INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT

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S216850916 – Luthando Nkonjana

Tania Shrosbree Consumer Behaviour

 TABLE OF CONTENT

1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………...1

2. Defence Mechanisms………………………………………………………….2

2.1. Identification
2.2. Daydreaming
2.3. Regression
3. Consumer Perception…………………………………………………………3-4
3.1. Product positioning
3.2. Grouping
4. Consumer Perception………………………………………………………….4-5
4.1. Stereotypes
4.2. Physical appearance
4.3. First impression
5. Personality and Consumer Behaviour………………………………….…5-6
5.1. Product anthropomorphism
5.2. Cosmopolitanism
6. Consumers in their Social and Cultural Settings…………………………6-7
6.1. Culture
6.2. Subculture
7. Personality and Consumer Behaviour…………………………………….7-10
7.1. Consumer materialism
7.2. Consumption Behaviour
8. Consumer Motivation………………………………………………………..10-12
8.1. Approach goal
8.2. Avoid goal
9. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………….12

Reference list……………………………………………………………………..13
10.
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1. INTRODUCTION

In this assignment the student is required to look at the various forms of

advertisements and how they relate to consumer behaviour. They are required to
analyse each advertisement to detail to the reader how it has been influenced by the
study of customer behaviour.

In the assignment the student examines defence mechanisms that customers use
under stressful situations and analyses how various advertisements have used these
mechanisms as a guide to sell their products to the consumer. They also look at
product positioning and the unique benefit it offers and analyse an advert depicting
perceptual organisation.

Further in the assignment, the student examines stereotypes and they impact they
have on the consumer’s perception and attitude of advertisement. They also study
product anthropomorphism and cosmopolitanism through a television commercial.
The study how culture influences advertising and how subculture can be used to sell
to a specific market.

Lastly, the student looks at print adverts that show customer materialism.
Compulsive consumption, approach goal and avoidance goal.
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2. DEFENCE MECHANISMS
.1 Identification

https://youtu.be/qqXNOMTXWqY (miello9, 2007)

This advert shows a woman who works in customer service in a moment of

frustration while dealing with a difficult customer. While in this moment, she takes
time to take a sip from her Joko Gold tea, the tea relieves her of the building
frustration she feels in the moment and helps her deal with the situation. The advert
depicts the Identification defence mechanism. Here the viewer will identify with the
stressful situation depicted in the advert and seek the product as a solution to
stressful situations they experience in their own lives.

.2 Daydreamer

https://youtu.be/YiCHsKtz5YU (Avon South Africa official, 2020)

This advert shows a man and a woman living a luxurious life, in designer outfits, and
showing high levels of confidence and intimacy. The advert is advertising Avon’s (in
partnership with fashion extraordinaire, David Tlale) Exotic fragrance for him and
her. The advert plays on the viewer’s need to feel beautiful, powerful and luxurious. It
allows them to envision themselves in the situation depicted by the advert and gives
them the impression that owing the fragrance would make them feel like the
characters in the advert.

.2 Regression

https://youtu.be/MYWoGwAad94 (Obakeng Kurwana, 2015)

In this Nando’s advert we see ministers being escorted by traffic officers and all of
them not abiding by the rules of the road, and as a result coming to a halt and a four-
way stop and almost colliding into each other. The traffic officers then proceed to
ague as to who is in the wrong and in their exchange, resort to child-like (regressive)
behaviour. The argument is abruptly disrupted by a passing taxi that sounds like a
gun shot, then the advert is concluded with the words, “fire it up”; this advert is
advertising Nando’s flame grilled chicken. The confrontation between the traffic
officers in the advert is an example of regression.
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3. CONSUMER PERCEPTION
.1 Product Positioning

Maxhosa is a uniquely South African Xhosa designer brand, the brand celebrates the
Xhosa culture in its design, but even more distinctly in its pattern design. It has been
positioned is such a manner that it is a luxury brand that is true to African culture and
vibrance. Much like the western culture fashion, it has taken African culture and has
made it wearable and fashionable for the world to consume. It offers the unique
benefit of having historical and cultural significance unlike other fashion brands, it
has made its footprint as one of the first successful African inspired fashion brands in
the world.

(MaXhosa AFRICA, 2020)

.2 Perceptual Organization

https://youtu.be/H5JvDwx5OFk (Vanessa Vanderpuye, 2016)

Here I have chosen Grouping with this Coca-Cola advert that shows a man drinking
a Coca-Cola on a hot day and a young girl crushing on him. Coca-Cola has done a
great job of grouping their product with the feeling, whatever that feeling is for the
customer. Often in their adverts they show friends having fun at the beach or family
sharing food joyfully or teenagers crushing on each other. They often also group
their product with a hot day in summer, showing the customer how the beverage can
be enjoyed. This grouping helps the customer associate the product with a hot
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summer day or a good feeling and these associations influence their buying
behaviour.
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4. CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS
.1 Stereotype

https://youtu.be/K3yGndarbhs (Sunlight, 2018)

In this advert Sunlight advertises their new lavender washing powder. They do this
by showing two women disrupting a scientist during a presentation where he was
explaining a new way to wash clothing and telling him that nothing can wash clothing
better than Sunlight.

