Archive for the ‘Psychology’ Category
CENTURYPLY is undoubtedly one of the major furniture brands in India. Century Plyboard stayed away from TV advertising from the last four years, before it came back on TV with its new TVC on the World Anger Day – 28th Aug, 2012.
In this blog post, we shall evaluate this TVC from Century Plyboard and understand if it met its objectives. Please watch the TVC below.
TVC
Objectives:
Though Century Plyboard is a major brand in India and consumers trusted the brand, research suggested that it is not an aspirational brand in the eyes of the consumers. So, Century Plyboard wanted to build a campaign that brings out the brand as a “lifestyle brand” and truly make it aspirational. As we all know, for any brand, the ultimate apex in brand hierarchy is to be aspirational for its target group.
However, in process of making it a lifestyle/aspirational brand, Century Plyboard also wanted to communicate a key functional aspect – “durability of the furniture“.
Let us check the TVC on some of the key parameters.
1. Does it command the attention of the recipient? √
No doubt that the thrown car and the angry gorilla at the beginning of TVC attracts your attention, and is clutter-breaking among any group of advertisements. I would say 100 out of 100 for the Bates team for such a clearly clutter-breaking start for the TVC.
Great! Now that it got the attention of the consumer, it would have to be relevant and communicate the message.
2. Communication of Durability √
As the consumer watches attentively, the next scene that attracts attention is that the gorilla is not able to break the door and it enters the house breaking through the roof. As the gorilla lands on a dining-table, the dining table doesn’t break and the gorilla chases the person in the scene to the cupboard. Until this point, the consumer is still attentively wondering “what is the gorilla upto?”.
Now, as it turns out that the gorilla is the husband’s imagination of his wife’s anger, it brings out an element of empathy and fun making the whole commercial very enjoyable. The message in the background also re-emphasizes on the visual communication.
It is a great story with an element of suspense, and clearly communicating the durability of the furniture. I give 100/100 in the communication of the functional aspect “durability”.
3. Does it bring the Lifestyle/Aspirational element? Χ
Though the advertisement communicates the durability aspect, it communicates it in a raw manner and definitely doesn’t communicate it creating an aspiration for the brand. The point of concern is: is “durability” a differentiated factor among branded furniture or is it a hygiene factor where the consumer is looking for more than durability. This is why Century Plyboard as a brand should become a lifestyle brand and be more aspirational in the consumer’s mind. This helps to enhance the product portfolio and target the up-class consumers, together bringing in the brand aspiration.
The TVC clearly falls short in the aspect of creating aspiration. The commercial is definitely enjoyable and it has the brand recall with “CENTURY PLY” cards at the end of the ad. The advertisement would have been perfect, had the situation been that people don’t have much trust in its durability. However, the situation here is to somehow create an element of aspiration for the brand.
On the whole, it definitely does well on breaking the clutter, consumers will enjoy the ad, communicates the aspect of durability and increases the awareness of “CENTURYPLY”. However it falls short in creating aspiration.
No ‘One India’ in Advertising
Posted on: December 6, 2011
- In: Advertising | Market Research | Marketing | Psychology
- 3 Comments
Not many people would argue about the diversity of the culture in India. This is the country where the language and the taste of water changes every 100 km. The question is – how does this diversity affect the marketers to communicate their products? How does an advertiser look at this diversity? Is there a magic mantra that cuts through all these linguistic and cultural diversity?
Research done by Milward Brown suggests that there is no single mantra in advertising that works for the whole country. There are very few advertisements that worked well across the country. Some of the observations from the research are:
1. Celebrities can be the glue that binds markets
Celebrities can work across markets, but that definitely doesn’t guarantee the success. Using a celebrity reduces the risk of failure of the advertisement across markets. Particularly in the South, the use of local celebrities is more followed as it is observed that people connect well with the local celebrities. Cricketers can certainly help communicate across the markets. It is true that every Indian lives on Bollywood and Cricket.
2. Children can certainly help
Children can help raise empathy and likingness quotient in the ad. However, an interesting stat is one-third of all the ads that don’t do well have kids in them. So, the mere presence of a child doesn’t increase the likingness of the ad. Generally speaking, it is observed that people tend to be active watching ads of children. Children, if used properly, can help in breaking the clutter.
