UnderstandingConsumer Behaviour
Lecture 3
Dr.Stephan Dickert
BUSM058 Module
Semester A
Today’s Outline:
•Consumer Psychology
–Test your knowledge (Chapter 2)
–Exposure, Attention & Perception (Chapter 3)
Consumer Behaviour -Chapter 2:
•Test your knowledge:
Needs have all of the following characteristics except
a. are different from wants.
b. can conflict with one another.
c. can be aroused by internal cues.
d. can be aroused by external cues.
e. result in higher levels of perceived risk.
Consumer Behaviour -Chapter 2:
•Test your knowledge:
Ellen is driving down the road with her radio on. An ad for a new store is being aired as Ellen maneuvers through heavy traffic. Although Ellen enjoys shopping and is always interested in new stores, she is paying more attention to her driving than the ad. Thus she has limited ____ to pay attention to the ad.
a. motivation
b. ability
c. opportunity
d. involvement
e. desire
Consumer Behaviour -Chapter 3:
•Today we will understand how marketing information makes its way into consumers’ minds
•Exposure
•Attention
•Perception
•Comprehension
Exposure
“…reflects the process by which the consumer comes into contact with a stimulus.”
•Exposure through sense organs
–Visual
–Auditory
–Taste
–Smell
–Touch
•Exposure to marketing stimuli
–Designed to be noticed by (all) senses.
Exposure
•Factors influencing exposure
–Position of an ad
–Product distribution
–Shelf placement
•Selective exposure
–Zipping (fast forwarding)
–Zapping (muting/switching channels).
Attention
“…the process by which we devote mental activity to a stimulus…necessary for information to be processed…activate our senses.”
Attention
“…the process by which we devote mental activity to a stimulus…necessary for information to be processed…activate our senses.”
Attention
“…the process by which we devote mental activity to a stimulus…necessary for information to be processed…activate our senses.”
Attention
“…the process by which we devote mental activity to a stimulus…necessary for information to be processed…activate our senses.”

•Change Blindness

Attention
•The trick with the downsizing….
Attention
•The trick with the downsizing….
Attention
•Characteristics
–Selective –we only focus on a few stimuli at a time
–Capable of being divided and distracted
–Limited –depends on familiarity and ease of processing of the stimuli
–Habituation –decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated presentations
•Under what conditions do you (not) give full attention to advertising & marketing communication?
Attention
•Enhancing consumer attention via marketing stimuli
–Personally relevant
–Pleasant
–Surprising
–Easy to process.
Attention
•Enhancing consumer attention via marketing stimuli
•Pleasant marketing stimuli
–Attractive models
–Music https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTAYmMKSIaw
–Humor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U91Zp9wWS30
•Surprising marketing stimuli
–Novelty
–Unexpectedness https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNcdu3w9m1g
–Puzzles
Attention
•Enhancing consumer attention via marketing stimuli
•Easy to process marketing stimuli
–Prominent
–Concrete
–Contrasting
•Limit amount of competing information
•KISS (Keep it simple…)
Attention
How to capture attention:
Attention
How to capture attention:
Attention
Groupwork
•Get together in teams and answer the following questions. Be ready to present this to the class.
1.The role of music & mood in marketing:
Find a commercial which uses a well known song and discuss the mood that it sets. Would another song have worked equally well?
2.Is surprise always a good thing in marketing?
Find an advertisement which uses surprise and discuss its merits and problems.
Perception
“…occurs when stimuli are registered by one of our five senses: vision, hearing, taste, smell, & touch”.
“…the process by which physical sensations…are selected, organised, and interpreted. The eventual interpretation of the stimulus allows it to be assigned meaning.
Perception
•Making sense of the environment around us
Perception
Vision
•Size & shape
•Lettering
•Color dimensions, physiological responses, liking
–Color can provoke emotions (or at least is associated with them…)
–Reactions to color are biological and cultural
–What colors are associated with a particular company?
Perception
Vision
•Color Dimensions
•Warm colors:
–elated mood states and arousal
•Cool colors:
–reduce arousal, peacefulness
Perception
Auditory
•Music can increase arousal
–Can influence purchase intention
•Sonic identity
–(e.g., Sound logo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPB-2RwqH0U)
•Sound symbolism
–(e.g., inferences from sound https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn_q3jwzcHk)
Perception
Taste
•Varying perceptions of what “tastes good”
•Cultural backgrounds
•In-store marketing
Perception
Smell
•Smell & physiological response/moods
–Odors create moods and promote memories
•Product trial
•Liking Buying
Perception
Haptic (Touch)
•Haptic sense is most basic of senses. Learned before vision and smell.
•Affects product experience
•Touching can lead to attachment
Perception
Applied aspects of sensory perception
•Marketers try to consider the “right” combinations of stimuli
•Visual & auditory in an online context
–Lyrics of songs
–Still images have a smaller effect (Adelaaret al., 2003)
•Olfactory & auditory in an actual store context
–Match between the arousal caused by scent and music
–E.g., low arousal scent (lavender) & slow tempo music
Perception
Applied aspects of sensory perception
•Example
–Touch
–Smell
–Vision
–Sound
Perception
Applied aspects of sensory perception
•Example
–Touch
–Smell
–Vision
–Sound
Sensory Thresholds
• Absolute thresholds
– The minimum amount of stimulation that can be detected
on a given sensory channel
• Differential thresholds
– The amount of stimulation needed to be detected as a
change/difference between two stimuli
Perceiving Marketing Stimuli
•Perceptual organization
–Single units are organized into a whole
•Figure & ground
–Stimuli are interpreted relative to a background
Perceiving Marketing Stimuli
•Perceptual organization
–Single units are organized into a whole
•Figure & ground
–Stimuli are interpreted relative to a background
•Closure
–Perceptions are automatically completed
Perceiving Marketing Stimuli
•Perceptual organization
–Single units are organized into a whole
•Figure & ground
–Stimuli are interpreted relative to a background
•Closure
–Perceptions are automatically completed
•Grouping
–Stimuli are grouped if they belong to each other 
Perceiving Marketing Stimuli
Perceiving Marketing Stimuli
•Perceptual organization
–Single units are organized into a whole
•Figure & ground
–Stimuli are interpreted relative to a background
•Closure
–Perceptions are automatically completed
•Grouping
–Stimuli are grouped if they belong to each other
•Bias for the whole
–Consumers place more values in “wholes” than the sum of its parts (e.g., a $20 bill > $10 + $10)
Comprehension
•Objective (what was said)
•Subjective (what was understood)
•Miscomprehension
•Improving objective comprehension
–Expertise & ability
Comprehension
•Brand names/symbols inferences
−Misleading names/labels
−Inappropriate/similar names
•Product features/packaging
−Product attributes
−Country of origin
−Package design
−Color
Attention
Seminar Exercises (Groupwork):
•Task 1: Visit the Victoria’s Secret website at and answer the following questions:
–How does the company use its home page to provide potential consumers with opportunities for additional exposure to the company and its products?
–What techniques does the company use to attract and hold consumers’ attention at the website?
–Which perceptual factors engage the consumer to process the information at Victoria’s Secret website?
Attention
Seminar Exercises (Groupwork):
•Task 2: outline the design for an appropriate store exterior/interior for a product/service/experience/idea of your choice. Then think of ways you could adapt your store into a virtual environment.
•To help you prepare for the seminar discussion:
–Watch the two videos on QMPLUS
–Read the article “Store atmosphere in web retailing” posted on QMplus.
See you next week!