P12CPB

The Consumer Psychology of Brands

Level 2, 10 credits

Semester 2 2016-2017

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 P12CPB
The Consumer Psychology of
Brands
Module Outline
Semester 2, Year 2016-17

Module Convenor Dr. BALAJI (Dr. SATHYAPRAKASH BALAJI MAKAM)

Assistant Professor of Marketing
Room AB250
Sathyaprakashbalaji.makam@nottingham.edu.cn
Office hours at every Wednesday, 2:00-4:00 pm

Seminar Leaders Dr. Sathyaprakash Balaji Makam

Sathyaprakashbalaji.makam@nottingham.edu.cn

Ms. Maria Luo

Maria.Luo@nottingham.edu.cn
Room AB 248

Lectures 11 lectures of 90 minutes each

Tuesday 4:00-5:30 PM

Seminars Two compulsory seminars of 1 hour each.

Introduction

The aim of the module is to introduce and outline the theory of consumer behavior with
an emphasis on branding and provides an in depth evaluation of consumer psychology in
brand context. This module will provide you with an understanding of crucial importance
of understanding the psychology of consumers for building strong brands. You will be
able to apply the theories and principles of consumer behaviour and psychology in a brand
context i.e. the development of a strong brand.

Learning outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding

By the end of this module students should be able to demonstrate a sound understanding
of the following:

 The concept of consumer behaviour and branding.

  Demonstrate the ability to understand the psychology of individual, situational,
environmental and cultural influences on consumer decision making process for
brands.
 Analyse consumer behaviour and learn how consumer behaviour can affect
branding strategies.
 Understanding of consumer behaviour and branding strategies that can be applied
to real-world consumer behaviour and marketing strategies scenarios.

Intellectual and Key Skills

 The module develops students’ ability to evaluate branding strategies in light of

consumer behavior theory.
 Students are also encouraged to develop skills associated with problem solving,
information gathering and communication.

Teaching and Learning Methods

Teaching will be predominantly by lecture, with interactive discussion where appropriate.

Lectures are supported by two ‘compulsory’ seminars that are designed to enhance the
scope and quality of the discussion and encourage deeper learning, which will be tested
in the exam. The module is based on the principles of student-centered learning. It
requires students to complete the prescribed readings, prepare for and participate in
classes as requested by the lecture.

Readings

The lectures are based on a set of journal and business articles. In addition, any of the
basic consumer behavior and brand management books will be useful for background
reading on core concepts. Examples of such books are:

Soloman, M. R. (2017). Consumer Behaviour: Buying, Having and Being, 12th. NY:
Prentice Hall.

Keller, K. (2012). Strategic brand management: Building, measuring, and managing

brand equity, 4th. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc.

Schiffman, L. G., & Kanuk, L. L. (2000). Consumer behavior, 9th. NY: Prentice Hall.
Haugtvedt, C. P., Herr, P., & Kardes, F. (Eds.). (2012). Handbook of consumer
psychology. Psychology Press.

Practitioner Publications

In addition to the academic material recommended above you will find it useful to consult
periodicals such as Marketing Week, Digital Marketing Magazine, Forbes, Strategy +
Business and market research reports such as Mintel.

Academic Journals

Additional reading for the module and research for the project will necessitate that
students conduct their own library searches – using the physical and on-line library
resources – to access research papers from a range of marketing journals. The journals
are core journals that report advances in the marketing subject area.

 Journal of Marketing
 Journal of Consumer Research
 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science
 Journal of International Consumer Marketing
 European Journal of Marketing
 Journal of Marketing Management
 Journal of Brand Management

Lecture Programme and Suggested Reading

Lecture 1 Module Introduction

Consumer Behavior and the Branding Concept
Core Readings:
Nelson, P. (1970). Information and consumer behavior. Journal of political
economy, 78(2), pp.311-329.
Cannon, H.M. and Yaprak, A., 2002. Will the real-world citizen please stand up! The
many faces of cosmopolitan consumer behavior. Journal of International
Marketing, 10(4), pp.30-52.
Cheung, C.M., Chan, G.W. and Limayem, M., 2005. A critical review of online
consumer behavior: Empirical research. Journal of Electronic Commerce in
Organizations, 3(4), p.1.
 Schmitt, B. (2012). The consumer psychology of brands. Journal of Consumer
Psychology, 22(1), 7-17.