3. Effect of humour is variable
Humour in India works well when it is based on visuals and music. Humour which is based on regional situations and wit may not do well across the markets. While some of the ads have worked well in some regions, the ads based on regional humour caused some serious trouble to the brand in other markets.
4. Product demonstrations are less likely to do well
Advertisements that focus on product demonstrations are less likely to do well. Differing expectations from advertising are at the root of this difficulty. There are clear differences across regions and town tiers in this regard. South India tends to be driven more by the need for information, as does small-town India.
Regional differences in receiving ads
First, something that all of us (in India) suspected: North is North and South is South, and never the twain shall meet. These two regions show the poorest creative transfer; an ad that does well in the South is unlikely to do well in the North, and viceversa.
Second, the West is a poor receiver of ads from the North. Looking at ads tested in those two regions, only 34 percent of ads that were highly enjoyable in the North did well in the West, while close to half the ads that did well in the West also performed well in the North. Therefore, if we need to prioritize between the two regions, the West provides a better litmus test of likely performance.
Third, the South is neither a borrower nor a lender. Ads that do well in the South transfer poorly to the North, moderately well to the West, and well to the East. Therefore, if the South is relevant for a brand, it must automatically be selected as a test centre.
Fourth, successful ads in the East transfer well to other regions, though within a specific and limited context. To clarify, the East is an important market for relatively few brands and categories, so any principle of travel would apply to this rather specific set of brands. The East also tends to be more critical of advertising compared to other regions. Hence, purely from the perspective of creative transference, strong performance in the East is an indication of good performance in other zones.
Most of the research above is done based on the Link scores, a evaluative tool of advertising by Milward Brown. Whether your objective is to raise awareness, promote trial, develop rational or emotional brand associations, or to convey a very specific message, Link will tell you how your ad will perform.
Thank you.
Attitude cannot be copied
Posted on: August 21, 2011
attitude
“Our attitude toward life determines life’s attitude towards us.” - John N. Mitchell
” It’s not what happens to you that determines how far you will go in life ;it is how you handle what happens to you. “ - Zig Ziglar
Oh great! I got it. From tomorrow morning, I will have a positive outlook towards everything, I’ll have a positive attitude and I am happy. It isn’t that easy, isn’t it? If it were, all people would have read autobiographies, self-help books and developed great attitudes that make them the next leaders and the innovators.
Unlike other qualities, Attitude is something that cannot be copied, it can only be developed. By closely observing or by reading a book, one may copy the behaviour of the likes of a Gandhi or a Richard Branson, but that is not attitude. Attitude is the layer beneath your outlook and all your actions – proactive and reactive – in your life. Attitude is something that comes from your inside. It is what determines the skeleton of one’s character. Attitude is only developed with real life experiences and the learning that feeds back into the system. It is under constant change, and the way it changes also depends on the attitude towards the change.
Truth as an attitude
In my view, attitude is the most important element of life. Because, your attitude determines your actions, your attitude determines how you look at a situation. One of the things that I learnt in life is – the best way to live life is to follow truth. A mind of truth is always open, because you’re craving to know the truth and learn the truth. One cannot have an open mind without being true. It is very easy to get deceived that one has an open unbiased mind without being completely true, because your mind can deceive you of truth as what you believe as true.
Price Sensitivity Model
Posted on: December 15, 2010
- In: Economics | Finance | Market Research | Marketing | Psychology | Statistics
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In the 1970s, Dutch economist Peter H. van Westendorp introduced a simple method to assess consumers’ price perception. It is based on the premise that there is a range of prices bounded bya maximum that a consumer is prepared to spend and a minimum below which credibility is indoubt. The Price Sensitivity Meter (sometimes called the Price Sensitivity Measurement) is based on respondents’ answers to four price-related questions.
A simple and easily executable method, the first step in the PSM is to ask respondents the following four price-related questions:
1. At what price do you begin to perceive the product as so expensive that you would not consider buying it? (Too expensive)
2. At what price do you begin to perceive the product as so inexpensive that you would feel that the quality cannot be very good? (Too inexpensive)
3. At what price do you perceive that the product is beginning to get expensive, so thatit is not out of the question, but you would have to give some thought to buying it?(Expensive)
4. At what price do you perceive the product to be a bargain – a great buy for the money? (Inexpensive)
From responses to these questions, cumulative frequency distributions are derived and plotted.