This advertisement may seem to be touching on the stereotype that women are
experts at domestic activities, so much so that they are more knowledgeable more
than scientists. This could cause the customer to perceive the advert as sexist or
may feed the existing stereotype a customer my carry about women.

.2 Physical appearance

(The Fashionisto, 2012)

This advert is for Giorgio Armani’s fragrance for men – Armani Code Ultimate.
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The advert implies that only model-attractive men are desirable to women, as most
fragrance adverts do. This can affect the customer’s perception of the brand, as they
may feel that they do not fit the physical appearance that has been attached to the
product through the advert. Most men are not model-attractive, neither do they have
model bodies, and as a defence mechanism they may experience withdrawal and
consider an alternative brand where they see themselves represented.

.3 First impression

(Ads of the World, 2017)

Here Altoids is advertising their peppermint mints for fresh breath.

The advertisement may leave readers perceiving it as inappropriate, leaving a bad

first impression on the customer. The advert is confusing in that it seems to be
implying that the first impression should be made by the man’s partner. It is odd that
she was made to have large breasts and the outfit of choice is unsettling considering
that the event seems to be a smart attire/formal event.
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5. PERSONALITY AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

.1 Product anthropomorphism

https://youtu.be/PmP-_ciWpdw (Sunlight Dishwasher Nigeria, 2018)

This Sunlight liquid dishwasher advert depicts dishes complaining about being too
greasy to be washed by a normal dishwasher, but the new lemon Sunlight liquid
dishwasher promises to even wash away grease on plastic.

I chose this advert because it shows the dishes possessing human characteristics,
such as speaking and expressing emotion, this is a perfect example of product
anthropomorphism.

.2 Cosmopolitanism

(Cosmopolitanlemon, 2020)
This advert is by British Airways and they are advertising their bigger airplanes by
using a Giraffe. They a using a cosmopolitan view because this is global advert and
are using something significant in one or two continents in the world as a tool to sell
to the world, because even people who live in places that don’t have Giraffes know
about them and can understand the ad because of the words cosmopolitan view.
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6. CONSUMERS IN THEIR CULTURAL AND SOCIAL SETTINGS

.1 Culture

(Reddit, 2017)

Here the alcohol brand Austin Nichols used Thanksgiving, an American holiday, to
advertise it whiskey – Wild Turkey.

Thanksgiving in America forms part of the American culture because it is a national

holiday, celebrated by many as a time to gather with family and loved ones. The
tradition wasn’t a holiday until President Abraham Lincoln made it a national holiday
in 1863. The culture of the holiday is to enjoy turkey with family and have a feast,
because it is believed that this is how the tradition began, when Native Americans
fed English settlers for three days in a celebratory setting. Although the tradition only
lasted one generation before the English brutally murdered the Native Americans in
war and took over their land, but that’s a part of history that isn’t often spoken about.
(Bugos,2019)

Here the advertiser has positioned the brand to Thanksgiving – a holiday that holds
cultural significance to the American population and is celebrated by millions every
year. By doing this the brand has aligned itself as the ideal beverage to enjoy during
this time, it has aligned itself with the spirit of celebration and family, so that every
time a consumer is having a similar gathering, they think of their product. This is an
effective way of studying your market’s culture and aligning your product to their
needs that are often influenced by the culture they have created.
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.2 Subculture

(Design your way, 2017)

In this advert, we see Adidas advertising their adiZero Rose 1.5 sneakers using the
sport basketball to communicate their message. According to the United States
Census Bureau (2019), the United States of America has a population of
328,239,523 million people with the African American population counting for only
13.4 percent of it. Though the African American population is only the 3 rd largest
population in America (the first being Caucasian, followed by Hispanics/Latinos) it
has played a significant role in American culture, in music, fashion, and especially
sports.

The basketball sport has specifically formed part of the African American culture,
with 74.2 percent of NBA players being African American since 2010 (Gough, 2020).
These statistics only account for the players who made it professionally and doesn’t
include the millions of Africa Americans who grow up playing the sport. Adidas in this
advert took advantage of the subculture that exists in America by targeting African
Americans in their advertising, not only because of the popularity of the sport within
the community but also for its influence on their fashion. Editor and co-founder of
Shifter Magazine, Kevin Bourne said, “Out of all the sports, there is none that
influences and is more influenced by fashion than basketball. From the suit and tie
80’s and 90’s to the more hip-hop inspired late 90’s and early 2000’s to the current
era of high fashion, over the past few decades the NBA has been a good reflection
of the times.” (2017).

