(2021-22)

Consumer Behaviour (M-420)

(Term Paper)

Submitted by: Submitted to:

Koshlesh Bhardwaj Dr. Kaneenika Jain
 S. S. Jain Subodh Management Institute,
Jaipur
Term Paper – Forth Semester

Subject: Consumer Behavior (M-420)

Maximum Marks: 10

Note: Prepare a 5 to 7 pages handwritten/typed term paper on the question given below.

Q. Find three advertisements that appeal to the need for power, affiliation and
achievement and discuss their effectiveness. Also explain the marketing
implications of celebrities, endorsements and reference groups.
 Marketing Implications of Reference Groups/Applications of Reference
Group Concept

The different applications of reference groups are as follows:

1) Influence on Product Purchased: The impact of reference group varies from one product
to another. For the luxurious and costly products like vacation package, the reference group
are more influential in comparison to that for the day-to-day products which are purchased
out of necessity.

2) Serves as Point of Comparison: A reference group may serve the purpose of reference
and comparison for an individual. It might happen that the consumers alter their behaviour
and ideas in order to be more consistent with other members of the group.

For example, a person might choose to use a different cloth line as per the advice and choices
of the other members of the reference group. The individual might also try to acquire further
information from the members of the reference group regarding the future purchase, like the
suitable retail outlet for buying the goods.

3) Helps in the Socialisation of the Individual: The reference group helps in the
socialisation of the individuals which helps them to get acquainted with the way of life and
behaviours of members of the reference group. The reference group also helps the individual
to assess their own self-concept based on the comparison with the members of the reference
group. The reference group performs the normative function for ensuring the adherence with
the norms of the society. The individual learns from the reference group the desirable behaviour
and emulate it in order to get recognised with the group.

4) Helps in Understanding Lifestyle: Reference group enables an individual to understand

and adopt the lifestyles of other members of the group. Different reference group members
have different lifestyle; it facilitates the individual in adopting the new lifestyle.

For example, if the members of a reference group purchase 'executive shoes' or 'Ivy League
suits' then an individual is also likely to shop on similar lines. It helps in understanding different
lifestyles.

5) Setters of Roles: The expected patterns of behaviour carried out by on individuals as per
their status in the group is referred to as Roles. Some behaviour are expected and desired to
be complied with by the members of the group.
For example, the Chairperson of the local charitable group in her professional life is expected
to supervise the routine task of the organisation, play the role of the speaker in the fund-
arising activities and host dinner and outings for the sponsors. While in her personal life, she
is expected to fulfil the duties of a parent by supporting, encouraging and disciplining the
children.

 Celebrity Endorsements

Celebrities are people who enjoy public recognition by a large share of a certain group of
people. Whereas attributes like attractiveness extraordinary lifestyle or special skills are just
examples and specific common characteristics cannot be observed, it can be said that within
a corresponding social group, celebrities generally differ from the social norm and enjoy a
high degree of public awareness.

The term Celebrity refers to an individual who is known to the public (actor, sports figure,
entertainer, etc.) for his or her achievements in areas other than that of the product class
endorsed (Friedman and Friedman, 1979).

This is true for classic forms of celebrities, like actors (e.g., Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh
Khan, Rani Mukherjee, Preity Zinta, Aamir Khan and Pierce Brosnan), models (e.g.,
Mallaika Arora, Lisa Ray, Aishwarya Rai, Naomi Campbell, Gisele Buendchen, etc), sports
figures (e.g., Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Sourav Ganguly, Anna Kournikova, Michael
Schumacher, Steve Waugh, etc), entertainers (e.g., Cyrus Broacha, Oprah Winfrey, Conan
O'Brien), and pop-stars (e.g., Madonna, David Bowie) - but also for less obvious groups like
businessmen (e.g., Donald Trump, Bill Gates)

 Influence of Celebrity Endorsements on Consumer

The basis for the effectiveness of celebrity-endorsed advertising can be linked to Kelman's
processes of social influence as discussed by Friedman and Friedman. According to Kelman,
there are three processes of social influence, which result in an individual adopting the
attitude advocated by the communicator:

1) Compliance: It infers that another individual or group of individuals influences an

individual because he or she hopes to achieve a favourable reaction from this other group.
This process of social influence is not directly applicable to celebrity advertising because
there is little, if any, interaction between the celebrity and the consumer.
2) Identification: It applies to the situation wherein the individuals emulate the attitudes or
behaviour of another person or group. simply because they aspire to be like that person or
group. This process is the basis for referent power. It was found that celebrities are more
commonly liked than a typical consumer spokesperson.

3) Internalisation: It is a process of social influence is said to occur when individuals adopt the
attitude or behaviour of another person because that behaviour is viewed as honest and
sincere and is congruent with their value system.

The effectiveness of celebrity advertising traditionally has not been strongly linked to this
process, as a celebrity's reason for promoting a product can just as easily be attributed by the
consumer to an external motive (i.e.. payment of fee) as to an internal motive.

 Reasons for Growing Celebrity Endorsements

The increase of celebrity endorsements can be justified by the following roles that are bestowed
on the overall brand:

1) Establishment of Credibility: Approval of a brand by a star fosters a sense of trust for

that brand among the target audience- this is especially true in case of new products. The role
of a celebrity endorser in an advertising campaign is, without doubt, linked to the reputation
of the celebrity. If the reputation is damaged, more often than not for reasons other than
professional
,then the quality of his reputation dos suffer, particularly if it is to do with his (or her) public
behaviour. For example, Dyna ad by Katrina Kaif.

2) Ensured Attention: Celebrities ensure attention of the target group by breaking the clutter
of advertisements and making the ad and the brand more noticeable. For example, Shahrukh
khan in pespi Hrithik Roshan in Sony Erricson.

