Consumer Behaviour, 2nd Edition - Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1
CONSUMER MOTIVES
AND VALUES
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
After engaging with the material presented in this chapter and its associated exercises and reading,
you should be able to:
Distinguish between needs and wants.

Apply theories of motivation to how consumers behave.
Explain consumer values and how they relate to motives.
Define motives for going shopping.
Demonstrate an awareness of motivation research techniques, their nature and application.
INTRODUCTION
The understanding of customer needs and wants is one of the major underpinning constructs of the
marketing concept. The nature of being market-orientated rather than product-orientated requires
organizations to consider who their (best) customers might be, where they are, how to target them and
with what. An important starting point is to understand what it is they really want. This is not as easy
as it might sound. A company might be making 8 mm drills and at first sight it might seem logical for the
company to focus on selling 8 mm drills. However, customers dont buy drills so much as holes: that
is, what the product (or service) can do for them, rather than what it is in its tangible form. Indeed the
DIY store Homebase has used the slogan: Make a house a home.
Source: Homebase
PART I INDIVIDUAL ASPECTS OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
EXAMPLE 1.1
The concept of market orientation can be illustrated in many ways. Charles Revson, the founder
of Revlon cosmetics stated, In the factory we make cosmetics; in the drugstore we sell hope. Or,
as in the Roadmaster advertisement, marketers imply they can fulfill dreams.
In other words it isnt the physical composition
or features that are being purchased, but rather
the benefits consumers might derive from their
purchase. An advertisement for Canon microcomputers depicted a variety of situations in the
life of a man. Each box in the press advertisement showed, variously, the man at the office
working on business plans, with employees in a
negotiating situation, with clients in a selling situation, on the squash court and at home with his
family. This multifaceted way of life fits very well
in this postmodern era of persons fulfilling many
roles. Each of these boxes had captions: forward
planning, employee relations, clinching the deal,
playing hard, and being a dad. The implication
of course was that a prospective Canon computer buyer would not be buying RAMs, ROMs
and hard disks, but would be buying something
that takes over the tedious and time-consuming
Reproduced by permission of Pacific Cycle Inc.
chores, thus allowing the buyer more time for the
important things in life, and therefore being more
successful at them, including being a better squash player and parent!
A Sainsburys television commercial featured a mother and young son at the checkout. When
the items were rung up on the till, the display did not show prices but, for example: mums night
off for a pizza, breakfast in bed for a packet of croissants.
Throughout all this the son looked glum: they had perhaps had a row. When the gingerbread
man was rung up, the display was peace offering!
In an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Captain Picard reports to the crew his
time-travel visit to 20th century Earth. He said he actually saw automobiles.
The crew didnt know what this meant but Data the android accessed his databanks to reveal
that automobiles were an ancient earth device used primarily for transportation, also seen as a
source of status and virility often a prime ingredient in teenage mating rituals!
The classic way for marketing to focus on the benefits approach is to identify needs of the target and
to match one or more product or service features that are in some way relevant with each need. Then
each feature can be converted, using a which means approach, into a benefit that can satisfy that need
(Table 1.1).
CHAPTER 1 CONSUMER MOTIVES AND VALUES
Needs
Features
Benefits
Identify needs
Select relevant features
Newly married couple

who have just moved
into a newly built house
This drill-bit set includes a

set of masonry and
wood/metal bits
Shy and retiring

18-year-old who has
just started university
and wants to make
some new friends
Designer-label jacket
Convert features into

benefits that satisfy needs
This drill-bit set can help you
turn your house into a home
by allowing you to
personalize it by hanging
shelves, pictures, etc.
This jacket will help you fit in
and become part of the
in-crowd.
A young woman who

wants to experience life
to the fullest and
wishes to make a
statement about her
individuality
A navel-piercing service
Piercing your navel makes a

statement. It says something
about who you are and
youve never before
experienced anything like the
feeling it gives you.
Table 1.1: Needs, features, benefits
This approach is not new. The advertisement here

for Biro pens demonstrates the conversion of features
into benefits (yes, there is a brand called Biro, even
though we often tend to think of the ball point pen
product category as this brand: the brand becomes the
commodity).
Customer needs and requirements should not, however, be totally satisfied: business is not altruistic because
it needs to make a profit in order to stay in business and
grow. What is needed is a crucial compromise of satisfying organizational goals and satisfying customer needs,
which can lead to competitive advantage in increasingly
crowded marketplaces. This chapter explores how marketing can interpret and use motivation theories in these
respects and provides practical examples of their application. We start with a discussion of motivation and
motivation theories, then extend this into coverage of
values. The chapter closes with a brief exploration of research approaches to investigating consumer
motives and values.
THINKBOX
FUTURE FOUNDATION RESEARCH:
Social and Cultural Capital
Related to the increasing importance of networks and the skills required to navigate
them is what we refer to as social capital and the growth in what has been called
cultural capital. In todays service economy, it is access to services, networks and the
consumption of culture that plays a critical role in defining ones individual status the
critical currency of the modern world is in many ways cultural capital. By this we
mean the knowledge and experience of arts, culture and hobbies that help to define
who we are and, critically, differentiate us from others. Sociologists such as Rifkin and
Bourdieu argue that we are moving from an era of industrial to cultural capitalism, where
cultural production is increasingly becoming the dominant form of economic activity
and securing access to the many cultural resources and experiences that nurture ones
psychological existence becomes just as important as holding property. Whether that
culture is high (opera) or low (celebrity watching), you can differentiate yourself,
gain kudos and access to opportunities by having cultural knowledge or experience
(been to the match, seen the play); by having cultural capital. This phenomenon is
particularly important because surely the management of this cultural capital is more
complex than that of physical goods and the components of cultural capital need to be
maintained and nurtured regularly another pressure in modern life we believe is key
to understanding the complications people face.
Looking ahead, its likely we will see an ever-wider range of experiences as we
work on building our cultural capital. And as we all realize that networking in both
social and work environments is important, we will want not only to hone our skills in
communication but also acquire and use the modern communication technologies that
can help us. The connections you have and the capabilities and influence of your friends
and families your social capital becomes critical. We will also probably notice the
reduced influence of traditional institutions and the growing importance of personal
authorities one has. Clearly there is potential here for the public and private sectors to
provide the tools that improve networking and building social capital.
As you will know from Chapter 8, this does not refer to cultural differences across
societies, but rather our consumption of the more artistic/experiential/cultural aspects
of life. What are your views here?
Reproduced by permission of Future Foundation http://www.futurefoundation.net/
MOTIVATION
Motivation is a basic concept in human behaviour and thus, also in consumer behaviour. Motivation
can be described as the driving force within individuals that moves them to take a particular action. This
Need satisfaction
Deprivation
Homeostasis
We strive for a state of equilibrium (Homeostasis)