Lecture 2 Brand Choice Process and Behaviors

Core Readings:
Ballantyne, R., Warren, A. and Nobbs, K., 2006. The evolution of brand
choice. Journal of Brand Management, 13(4-5), pp.339-352.
Heilman, C.M., Bowman, D. and Wright, G.P., 2000. The evolution of brand
preferences and choice behaviors of consumers new to a market. Journal of Marketing
Research, 37(2), pp.139-155.
Suh, J.C., 2009. The role of consideration sets in brand choice: the moderating role of
product characteristics. Psychology & Marketing, 26(6), pp.534-550.

Lecture 3 Consumer Heuristics and Brand Loyalty

Core Readings:
Mandrik, C.A., 1996. Consumer heuristics: The tradeoff between processing effort and
value in brand choice. NA-Advances in Consumer Research Volume 23.
Gunasti, K. and Ross Jr, W.T., 2010. How and when alphanumeric brand names affect
consumer preferences. Journal of Marketing Research, 47(6), pp.1177-1192.
Erdem, T., Swait, J. and Valenzuela, A., 2006. Brands as signals: A cross-country
validation study. Journal of Marketing, 70(1), pp.34-49.

Lecture 4 Consumer Motives and Values in Brand Choice

Core Readings:
Mahatoo, W.H., 1989. Motives must be differentiated from needs, drives, wants:
strategy implications. European Journal of Marketing, 23(3), pp.29-36.
Dibley, A. and Baker, S., 2001. Uncovering the links between brand choice and
personal values among young British and Spanish girls. Journal of Consumer
Behaviour, 1(1), pp.77-93.
Vinson, D.E., Scott, J.E. and Lamont, L.M., 1977. The role of personal values in
marketing and consumer behavior. The Journal of Marketing, pp.44-50.

Lecture 5 Perception and Attention in Brand Processing and Choice

Core Readings:
Lynch, J.G. and Srull, T.K., 1982. Memory and attentional factors in consumer choice:
Concepts and research methods. Journal of Consumer Research, 9(1), pp.18-37.
Laurent, G. and Kapferer, J.N., 1985. Measuring consumer involvement
profiles. Journal of Marketing Research, pp.41-53.
 Shapiro, S. and Spence, M.T., 2002. Factors affecting encoding, retrieval, and
alignment of sensory attributes in a memory-based brand choice task. Journal of
Consumer Research, 28(4), pp.603-617.

Lecture 6 Brand Attitudes and Associations

Core Readings:
Van Osselaer, S.M. and Janiszewski, C., 2001. Two ways of learning brand
associations. Journal of Consumer Research, 28(2), pp.202-223.
Voss, K.E., Spangenberg, E.R. and Grohmann, B., 2003. Measuring the hedonic and
utilitarian dimensions of consumer attitude. Journal of Marketing Research, 40(3),
pp.310-320.
Park, C.W. and Young, S.M., 1983. Types and levels of involvement and brand attitude
formation. NA-Advances in Consumer Research Volume 10.

Lecture 7 Consumer Demographics and Psychographics in Brand Choice

29.03.16 Core Readings:
Orth, U., 2005. Consumer personality and other factors in situational brand choice
variation. Journal of Brand Management, 13(2), pp.115-133.
Orth, U.R., McDaniel, M., Shellhammer, T. and Lopetcharat, K., 2004. Promoting
brand benefits: the role of consumer psychographics and lifestyle. Journal of Consumer
Marketing, 21(2), pp.97-108.
Fennell, G., Allenby, G.M., Yang, S. and Edwards, Y., 2003. The effectiveness of
demographic and psychographic variables for explaining brand and product category
use. Quantitative Marketing and Economics, 1(2), pp.223-244.

