Consumer Behaviour: Assignment guidelines 2014-2015

1. The overall aim of the assessment is to show that you understand how psychological (from

within), sociological (from society) and marketer controlled (marketing mix) factors combine

to influence purchase behaviour and decisions.

2. In order to demonstrate your understanding you will make extensive use of the constructs,

models and theories that we have learned about in the module. For example, motivation is a

construct. There are theories which attempt to explain it (Maslows Hierarchy of Needs)

and there is a model (Means-End-Chain analysis) which helps us to apply the theory to

specific examples. The more constructs, theories and models you apply appropriately and

correctly the more marks you will score for the theoretical content.

3. As illustrated in the marking scheme the theoretical content must cover psychological

factors (such as attention, perception, motivation, learning and memory, personality,

attitude), sociological factors (such as culture, values, peers and reference groups, social

comparison, social categorisation, celebrity) and the decision making process itself.

4. In order to connect constructs, theories and models to marketing activity you will make

extensive use of examples from the marketing mix of your chosen brand. There are many

examples in the lecture slides showing how to do this. Marketing activities refers to the

marketing mix and refers specifically to the product, the brand, its packaging and pricing,

point-of-purchase activity and of course the brands communications and advertising

activities.

5. There is no one correct structure or approach but rather a number of possible approaches:

CDP as structure; marketing mix as structure; psychological/sociological/decision making

factors as structure. The correct structure is the one that works best for you.

6. If you take the CDP as the structure here are some ideas to guide you. The CDP starts with

need recognition. Marketers must make their brand the object for motive achievement

thus they must demonstrate how their brand satisfies the consumers needs and wants

better than competitors. Products have features which deliver benefits. These benefits

provide the motives for engaging in information search and evaluation of alternatives

behaviour. A consumers desire for the benefits is what motivates behaviour. Motivation is

a psychological construct which Maslows Hierarchy of Needs attempts to explain. Means-

End-Chain is a model which allows us to connect needs and wants with product and brand

specific valued consequences. Those consequences can be functional (cleaner teeth, fresher

breath) but also psycho social ( important psychological and social benefits more

confidence in social interactions and increased self esteem). In this example therefore, you

will show how advertisements for the brand stimulate need recognition and how they

connect the brand with important consequences. You will work through each stage of the

CDP connecting it with appropriate constructs, theories and models and using examples of

marketing activity to illustrate your discussion.

7. Alternatively the marketing mix provides a possible structure. Product/brand has features

which provide valued consequences (links to motivation and means end chain

psychological theory. The valued consequences might be self esteem (link to personality

theory), social recognition/basis for social comparison (sociological theory). Consumers

compare the benefits provided by products (evaluation of alternatives CDP theory). The

model they use for comparison is Multi-attribute model links to attitude (psychological

theory). Again you are making links to theory and using examples to illustrate.

8. The marking scheme itself (Psychological factors, sociological factors, decision making

theory) also provides a structure. You might begin for example by identifying the

information processing component of the psychological factors which means attention,

perception, learning and memory. You can connect these factors to stages of decision

making and then use examples as illustrations. So, for example, all marketing activity

depends upon getting exposure and grabbing the consumers focal attention. What

examples can you point to in your brands advertising to show how it grabs focal attention?

How does the brand promote positive consumer learning? What techniques are used to help

consumers encode, store and retrieve the information?

9. Remember throughout what you are trying to achieve in this assignment task. Marketers

must sell their brand to consumers. Consumers respond to marketing activities the way they

do because of the way in which their own psychological make-up (their attitudes,

experiences, memories, personality) interacts with the social world (culture, friendship,

influence groups, values) in which they live. Consumers buy products and brands not only to

satisfy functional needs but also because the marketer has connected the brand with more

important psychological and social consequences that consumers value. This is the process

that you are trying to explain.

10. Whatever structural approach you choose it is a good idea to begin with a mind map

whereby you can plot how various factors connect with each other, how and where you will

integrate your theories and models and which examples you will use to illustrate your

discussion.

11. A good place to start this process is with a collection of artefacts related to your brand (the

product itself, its packaging, various examples of advertising from different sources, links to

new media marketing activities, brochures, point-of-purchase material.

12. When you have done this work out which part of the story can be told using each of your

artefacts.

13. Before you attempt your answer it is a good idea to plan out your story and assemble the

collection of brand artefacts that you will use. Here is a story. Your eye is caught by an

advertisement for a skin care product in Marie Claire magazine. What was it that caught

your attention? Was it the celebrity? You read the advertisement. What do you learn? What

does the advertisement do to promote positive learning/development of a positive brand

attitude? Is there a feature of the advertisement that is memorable? What is it? Why does

this feature help you to encode, store and retrieve? Is the story more meaningful because

the brand spokesman is a celebrity? The celebrity promises certain benefits if you use the

product. What are those benefits? Why are those benefits important to you? These benefits

provide your motivation to purchase the product. Some of the benefits are functional

(smoother skin) but some are much more complex (smoother skin makes you look younger.

If you look younger you will feel younger and you might feel better about yourself in other

ways). This enhances your confidence and increases your self esteem. How are these things

reflected in the advertisement and what model (means-end-chain analysis) can you use to

illustrate this? You buy the product and use it. Your skin does feel smoother, firmer and your

friend tells you how nice it looks. Your behaviour has been reinforced. It is more likely to

happen in future. Which model explains this? The story continues.

14. Your finished assignment will have the following characteristics:

- it will be very visual because you will have included scans/copies/web-links of/to your

brand artefacts

- the images will have explanatory value (

- you will include theoretical models where possible applied to your chosen brand (so where

you discuss attitude and Fishbein you will have a worked example of a Fishbein calculation;

where you talk about means-end-chain you will create and illustrate one for your brand)

- you will make extensive use of quotations from literature which serve to illustrate both the

extent of your reading and of your understanding

- there will be a clearly defined structure, though the choice of structure is up to you, with

frequent headings and sub-headings to act as signposts throughout your work

- there will be no references to web resources such as, Wikipedia, tutor2u or quickmba

- the images and illustrations will be provided in the body of the text NOT in appendices

- your work will be accurately referenced throughout using the Harvard Referencing system.