Kathmandu University School of Management (KUSOM)

Balkumari, Lalitpur

UNDERSTANDING CONSUMERS’ BEHAVIOR

Midterm Examination

Submitted to:

Ms. Roshee Lamichhane Bhushal

Assistant Professor- Marketing

Submitted by:

Anamika Shakya

Roll No:18785

Section- C

Group II

BBA 3rd Year, 5th semester

 1) Locate one example (one advertisement or one article) depicting practices that are
consistent with the societal marketing concept. Explain your choices. (5 marks).
Answer:

The societal marketing concept refers to the marketing concept where it requires marketers

to make strategic marketing decision that fulfills the needs of the target consumers in ways that

improve, preserve, and enhance society’s well-being while meeting their business objectives at the

same time. This concept is based on the societal wellbeing and societal welfare.

One of the examples that depicts the practices consistent with the societal marketing

concept is of the company Levi Strauss & Co. It is world’s largest maker of pants, popular for its

brand of blue denim jeans called Levi’s, which is also the registered trademark of the company.

Its other products include jackets, hats, shirts, skirts, and belts and so on.
 Levi Strauss & Co.is producing its product by considering the human and environmental

wellbeing. It has implemented water-saving technologies for the manufacturing of its product as

shown by the ad above. The company keeping the environmental aspect in consideration is

producing its denim jeans in such a way that would save water during the making of the denim

jeans. The company’s popular denim brand Levi’s with the use of Water<Less innovation

technology, can reduce up to 96 percent of the water normally used in denim finishing, the final

stage in making of a pair of jeans. Therefore, it saves a huge amount of water during the making

process of the denim jeans.

Similarly, the company is not only using water saving technology for the manufacturing of

its products but it is also using the technology of recycling the old denim jeans in order to make a

new pair of jeans that has prioritized the environmental conservation at the same time.

Therefore, the concept that this company is using fits with the societal concept as with the

use of the recycling technology, new clothing products can be made easily from the used garments

which helps to recycle the old and used jeans that reduces the landfill waste, decreases use of

chemical, saves water and helps to reduce Co2 footprints as well as it will help to conserve the

environment for the future.

In this era of growing global warming and increasing environmental degradation, there has

been massive threat to the environment due the irresponsible activities of human beings. Levi

Strauss &Co. company has taken a huge step for bringing a positive impact for the environment in

terms of its making process of its product which is environmentally friendly as well as it
encourages the other manufacturing companies to adopt such technology that would support

recycling of old garments as well as save water during the manufacturing process of the product.

Thus, the company Levi Strauss & Co. with the use of water saving technology along with

recycling technology in its popular brands is considering social and environment wellbeing before

its profit which fits in well with the concept of the societal marketing as it is oriented towards the

wellbeing of the society, environment conservation through its ecofriendly, recyclable, water

saving clothing products.

2. A marketer of health foods would like to segment its market on the basis of self-image.

Describe how the marketer can use actual self-image and ideal self-image to do so. (5 marks)

Answer:

Self-image represents the way a person sees herself or himself. Self-image and perception

of self are related to the purchases of products and services, because consumers often select

products that are consistent with their self-images. Consumers mostly chooses the product with

their self-image, and buy those where they find a close match. So that they attempt to enhance and

preserve their self-image. There are mainly four components of self-image among which the actual

self-image refers to how the consumer see themselves whereas the ideal self-image refers to how

consumers would like to see themselves.

Here, a marketer of health foods can use the concept of actual self-image and ideal self-

image in different and effective ways to segment its market based on the self-image. With the use

of actual self-image and ideal self-image. A marketer can segment the market consisting of the

health-conscious consumers based on self-image.

