P&G Advertising – Consumer Behaviour

P&G divides its seines activities into three global units: health and wellbeing, household care and beauty. P&G is an American corporation based in Cincinnati, Ohio, which manufactures wide and popular range of products. More than three billion times a day, Procter and Gamble brands interact with the lives of people globally. This happens because the company offers superior quality branded products and value to enhance the lives of people. This results in profits, leadership sales, value creation and revenues, improving lives of shareholders, employees and communities in which Procter and Gamble prospers.

P&G manufactures and markets more than 300 branded products. The company operates in more than 80 countries, employs nearly 135,000 people, and possesses a wide consumer base in more than 135 countries. P&G started as a small family runs soap and candle Business Company now offer products and services of excellent quality and value to customers in 135 countries. P&G is a public limited company. The company lists its stocks on London, New York Consumer Behavior By hookiest and Paris Stock exchanges. P&G is tomato tort spending million dollars tort its search activities.

Its continuous efforts in innovation and research provide a value and a wide range of products for consumers to select. P&G also pioneered its leadership in the field of market research, investigation of consumer needs and product appeal. On January 27, 2005, P&G acquired the Gillette Company, engaged in the production of male grooming products that include blades, shaving preparations, razors, and also female grooming products. The company successfully acquired several leading companies in the last two decades that show its powerful market reference. These acquisitions assisted in including several powerful brands in its portfolio.

Order custom essay P&G Advertising – Consumer Behaviour with free plagiarism report

450+ experts on 30 subjects Starting from 3 hours delivery

Get Essay Help

Bigger acquisitions such as lams, Claire, Tamarinds and smaller acquisitions such as Moist Mates helped introducing some popular brands such as Fresh Mates and Crest Spicebush, an electronic tooth brush. P&G presented net income of $13. 4 on revenue of $79 billion. With $ 79 billion global sales in fiscal 2010 and 25 brands with $1. 5 billion of sales each, Procter and Gamble divides its business into three Gabs (global business units) that produce and develop products ender the control of the corporate group, which handles the administration and operation of the company (Procter and Gamble 2010). Consumer Affect and Cognition Consumer influence and cognition imply to two types mental responses that a consumer demonstrates towards stimuli and conditions in their environment. Affect implies to their feelings regarding stimuli and conditions, for example, whether they possess liking or disliking for a product or service. Cognition is a state of mind that implies to their thinking that is their beliefs regarding a specific product. Affective espouses can be unfavorable or favorable and can differ in intensity.

For example, affect comprises acute emotions, anger or love, less or strong state of feeling such as frustration or satisfaction, moods such as relaxation or boredom, and mild attitudes such as liking Tide detergent powder or disliking other detergents (Seaports, 1995). P&G marketers design marketing strategies to establish positive affection to enhance the probability that a consumer will purchase Tide and other brands. Cognition implies to the mental structures and processes included in understanding, thinking, ND interpreting events and stimuli.

It comprises the beliefs, meanings, and knowledge that consumers have established from their experiences and stored in their minds. It also contains the processes that associates with giving attention and understanding events and stimuli, recollecting past incidents, evaluations forming and making buying decisions and options (Fitzgerald, 1963). Although several features of cognition are conscious thinking processes while others are essentially automatic, P&G often tries to attract attention of consumers to Tide detergent and knowledge with new added features.

For example, Tide ads often features regarding the safety features of a product to increase consumers' knowledge about the contents contained in the detergent so that they are confident while buying Tide detergent. The next section explains a comprehensive treatment of consumer cognition and affects and offers the significance of understanding them for designing marketing strategies (Procter and Gamble, 2010) Learn more about T ide Detergent mission statement

2. Consumer Behavior

Consumer behavior implies the physical actions of consumers, which can be directly measured and observed by other.