This subculture serves as a great opportunity for Adidas because the African
American community will purchase the sneaker not only for sports purposes, but for
fashion purposes too. They have achieved this by studying the group’s beliefs,
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values and customs and have used that information to create tailored marketing
material for them that will speak to their culture ((Kanuk & Schiffman, 2014).

7. PERSONALITY AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

.1 Consumer Materialism

(Nissan, 2009)

This is the Nissan 370z being advertised; this is an example of an adverts that
appeals to Consumer Materialism because it blurs the lines between needs and
wants and communicated to the viewer that there is really no difference between the
two. Belk defines materialism as “the importance a consumer attaches to worldly
possessions” (1984, p.291). Based on Belk’s definition, once the importance of
wants is closely associated to the importance of needs, materialism has been
reached, which is essentially what this advert has done.

.2 Compulsive Consumption
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(Anchors Aweigh, 2017)

In this advert Anchors Aweigh is running a dress sale in which they are offering one
free dress with the purchase of two dresses.

In this advert the advertiser is stimulating compulsive consumption in their buyer.

They are trying to get the buyer to purchase more than they planned to purchase by
offering them a deal that seems to be more for less. This is the idea behind Black
Friday to, according to Scott Rick, “a lot of it is just loss leader to bait you inside and
get you to buy high-margin stuff.” (2019), this phenomenon is knowns as shopping
momentum. According to Steig (2019), consumer research has shown that buying an
item at a lower price brings a level of satisfaction to the consumer even if they didn’t
intend or need to purchase them item, psychologically they feel like they have won
something by purchasing items for less; the feeling can be addictive and lead to
more buying, which is what this advert is encouraging in the buyer.

8. CONSUMER MOTIVATION
.1 Approach Goal
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(Naked, 2018)

This advert shows the brand Naked, this is a brand that sells smoothies that have
been already packaged and are organic. This advert is an approach goal advert
because it gears the customer towards a positive goal of being healthy. Any one who
may have positive feelings about health and fitness will be interested in this advert
because it is for people who are excited to become.

.2 Avoidance Goal
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(Zurich, 2016)

This advert is a car insurance advert by Zurich.

This advert has a negative/avoidance goal because the advert is created to bring
anxiety to the customer and worry, to stimulate caution. The customer is likely to buy
into the print advertisement to avoid finding themselves in a similar situation as
depicted in the advert. These customers have a prevention attitude (Kanuk &
Schiffman, 2014).
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9. CONCLUSION

In the assignment the student examined many forms of advertising and the
influencers that can affect customer behaviour in advertising. There student learnt a
lot from the assignment and was able to use practical examples of textbook
knowledge. The student struggles to gather some of the information needed to
complete the assignment but was able to source references through consistent
research.

It has been very helpful and informative to the student to learn about influences that
affect advertising. The advert itself is not enough, a lot of consideration has to go it
how the customer will perceive the advert and their personal beliefs have to be
considered to make sure the advert is effective in persuading the customer to
purchase the product or service.
Reference List

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Miello9 (2007), Very funny South African Commercial: Joko Tea. Available at:
https://youtu.be/qqXNOMTXWqY (Accessed: 28 November 2020).

Avon South Africa Official (2020), David Tlale X Avon Exotic Summer Collection.
Available at: https://youtu.be/YiCHsKtz5YU (Accessed: 28 November 2020).

Obakeng Kurwana, Best Nandos Advert South Africa. Available at:

https://youtu.be/MYWoGwAad94 (Accessed: 28 November 2020).

MaXhosa AFRICA (2020), 06 April. Available at:

https://twitter.com/maxhosaafrica/status/1247142627525217376?s=21 (Accessed at:
28 November 2020).

Sunlight (2018), A Clean You Can Smell. Available at: https://youtu.be/K3yGndarbhs

(Accessed at: 29 November 2020).

The Fashionisto (2012), Domenique Melchior Entices with Confidence in Giorgio

Armani’s Armani Code Ultimate Fragrance Campaign. Available at:
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armanis-armani-code-ultimate-fragrance-campaign/ (Accessed at: 29 November
2020).

Bogus,C, (2019). The Myths of the Thanksgiving Story and the Lasting Damage
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Schiffman, L. and Kanuka, L. (2014). ‘Consumer Motivation’, Global and Southern

African Perspectives Consumer Behaviour. Cape Town: Philippa van Aardt, p.77.

Schiffman, L. and Kanuka, L. (2014). ‘Subculture and consumer behaviour’, Global

and Southern African Perspectives Consumer Behaviour. Cape Town: Philippa van
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g=386501&p=4347840 (Accessed on 5 December 2020).

Gough.C. (2020), Share of players in the NBA from 2010 to 2020, by ethnicity.
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https://youtu.be/PmP-_ciWpdw (Accessed on 5 December 2020)

Belk,R.W, (1998), ‘Possessions and the extended self’, Journal of Consumer

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Steig, C (2019). The psychological reason you get sucked into Black Friday sales.
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