Lecture 8 Social Aspects of Brand Choice

Core Readings:
Childers, T.L. and Rao, A.R., 1992. The influence of familial and peer-based reference
groups on consumer decisions. Journal of Consumer research, 19(2), pp.198-211.
Mangold, W.G. and Faulds, D.J., 2009. Social media: The new hybrid element of the
promotion mix. Business horizons, 52(4), pp.357-365.
Van Eck, P.S., Jager, W. and Leeflang, P.S., 2011. Opinion leaders' role in innovation
diffusion: A simulation study. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 28(2),
pp.187-203.
Thakur, R., Angriawan, A. and Summey, J.H., 2016. Technological opinion leadership:
The role of personal innovativeness, gadget love, and technological
innovativeness. Journal of Business Research, 69(8), pp.2764-2773.
Lecture 9 Brand Communities and New Product Adoption
Core Readings:
Bagozzi, R.P. and Dholakia, U.M., 2006. Antecedents and purchase consequences of
customer participation in small group brand communities. International Journal of
research in Marketing, 23(1), pp.45-61.
Thompson, S.A. and Sinha, R.K., 2008. Brand communities and new product adoption:
The influence and limits of oppositional loyalty. Journal of marketing, 72(6), pp.65-
80.
Schau, H.J., Muñiz Jr, A.M. and Arnould, E.J., 2009. How brand community practices
create value. Journal of marketing, 73(5), pp.30-51.

Lecture 10 Cultural Influences on Brand Choice

Core Readings
Erdem, T., Swait, J. and Valenzuela, A., 2006. Brands as signals: A cross-country
validation study. Journal of Marketing, 70(1), pp.34-49.
Overby, J.W., Woodruff, R.B. and Gardial, S.F., 2005. The influence of culture upon
consumers’ desired value perceptions: A research agenda. Marketing Theory, 5(2),
pp.139-163.

Lecture 11 Revision and Examination Briefing

Assessment

The assessment for this module is 100% examination. The exam will take place in May
and will involve answering two questions from a choice of five.

The purpose of the exam is to assess the students’ understanding of the core concepts of
marketing and theory relating to each element of the marketing mix. It will also examine
students’ ability to critically assess marketing concepts and practices.

As the two seminars are compulsory for the module, non-attendance of these seminars
will result in failure of the module though you may get a pass mark in the exam.

Plagiarism
Your attention is drawn to University regulations and school guidelines regarding
plagiarism. This is an academic offence and can result in zero mark being awarded for
this module.

Seminars

Task

Seminar One (week 4 & week 5):

Please prepare individually the following case study:

TESLA motors: Driving forward with A new consumer decision journey

The consumer decision-making process is undergoing major change and will never be the same.
Consumers are more informed than ever, with access to virtually endless information. But that wealth
of information is leading to many distractions and frustrations along the path to purchase. What experts
used to illustrate as a linear or funnel-like decision making path now looks more like a circular, looping
journey where distractions often lead consumers to revisit information search and alternative evaluation,
just when it seemed like a purchase decision should have been reached.

Dr. Carl Marci at Innerscope Research says “the linear path to the register has been replaced with a
roller-coaster ride that spans platforms and screens, through social media and traditional word of mouth.”
In his blog, Nigel Hollis describes moving away from a consumer loop into a view of a “cloud of
turbulent and sometimes conflicting influences” and points to Sue Elms’ suggestion that marketers need
to plan for “meaningful coincidences” rather than targeting consumers at specific points on the path to
purchase.