It is also known as overt behavior to differentiate it room mental activities, which is not possible to observe directly, tort instance, thinking. Hence, buying a Tide or another detergent includes behavior; deciding whether to buy or not is overt behavior since it cannot be noticed by others. Examples of such behaviors involve shopping Tide on the internet or at stores and using credit cards. Behavior is crucial for designing effective marketing strategy as only through behavior sales can be achieved and revenue earned.

Although P has developed many marketing strategies for Tide to impact consumers' cognition and affect, but Hess strategies should result in overt consumer behavior to add value for the company. Hence, it is crucial for Procter and Gamble marketers to understand, analyze overt behavior, which forces them to buy Tide or drifts away from Tide. This can be possible in several ways, by offering superior quality, lower prices, and greater convenience, easier availability, and superior services.

Marketers can also impact overt behavior by offering branded products that are trendier, sexier, more popular, and more prestigious than competitive offerings (Hawkins, 2004).

2. 1 Consumer Environment

The consumer environment implies to external stimuli of consumers, which affects what they feel, think, and do. It contains social stimuli, for instance the action others in subcultures, cultures, reference groups, social classes, and families, which impact consumers. It also contains other physical stimuli, for instance, stores, advertisements, products, and signs that can alter consumers' feelings, actions, and thoughts.

This behavioral response creates attachment with Tide in the mind of consumers and while buying a detergent the memory of a consumer recalls this attachment with Tide that initiates its ultimate buying. The consumer environment is significant to marketing of Tide because it is the approach through which stimuli are placed to impact consumers. For instance, Tide commercials during TV shows are meant to persuade and remind their target customers to buy tide. P marketers even send free samples, catalogs, coupons, and advertisements to bring them into consumer's environment.

Stores are distribution centers are close to populated areas to bring them in the vicinity of consumers. Web sites also forms a part of consumers' environment if they are accessed (Baggage, 1999).

3. Relationships among Affect and Cognition, Behavior, and the Environment In figure 1, each of three elements connected by a two headed arrow signifies that any of either can cause or an influence of a change in one or more of the other elements. For instance, a consumer looks an advertisement for a new detergent, which promises to remove stains better than Tide.

This advertisement changes the thinking of the consumer regarding the new brand and leads to buy it. In such a case, a shift in the consumers' environment (influenced by the advertisement of the new detergent) that led to a change in behavior (the customer having bought the new brand). A shift in detergent buying could also come in other ways. For instance, a consumer obtains free samples of a new detergent vide the mail, likes it, tries it, and ultimately buy this. In such instant, the free sample acting as a change in the consumers' environment led to use and purchase leading to a change in behavior.

This ultimately led to a shift in the consumers' cognition and affect (liking of the new brand). Likelihood is that a consumer does not have the satisfaction with current brand of detergent. On the next trip to store, the consumer looks other brands and chooses one, which promises o clean clothes whiter. In this case, a change in cognition and detect due to dissatisfaction brought a change in the consumer's environment while inspecting other brands that led to a behavioral change (buying of a different detergent).

Figure 1: Three Elements necessary for Consumer Analysis Although changes can take place in other forms, these examples serve to demonstrate the concept of consumers that consumer processes do not only includes an interactive and a dynamic system, but it also represents a reciprocal system. In a reciprocal system, any of such elements can be a cause or an effect of a change at any time. Cognition and affect can cause a change in behavior of consumer and environments.

Behavior can cause consumer's cognition, affect, and environments (Wright, 1973). These environments can subsequently change affect, cognition, and behavior of consumers. Viewing these processes as a reciprocal system including behavior, cognition and affect and the environments possess five implications. Firstly, any complete analysis of a consumer must regard all three elements and the appropriate relationship among them. Describing consumers in terms of one or two elements is not complete.

For instance, to consider that cognition and affect always result behavior and ignore the influence of the environment under valuates the dynamic nature of the consumption process. Likewise, to consider that the environment regulates behavior without consideration of cognition and affect also provides an incomplete description. In designing the development strategies for Tide, P&G should consider an analysis of all three elements, relationship, and the direction of changes that may occur some times. Secondly, any of three elements will be the starting point for conducting consumer analysis of Tide.