3) PR Coverage: Is another reason for using celebrities. Managen perceive celebrities as

topical, which create high PR coverage. A good example of integrated celebrity campaighs is
one of the World's leading pop groups, the Spice Girls, who have not only appeared in
advertisements for Pepsi, but also in product launching and PR events. Indeed, celebrity-
company marriages are covered by most media from television to newspapers. For example,
the Spice Girls and Pepsi.
4. Higher Degree of Recall: People tend to commensurate the personalities of the celebrity
with the brand thereby increasing the recall value. Golf champion Tiger Woods has endorsed
American Express, Rolex, and Nike. Actress Catherine Zeta-Jones is used by T-Mobile and
Elizabeth Arden. 007 Pierce Brosnan promotes Omega, BMW, and Noreico. Celebrity
endorsement forces the buyer to remember something or bring something back of the mind.

For example, when anyone goes for purchase kurkure, he/she recalls Juhi Chawla, may it be
balaji chataka pataka or original kurkure.

5) Associative Benefit: A celebrity's preference for a brand gives out a persuasive message -
because the celebrity is benefiting from the brand, the consumer will also benefit. For example,
Shah Rukh khan in Sona Chandi Chwyanprash.

6) Mitigating a Tarnished Image: Cadbury India wanted to restore the consumer's confidence
in its chocolate brands following the high-pitch worm's controversy; so the company appointed
Amitabh Bachchan for the job. Last year, when the even more controversial pesticide issue
shook up Coca-Cola and PepsiCo and resulted in much negative press, both soft drink majors
put out high-profile damage control ad films featuring their best and most expensive celebrities.
While Aamir Khan led the Coke fight back as an ingenious and fastidious Bengali who
finally gets convinced of the product's purity.' PepsiCo brought Shah Rukh Khan and Sachin
Tendulkar together once again in a television commercial which drew references to the
'safety' of the product indirectly.

7) Psychographic Connect: Celebrities are loved and adored by their fans and advertisers
use stars to capitalise on these feelings to sway the fans towards their brand. For example,
Dhoni in 7up.

8) Demographic Connect: Different stars appeal differently to various demographic segments

(age, gender, class, geography etc.). For example, Amitabh Bachchan with child in Dabur
Honey, Sunny Deol in Lux cozi ad.

9) Mass Appeal: Some stars have a universal appeal and therefore prove to be a good bet to
generate interest among the masses. For example, Shahrukh khan and Amitabh Bachchan in
Polio Promotion.

10) Rejuvenating a Stagnant Brand: A stagnant brand is extra promoted by celebrities who
are popular. With the objective of infusing fresh life into the stagnant chyawanprash category
and staving off competition from various brands, Dabur India roped in Bachchan for an
estimated 8 crore. Some other examples of stagnant brands are Miranda and Fanta which are
promoted by Asin and Genelia respectively.

11) Compensate for Lack of Innovative Ideas: Celebrity endorsement can sometimes
compensate for lack of innovative ideas.

 Power, Affiliation and Achievement: The Trio of Needs.

This week we briefly explored the trio of needs. That is the need for power, the need for
affiliation and the need for achievement. I began really thinking about how in promotions these
3 things are portrayed and if it actually does work. The trio of needs can be subsumed within
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

 The First element of the trio is the need

We all crave power consciously and unconsciously, which relates to our desire to want to
control environment to give us exactly what we want. This need for power relates to the
Maslow’s ego need in that individuals who exercise power experience increased self-
enhancement, self-esteem, success and person satisfaction (Schiffman, 2014, pp95). One
particular ad that portrays the ideas of power is the advertisement for Mercedes.

It reads “Men talk about women, sport and cars. Women talk about men inside sports cards”
suggests that men will have power over women’s attentions if they buy this car. It implies
that if you buy this car, you will attract female attention. It appeals to imagination, as you can
imagine the possibilities that could occur when you buy the car.
This catchy print ad for the recently facelifted Mercedes-Benz SL Roadster was created by
the Brazilian advertising agency, Ponto de Criacao. The caption reads: “Men talk about
women, sports and cars. Women talk about men inside sports cars”. Playful and witty it may
be, but on the other hand, isn’t it like saying that the SL is the ultimate driving machine for
an incapable and totally insecure male?

Our behaviour is created by our desires for friendship, acceptance and belong and the affiliation
need implies this specifically. We have a strong dependence on others, as we are all social
human beings that need interaction especially from those who we love. This element closely
links in with Maslow’s social need.

 The Second element of the trio is the need for affiliation

Coca Cola is a world known brand that I recognise as displaying a strong connection with the
need for affiliation through their advertisements. They took over 150 of Australia’s most
popular names and incorporated them into the label design. Over night Coke reconnected
with consumers making us the face of their campaign.

Their message was everywhere, digital and interactive. Everywhere we turned we made a
connection with sharing a coke with someone who we love. I know I chose my own name or
a name of someone I know when I selected a bottle of coke. They painted the country red
and this was a clear indication of the need to be affiliated with something or someone.

 The final element of the trio is the need for achievement.

Individuals with a strong need for achievement often regard personal accomplishment as an
end in itself (Schiffman, 2014, pp95). Achievement has clear and strong elements of Maslow’s
ego and self-actualisation needs. Nike’s #MakeItCount campaign started in 2012 with this
advert of staring Mo Farah promoting Nike has a strong connection to the need for
achievement.

The motivation in this advertisement shows that achieving, accomplishing and making it
count is expected to be attained when using or owning Nike’s product. Celebrity endorsement
further enhances the message as an “achievement need” because people always idolize and
aspire to be like their role models which are more often than not celebrities.

It is clear that marketers seek inspiration from consumers natural human behaviours and aim
to use them in order to sell a product or service because they know our soft spots to hit and
therefore make us want to buy them.