Marketers must replace outdated strategies that are based on misinterpretations of the decision journey.
Today’s reality is the prevalence of consumers moving seamlessly back and forth between physical and
virtual shopping worlds, while using a variety of devices across multiple channels. “The Path to Purchase:
Tracking the Consumer Journey,” tells us that 67 percent of shopper journeys now start online; 65
percent of those journeys are purely mobile. Despite that, many consumers still feel a compelling
connection to physical shopping for firsthand involvement with the product and the actual purchase. In
this kind of an environment, marketers must find new ways to offer “frictionless” customer experiences,
remembering that “every touchpoint is a brand experience and an opportunity to engage the consumer.”

One company that has responded to this changing consumer decision journey is Tesla Motors, a
manufacturer of highend all-electric cars. Tesla Motors came on the scene in 2006, introducing its first
vehicle, the sporty all-electric Roadster with a 200-mile range and a price tag of $100,000. The car won
Time’s Best Inventions award in the transportation category.

Following its unique purchase process, the company took orders ahead of time for the cars and went into
production in 2008. In 2012 it introduced the new Model S electric luxury sedan and by the end of 2013
had sold 18,000 through a non-traditional channel structure, becoming the best-selling full-size luxury
sedan overall in the market. The Model S won Motor Trend’s Car of the Year and was awarded a five-
star safety rating by the National Highway Safety Administration.
Next up, Tesla will be delivering the Model X, a crossover SUV. It has also announced the introduction
of the latest version of the Model S, the Model S 70D, an all-wheel drive version with a 250-mile range
and has plans to roll out a Model 3, which will sell at a price point of $35,000, appealing to a much
broader target market. In 2015, Tesla expected to sell 55,000 vehicles overall, up 74 percent from 2014.

So how has Tesla reinvented the consumer’s car buying journey? They believe they have overcome the
notoriously frustrating process and created a new model of buying and owning a car through a
customized, socially engaging buying experience. Their approach attempts to create that frictionless,
engaging set of consumer touch points and experiences that’s so important. As pointed out by Paul J.
D’Arcy, “Since people start (their decision journey) online, Tesla designed its process around online
information, commerce and community.” This strategy emphasizes an engaging, content-rich online
experience, using a corporate Web site and social media. The Web site is clean and clear, but
information-intensive and features a blog by Elon Musk, a majority owner and “lead product architect,”
who has become the visible face of the company.

Tesla also wants consumers to feel a personal, emotional connection to the brand—to be passionate
about owning a Tesla and to want to share that passion with other consumers. It has made user forums
and a user community important parts of the online experience. The company does virtually no
traditional advertising; it relies more on creating fans of the brand who are willing to generate word of
mouth excitement about the vehicles.

However, keeping in mind the role that physical interaction with products can play, the company has
introduced “tiny, brand-centric storefronts in upscale shopping malls.” These kiosk stores typically
feature one vehicle and have a brand expert on hand. The stores are aimed at making the brand more
accessible to the general public through high visibility, low maintenance outlets. The car design is so
unique and compelling that consumers are drawn in while they’re doing other shopping and can ask
questions without the high-pressure, commission-driven sales tactics typically associated with car
dealerships. When consumers are ready to buy they place a refundable deposit online or they can arrange
for a test drive by making a deposit.

The stores have become a big part of the company’s advertising. As one observer said about consumers
snapping pictures of the Tesla car as they drove by the store window, “That’s how cool this car is. You
feel like you’re part of something bigger, a new age of motor vehicles.” In addition, the media have
picked up on the buzz created by the brand, a lot of it through social media, and played their own public
relations role in increasing awareness of the company and its vehicles.

Tesla is working hard to rewrite the traditional attitudes that consumers have about vehicles and the
things they consider in the purchase process. The company’s consistent message is that it is building the
best car ever, not just the best electric car. It wants to disassociate the company from the typical
perceptions that consumers have of gas vehicles and their attributes—dirty, complex, unreliable, hard to
maintain. In fact, Tesla service centers have white floors to emphasize the clean nature of the vehicles
and the lack of mess involved in servicing them.