Physiological needs (e.g. hunger) move us away from this
But so do social and psychological needs
Figure 1.1: The homeostasis see-saw
driving force is produced by a state of tension, which exists as a result of an unfulfilled need that moves
us away from psychological equilibrium or homeostasis (Figure 1.1).
Indeed, motivated behaviour is activity that is directed towards the attainment of a goal or objective.
As we have indicated, not all motives derive from physical drives. Having satisfied their hunger and other
physical needs, people may be found buying such items as fashionable clothes or cosmetics. Evidently,
the motives behind this behaviour originate quite separately from those that involve the satisfaction of
the physiological drives (also called biogenic drives) of, for example, keeping warm and needing to
eat and drink in order to live. A whole range of psychogenic drives (e.g. the desire to be appreciated
or to have status or feel at one with ones self) stem from our social environment, culture and
social group interactions. Many such as Belk et al. (2003) even argue that want (or desire), which is
fundamentally social in nature, is the major driving force or motivation behind much of our contemporary
consumption.
Every individual has the same need structure, but different specific needs will be to the fore in different
individuals at various points in time and according to different cultural and social contexts. In critical
mode, Mishan (1971) argued that marketing adds to dissatisfaction, rather than satisfaction:
Advertising, taken as a whole, conspires first to make men feel that the things that matter to them are the material
things of life: the goods, services and opportunities provided by the economy. Second, it conspires to make men
dissatisfied with what they have so goading them into efforts to increase their real earnings so as to acquire
more of the stuff produced by modern industry. (p 244)
He also maintained that the plethora of versions of products and services, with relatively little differentiation
(apart from the emotional) again added to consumer anxiety and dissatisfaction. He preferred less choice
but greater real differentiation.
So, marketers are often accused of creating a need for a product or a service that would not exist
except due to some aggressive and repetitive marketing activities that educate, inform and even persuade
consumers to buy those products and services. For example, most advertisements strive to portray
products in such an emotional and persuasive manner that consumers start to think that they ought to buy
those products even if that specific brand is not a necessity for sustaining life. However, our proposition
is that marketing does not create needs, rather it encourages us to want or desire brand X by associating
its acquisition with the satisfaction of a latent need.
Indeed Marx (1867/1967) wrote:
A commodity is, in the first place, an object outside us, a thing that by its properties satisfies human wants of
some sort or another. The nature of such wants, whether for instance they spring from the stomach or from
fancy, makes no difference.
However, he was not convinced about them satisfying our needs because he also said that the danger of
continual aspirations to have things was that it creates the illusion that having is a way to happiness. We
just want more and more and are constantly distant from happiness.
EXAMPLE 1.2
Many Western societies have high levels of personal debt. The ongoing worldwide financial
crisis of 2008 reflected a degree of over-stretching of credit levels. Can we accuse marketers of
encouraging the acquisition of materialistic lifestyles that are not sustainable? Not sustainable at
an individual level but also at planet level.
1. Individual level
ASA Condemns Littlewoods Ads
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has condemned
retailer Littlewoods for sending out a mailer encouraging young
women to go into debt.
The mailer, which portrayed a young woman living a glamorous
lifestyle on credit, was sent out by Littlewoods-owned Shop Direct
Financial Services to more than 75 000 Additions Direct customers.
The ASA decided that Additions Directs Direct Plus mailer was
irresponsible because it was designed to appeal particularly to
young women and was likely to be seen as encouraging carefree
impulsive spending on credit.
The mailing features phrases such as Hot dates wont last until
payday and No cash required.
It also featured a series of cartoon scenes of a young woman
with accompanying captions. One scene showed the woman and a man at home watching TV
with the caption Back at the flat. . . 40 LCD TV nice one! How does she do it?
Shop Direct Financial Services, which owns Additions Direct, says the animated story format
was intended to target customers in a fun and informative way, and points out that it did
include details of the interest rate.
Marketing Week, ASA Condemns Littlewoods Ads 10 November 2008, p.6. Reproduced by permission of Centaur
Media Plc.
2. Planet level
The same Marketing Week article (2008) reported another ASA ruling against a TV commercial.
This Ad was for Malaysian palm oil and it claimed it was produced in a sustainable way. Indeed so
many of our food products contain palm oil. A mailer from the WWF in December 2007 stated: in
the last 20 years Borneo lost an area of orang-utan habitat 8 times the size of Wales, 100 years ago
there were an estimated 230,000 orang-utans, 10 years ago 115,000, but now less than 32,000
remain in the wild. . .less we act now there could be no orang-utans left within 30 years.
THINKBOX
Check out how widespread the use of palm oil is in foodstuffs. Do we really need to
use this oil as much? Is it human greed that is destroying the planets resources and
inhabitants?
Is this sustainable? Does it matter? Are marketers just responding to human

motivation?
Does the continual acquisition of things make us happier?
What do you think?
Tangible and practical uses of products are often subordinated to more symbolic values. In a useful
chapter on how consumers use the things we buy to communicate more symbolic meaning with others,
Gabriel and Lang (1995, Chapter 3) draw from Theodor Adornos philosophical thinking of post-war
Germany. Adorno and others, from what became known as the Frankfurt School, saw social symbolism
of products often outweighing their more practical use values. The work of Vance Packard (1957)
extended this to assert that as the practical is subordinated in favour of the more frivolous, we are unduly
influenced by the persuasive powers of marketing.
Various forms of marketing communications (e.g. advertising, personal selling, branding, sales
promotions, direct marketing, packaging) contribute by conveying symbolic meanings about who we
are and the way we can relate to ourselves and to others in the society. On this basis, products and
services can be strategically positioned in competitive marketplaces and marketing communications (in
particular) can, at an operational level, benefit from an understanding of the key aspects of motivation
theory because specific message appeals can be based on such analysis.
www.
For more on symbolic consumption, read the article by Piacentini and Mailer (2004),
Symbolic Consumption in Teenagers Clothing Choices, on the accompanying web site at
www.wileyeurope.com/college/evans.
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Furthermore, marketers can restructure and shape how human needs are manifested by introducing and producing products that did not exist before (Firat et al., 1995). For instance, the need
for transportation and mobility was restructured and reshaped by the production and consumption
of cars and televisions. Due to the modern organization of life and the relationships of work and
home, we have witnessed a reorganization of the transportation and entertainment systems at both the
society and individual levels leading to changes in our consumption and expenditure patterns (Firat
et al., 1995).
Might consumers buying behaviour not only reflect their desire to buy benefits, but with the
aggregation of their purchases even define them? Are we what we buy (Belk, 1988)?
McAlexander et al. (2002) propose that, from a marketers perspective, it is worth exploiting consumers desire not only to buy benefits but also an experience. They suggest that this can gain
competitive advantage by focusing: not merely on the product and its positioning but also on the
experience of ownership and consumption. The concept of experiential consumption is explored in
Chapter 10.
THINKBOX
Our central proposition, then, is that marketing does not create needs but shapes the
manifestation of these via wants for specific brands and types of products.
Do you think that marketing creates needs? Explain your position.
How do you feel about the proposition that many of the things we buy lack real use
value and are merely bought for their symbolism to ourselves and to others?
Positive and Negative Motivation

Positive and negative motivation may be distinguished as approach and avoidance, respectively.
As positive motivation, people are looking for positive situations, positive mood, pleasure, sensory
gratification, intellectual stimulation, social approval and comfort: things that may enrich their lives and
are worthwhile to strive for and goals that they want to reach (Figure 1.2). Holidays and entertainment
are examples of products and services appealing to a positive motivation.
With negative motivation, people are motivated to escape from negative situations, negative mood,
pain, illness and discomfort such as a headache: they want to avoid and remove problems. For example,
people do not like to be stranded on a motorway when their cars break down suddenly and hence the
motivation to purchase the breakdown cover. Similarly, a consumer while buying a washing machine may
opt to buy an extended warranty for up to five years to avoid inconvenience and pain associated with
calling and paying for expensive repairs if the machine breaks down.
We discuss cognitive dissonance later in this chapter (and in Chapter 4) and this is another example
of how we are motivated to avoid states of disequilibrium.
Internal and External Motivation

Motivation is either internal (from within a person) or external (from the environment). Internal
motivation is concerned with instinct, need, drive or emotion. It often has a physiological base, for
example hunger, thirst, sexual needs and need for stimulation. We explore aspects of deep-seated inner
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Figure 1.2: Positive motivation

Its not how you really are, but how the advertisement suggests you might become. But does marketing
sometimes promise the undeliverable, leading to consumer discontent?
Source: Swish Jeans
drives in the later section on Freudian motivation. External motivation is based on an attractiveness
of environmental stimuli such as products and services and often becomes internal motivation in the
form of preference for products, services and situations.
Operant conditioning and vicarious learning (explored in more detail in Chapter 3) are based
on the attractiveness of goods and services and the reinforcements these goods provide for consumers
through their benefits. Operant conditioning is concerned with the strengthening of behaviour through
reinforcement. If consumers select a brand or product type they may be positively reinforced by the
benefits of the product. But if these benefits are absent, there can be a negative reinforcement of not
repeating the same buying experience. Vicarious learning (Chapters 3, 7 and 9) relates to the imitation
drive of people. Many will try to imitate celebrities and fashion models. They imitate the clothing,
movements and typical characteristics of these role models and in this way external motivational drives
are often triggered. Combining positive and negative motivation with internal and external motivation
gives the four types of motivation of Table 1.2.
At this point we turn to specific theories of motivation and how the work of the marketer and consumer
researcher can be informed by these.
Motivation
Internal
External
Positive
pleasure,
comfort
pain,
discomfort
attractive goods and services,

attractive situations
unattractive goods and services
unattractive situations
Negative
Table 1.2: Different kinds of motivation
MASLOWS HIERARCHY OF NEEDS