 The consumers having the self-image of health consciousness like the one who constantly

reflect about their health and believe that they always want to live a healthy life. These consumers

are very much self-conscious about their health and thus try to make healthy food choices. They

like eating healthy foods and are conscious about heir calorie intake as well. They associate a

healthy body with an ideal weight and make efforts to avoid being obese and they want to achieve

a more kind of slimmer and fit look. Thus, in this case the concept of ideal self-image of the

consumer helps to guide the consumer to make healthy food choices. The marketer needs to

understand the needs of such health-conscious consumer and accordingly should position the

product or service as the symbol of actual self-image that would help to achieve the ideal self-

image.

For example, Dabur honey has used both actual self-image and ideal self-image in one of

its ad where a consumer is conscious about being chubby and is trying to cut sugar as much as

possible in order to get a slimmer and healthy look but tries very hard to avoid sugar and there is

where Dabur honey claims to be a perfect solution to achieve the ideal self-image of the consumer

with 18 percent less in calories and rich in antioxidants that would help a consumer to achieve the

ideal weight that he/she wants with Dabur Honey “Stay Fit Stay Young”. The marketer has used

both the actual self-image and ideal image concept for influencing and motivating the consumer

to buy Dabur Honey.

In similar ways a marketer can use the actual self-image and ideal self-image concept for

the health conscious consumer segment to position itself in such a way that ensure that the healthy

food that it is offering matches the actual self-image of the person who is health conscious as well

it should promise to achieve the ideal image of the consumer i.e. the healthy food that the marketer

wants to offer should promise to help the consumer to achieve their ideal image of self. The brand
should be promoted in such a way that it would show brands reflection of actual and ideal self-

images. In this way, the marketer of health food can use actual self-image and ideal self-image to

segment the market based on the self-image.

3.Select a company that produces several versions of the same product under the same brand

name (do not use the examples discussed in the chapter from book). Visit the firm’s website

and prepare a list of the product items and the benefits that each item offers to consumers.

Are all these benefits believable, and will they persuade consumers to buy the different

versions of the product? Explain your answers. (5 marks)

Answer:

A company that I have selected is Unicharm Corporation that produces disposable hygiene

products. The company Unicharm has the bran Sofy that produces different version of sanitary

pads.

A list of different versions of sanitary pads produced by Sofy and the benefits that each

version provides are as follows:

Different versions of Sofy’s sanitary Benefits provided
pad
1.Sofy Body Fit 290 mm
2. Sofy Body Fit Overnight 420 mm
3. Sofy AntiBacteria Extra Long 350 mm This sanitary pad claims to provide complete freedom
4.Sofy AntiBacteria Overnight 350 mm
5.Sofy Cool Super XL+ 323 mm
Sofy Body Fit sanitary pad claims to provide leakage
free period even in heavy days with its deep absorbent
sheet which absorbs flow till the last layer that keeps
top sheet visibly cleaner and prevents leakage so that
consumers can fearlessly chase their dreams and
aspirations with confidence.
This sanitary napkin claims to provide protection
from back leakage during heavy flows especially at
night. Sofy Body Fit Overnight claims that it offers a
peaceful sleep for women without any worries of
stains on clothes and bedsheet at night.
from leakage from & provides protection from 99.9
% bacteria that causes smell on your heavy days with
perfume tree fragrance.
Sofy Antibacteria Overnight with Green Sheet claims
to gives 99.9% Bacteria Protection along with longer
length and wider hip guard for extra protection from
back leakage that ensure peaceful sleep at night.
Sofy Cool Super Xl+ claims to be the first cool
sanitary pad giving cool feeling during periods
available in India and Nepal as well. With its unique
cool pad technology it gives consumers the coolness
and freshness which helps to avoid warm, sticky,
stuffy feeling in summer and provides irritation free
period.
 Yes, I think that almost all of the benefits that has been claimed to provide by Sofy’s

different version of sanitary pad is believable and I think that all these benefits mentioned will

persuade the consumers to buy the different version of Sofy. As per my opinion, first of all the

Sofy sanitary pads is proposing unique value to its consumer through its different versions of the

sanitary. The brand produces five different categories of sanitary pads that are unique in its own

ways proposing unique value to the consumer. Each of the five different versions of sofy has

distinguished itself being of top quality that effectively prevents leakage and makes the consumers

feel confident with its use.