Interpretation of Results:
- The IPP generally reflects either the median price actually paidby consumers already in the market or the price of the product of a market leader.
- The range of prices between the PMC and PME is considered the range of acceptable prices. In markets that are already well established, few competitive products will be priced outside of this range.
- The OPP, according to this method, is the point at which the same number of respondents indicate that the price is too expensive as indicate that the price is too inexpensive. Manypricing researchers question whether this is the definitive optimal price for a product. The questions asked itself, force respondents to choose a range of prices (as opposed to just one) that they consider to be acceptable.
- Unlike discrete choice methods, the PSM does not replicate the actual shopping process. Instead, it tests respondents’ knowledge of a product’s price levels. The consequence of this reliance on consumer reference prices is twofold. First, results will vary depending on respondents’ experience with price levels in the market. If respondents do not have a good reference price, this method often causes the underestimation of a product’s ability to command a premium price. Second, results will vary as the market itself changes.
- Underlying the entire method is the concern that the questions directly ask respondents what they would be willing to pay for a product. Several researchers believe, however, that in order to be more effective, questions should focus on behavior rather than price. Additionally, these consumer-defined prices may not correspond with the actual range of acceptable product prices.
- Answers to questions used in the PSM do not reflect purchase intent.
Despite the concerns, the PSM remains a simple method; it is both easy to execute and easy to understand. Although we rarely propose its use and never recommend the PSM as a method for definitively selecting the price for a product, it can be used as a tool for gauging consumers’ price perceptions and expectations.
Earlier Post on Pricing: http://brandalyzer.wordpress.com/2010/10/01/customer-perceived-value-the-base-of-your-pricing-strategy/
- In: Philosophy | Psychology
- 1 Comment
Every person has some intelligence. As you all know, it doesn’t matter how intelligent you’re what really matters is how you use your intelligence. Now, people use their intelligence in different ways. Some use their intelligence to earn more money, some to learn more, some to create something, some to change lives and society. Now, society assumes you always use your intelligence to earn more money. This is exactly why society measures intelligence in terms of success and success in terms of the paycheck.
This blog is following a debate with my colleagues over how you distinguish between a perceptual benefit and a real benefit.
Every product has some real benefits and perceptual benefits. For example, in the case of a sports bike, the real benefit could be having a speedy ride on the roads and the perceptual benefit could be having a macho image or getting a girl. The perceptual benefit depends from person to person based on his perception of the brand image. With the same sports bike, you may have some other perception altogether.
Now I come to the point which created the debate. Let us take the example of an aromatic soap. There is a complete consensus that the real benefit of a soap is to clean the skin. Now coming to the aroma of the soap, there is a difference in opinion on whether it is a perceptual benefit or a real benefit. My take on it is as follows:
There are two cases of usage of perceptual benefit.
Perceptual benefit to mean customer’s association:
If you think of the perceptual benefit from the customer’s association perspective, the perceptual benefit can be perceived in different ways. My perceptual benefit of possessing an iPod may be different from that of the other. The simplest way to categorize is ask if the product management induced the benefit which is true in the case of an aroma for a soap. The aroma is deliberately given to the soap which is a real benefit. In the case of the sports bike, the perceptual benefit of getting a girl is not productised, rather it is perceived by the consumer based on the brand image. In this case the macho image is a perceptual benefit because you are not doing anything in your product management to give a girl along with every bike.
Perceptional benefit to mean intangible benefit:
If we use the word perception in ‘perceptual need’ to mean intangibility then aroma of a soap is a perceptual need.
NeuroMarketing
Posted on: July 5, 2010
I love you Rasna
Posted on: July 2, 2010
In 1970′s, people used to have sqashes in their freezers and they used to serve it chill to guests at home. A large amount of the squash is Sugar, which accounts to sixty percent of the cost. So, a keen observer thought of transferring the sugar costs to the end consumer and deliver the product at a very cheap price compared to the squashes. This idea gave birth to a revolutionary product called Rasna.
Rasna is priced at six rupees which is almost one third of the cost of the squashes and syrups popular at that time. Rasna wanted to target everybody and leave nobody. But to target all the population is a big challenge, because it is not easy to satisfy everybody. Rasna wanted to target people with its value for money. It released TV commercials emphasising on the value for money, by saying you get two bottles or 32 glasses of Rasna with just one pack. One of the important things in this advertisement is that the price is not mentioned in the commercial. This is deliberately done so that consumers don’t preceive it as a cheap product and when they actually go to the store with a high-price in mind, the low price creates a vow feeling. It was successful and things went well for Rasna.