Perhaps the most widely cited theory of motivation is that of Maslow which is represented as a hierarchy of
needs (Figure 1.3). Maslows proposition is that needs at one level must be at least partially satisfied before
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7 Selfactualization
needs
6 Aesthetic needs
5 Cognitive needs
4 Esteem needs
3 Social needs
2 Safety needs
1 Physiological needs
Figure 1.3: Maslows hierarchy of needs
those at the next level become important in determining our actions. The satisfaction of a lower-order
need triggers the next level of needs into operation, demanding new patterns of behaviour on the part of
the individual. Naturally the basic needs must be met first (adequately, if not completely). But once the
physiological (biogenic) needs have been satisfied, the individual turns their attention to the fulfillment of
more advanced psychogenic requirements such as social acceptance and self-esteem. People may also have
needs for cognition, that is to know and to understand things, and Maslows level 5 reflects this. Many
will have a need for learning for its own sake, for example. There can also be a need for creativity and
for outlets for artistic, creative and aesthetic drives (level 6). The final stage in the motivational hierarchy
is the need for what Maslow calls self-actualization. While he does not define this term with any real
degree of precision, it appears to represent the attainment of what other psychologists call self-realization,
the process in which the individual has the opportunity to invest all their talents and abilities in activities
that they find meaningful: activities that help develop personality, for example through leisure activities
and creative pastimes.
The significance of the hierarchy to marketing is great. It clearly demonstrates that a need refers to
more than mere physiological essentials. Other forces driving our behaviour can come from a concern for
our safety, social integration, personal recognition, learning, appreciation of our surroundings or from the
perceived importance of spiritual satisfaction.
www.
Take a look at this web site for more on Maslows theory:

http://www.businessballs.com/maslow.htm
The hierarchy can be criticized; for example, Maslow suggested that as societies develop they move
further up the hierarchy in terms of their most relevant needs to tackle. It could be argued here that not
everyone will move up the ladder in quite the same way, perhaps missing some levels and perhaps moving
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back down to lower level needs. An illustration of this would be where, in Western industrialized countries,
at the same time as attempting to satisfy social and higher levels of the hierarchy, many will be heavily
orientated to, for example, safety and security as a result of fears about criminality, the violent society and
terrorism. An advertisement by the Discovery Television channel for documentary programmes about
terrorism pictured an airplane flying close to two tower blocks of flats. The copy headline was: Terrorism
has changed the way we view the world. Marketing clearly recognizes how even the most developed
societies have strong and rekindled safety needs. This is evidenced by the plethora of advertisements for
personal alarms, life assurance policies and home and car security devices. Chubb locks, for example, use
the copy: Pick your own lock before a burglar does . . . and lock out unwelcome visitors.
Some expensive products will target lower-level needs.
Prior to the slightly more trendy Volvo advertising of today, the
company promoted safety as a key benefit of its cars for many
decades (Figure 1.4). But even in 2006 Volvo targeted mothers
with children between 3 and 5 years old via a direct mail
campaign that focused on the cars safety features for children
(Precision Marketing 2006). Volkswagens Polo model has also
been subject to safety messages:
So, in the context of the discussion of consumer motivation, such criticisms are relatively pedantic. We present
Maslow to reinforce the point that consumers can be motivated by more than the essentials of physiology and that
there can be changes, over time, to what motivates individuals.
Maslows theory makes a distinction between what may be
termed physical/inherited needs and learned needs. The latter
are not innate but acquired by the individual through social
interaction.
Identifying which needs are especially salient within different market segments is a task for marketers and market
researchers. To demonstrate this, a useful illustration is the
DDB London. Photography by Henrik Knudsen.
toothpaste market. Many of us might think, Toothpaste is
Reproduced with permission
toothpaste and that we all use it in similar quantities for similar reasons. Table 1.3 adapts a classic piece of research into an apparently non-differentiated market. It
shows that consumers may be assigned to different segments for a variety of reasons and can, on this
basis, be targeted with different marketing mixes.
Figure 1.4: Example of how marketers have targeted Maslows safety needs
Reproduced by permission of Volvo Car UK Ltd and Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO
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Sensory
segment
Sociable
segment
Worrier
segment
Independent
segment
Main benefit
flavour
bright teeth
decay prevention
price
Demographic
factors
children, young
people
teens
large families
men
Lifestyle factors
hedonistic
active
conservative
concerned with value
Adapted from Haley (1968)
Table 1.3: Toothpaste consumer benefit segments
So, whereas brands of fluoride toothpaste may be tangibly and chemically very similar, they will often
be targeted at different market segments. Even the brand names used can suggest this, on the basis of
varying benefits being sought: Close Up, Aquafresh, Ultrabrite and Macleans. The imagery surrounding
the advertising of these brands similarly suggests the difference between features and benefits. Some
might show two mothers with their children in a dentists waiting room. One child has to have several
fillings and the other does not. Explicitly there might be references to the brand used by the child who has
no cavities, suggesting that this is the brand for you, if you want to prevent tooth decay and hence satisfy
a need or value to safeguard yourself (needs at level 2). Implied, however, is an even stronger benefit that
if you dont use this brand as a parent, in some way you are not such a good parent (needs at levels 2, 3
and perhaps 4).
Recently, Colgate, in Figure 1.5, heavily promoted the benefit of fresh breath.
Figure 1.5: Toothpaste benefits

Example of a marketer recognizing that different market segments will be motivated
by different needs and therefore providing a basis for benefit segmentation.
Colgate-Palmolive Company 2005. Designed by Jim Richards, addicted2tv.com
EXAMPLE 1.3
Direct mailings for pensions aimed at the 1835s have shown that in order to secure an assured
future, a second pension is increasingly desirable (level 2). BUPA has used the advertising strapline:
Youre amazing, we want to keep you that way. This and campaigns for life assurance, especially
covering family members, can be linked with level 2 but also, because of the implied concerns for
loved ones, we can see level 3 being activated (i.e. social needs) and additionally, more personal
esteem needs from level 4 (our self-esteem can be enhanced by feeling we are looking after those
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for whom we have some responsibility). Social needs are also portrayed by BTs Friends and
Family and Its Good to Talk campaigns. Perhaps, rather incredulously, we can see a possible
use of self-actualization and its utopian nature in Bounty Bar (a chocolate bar) advertisements
claiming a taste of paradise?
There is evidence of a trend toward self-actualization as reflected in individualism. We explore this

further in Chapters 6 and 11 but it is worth a brief mention here. During the 1970s in the UK and
the USA this trend was identified and led, among other things, to the Regan and Thatcher election
campaigns from the late 1970s and into the 1980s, based on self-reliance (BBC, 2002a; McNulty and
McNulty, 1987). Standing on ones own feet and freeing the individual from the state were the sorts of
mantras of those elections and were manifestations of research at the time that was put forward as evidence
of the self-actualizing consumer, by the creator of the VALS lifestyle research in USA and confirmed
more recently (McNulty, 2002). Indeed in UK, research reported by Publicis (1992) suggests that from
1973 to 1989 there had been a shift in motivators from level 1 and 2 functional and rational factors (40%
to 27% of the population) and level 3 other-directedness (static at 35%) to more inner-directedness
levels 4 to 7 (25% to 38% of the population). So although we started by suggesting a criticism of Maslow
that not all societies will continue to progress up the hierarchy, there is evidence to suggest this can
happen within some.
Alderfer (1972) proposed a similar, if more simple, model. This is still based on the principle of progression through categories of motivation; in this case, existence, relatedness and growth.
His ERG model. In empirical research, more support is found for the ERG model than for the
Maslow hierarchy, although the Maslow hierarchy remains popular with many (Wahba and Bridwell,
1976).
Other theories explain individual differences in motivation. For instance, consumers are likely to be
different in their need for achievement, power and affiliation (McClelland, 1961) and their need for
cognition (Cohen et al., 1955). Similarly, McGuire classified motives into two broad categories: cognitive
and affective. Cognitive motives, as per McGuire (1974, 1976), reflected motives that emphasized an
individuals need for being adaptively orientated towards the environment and for achieving a sense of
meaning. Affective motives emphasized an individuals need to achieve satisfying feeling states and to
attain emotional goals.
FREUDIAN THEORY OF MOTIVATION