Despite the unusual purchase process Tesla Motors has created (or maybe because of it!), the demand
for its vehicles continues to outpace production, with buyers placing orders for customized cars well in
advance of their production and receipt of the vehicle. It also continues to push forward with game-
changing innovation—adding to its network of 2,000 car superchargers worldwide, working to perfect
autonomous driving technology, achieving better mileage range and safety features, and bringing the
price of the vehicles within reach of more consumers.
Reproduced from Soloman, M. R. (2017). Consumer Behaviour: Buying, Having and Being, 12th. NY:
Prentice Hall.

Questions

1. What are changes going on in consumer decision journey today?

2. How does Tesla Motors’ marketing strategy connect with the changes going on in the consumer
decision journey today?
3. Do you believe that they can be successful over the long-term with this kind of an approach?

Seminar Two (week 8 & week 9):

Please prepare in group of not more than 5 members the following task and be prepared
to present in class:

You will be required to select a particular consumer phenomenon, propose and carry out a study to
examine this problem, and discuss your findings. For example, you could examine how people decide
which brand to select, whether a specific advertising campaign has changed consumers’ perceptions of
a brand (and which factors contributed to the campaign’s success or failure), why consumers did or did
not accept a recently launched brand, etc…

Your presentation should be 10 minutes long, allowing for an additional 3-minute question and answer
session at the end of the presentation. Make sure that group member may have equal opportunity to
present the part for which he or she is responsible.

You are requested to carry out a ‘professional’ presentation (see Presentation Tips below), so please
dress appropriately. You have to form your own group consisting of 3-4 members. Please note that group
membership CANNOT be changed. Please remain in the group you have formed for logistic reasons.

Presentation Guidelines for Seminar Two

 The seminar is compulsory for the module so you must attend your group’s presentation. It is
down to individuals within groups to communicate with each other and arrange meetings,
contributions and allocation of tasks. Non-attendance of your allocated seminar will result in
failure of the module.
 Trips to embassies for visas, taking professional exams and qualifying exams such as GMAT or
GRE will not be accepted as reasons to miss the seminars. These matters should be dealt with
outside of teaching time. There will be no exceptions to this.
 For the presentation itself, groups must not select companies that are given as examples in the
text book for this module. Try to be original and select interesting marketing campaigns.
 Groups should not select the UNNC for their choice of marketing campaign.
  Presentations will be limited 10 minutes’ maximum. This is necessary to ensure all presentations
can be completed within the seminar time. Therefore, it will be necessary to practice your
presentation before the seminar.
 Please dress smartly and treat the presentation professionally.
 Please read the task carefully. The key task is to critique a marketing campaign (not a company)
and suggest how the marketing mix strategies can be improved.

Presentation Tips

Should you decide to pursue a career in marketing/business it is inevitable that you will be asked to make
formal business presentation. Remember the quality of your presentation could mean the difference
between: winning or losing a major contract for your company, being successful in a job interview or
just communicating well with your own work team. It is therefore essential to develop sound presentation
skills prior to entering the world of work.

Below are a few tips to help you make a more professional presentation:

 Consider your target audience: will they understand what you are saying? Vary the type of
presentation depending upon who you are delivering it to. Sales, Technical and Information
Communication all require differing styles to suit the audience.
 Keep eye contact with your audience as much as possible. Look around the room and project
your voice to the back of the room.
 Don’t read a presentation to your audience like a book! It is OK to use notes (preferably cards)
for reminding yourself of key issues or as backup.
 Don’t read straight off the slide; explain in your own words as people want to know what you
have to say.
 When using PowerPoint, try to use graphics, media, charts and graphs whilst avoiding slides full
of text & bullet points. You need to keep your audience engaged and interested.
 Presentations are not academic! You do not need lots of detail; rather you want the audience to
understand your key messages.
 Be prepared to take risks and try new things. You are in a safe environment at Uni.
 Pace yourselves so you don’t run out of time. Practice before the day.
 Think about what you like to see in a presentation, what you find interesting, and include it in
your own presentation.