How Customers Think, Ch. 8-13

Zaltman

Chapter 8 – Memory’s Fragile Power

• Two types of memory– Verbatim– Gist

• Memory is reconstructed• Marketers try to “aid” the reconstruction

relative to their brands

Chapter 8 – Memory’s Fragile Power

• Three forms of memory– Semantic – meanings of words and symbols– Episodic- circumstances of the occasion– Procedural – learned skills

• Explicit memory and implicit memory

Chapter 8 – Memory’s Fragile Power

• Encoding – both cognitive and affective components included

• Processing – different strength levels• Retrieval – Associative – Strategic (voluntary)

• Figures 8-1 and 8-2 on pp. 178-179• Forward and backward framing

Chapter 9 – Memory, Metaphor, and Stories

• Memories have a deep association with storytelling

• Social memory – the rituals which surround us– Coca-Cola polar bear ads – effective with

monkeys?– Social norms guide our aspirations and behaviors– Social memory has power to change prior beliefs– The power of perception – what is truth?

Chapter 9 – Memory, Metaphor, and Stories

• Knowledge-driven memory builds a new schema (knowledge is factual – car price)

• Belief-driven memory interprets new information using the existing general schema (belief is interpretation – car quality)

Chapter 10 – Stories and Brands

• Brands are a form of storytelling• A brand implicitly contains a brand promise of

expectations• We can personify brands and tell stories about

them• Team exercise – pick a popular, well known

brand and develop a short story about that brand if it was a person

Chapter 10 – Stories and Brands

• Archetypes – universal themes – seasonal (father time) and hero (Ulysses)

• When a brand ties into one of these archetypes, it brings all the associated baggage – for good or for worse

• Memory is individual, influenced by our sense of self– Ecological self, interpersonal self, extended self,

private self, conceptual self

Chapter 10 – Stories and Brands

• Brain structures and the libmic system• Thalamus as the quarterback• Cortical areas (pre-frontal cortex) as cognition• Amygdala area as unconscious and affective

modulation• Nestle Crunch – deep metaphor of time

described by surface attributes of anticipation, memories, and escape

• Brands can create “surrogate traditions” for us

Chapter 11 – Crowbars for Creative Thinking

• Creativity comes from a rich, diverse experience set

• Knowledge about consumers can come from many fields – explore constantly

• Zaltman’s top ten list for thinking creatively• People tend to be pattern seekers• Avis – Stress-relief rather than speedy service

Chapter 12 – Quality Questions Beget Quality Answers

• The sequence of questions determines the type and quality of the answers– Unaided brand awareness before aided– Ask what you think of a brand and what the brand

thinks of you – two different types of responses!

• Eight guidelines for framing research questions• Data are bits of information; answers are packets

of learning• Frame of reference is critical - context

Chapter 12 – Quality Questions Beget Quality Answers

• Asian disease problem – p. 280

Chapter 13 – Launching a New Mind Set

• Lessons from the Titanic• Hubris – we’re unsinkable!