Although marketers emphasize that strategies should begin by analyzing the particular overt consumer behaviors and must perform to attain marketing objectives, useful analysis can start with cognition and affect by researching what consumers feel and thinks regarding issues such as several brands of a product. Besides, the analysis could be started with consumers' environments by finding changes in their worlds, which could alter their cognition, affect, and behavior. However, irrespective of the starting point, it becomes essential that all three elements and their relationships need to be analyzed.

Thirdly, since his view is dynamic, it acknowledges that consumers can likely shift to buy other detergent brands. Although the shift to other brands may be temporary for a certain period, others may shift their affect, behavior, cognition, and environments often. Hence, maintaining abreast of consumers demands continuous research to find changes, which could impact marketing strategies of Tide detergent. Forth, here the example emphasizes on a single consumer, but this analysis is applicable at several levels. It is useful to analyze groups of consumers, which constitute a target market or an entire society (Salvoes, 1990).

The Cognitive Response Approach of Tide

The most popular methods adopted by P for analyzing consumer's cognitive processing of ad messages is assessing their cognitive responses, the thoughts that come to them when viewing, reading and hearing a communication. These thoughts can be scaled when a consumer verbally report or write down his reaction to a message. The supposition is that these thoughts indicate the consumer cognitive reactions or processes and ultimately shape rejection or acceptance of the message from advertisement.

The cognitive response approach is widely used by both advertising practitioners and P&G marketers. Its touch NAS been to tint the types tot responses generated by an advertising message and how these responses associate to attitudes toward the Tide brand and purchase intentions. The researchers have identified the three categories of cognitive responses such as source oriented, product/message and advertisement execution thoughts and their relation to intentions and attitudes. Product message of Tide directed at consumers are the claims made in communication.

P&G, while communicating a message focuses on two responses that ad can generate such as counter arguments and support arguments. Counter-arguments are thoughts a consumer possess, which are opposed to the position of a message. For instance, in an advertisement for Tide a consumer can express disapproval or disbelief of a claim made by Tide as a consumer may not believe that any detergent can remove the stains. While others who view this advertisement may produce support arguments that confirm the claims in the message, which supports that Tide looks a remarkably good product, and there is no harm in trying this product.

While designing advertisements for Tide, P&G emphasize to generate supportive arguments so that the product leaves a lasting impact in the minds of consumers (George, 2000).

4. Tide Creating Customer Relationship through Affective and Behavioral Responses Establishing customer added value and building strong customer retention seem pretty lofty especially for a fortune company such as P&G that sells mundane, low involvement products such as shampoos and detergents, fabric softeners and toothpastes, and disposable diapers and toilet paper. Is it truly possible to develop a meaningful affective relationship with a detergent powder Tide?

For Procter and Gamble, the resounding answer is affirmative. For instance, P&G Tide detergent introduced in Canada in 1949 evolutionists the detergent industry as the first detergent to adopt synthetic compounds instead chemicals for cleaning clothes. Does Tide actually help get clothes cleaned? For decades, marketers of Tide have positioned the brand in the market on superior functional performance by hitting advertisements showing comparisons of before and after cleaning, but as it turns out, Tide has a lot of meaning to consumers than merely removing grass stains from clothes.

For several years, Procter and Gamble has been striving to unearth and cultivate deep emotional affections that customers have with its products (Pharyngeal, 1998). Three years ago, Procter and Gamble marketing chief Jim Strange supported that Tide must speak to consumers' eye-to-eye instead relentlessly driving product benefits. Strange further stated the company needs thinking beyond consuming and analyzing the role of the brand in consumers' lives. Behind this strategy, there is a deep realization that competitors can easily copy benefits of a product, such as cleaning detergent.

