporation and Marks &
Spencer.
AFFILIATE MARKETING
Keeping in line with their fourth marketing pillar, Amazon.com sponsors a
wildly successful program called Affiliate Marketing. Using Amazon Web
Services (AWS) XML service, Associates (independent retailers) and thirdparty sellers agree to place links on their websites to Amazon.com or to
specific Amazon.com products.
THE CUSTOMERS OPINIONS
Amazon.com does more than pay sycophantic lip service to its customers.
Each product is available for consumer reviews, and customers may rate
products on a hierarchical scale of 1-5 stars.
4. APPLE:
Coming off the heels of yet another successful Apple launch debut, its
increasingly clear that Apple is on top of their game in a way like no other.
Which other company could turn an ordinary press conference into a live
global event? The secret lies beyond their product line and design standards; it
lies beyond even Steve Jobs emphatic adherence to Apples core philosophy,
which is that the user doesnt always know what they want. Looking at the
companys latest product lines and revenue models, Id be a fool to call them
anything less than what they are, which is:
o
o
o
o

A design firm
A media platform
A publishing company
A software powerhouse

o A computer builder
o A movement
So how did they do it?
1. Ignore Your Critics
As an entrepreneur, youll hear a lot of people tell you that you need to reach
out and figure out what people want, which means listening to your critics,
often times more patiently than youd like. Great ideas often receive violent
opposition from mediocre minds. Albert Einstein
2. Turn the Ordinary into Something Beautiful
For quite some time, PC fans enjoyed the work of buying their own parts and
building their own tower systems. At the same time, PC makers were building
standard hardware for standard applications. Apple would have none of that.
Where others focus on one aspect of the equation, Apple focuses on the entire
product, and it shows.
3. Justify Your Price
Were in a time when pricing strategies are all over the place. People dont
know what to charge, and in many cases, prefer to race to the bottom instead
of pricing strategically to a market that can bear the cost. Well, the answer is
twofold: 1. They build beautiful products for an audience that loves them
passionately.2. They justify their price with features and benefits that cant be
matched.
4. Communicate in the Language of Your Audience
It makes no sense to talk about things like megabytes, gigahertz, and
processing power to customers that simply dont care about technical jargon.
6. Build a TribeIts no secret that Apple has built one of the most hardcore fan
bases of any product and of any time. Theres a reason theyre called
fanboys.
5. PROCTER AND GAMBLE:
Procter & Gamble defined the nature of packaged goods brand marketing in
the second half of the century, and despite an alarming wobble in the crossover
from the 20th to the 21st centuries, it was by 2004 once again setting the pace
for other marketers to match. Between 2003 and 2010, the group consistently
delivered strong growth and an unbeatable line up of products, virtually all of
which occupied the #1 or #2 position in their respective markets. No other
company could (or can) boast as dynamic a lineup of brands, including 25
worth more than $1bn a year in sales. But with sales now over $80bn, and

performance slowing in several areas, a serious question began to emerge

regarding future development. It became hard to see just where P&G could go
next before the sheer size of the company pushed it towards demerger. Several
brands have already been divested, and a big sale of much of its beauty
portfolio is now imminent. Procter & Gamble is a giant in packaged consumer
goods, the worldwide #1 in baby care, fabric care, feminine care and haircare,
and a major force in virtually every other sector in which it operates. The
company controls around 300 brands in total, marketed across over 160
countries, but the portfolio is led by a collection of what were 25 billion-dollar
brands in 2013. The biggest of these were: Pampers (sales of around $11.25bn
in 2013, Euromonitor/Sanford Bernstein estimates), Tide (around $5bn), Ariel
($4bn), Pantene ($3.8bn) and Olay ($3.4bn). They are supported by Always,
Bounty, Charmin, Iams, Downy and Crest. Wella, Actonel and Head &
Shoulders joined the Billion Dollar club in 2004; Dawn topped $1bn in sales
in 2005. Gillette Mach 3 razors, Gillette Series grooming products, Duracell,
Braun and Oral-B were added to the portfolio in 2006. Gain was a new
member in 2007, followed by Gillette Fusion during 2008, Ace in 2010 and
Febreze in 2011. More recent additions to the billion-dollar-club are SK-II
skincare and Vicks, both of which surpassed that level for the first time in
2012. However that collection of trophies is being whittled down by the
disposal of non-core businesses. Iams and Duracell were divested in 2014 and
2015. More are likely to follow, not least Wella. In 2014, another 14 brands
had sales between $500m and $1bn per annum, including Cover Girl, Herbal
Essences, Swiffer and Tampax. Here too there are brands up for sale.
CoverGirl is expected to be sold in 2015.
P&G's resurgence in the 2000s followed a wobble at the end of the 1990s.
After several years of strong development, P&G suddenly appeared to hit a
brick wall. Growth dried up, several key brands lost their leadership of the
market to rivals, and new product launches proved disappointing or even to be
downright failures. After two years of further internal restructuring, P&G had
found its way forward again by early 2002, and delivered strong growth, much
of it fuelled by acquisitions, between 2004 and 2010. Yet concerns began to
emerge once more in 2011 as a result of a slowdown in growth, rising costs,
and some extraordinary planning errors, not least in what was initially a
botched launch of new Tide Pods in the US.
In addition to its marketing skills, P&G has long been recognised for its
exceptional strength in research and development, not just of new products,
but also component ingredients and packaging design. The group still comes
up with more new ideas than even it can develop commercially. As a result,
since 2000, it has greatly increased its willingness to form mutually beneficial
"innovation partnerships" with other companies. In one such arrangement
P&G licenses technology it developed for plastic wrappings to smaller

company Clorox for use in products sold under the latter's Glad brand. In 2008
it agreed to lend a wide range of other packaging technologies, including nonsplatter nozzles for plastic bottles, to food company ConAgra.
Recently, the group has established a major presence in sports sponsorship. It
signed up as an official sponsor of the US national team in the 2010 Winter
Olympics, promoting several individual products, mostly family-oriented
brands, in a wide-ranging and imaginative campaign. The apparent success of
that campaign led to the group signing up in summer 2010 as top-line sponsor
of the main Summer games. Commencing with the 2012 London Olympics,
that ten-year deal covers three summer and two winter Olympics. In addition,
P&G became the first corporate sponsor with rights to promote multiple
different brands under its IOC partnership agreement. Its 2012 "Thank You
Mom" campaign, celebrating the support given to athletes by their mothers,
was widely regarded as one of the year's