Consider the following: owners of sports cars verbalize reasons for purchase as being able to accelerate
safely during overtaking manoeuvres. This, however, might just be a good reason, and the underlying
real reason might be that the sports car helps attract the opposite sex or is even a substitute mistress.
This is not as far-fetched as it might sound and was actually the theme of a classical advertising for
the MGB GT car in the early 1980s. The copy headline for that advertisement read: Psychologists
say a saloon car is a wife and a sports car is a mistress. The MGB advertisement played on the
proposition that not only are consumers buying benefits rather than features, but also that the benefits
can sometimes satisfy more deeply seated needs by using the slogan Psychologists say a saloon car
is a wife and a sports car is a mistress. In this case, the sports car would be considered to be a
subconscious symbol.
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Sigmund Freuds psychoanalytic theory underpins this thinking and distinguishes three basic structures
of the mind: Id, Ego and Superego (Table 1.4).
Structure
Level
Superego
Ego
Id
Conscious
Subconscious
Unconscious
Table 1.4: Id, ego and superego
Id
The id is the unconscious, instinctive source of our impulses: a source of psychic energy. It is a beast
looking for immediate hedonistic gratification (pleasure), self-interest and a short-term perspective. The
Id tries to satisfy whatever delivers pleasure without regard for wider implications for others, so in this
way we can say that it works on the pleasure principle. Freud argued that the libido, sexuality, is the
driving force of the id but the more general interpretation is that the id is the reservoir of base instincts
and these could be sexually or violence-related or even be traumatic experiences from the past which
linger in the unconscious and exert influence on conscious and subconscious processes. There is a large
degree of internal motivation here, based on deeply seated instinctive drives.
Many people believe that consumers may be influenced at the unconscious level with subliminal
advertising. Subliminal advertising is supposed to exert influence on behaviour while consumers are not
aware of the influence attempt of this type of advertising. Examples of subliminal advertising are short
flashes, such as Eat popcorn or Drink Coca-Cola inserted in a film in New Jersey. These flashes were
too short to be consciously observed (Packard, 1957).
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As we know, although films appear convincingly as movement, they are composed of a series of still
frames. The speed through the projector gives the impression of movement. The point is that our senses
are not quick enough to distinguish each single frame. The idea behind the experiments was to apply this
knowledge and it was thought that the single-frame insert would not be consciously noticed but, because
it did physically appear on the screen for a fraction of a second, there would be a chance that the receivers
subconscious might accept the message. Indeed, for the test products, Coca-Cola and popcorn, more
was sold during the commercial break (after the subliminal message in the form of this additional single
frame was shown) than was the case in control audiences where the insets were not projected.
The approach was pounced on by the media and, as a result of general public concern, subliminal
advertising was made illegal in many countries. However, other experiments attempting to replicate the
results were not entirely conclusive about its effectiveness.
Subliminal images may also be inserted in pictures, in a scrambled or hidden way, e.g. the word sex
to be read in the ice cubes in a glass of whisky (Key, 1973). The suggestion is that these hidden flashes or
pictures are being unconsciously observed and processed and, without any cognitive defence or screening
by the superego, transmitted to the mind of consumers. These subliminal messages exert a strong effect
on behaviour without people knowing that they are influenced. It is reassuring for consumers, perhaps,
that in a review article (which we reproduce on the accompanying web site) Broyles (2006) submits that
subliminal advertising is ineffective.
Even the popular notion that we are unconsciously influenced by pheromones, a sort of surreptitious
aroma that we all secrete, is not yet proven. The obvious application is in the formulation of perfumes
that might encourage greater sexual attraction of one to another (Small 1999).
But if subliminal advertising should work, it would bring many ethical questions to the fore as to
whether this type of advertising would be allowed or not. Nevertheless there is sufficient concern for the
legislation to remain.
Superego
However, the superego represents the internalized representation of the morals and values of those
important to us in society and operates at the conscious level. In this way the superego is more of an
external motivator. It consciously controls our behaviour by seeking to make it fit with these internalized
norms. It is our social conscience and can conflict with the id.
Ego
The ego, on the other hand, responds to the real world and acts in a mediating role between the id and reality (so the reality principle operates here). It does not operate at the conscious level but neither is it submerged into the unconscious; instead it is a subconscious mediator between the other two elements. Thus
it controls our instinctive drives and tries to find a realistic means by which we can satisfy our impulses, or
socially acceptable (to satisfy the superego) outlets that will adequately address the id drives (Figure 1.6).
Freudian motives
Superego
Id
Naughty
Ego
Nice
Naughty but nice
Figure 1.6: The Freudian see-saw
18
THINKBOX
In Figure 1.7, the id suggests what we really want to wear or see, but which might not
be entirely socially acceptable in public. Our superego reflects our social conscience
and is what we see as being socially acceptable, but which probably doesnt satisfy
the id enough. The ego comes up with styles which satisfy the id acceptably but which
are also socially acceptable in public.
Id
Superego
Ego
Figure 1.7: Naughty, nice, naughty but nice

Source: Ann Summers, www.annsummers.com (Id); Freemans plc, www.freemans.com (Superego and Ego).
EXAMPLE 1.4
If a main tenet of the theory is the conflict and ultimate compromise between the id, the superego
and the ego, consider the effects of alcohol. In a classic television anti-drink advertising campaign,
the same scene was played twice, through the perceptions of the two main characters. First, a
man was drinking more and more and (through his eyes) becoming more sophisticated, suave and
attractive to the women around him. Then the same episode was played as if through her eyes:
a drunk was getting more and more obnoxious. What this nicely demonstrates is the effect that
alcohol can have on reducing the constraints of the superego.
Indeed, in a series of advertisements for Pernod, the copy, in a variety of different settings,
read Pernod: free the spirit. Apart from the obvious play on words, it could also be equated with
the notion of freeing the id. When on holiday in a foreign country we often dont know of the local
norms and some will deliberately ignore them so that there is little perception of social constraints
at all. Again the id can be free and this might explain the misbehaviour (see Chapter 12) of binge
drinkers in Spanish resorts and elsewhere.
Even ice cream has been promoted with a similar free the id appeal (Figure 1.8).
Tapping the id, but in a way that can ultimately be manifested in a socially acceptable way,
is the key to this approach. Consider the following: Why do people take so much pleasure
in immersing themselves in warm water? One theory is that it awakens distant memories of
floating in the comfort of the womb. This was actually part of the copy for a British Gas
advertisement!
Figure 1.8: Freeing the id?

Free the spirit: free the id via alcohol and even with ice cream you can lose control.
Source: General Mills UK. Image courtesy of the Advertising Archives
THINKBOX
Next time you attend, or just see pictures of a carnival or Mardi Gras (or indeed go
clubbing) check out the outfits that some of the revelers are wearing very few would
probably be worn anywhere else. Are they satisfying id drives in a more direct manner
than might be accepted by their superego at the next lecture?
Reproduced by permission of Bianco Footwear AS.
Source: Jean Paul Gaultier, Image courtesy of the

Advertising Archives
19
20
Source: GHD
Could this tap the Id in a socially acceptable way? Why or why not?
Lasswells (1948) theory of the triple appeal is useful for practical implementation of Freud-based
marketing messages. This states that to be successful the message must appeal to all three elements of
the mind. If not and it appeals only to the id, for instance, its effects will be immediately negated by the
superego. If the appeal is purely to the superego, the social conscience is in danger of being too goodygoody and wont address what really motivates us, and if the appeal is pure ego it can be too logical and
therefore lacks appeal. So, Lasswell would opt for an appeal that was a touch naughty but also nice.
EXAMPLE 1.5
It might be suggested that appeals to the id can be made in other subconscious ways. Pack
designs could trigger subconscious sets of associations; for example, when there is phallic and
other symbolism in the designs, shapes, textures
and materials. Also, consider the scope for voice
under messages as part of in-store music tracks
declaring you must not steal, but which (at the
conscious level) are inaudible.
Marketers might attempt to tap the id in such
a way as to encourage what some might regard
as rather dubious purposes. The purchase of a
camcorder, for example, might be explained via
a number of good reasons but the real reaPhoto: Martin Evans
son might not be one that all purchasers would
verbalize (Figure 1.9)!
21
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Figure 1.9: Good and (dubious) real motives