The Rasna Girl
After a successful launch of the product, Rasna wants to grow in the market. Rasna found out through research that the mother in the family is the decision maker and the kids of the age 3 to 5 years are the influencer in the family. So, Rasna wants to target the mother and 3 to 5 year old kids. So the birth of the first mother and kid association commercial. This is the famous advertisement of the Rasna girl – Ankita Zaveri.
And, then comes the most famous ‘I love you Rasna’ commercial of Ankita Zaveri.
Ankita Zaveri grew old
Rasna grew big in the market and had a market share of around eighty percent. Rasna wanted to even capture the tea and coffee market and released commercials where Rasna is used as a relief drink for Daddys’ coming from office. But soon Rasna is into problems because the most famous Rasna girl, Ankita Zaveri, grew old and even lost her middle tooth. Rasna is into problems because any other girl in the commercials will bring comparisons, but Rasna finally went in with a new girl in the commercial and it is a big flop. People compared with the original Rasna girl and even said that the new girl is very dark and ugly.
Rasna did extensive research and found out that it would want to target a boy instead of a girl. For Rasna, this is a big transition in its image and so it did very carefully by even including a small girl, elder girl, and the boy, so that the risk of failure is a bit low. With this things were okay for Rasna and Rasna pretty much consolidated its position in the market as the number one. Slowly, Rasna started to bring in the Rasna boy into the commercials completely.
Thereafter, Rasna released several commercials targetting small kids with tattoos and genies, based on the inputs given by child psychiatrists about the psyche of children and what makes them happy. This is a perfect example how difficult it is to change the consumer perception. Even today Rasna is still associated with the Rasna girl – Ankita Zaveri.
Should Kodak create a new brand ?
Posted on: May 18, 2010
Kodak reminds the consumers of the small yellow boxes of film. The consumer doesn’t perceive the latest digital technologies when he sees the image of Kodak. It is because Kodak had too much success in the era of the non-digital photography market. Its success began to become its failure. As Kodak is so successful with its own formula, it was dithery in its decision to enter the digital market, though it knows the whole world is going digital.
Kodak’s persistence with conventional market
Kodak entered the digital market in 1995 with the creation of the Kodak Digital Science brand. However, Kodak, never wanting to leave its niche segment of the non-digital market, invested heavily on a brand called Kodak Advantix System. Kodak Advatix System, with the internal technology name Advanced Photo System, gave many advantages to the consumer including three different print formats. These Advantix cameras and films were very expensive. Furthermore, there were distribution problems and there were not enough places where the Advantix films could get processed. Al Ries questioned Kodak’s decision to invest so heavily in conventional photography at the time when the whole world is going digital. Kodak has a problem, it doesn’t want its successful brand to die. Kodak failed to make a mark with its Advantix camera and people went digital.
Kodak – the brand that is not digital
Kodak is perceived as a leader in conventional photography market, but when it comes to the digital photography market consumers feel Canon, and Sony are better associated with the digital market. Kodak’s brand perception is not in sync with the digital market. Sometimes when you are very good in a category, people don’t accept you in other categories. It also has to do with Kodak never leaving its conventional market and taking a safe approach of keeping one foot in conventional market and one in the digital market. But, sometimes people perceive of what you are doing with your other foot too.
Should Kodak come up with a new brand for its digital market ?
There are two problems that Kodak faces: Firstly, the technology has changed and it has to keep up with it and Secondly, it wants to leverage upon its Kodak 100 year brand. I say this is a unique problem, because if you observe carefully the second point hinders the growth of the first. Kodak is so successful with conventional photography that people associate it with film photography. So, if you use this brand to project your digital technology, it may not be effective. At the same time, Kodak doesn’t want to leave this brand altogether because it wants to bank upon its brand equity and brand value. I feel, though this decision is difficult, Kodak should create a new pseudo-brand for its digital market. Because, it is going to be very difficult to change the perception of the consumers and Kodak will need to do a lot of unlearning in the consumers mind, which is very difficult and sometimes impossible. So, the better bet is to create a pseudo brand for its digital technology, because people think Kodak doesn’t think digital.
Yes, Kodak should create a new brand for its digital market.
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