However, they cannot imitate consumers' feelings for a brand. Thus, Procter and Gamble true strength lies in the affective and emotional relationship, which it builds between Tide and consumers (Procter and Gamble, 2010). With this motive, the Tide marketers decided that there is a need of a new message for the brand. Tides brand share in the market is although large but has been stagnant for many years. Moreover, as a result of its hard penetrating functional ads, consumers noticed the Tide as arrogant, very male, and self absorbed.

The brand Tide demanded to recapture the minds and hearts of its prime female consumers. Hence, the marketers set out to tint a deeper understanding tot the emotional connection, which tamales have with their clothes, rather than carrying out the research surveys and usual focus groups. With this clear objective, marketing experts of Procter and Gamble along with its longtime associated ad agency, Stitch ; Stitch, took out a three week consumer involvement. They approached women in cities of North America when they worked shopped, and ran errands, and held discussions to find out what is beneficial to them.

The prime aim was to understand the role of laundry in women's lives and their laundry habits. Form the consumers immersions, marketing team observed that, although Tide and laundry are not of prime significance in consumers' lives, females are highly emotional and sensitive regarding their clothing. For instance, there were moments of Joy; divorced woman stated when she received a whistle from her boyfriend while wearing her sexiest outfit. According to P, everyday fabrics in females' lives have meaning and touch in several ways.

Women adore taking care of fabrics and clothes because they contain memories, emotions, feelings and stories. The marketers decided that Tide can do much than solve women's problems of laundry. It can provide a difference they truly care about the fabrics, which interact with their lives. With the understanding of these insights, Procter and Gamble designed an award winning ad campaign based on the theme "Tide recognizes fabrics best". Rather than comparisons of previous Tide advertising and unfeeling demonstrations, the new Tide campaign used rich visual imagery and emotional connections.

For instance, P developed the campaign for the introduction of Ultra Tide that featured famous TV anchor Kelly Rip. This campaign touched the emotions and evoked affective response and had been Tides strongest unusual creation in the recent history. The consumers could relate to Kelly Rip and also the values she personifies (Huh, 1999). The "Tide recognizes fabrics best" has little to say regarding cleaning, but the message conveys that Tide allows women emphasize on life's prime issues.

This advertising created the right mix of soft sell and emotional connections in the women's lives. In one of its commercial, a pregnant woman drops ice-cream accidentally on one last t-shirt that still fits. The ad asserts that it is Tide with Bleach to your rescue so that all your laundry can outlast carvings. Other Tide advertising have shown touching scenes of a female first holding a baby in her arms and then cuddling passionately with her hubby, to the tuned of "Be My Baby. " Tide advertising can mean to create the difference between smelling like a woman and smelling like a mom.

In advertising, a woman is playing with her daughter at a park in her white slacks, thanks to her confidence that she has in Tide with Bleach. Here, in this advertising, P has been successful in touching the affective and emotional responses of women by bringing much closer to Tide and awaking their cognitive feelings towards the brand for a life time (Bator, 1986). This article observes and the question: Is it possible to create an affective and emotional relationship with a detergent brand? For P, its answer is affirmative.

Some critics wonder if P is adopting this relationship much seriously and in a right way. All companies want to project their brand to this type of more rarefied level, but at the end detergent remains detergent.

Undoubtedly, it is hard to hold arguments with the success of Tide as no other brand is more successful than Tide. Tide consumers do not care whether laundry color dates. Tide continues to remain tot top among all detergents because there is an emotional and affective connection to the brand message, which furthers way back to its origination as part of American ultra heritage.

At the end, this paper concludes that consumer's cognitive and affective feelings regarding the advertising may be Just as significant as their attitudes toward the brand in deciding effectiveness of an advertisement. The significance of affective responses and reactions evoked by the advertisement rely on various factors, among them are the character of the advertisement and the processing type engaged in by the consumer. Many advertisers by understanding the insight of consumer behavior use emotional advertising to generate affective responses as the theme of their creative strategy.

Don't let plagiarism ruin your grade

Run a free check or have your essay done for you

Check my essay Hire Writer