Good and real reasons for buying a camcorder . . .
Sanyo Europe Ltd. Reproduced by permission
Other messages might attempt to tap the subconscious id drives with what superficially would
appear to be rather obscure references. Take, for instance, an advertisement in which a woman
is about to eat a toffee apple. She wears a bracelet on her wrist in the form of a snake and
the copy reads: Adam just cured my fear of snakes. The advertisement is actually for gold
jewellery, but there is plenty of Freudian symbolism here (Adam and Eve, forbidden fruit and
the phallic symbolism of snakes). This might go completely over the heads of the target market,
at least at the conscious level, but if it reaches the id then it might well be doing what was
intended.
22
The problem with the unconscious, of course, is that it is very difficult to identify and research even
its very existence. Different psychoanalysts might well interpret research findings in different ways and so
the whole approach attracts critical attention.
It was not Freud himself, of course, who introduced the marketing world to this theory, but rather his
nephew, Edward Bernays in 1920s America. He introduced the concept of linking subconscious desires
with the acquisition of products and brands (BBC 2002b). He used celebrity endorsement (which we
discuss in Chapter 9) and he was even instrumental in introducing the approach into political marketing
in order to repress what many saw as a latent human savagery than can lead to horrors such as Nazism.
THINKBOX
Another of the major contributors to the adoption of psychoanalytical approaches in
some areas of marketing was Ernest Dichter. Durgee (1991) provided an interpretation
of Dichters motives for consumption. These included eroticism, power and reward but
also Maslow type motives such as social acceptance and security.
There is a very interesting reading on the accompanying web site that explores his
contribution. The paper by Fullerton (2008) is critical of what he sees as Dichters overly
subjective interpretations of his motivation research studies and the lack criticality of
the methodology used within them.
Read the article and critically analyze the points made.
However, new developments in direct marketing might increase the use of id appeals. For example,
Club 1830 targeting of what they see as the real reason for young people to go on their holidays
(i.e. sex on holiday) is barely disguised (Beaver Espania, One swallow doesnt make a summer, the
summer of 69). We suggest that this sort of id appeal would generally not be acceptable in mass media
communications that reach the mass of the population with little targeting. But the direct approach
perhaps allows for this, providing these risque messages are targeted at the like-minded in a discreet and
confidential way; for example, through direct mail. In one mailing, Club 1830 portrayed a couple of
dolls having sex with the headline, coming soon. In this way, the more private message, which direct
communications provide, could give added momentum for Freudian messages which are almost all id.
JUNGIAN MOTIVATION
Jung also proposed an unconscious, but that it is divided into:
1. Experiences that were once conscious but now sufficiently repressed, suppressed, ignored or forgotten,
that they are now unconscious. Jung argued that if they resurface they can explain intuition. This is
Jungs personal unconscious.
2. Experiences that are equally unconscious but which derive from our previous ancestral existence(s).
Such motives hidden in the unconscious reflect a more spiritual collectivism from the past. This is
Jungs collective unconscious.
He proposed a series of what he called archetypes. These are image-types that we all possess, albeit at the
unconscious level. One such archetype is the shadow. This reflects our dark, often anti-social side and
23
we can manifest it by seeing enemies around us or the dark unknown or what we know (if the superego
rises) is forbidden. We can also ascribe our own less acceptable shadow traits onto others and this is a
way of explaining what might be illogical blame or creating scapegoats. Sometimes we might repress our
more positive characteristics into the shadow if family or social circumstances present any taboo. Dreams
can also be the expression of shadow archetypes and some advertising might even attempt to stir such
manifestations of the unconscious. For more on Jung and his archetypes, see Knox (2002).
MEMETICS
We wonder if a new consumer motivator is in the process of being identified and exploited. Memetics
has recently attracted significant attention (Dawkins, 1989; Blackmore, 1999; Marsden, 1998, 1999;
Williams, 2002). Whereas a gene passes forms of behaviour down (vertically) through the generations, a
meme acts as a sort horizontal communicator of how to behave. The difference, however, is that memes
work more like a viral contagion. A good example of the principle is how it is often difficult not to start
yawning if others are yawning (Marsden, 1998). Could memes go some way to explaining the spread of
what at times appears to be an epidemic of suicides? It might be an unconscious communication, thus
having some relationship with the Freudian paradigm discussed above and be one which might be most
enduring if instilled at an early age. Or is it akin to vicarious learning, which we explore in Chapter 3?
Will it become possible to create a meme that marketers can use to communicate through societies,
with consumers becoming infected with a mind virus that is not recognized consciously, but which results
in them suddenly joining the next fad or fashion? Some say this is nearly possible, and research is being
conducted to design and engineer highly infectious memes that could be used in marketing campaigns
(Marsden, 1998).
www.
Take a look at this web site for more on memes and memetics:
www.geocities.com/persistentmemes/articles.html
THINKBOX
In 1957, with respect to what we might see today as straightforward mass media
advertising such as TV advertising, Vance Packard raised concerns about its hidden
persuasion potential. He wrote: Eventually say by AD 2000 perhaps all this depth
manipulation of the psychological variety will seem amusingly old-fashioned. By then
perhaps the biophysicists will take over biocontrol, which is depth persuasion carried
to its ultimate (Packard, 1957:195).
What do you think?
COGNITIVE DISSONANCE AS MOTIVATOR

The final motivation theory we have space to explore here is the need to avoid or reduce cognitive
dissonance (Festinger, 1957). This is discussed in more detail in Chapter 4 but, briefly, it is a condition
reflecting a tendency towards mental unease (the homeostasis see-saw again) which occurs when an
24
individual holds two attitudes, ideas, beliefs or other cognitions that are not in harmony with each other.
In this situation the person tries to reduce dissonance perhaps by dropping a cognition, perhaps by
strengthening one. Dissonance is therefore a factor in motivation because it leads the individual to change
their opinion, attitudes or behaviour in order to reach a state of consonance or homeostasis.
For example, there is dissonance in a smoker who knows
that smoking is dangerous to health. The smoker is motivated
to reduce the dissonance, perhaps by stopping or reducing
the smoking behaviour or by not reading (or screening out)
the messages conveying the dangers of smoking. Another
well-known example of cognitive dissonance theory concerns
the post-decisional doubt expressed by purchasers of new
cars. The existence of dissonance among such customers was
deduced from their tendency to seek further information about
the model just bought despite having previously considered
several alternatives. There is a degree of reassurance that
many buyers seek, to confirm their choice. Marketing responds with welcome packs for new customers
(especially for new customers of mobile phone companies), congratulations messages on joining the
family of owners, after-sales service and the use of comparative advertising in which competitors
offerings are not seen in such good light as their own. Chapter 4 explores dissonance as a post-purchase
phenomenon in more detail, but in this chapter we submit that dissonance reduction and/or avoidance is
a clear motivator for many consumers.
MOTIVATION AND SHOPPING

In a shopping context, we can think of motivation as the driving force within consumers that makes
them shop. Table 1.5 presents some of the shopping motives identified by previous research. The wellknown work of Tauber (1972) concerns the identification of a number of shopping motivations with the
premise that consumers are motivated by a number of personal and social needs. The personal motives
include the needs for role-playing, diversion, self-gratification, learning about new trends, physical activity
and sensory stimulation. The social motives identified by Tauber (1972) include the needs for social
experiences, communication with others, peer group attractions, status and authority, and pleasure in
bargaining. Similarly, Westbrook and Black (1985) and Arnold and Reynolds (2003) identify a number
of interesting shopping motivations. It is worth noting that, for some consumers, a shopping experience
can be potentially entertaining, playful and fun, emotionally involving and a mechanism of escaping from
the daily routines. In this way it reinforces the earlier view that we buy less for tangible functionality than
for social and psychological symbolism that satisfy higher-level needs. Even the process of buying can be
more important than the resulting product acquisition itself. We explore negative dimensions of this (for
example, compulsive buying) in our chapter on consumer misbehaviour (Chapter 12).
For other consumers, however, shopping can obviously be task-orientated (e.g. I have to buy this as
part of my day-to-day routine) and is a very rational activity to satisfy more physiological needs.
By knowing and exploring consumers motivations for shopping, researchers have been able to profile
shoppers into different segments and have examined similarities and differences among these segments.
Table 1.6 presents characteristic features of different shopper segments based on Sproles and Kendalls
(1986) work on mental orientations that characterize consumers approaches to making shopping choices.
Marketers can improve their targeting efforts by developing marketing communications that emphasize
key features of the shopping experience (e.g. depict the shopping experience as a delightful adventure
or emphasize value for money). They can also improve store designs and store layouts (e.g. tailor store
atmospherics to the needs of a particular segment).
25
Tauber (1972)
Diversion highlights shoppings ability to present opportunities to the shopper to escape from
the routines of daily life and therefore represents a type of recreation and escapism.
Self-gratification underlines shoppings potential to alleviate depression as shoppers can spend
money and buy something nice when they are in a down mood.
Physical activity focuses on consumers need for engaging in physical exercise by walking in
spacious and appealing retail centres, particularly when they are living in urban and congested
environments.
Sensory stimulation emphasizes the ability of the retail institutions to provide many sensory
benefits to consumers as they can enjoy the physical sensation of handling merchandise, the
pleasant background music and the scents.
Social and communication motives feature shoppings potential to provide opportunities to
socialize, meet and communicate with others with similar interests.
Peer group attraction stresses consumers desires to be with their reference group.
Status and authority reflect shoppings ability to provide opportunities for consumers to command attention and respect from others.
Pleasure of bargaining reflects consumers desires and abilities to make wiser decisions by
engaging in comparison shopping and special sales.
Westbrook and Black (1985)
Anticipated utility the benefits provided by the product acquired via shopping.
Role enactment identifying and assuming culturally prescribed roles.
Negotiation seeking economic advantage via bargaining.
Choice optimization searching for and securing precisely the right products to fit ones
demands.
Affiliation with others directly or indirectly.
Power and authority attainment of elevated social position.
Stimulation seeking novel and interesting stimuli.
Arnold and Reynolds (2003)
Adventure shopping to seek stimulation, adventure, and feelings of being in a different world.
Social shopping for enjoyment of shopping with friends and family, socializing while shopping
and bonding with others.
Gratification shopping for stress relief, to alleviate a negative mood and as a special treat to
ones self.
Idea shopping for keeping up with trends and new fashions and to seek new products and
innovations.
Role shopping for getting enjoyment as a consequence of shopping for others.
Value shopping reflecting shopping for sales, looking for discounts, and hunting for bargains.
Table 1.5: Shopping motives
26
Shopper category
Characteristics
Quality-consciousness
shoppers
They look for highest possible quality while shopping; like to

