1. Perception
Chapter 2

2. “Alternative” Milk Parmalat
Shelf-stable milk: Can last for 5-6 months unopened without refrigeration
Discussion: Would you drink milk out of a room-temperature, square, quart-size box?

3. Overflowing Sensations
Our world is a symphony of colors, sounds, odors, tastes, etc.
Marketers contribute to the commotion
Advertisements, product packages, radio & TV commercials, billboards
NBC’s Fear Factor

4. Sensation & Perception
Immediate response of our sensory receptors…
…eyes, ears, nose, mouth, fingers…
…to basic stimuli…
…such as light, color, sound, odor, and texture

5. Sensation & Perception (Cont’d)
Process by which sensations are selected, organized, and interpreted
Adding meaning to raw sensations
Figure 2.1

6. Advertisements Appeal to Our Sensory Systems
This ad for a luxury car emphasizes the contribution made by all of our senses to the evaluation of a driving experience.

7. Sensory Systems - Vision
Marketers rely heavily on visual elements in advertising, store design, and packaging.
Meanings are communicated on the visual channel through a product’s color, size, and styling.
Colors may influence our emotions more directly.
Arousal and stimulated appetite (e.g. red)
Relaxation (e.g. blue)

8. Vision Color Color provokes emotion
Reactions to color are biological & cultural
Color in marketing is serious business!

9. Perceptions of Color This ad campaign by the San Francisco
Ballet uses color
perceptions to get urban
sophisticates to add
classical dance to their
packed entertainment
itineraries.

10. Perceptions of Color
As this Dutch detergent ad demonstrates (Flowery orange fades without Dreft), vivid colors are often an attractive product feature.

11. Discussion Question
First Heinz gave us “Blastin’ Green” ketchup in a squeeze bottle. Now they have introduced “Funky Purple” ketchup.
What sensory perception is Heinz trying to appeal to? Do you think this product will be successful? Why or why not?

12. Smell Odors = mood & memory (limbic system)
Fresh cinnamon buns = male sexual arousal
Scented marketing
Cadillac’s “Nuance” scent = expensive upholstery

13. Smell in Advertising
This ad pokes fun at the proliferation of scented ads. Ah, the scent of sweat.

14. Hearing Many aspects of sound affect people’s feelings and behaviors
Phonemes of brands = unique product meanings
“i” brands are “lighter” than “a” brands
Effect of Muzak: Muzak uses a system it calls “stimulus progression” to increase the normally slower tempo of workers during midmorning and midafternoon time slots.
MUZAK.COM

15. Applications of Touch Perceptions
Kansai engineering: A philosophy that translates customers’ feelings into design elements.
Mazda Miata designers discovered that making the stick shift (shown on the right) exactly 9.5 cm long conveys the optimal feeling of sportiness and control.

16. Tactile Quality Associations
Tactile Oppositions in Fabrics
Perception
Male
Female
High class
Wool
Silk
Fine
Low class
Denim
Cotton
Heavy
Light
Coarse
Table 2.1

17. Taste “Flavor houses” (e.g., Alpha M.O.S.)
Develop new concoctions for consumer palates
Cultural changes determine desirable tastes

18. This ad targets which senses?
This Finnish ad emphasizes the sensual reasons to visit the city of Helsinki.

19. Exposure A stimulus comes within range of someone’s sensory receptors
We can concentrate, ignore, or completely miss stimuli

20. Your Assignment
Select three to five advertisements (in any format) that target different sensory perceptions.
Present those advertisements in 5 to 10-minutes.

21. Sensory Thresholds Psychophysics Absolute threshold Dog whistle
Billboard with too small print

22. Sensory Thresholds (Cont’d)
Differential threshold
J.n.d.
Weber’s Law
Discussion: Many studies have shown that our sensory detection abilities decline as we grow older.
Discuss the implications of the absolute threshold for marketers attempting to appeal to the elderly.

23. Subliminal Perception
It is believed that many ads are designed to be perceived unconsciously (below threshold of recognition)
Subliminal Techniques
Embeds
Subliminal auditory perception

24. Subliminal Perception (Cont’d)
Most researchers believe that subliminal techniques are not of much use in marketing
Discussion: Assuming that some forms of subliminal persuasion may have the desired effect of influencing consumers, do you think the use of these techniques is ethical? Explain your answer.

25. Subliminal Messages in Ads
Critics of subliminal persuasion often focus on ambiguous shapes in drinks that supposedly spell out words like S E X as evidence for the use of this technique. This Pepsi ad, while hardly subliminal, gently borrows this message format.

26. Attention
The extent to which processing activity is devoted to a particular stimulus
Competition for our attention
3,500 ad info pieces per day
Multitask
Marketers need to break through the clutter
Microsoft’s butterfly decals on sidewalks
Mini Cooper’s fake robots ad

27. Attention and Advertising
Nike tries to cut through the clutter by spotlighting maimed athletes instead of handsome models.

28. Stimulus Selection Factors
Size:
The size of the stimulus itself in contrast to the competition helps to determine if it will command attention.
Color:
Color is a powerful way to draw attention to a product.
Position:
Stimuli that are present in places we’re more likely to look stand a better chance of being noticed.
Novelty:
Stimuli that appear in unexpected ways or places tend to grab our attention.

29. Perceptual Selection (Cont’d)
Stimulus Selection Factors
Weber’s Law
Differences in size, color, position, & novelty
Interpretation: assigned meaning to stimuli
Schema leads to stimulus evaluation

30. Discussion Question
What technique does this Australian ad rely on to get your attention?
Does the technique enhance or detract from the advertisement of the actual product?

31. Stimulus Organization
A stimulus will be interpreted based on its assumed relationship with other events, sensations, or images.
Closure Principle:
People tend to perceive an incomplete picture as complete.
Principle of Similarity:
Consumers tend to group together objects that share the same physical characteristics.
Figure-ground Principle:
One part of a stimulus will dominate (the figure) and other parts will recede into the background (the ground).

32. Gestalt Principle
This Swedish ad relies upon gestalt perceptual principles to insure that the perceiver organizes a lot of separate images into a familiar image.

33. Principle of Closure
This Land Rover ad illustrates the use of the principle of closure, in which people participate in the ad by mentally filling in the gaps in the sentence.

34. Figure-ground Principle
This billboard for Wrangler jeans makes creative use of the figure-ground principle.

35. Semiotics
Correspondence between signs and symbols and their role in the assignment of meaning
Consumer products = social identities
Advertising as culture/consumption dictionary

36. Semiotic Relationships
Marlboro
Cigarettes
Cowboy
Rugged
American
Object
(Product)
Sign
(Image)
Interpretant
(Meaning)
Figure 2.3

37. Office Space & “Rio Red” stapler: SWINGLINE.COM
Semiotics (Cont’d)
Signs are related to objects in 3 ways:
Icon
Index
Symbol
Hyperreality
Marlboro cigarettes = American frontier spirit
“Heidiland” in Switzerland
Office Space & “Rio Red” stapler: SWINGLINE.COM

38. Perceptual Positioning
Positioning Strategy
A fundamental part of a company’s marketing efforts as it uses elements of the marketing mix to influence the consumer’s interpretation of its meaning.
Many dimensions can establish a brand’s position in the marketplace:
• Lifestyle
• Competitors
• Price Leadership
• Occasions
• Attributes
• Users
• Product Class
• Quality

39. Perceptual Map
Figure 2.4