Secondly, the first version Sofy Body Fit 290mm` sanitary pad has positioned in way

stating that women can feel confident by using this version as it has “deep absorbent sheet” which

absorbs flow till the last layer that keeps top sheet visibly cleaner and prevents leakage so that

consumers can fearlessly chase their dreams and aspirations with confidence which provides a

specific benefit that is appealing to the consumers for using this version of Sofy.

Similarly, the second version of Sofy i.e. Sofy Body Fit Overnight 420 mm proposes to

give a different benefit to the consumer mainly during the night time that would prevent back

leakage that would ensure a peaceful sleep to women during extra heavy days. It is one of the

longest sanitary among the five different version. Thus, this version also uniquely proposes its

value with intrinsic cues in terms of size of the product and quantity as it comes with only one

packaging containing 3 pads only. It is mainly targeting those consumer that is finding a solution

to back leakage during night who have heavy flows which I think this version has been successful

to provide the benefit that it has claimed to its users.

Likewise, Sofy AntiBacteria Extra Long 350 mm provides protection from 99.9 % bacteria

that causes smell on heavy days .It has proposed a unique value and specific benefit to the
consumers as it has positioned itself as 1st Antibacteria Napkin with Green Sheet that blocks

bacterial protection up to 99.9% from Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida

albicans for long lasting hygiene along with wider hip guard to prevent leakage from the back side.

Similarly, the fragrance and the green sheet has been added to this pad which are intrinsic cues

that is helpful for consumer to judge its quality also it has a slight change in its packaging color

from pink white to pink green and its provides consumer a range of package containing 4 different

quantities in a single pack and its price is also higher than the normal Sofy Body fit which is

convincing enough for consumer to judge its quality. Therefore, I think this version also persuades

the consumers to buy it.

The 4th version Sofy AntiBacteria Overnight 350 mm claims to provide anti-bacterial

protection and prevents back leakage problem at night. The packaging of this version is Black-

Green where black represents the night and green represent the anti-bacterial protection. In term

of size also it is offering a longer sanitary pad in 350 mm which is second longest one among its

different versions. Its price is almost same to that of Anti Bacteria Extra-long 350mm however the

packaging comes in 3 different quantities of pads. It a bit more expensive than that of Sofy Anti

Bacteria Extralong as Sofy AntiBacteria Overnight 350 mm provides dual benefit both anti-

bacterial protection and prevention from back leakage at night.

The last and the latest version of the Sofy sanitary pad is Sofy Cool Super XL+ 323 mm

which claims to be the first cool sanitary pad in India , giving cool feeling during periods with its

unique Japanese technology to provide cool freshness during periods. The packaging design is

different with blue color and this version comes in 4 different package quantity. The price is also

reasonable which cost less than the anti-bacterial version. Its unique value proposition and specific
benefit of providing freshness and coolness its cool sanitary pad technology stands out and is

appealing to the consumers at the same time.

Likewise, the advertisements of each version of Sofy sanitary pad serves multiple

Maslow’s hierarchical needs. The value proposition of Sofy’s different version of sanitary pad

fulfills both safety and hygiene needs as well as self-esteem needs which motivates the consumer

to use the different version of the Sofy sanitary pad. The ads of each version of Sofy sanitary pad

shows that it is not only serving feminine hygiene needs but also it shows that women with the use

of each different version feel confident, fearless and claims women to be the trend setters thus it

motivates and persuades the consumers to use different version of Sofy’s sanitary pad.

Therefore, in my opinion from my personal experience also I believe that the different

version of Sofy sanitary pad with its unique and distinct proposed values, distinct price, packaging

designs, ads that serve multiple Maslow’s’ Hierarchical needs of Safety and hygiene needs and

self-esteem needs at the same time is able to provide its proposed and distinct benefits from each

version that would persuade the consumers to buy these different version of Sofy sanitary pads.