shop carefully, systematically and may not feel satisfied with
just-good-enough brands.
They seek out more expensive and famous brands; like to
perceive pricequality link, have positive attitudes towards
departmental and speciality stores selling expensive and popular
brands and may prefer best-selling, heavily advertised brands.
They seek to buy novel and fashionable items; like to seek
pleasure and excitement out of discovering new things, want to
keep up to date with new styles and trends.
They look for pleasure, fun, recreation and entertainment out of
shopping.
They seek bargains and look for deals; are concerned about
getting best value for money; engage in comparisonshopping.
They tend to buy on impulse; do not like to plan their shopping;
remain unconcerned about how much they spend.
They tend to get confused by over-choice of brands and
information; likely to experience information overload.
They to tend to like and buy same brands again and again; likely
to have developed particular behaviours and habits.
Brand-conscious shoppers
Novelty-fashion-conscious
shoppers
Recreational shoppers
Value-conscious shoppers
Impulsive shoppers
Confused shoppers
Brand-loyal shoppers
Table 1.6: Classification of shoppers based on Sproles and Kendalls (1986) consumer decision-making
styles
www.
Addis and Holbrook (2001) on the conceptual link between mass customization and
experiential consumption: An explosion of subjectivity, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, Vol 1
No 1 pp 5066 can be found on the accompanying web site and it explores a variety of issues
relevant to the current chapter: hedonistic versus utilitarian consumption, experiential
consumption as well as aspects of relational consumption, relevant to Chapter 10.
www.wileyeurope.com/college/evans
THINKBOX
Jonathan Porritt has been reported by Smith (2007) as stating Fascism, Communism,
Democracy, Religion, but only one has achieved total supremacy. Its compulsive
attractions rob its followers of reason and good sense. It has created unsustainable
inequalities and threatened to tear apart the very fabric of our society. More powerful
than any cause or even religion, it has reached into every corner of the globe. It is
Consumerism
Smith (2007) Stop Shopping . . . or the Planet will go Pop, Observer, 8 April 89
Critically analyse and evaluate this statement:

When Im watchin my TV and a man comes on and tells me
How white my shirts can be
But, he cant be a man cause he doesnt smoke
The same cigarettes as me
I cant get no . . . (you know what)
Jagger & Richards (1965)
Does this imply that marketers try but fail to satisfy our needs?
THINKBOX
FUTURE FOUNDATION RESEARCH:
Experience Economy
Just in the way that, in the modern economy, manufacturing is declining and service
industries are rising even more, for the modern consumer functional satisfaction is
giving way to the search for psychic benefits. For millions, it is relatively easy to
procure household durables and leisure products. Few really take eating-out to be that
special a treat any more. Leisure is ubiquitous, and in leisurizing our experiences we
are creating an experience economy one where consumers are demanding instant
stimulation, innovation and originality. Modern marketing realizes that there are fewer
and fewer mere products these days and more and more agents of enhanced personal
experience. Novel executions in the field of customer service, invitations to accomplishment, elegance in presentation and setting all appeal to consumers appetites to
convert humdrum consumption into psychic treasure. This raises difficult issues for
marketers trying to position their brand within their consumers multiple experiences.
Does a bookstore-chain sell a quiet space for reverie and friendly encounter or just
books at competitive prices? Does a bottle of whisky give you a nice drink or the
permission to be quietly and successfully alone at the end of the working day, just
before bed? Is an airline a supplier of movement or a stress alleviator? When so
many products can simply no longer deliver unassailable innovations at the level of
functions and features, how can competitive advantage for a brand really be sustained? Consumer culture is driving people to seek the promise of unexpected and
delightful experiences. An entire encyclopedia of communications challenges arises
from this idea.
27
28
The summary, here, of the Future Foundation Report of the same name extends our
discussion of features versus benefits. What are your reactions to this?
VALUES
Higher-level needs approach the status of values, which are critical determinants of behaviour
(Baier, 1969). Rokeach (1968) regarded a value as an enduring belief that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of
conduct or end-state of existence. For Schwartz and Bilsky (1987) values transcend specific situations
and one of the most widely accepted value inventory is the Rokeach Value Survey (RVS). The RVS
measures 18 instrumental values and the same number of terminal values (Table 1.7). Instrumental
values are related to preferred modes of conduct such as honesty and friendliness which people know can
lead to being accepted by others and to having good relations with others. Instrumental values are thus
means to reach a goal. Terminal values are more related to end-state goals such as wisdom, happiness
and freedom. Products and services may also be related to terminal values; for example, Coca-Cola and
its connotation of US values.
Vinson and Lamont (1977) devised a model of consumer value systems by arranging values at three
different levels and giving a hierarchical arrangement to them (Figure 1.10).
Instrumental Values
Terminal Values
Ambitious
Broad-minded
Capable
Cheerful
Clean
Courageous
Forgiving
Helpful
Honest
Imaginative
Independent
Intellectual
Logical
Loving
Obedient
Polite
Responsible
Self-controlled
A Comfortable Life
An Exciting Life
A Sense of Accomplishment
A World at Peace
A World of Beauty
Equality
Family Security
Freedom
Happiness
Inner Harmony
Mature Love
National Security
Pleasure
Salvation
Self-respect
Social Recognition
True Friendship
Wisdom
Source: Adapted from Rokeach (1973)
Table 1.7: The Rokeach Value Survey
Global values
Enduring beliefs about desired states of existence or modes of
behaviour
More
centrally
held
Domain-specific values
Beliefs relevant to economic, social, religious and other activities
Evaluations of product attributes

Evaluative beliefs concerning product attributes
Less
centrally
held
Figure 1.10: Consumer value systems

Source: D. Vinson, J. Scott and L. Lamont, The Role of Personal Values in Marketing and Consumer Research,
Journal of Marketing 41 (April 1977), pp. 4550. Reproduced by permission of American Marketing Association
In different cultures, different values have been found and we discuss

this in more detail in Chapter 8. However, it is worth introducing Hofstedes (1980) study on work-related cultural values in 40 countries. This
identified four major dimensions: power distance, uncertainty avoidance,
femininity/masculinity and individualism/collectivism. The power-distance
emphasis refers to the extent to which a particular society or its members
tolerate an unequal distribution of power in the society. In cultures with
large power distance, people tend to have their rightful places in the society.
They also tend to respect old age, and status is valued to show off power.
People in low power-distance cultures try to look younger than they are and
the powerful people try to look less powerful. The uncertainty-avoidance
emphasis refers to the extent to which people tend to feel threatened by
uncertain, risky and ambiguous situations. People in cultures with large
uncertainty-avoidance tend to appreciate the need for rules and formality to
structure their lives. They also tend to value competence, which leads them
to value experts. In masculine cultures, people tend to value achievement
and success and there is a significant role differentiation between males and
females. In feminine cultures, people tend to value caring for others and
quality of life and there is less role differentiation. People in individualist
cultures tend to look after themselves and their immediate family only
whereas, in collectivist cultures, people tend to value belonging to groups
that look after them in exchange for loyalty.
Similarly, Western values are characterized by separatedness in the
sense of people being relatively independent and individualistic (as the
Publicis [1992] research above suggested). The Harley Davidson strapline,
We dont care how everyone does it . . . we prefer to go our own way
29
30
Country
Values
UK
France
Italy
Spain
Germany
Singularity, difficult to express feelings, not tactile

Search for quality of life/well being
Religious idealism, community, curiosity
Human interaction, sharing, harmony
Tangible reality, concrete pleasure
Source: Adapted by the authors from Harris Research (1998) European Values Research Report, London
Table 1.8: European values
encapsulates this, whereas non-Western cultures are more connected in terms of being more interdependent and collective. The Fuji Bank in Japan has used the strapline, Meeting clients needs is half the story,
meeting societys needs is the other half. Furthermore, Harris Research (1998) has found differing values
within Europe as summarized in Table 1.8. Similarly, Caillat and Mueller (1996) compared the cultural
variables manifest in US and UK commercial messages for beer advertising, including dominant cultural
values. The study found that the US commercials perpetuated predominantly US cultural values (e.g.
achievement, individualism/independence, and modernity/newness) whereas UK commercials presented
predominantly UK cultural values (e.g. tradition/history and eccentricity). Their findings led them to
conclude a standardized message strategy among the US and UK beer markets might not be very effective,
because of differences in cultural values.
People are not born with their values. Rather, values are passed from one generation to another; they
are learned. Engel et al. (1986) point out that some values are relatively constant while others are subject
to change. They propose that the triad of families, religious institutions and school plus early lifetime
experiences leads to a model of intergenerational value transmission (Figure 1.11).
Values of society
Cultural transfusive triad
Family
Religious
institutions
Peers
School
Early
lifetime
experiences
Individual
internalized values
Figure 1.11: Intergenerational value transmission

