People undergo stages of
information processing in
which stimuli are input and
stored. We do not passively
process whatever information
happens to be present.
SENSATION: Refers to the immediate
response of our sensory receptors, to
basic stimuli as light, colour and sound.
PERCEPTION - Is the
process by which these
stimuli are selected,
organised and interpreted.
We process raw data
SENSORY SYSTEMS
VISION
Marketers rely heavily on visual
elements in advertising, store
design and packaging.
They communicate meaning on the
visual channel through a product's
colour, size and styling.
COLOUR provokes emotion
Reactions to colour are BIOLOGICAL and CULTURAL
RED - Creates feelings of arousal and stimulate appetite.
BLUE - Creates more relaxed feelings.
TRADE DRESS - Colours associated with specific companies.
Advertising, Packaging and Store Fronts
Coca-Cola = Red
Facebook = Blue
SCENTS AND SMELLS
ODOURS create mood & promote memories.
Can either stir emotions or create a calming feeling. People who are exposed to
chocolate and the flowery odour are more likely to spend time processing the product
information.
Spawned new products. [Glade]
Marketers use scents for: Inside Products, In
promotions and Scent marketing is a form of
sensory marketing that we may see in lingerie,
detergents, and more.
TOUCH
Haptic Senses - or "touch" - are the most basic of
senses; we learn this before vision and smell.
Affect product experience and judgement.
Touching a product for 30 seconds or less means we are
more likely to be more attached to a product. In turn boosts
what they are willing to pay for it.
TASTE
Sensory analysis is used to
account for the human
perception of sensory product
qualities.
Food companies go to great lengths to
ensure that their products taste as they
should.
Cultural changes determine desirable tastes.
SOUND
PHONEMES: Individual sounds that
might be more or less preferred by
consumers.
High Tempo - More stimulation
Slower Tempo - More relaxng
Many aspects of sound affects people's feeing and
behaviours. [One British company stresses the
importance of the sound a packaging makes when
opened].
TIME COMPRESSION - A techniques used by broadcasters to
manipulate perceptions of sound. It is a way to pack more information
into a limited time by speeding up an announcer's voice in
commercials.
The speaking rate is typically accelerated to about 120 to
130% of normal. [Most fail to notice this effect].
EXPOSURE
When a stimulus comes within range of
someone's sensory receptors.
SENSORY THRESHOLDS
The ABSOLUTE threshold - The minimum amount
of stimulation a person can detect on any given
sensory channel.
The DIFFERENT threshold - The ability of a
sensory to detect changes in or difference
between two stimuli.
JUST NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCES (JND) - The minimum
change in a stimulus that can be detected. [Subtle Change,
Brand still noticeable]. Pepsi prime example.
WEBER'S LAW - The amount of change that is
necessary to be noticed is related to the original
intensity of the stimulus.
More likely to notice a 50p price rise in a chocolate
bar than on a car.
SUBLIMINAL TECHNIQUES
Most marketers want to create messages
above consumers' thresholds so people will
notice them.
SUBLIMINAL TECHNIQUE - Refers to a stimulus below
the level of the consumer's awareness.
EMBEDS - Figures that are inserted into magazine
advertising by using high-speed photography or
airbrushing.
SUBLIMINAL AUDITORY PERCEPTION - Sounds, music,
or voice text inserted into advertising.
Hiding words and images within the picture to attract to
the unconscious state of the mind. It can be unethical,
could be used in a positive way (Stop smoking, No
drinking and driving).
Attention
The extent to which processing activity is
devoted to a particular stimulus.
SENSORY OVERLOAD - Where they are exposed to
far more information that they can process.
Average adults are exposed to abut 3,500
pieces of advertising information every single
day - up from 560 per day 30 years agao.
Marketers are becoming more creative. Apple, Nike,
Gap etc, have created a more visual identity with their
television ads.
GETTING CONSUMERS' ATTENTION
Consumers are more likely to be aware of
stimuli that relate to their current needs (Known
as perceptual Vigilance)
Perceptual Defence - People see what they
want to see - and don't see what they don't
want to see.
If a stimulus is threatening to us in some way, we may not process it - or we may
distort the meaning so that it's more acceptable. [A heavy smoker will block out
facts and images about lung cancer.
ADAPTATION - The degree to which consumers continue to notice a stimulus over
time. The process of adaption occurs when consumers no longer pay attention to a
stimulus because it is so familiar.
Factors Leading to Adaptation
INTENSITY - Less-intense stimuli (e.g soft sound or dim
colours) habituate because they have less sensory
impact.
DURATION - Stimuli that require relatively lengthy exposure in
order to be processed habituate because they require a long
attention span. Therefore, marketers use short ads as people
have limited attention span.
DISCRIMINATION - Simple stimuli habituate because
they do not require attention to detail. Use stand out
packaging.
EXPOSURE - Frequently encountered stimuli
habituate as the rate of exposure increases. Do
not want to over expose.
EXPOSURE - Frequently encountered stimuli
habituate as the rate of exposure increases. Do
not want to over expose.
RELEVANCE - Stimuli that are irrelevant
or un-important habituate because they
fail to attract attention.
PERCEPTUAL VIGILANCE - Things we are interested in
INTERPRETATION - Refers to the meaning we assign to sensory stimuli. Just
as people differ in terms of the stimuli that they perceive, the eventual
assignments of meanings to these stimuli varies as well.
The intended meaning may be literal
The meaning may be indexical, it relies on
shared characteristics.