Source: Adapted from Engel et al. (1986)
31
This analysis is developed in the next section discussing motivation research methods because it
provides a framework for research; namely, to explore a hierarchical sequence of how consumers perceive
product attributes, their consequences and what these then reveal about their values (meansend
chains).
MOTIVATION RESEARCH
It is apparent from the foregoing that the identification of consumers motives is a complex business. The
difficulties involved in discovering directly the precise motivating factors that shape buying behaviour
led some marketers and consumer researchers to devise techniques for exposing hidden motives. Such
techniques sometimes need to reveal suppressed and repressed motives and some are briefly discussed
below. Most marketing research textbooks will provide more detailed expositions and a discussion
paper by Tadajewski (2006) traces the ups and downs of motivation research techniques over the
best part of a century and extends this to the development of more experiential interpretive research
methodologies.
Projective Techniques
If persons are relieved of direct responsibility for their expressions, they will tend to answer more freely
and truthfully. Projective tests are designed to achieve this end. These are called projective tests
because respondents are required to project themselves into someone elses place or into some ambiguous
situation. Consider the following examples of projective tests:
Third-Person Tests
In third-person tests, the respondent is encouraged to reply through some third party. The rationale is
that there are both good and real reasons for behaviour. Good reasons are socially acceptable (e.g. to
buy environmentally friendly products). Real reasons are sometimes not socially accepted. While good
reasons will probably be given in response to a direct questioning approach, such as Why did you buy
this?, these answers may only be partially true. There may be a real reason for behaviour that either
the respondent is unwilling to admit or unable to recognize. An indirect question for example, What
sort of people buy this? or Why do people buy these? might be sufficient to reveal real reasons for
behaviour.
EXAMPLE 1.6
A classic piece of market research years ago investigated the reasons for poor sales of the newly
introduced instant coffee. The widely quoted study of instant coffee usage illustrates that there
can be good and real reasons for behaviour (Haire, 1950). The indirect questioning approach
employed in this project was to ask women what sort of housewife would have compiled the
shopping lists shown in Table 1.9. One half of the sample had list 1, which differed from list 2 only
by having instant coffee included. The instant-coffee shopping list was seen to have been drawn up
32
by a lazier, less well-organized woman who was described as not being a good housewife. Direct
questioning, on the other hand, revealed good reasons for preferring real coffee, which revolved
around the product not tasting as good as drip-grind coffee. Respondents were considered to be
unwilling or unable to reveal their true (real) reasons for not buying instant coffee.
Shopping list 1
Shopping list 2
11/2 lb hamburger
2 loaves Wonderbread
Bunch of carrots
1 can Rumfords baking powder
1 lb Nescafe instant coffee
2 cans Del Monte peaches
5 lb potatoes
11/2 lb hamburger
2 loaves Wonderbread
Bunch of carrots
1 can Rumfords baking powder
1 lb Maxwell House drip-grind coffee
2 cans Del Monte peaches
5 lb potatoes
Reprinted with permission from the Journal of Marketing, published by the American Marketing Association, Haire (1950)
Projective Techniques in Marketing Research, Vol 14, pp 649656
Table 1.9: Haires shopping list
Source: Betty Crocker

Image courtesy of the Advertising Archives
Another example was Mary Baker cake mix. This was

also not selling well and motivation research led to the
conclusion that more had to be done by the consumer than
just adding water to the cake mix, in order to overcome
what again was thought to be an overly convenient way of
baking a cake. The omission of the dried egg component
was seen as the solution and apparently was enough
to allow the consumer to feel that they had contributed
at least a little more, creatively. Indeed, this particular
research became somewhat notorious because it was
felt that baking a cake was so much a creative process
for women that it was symbolic of childbirth! Perhaps,
following extreme interpretations such as this, there was
a degree of a backlash against psychoanalytic methods in
marketing.
Word Association Test

This type of test, also known as free association, involves firing a series of words at respondents who
must state immediately which other words come into their minds. Word association tests can be used to
determine consumer attitudes towards products, stores, advertising themes, product features and brand
names. A frequent association with Volvo, for many years, was safety.
33
Psychodrama
Here, the respondent is asked to play a role and, to do so, they are given a complete description of the
circumstances. For instance, the role-playing of respondents to depict two alternative painkillers with
other respondents playing the role of the pain. How the painkiller tackles the pain might lead to the
copy strategy in direct response and other advertising campaigns (Cooper and Tower, 1992).
Cartoon Test
Informants are presented with a rough sketch showing two people talking. One of them has just said
something represented by words written into a speech balloon as in a comic strip. The other persons
balloon is empty and the respondent is asked how this other person might reply (Figure 1.12). The idea
is that the respondents own feelings are projected through that reply.
Dave says accounting

is more interesting
than marketing
Figure 1.12: Cartoon test
MEANSEND CHAIN ANALYSIS AND LADDERING

As mentioned in the Values section, a useful technique is repeatedly to ask the respondent (words
to the effect of) What does that mean to you?. For example, it is typical to start with product or
service attributes such as those shown in Figure 1.13 and to encourage the respondent to work through
Values
End
Self-esteem
Better figure
Dont get so fat
Consequences
Eat less
Strong taste
Product attributes
Means
Flavoured crisps
Figure 1.13: Meansend chains using laddering
34
a series of consequences towards their own motives and values. Product features or attributes are thus
creating benefits, and these benefits are contributing to the realization of consumer needs and values.
The sequence of attributes benefits values is called a ladder or a meansend chain (Gutman,
1982; Reynolds and Gutman, 1988).
www.
Take a look at the article by Woodside (2004), Advancing Means-End Chains by Incorporating
Heiders Balance Theory and Fourniers Consumer Brand Relationship Typology, which is
accessible from the accompanying web site: www.wiley.com/go/evans. We refer to this
again in Chapters 3 and 11 because it integrates concepts from those chapters with the
meansend chain approach.
We again refer you to the article on the accompanying web site by Ronald A Fullerton (2008): Mr
MASS Motivations Himself: Explaining Dr Ernest Dichter, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, Vol 6, No 6,
pp 369382.
THINKBOX
An earlier era forget social, psychological or subconscious-based motivation
appeals this one just told the market what the product does:
Do you think marketing would be more honest using these more basic appeals?
THINKBOX
FUTURE FOUNDATION RESEARCH
Complicated Lives
Consumers in recent years have witnessed a choice explosion in which the range of
choice in various markets has grown exponentially. Our ability to handle information
has grown, but has not kept pace with the choice explosion. Despite unprecedented
affluence, consumers seem little happier. Their expectations are continually increasing, bringing with them complexity and complications. The growth of individualism is
undoubtedly manifesting itself in a more internally-focused definition of identity, with

multiple identities simultaneously negotiated, often resulting in genuine, or perceived,
anxiety. Changing age and household structures are undermining traditional stereotypes and giving rise to more complex family structures, including the more fluid and
self-definitional nature of 21st-century family.
How can companies respond to the growing individualization of consumption? Are
some consumers feeling the pace? Are some tending towards greater burn-out and
downshifting? Brands will need to think carefully about how to position themselves to
be seen as removing the complication from consumption.
This summary of the Future Foundation report of the same name raises further
questions about consumer motivation but also introduces some of the ideas we explore
in more detail in Chapter 6, notably self-concept theory and the notion of multiple roles.
It also provides some foundation for our coverage of postmodernism in Chapter 7.
What do you think about the main findings summarized here?
CASE STUDY 1.1

TNS CASE STUDY: Understanding Consumer Needs
Racing Past the Barriers: The Success of the Apache
Motorcycle in India
Poonam V. Kumar
TNS Asia Pacific & Middle East
Prasad Narasimhan
TVS Motor Company India
Introduction
The motorcycle market in India has, in the past, been
a sellers market with enormous waiting lists of buyers. The focus had been on producing technically
better machines with functional benefits such as fuel
efficiency being the major point of differentiation.
Segmentation was based on price tiers and branding limited to corporate values to reassure about
quality and after sales service. However, things have
changed. The market has become more competitive.
35
36
Changing Lanes
Never strangers to trying avenues other than the conventional, safe and the familiar, TVS
took the bold decision to look beyond improving functional performance for a solution.
Rather than taking a scattergun, trial and error approach, TVS decided to attempt to
understand what the market needed. They had access to the best technical and design
consultants in the world, and were confident that once the market gaps were identified and
understood, the task of creating a suitable product would not be very difficult. There was
also a hesitant realization that consumer decisions were not wholly rational and that there
were elements that went beyond functional parameters. How else could they explain the
less than successful launch of models that surpassed others on fuel efficiency?
The decision to explore building the brand as a platform for a deeper consumer
connection was taken. A research proposal to segment the market on needs was asked
for, the initial reaction to which was a mix of both scepticism and enthusiasm.
The Tool Box

The research consisted of several stages. The first was a qualitative exploratory phase to
uncover the need structure of the market. This was followed by quantitative need based
segmentation to validate the need structure and measure the sizes of the need segments.
Mapping and measuring of existing brands on the needs landscape helped to identify where
the opportunity lay. Concepts were developed and tested and THEN finally the technical
design team given the direction to develop/identify a suitable product that expressed the
desired brand positioning. This represented a complete paradigm shift in the method of
client working and thinking, where most of the earlier launches (the successful ones as well
as not so successful) had emerged from the engineering and draftsman drawing boards.
NeedScope, TNSs proprietary system was identified as the most suitable solution.
The NeedScope System

CONSUMER NEEDS
Two concepts form the theoretical basis of NeedScope a marketing model and an archetypal framework.
The marketing model describes how brands
and needs are two sides of an equation and should
fit together. Needs are layered into three levels:
The outer, most easily accessible, layer of consumer needs is the rational layer and is satisfied
by the functional benefits the product delivers. The
Indian two-wheeler market was largely competing
at this need level there was increased fragmentation on prices, varying combination of features,
FUNCTIONAL NEEDS
IDENTITY NEEDS
EMOTIVE NEEDS
SYMBOLOGY
SOCIAL VALUES
PRODUCT FEATURES
BRAND IMAGE
37
performance and mileage. The only route to competitive advantage seemed to be engineering innovation, leading to long new product development (NPD) cycles, high-risk launches
without any means to secure long-term advantage as all the big three had equal access to
international state of art technology.
The second layer has to do with sociology the need to identify with particular groups
in society. These needs are met by the social values or character of the brand a brand
for young people, for women, upscale, etc. Interestingly, the market was not very well
differentiated at this layer either, except through a default pricing route.
And finally, at the heart of the model are the emotive needs. These are the core drivers
of brand choice, the engine that powers the consumers relationship with the brand.
The marketing model, therefore, is not just an emotive model. It recognizes that
consumers have needs at all levels, and that the rational or functional level serves as a
screener, the first stop, which if not satisfied will keep the brand out of the consumers
consideration set. However, this is not the layer at which loyalty can be built and it is
necessary to go below the surface. Starting with the rational, the model systematically
uncovers the inner need layers. There is also no hierarchy no layer is considered more
important than the others. The needs are interlinked and only when cohesively met across
all three layers, will a powerful connection be struck with the consumer.
The second concept is the NeedScope archetypal framework:
Outward
directed
Extroverted
Receptivity
Passivity
Affiliation
Dominance
Assertiveness
Individuality
Inward
directed
Introverted
NeedScope
Two axes are the fundamental anchors of the framework. The horizontal is the I vs. We
axis. The right side represents the drive for individualism and self-assertion. This is the need
to stand out, to feel superior, to be admired and to stay ahead of others. The left is about
the fundamental sense of belonging the need for acceptance, togetherness, friendship
and warmth.
The vertical dimension divides the model into the extroverted and introverted poles. The
top is about energy directed outwards release, stimulation, freedom. The bottom is about
energy that is inwards more contained and controlled and therefore less visible. While
these are polar opposites, there are no hierarchies or negatives. The space represents
alternative strategies that consumers use to resolve their needs. It must also be pointed out
38
that this is a needs rather than a consumer framework. Consumers are multi-faceted and
have multiple needs, depending on the context of the category and occasion.
The space can be dissected in many ways, but in its most basic way we can identify six
archetypes. Archetypes are the unchanging constant in human beings that hold over time,
across different geographies and cultures. For example, everyone recognizes and connects
with the nurturing care of the Mother, the appealing purity of the Innocent, the determined
courage of the Winning Hero beating odds,or the irresistible sensuality of the Seductress.
These archetypes are found in culture after culture, they anchor our worlds and our belief
systems. Carl Jung calls this the collective unconscious.
Taking the Emotional Leap Forward

For the TVS story, the market was largely operating at the functional layer. The only brand
that had broken out of this mould was Pulsar, from a competitor house, with enviable
success. Clearly the Indian consumer was not just ready for a more meaningful dialogue,
but was actually seeking more than functional promises.
We started with qualitative research with recent buyers of motorbikes and those
intending to buy a motorbike in the next few months. Using projective techniques and the
NeedScope framework, needs were uncovered at all layers:
The Needs Landscape

Breaking free,
Pleasures & thrills
Feeling
accepted,
confident,
comfortable
Asserting
Individuality,
Power &
Superiority
Feeling safe and in

control.
Some of the key insights that came through are given below.
Modernity is at the heart of the category. The market had moved away from the family
orientation scooter days. Consumers were looking for contemporary expression in keeping
39
with the optimism and hope of the new generation. This had to be reflected in both the
design and the emotive proposition.
Stability, reliability and trust, which were critical strengths of the TVS corporate brand
were now taken for granted, important to have, but no longer enough with which to build
a differentiated proposition.
The new brand would therefore have to stand-alone; in fact perhaps lead the shift of TVS
image towards modernity.
And to succeed in this direction, there was a need to alter the thinking and functioning of
existing stalwarts within the company, with their strong technical orientation.
The next stage was the quantitative segmentation based on needs. There were six need
states identified:
Six Need Segments
Liberation 21%
Potency 28%
Fun times, First-found A love of risk and

adventure.
freedom, Exploration.
Conquering, pushing
Wonder Years
limits
Belonging 21%
Exclusivity 13%
To fulfil role as provider.

To belong to peer group
Feel better than others.

Sophisticated, discerning
Compensation 13%
Dreaming of a life that
can be.
Efficiency 13%
Enable efficiency,
success, with ease
and convenience
NeedScope
The archetypes are clearly evident. Exclusivity is about asserting ones status, looking and feeling better than others. The brand has to reflect sophistication, knowledge
and authority. The social values of Exclusivity are premium, international and exclusive.
Functionally, the bike needs stronger safety assurances that only a discerning buyer understands and visible enhancement features to match. In contrast, Affiliation is a need to
belong, to own the tried and trusted, to be appreciated by the family and to feel good
about ones self. The social values are that of a newly married person, ready to settle
down. Functional needs are pillion comfort, low maintenance value and an assured resale
price.
The size of the need states indicates the dynamic shift of the market towards more
modernity and individualism. Of the market, 62% is weighted towards self-expression and
status needs:
40
TVS Portfolio Missing the Action
49% of the market.

Growth segments indicated by
the brands present in these
Libero
Enticer
Karizma
Pulsar
Eliminator
Crux-R
TVS
Brands
Crux
Freedom
Wind
Caliber 115
Bullet Electra Victor Boss CBZ Bullet 350 Splendor
Centra
Passion
Fiero F2
Velocity
CD Dawn
GF 170
Ambition
Machismo
NeedScope
Not poised for growth

Brands were then mapped on the needs landscape based on how consumers perceived
them. Pulsar, the big success in the market, was unsurprisingly in Potency. The TVS brands
were all clustered in the lower part of the affiliative section of the map. Clearly, all of them
were drawing imagery and symbology from the affiliated, reliable image of the corporate
brand. The position of the TVS brands indicated sub-optimal utilization of the portfolio
and the absence from the more dynamic and growing part of the market was a cause of
concern. TVS clearly had to get back into the action.
Potency and Liberation, being large and growing were identified as the opportunity. An
in-depth need state-brand fit analysis showed that Liberation, rather than Potency was a
more optimal target for several reasons:
Potency, while larger and exciting, already had a formidable competitor in Pulsar. There
was a high risk of becoming a me-too launch unless something dramatically different was
created.
While the need to create a new brand rather than a new TVS model was recognized, it was
also clear that the auto being a high ticket buy, the signature of an established company
is needed for market acceptance and consequently there would be some influence of the
company brand. The Potency need state with its macho, rugged individualism was just
too distant to be targeted credibly with TVSs affiliative imagery.
Liberation had a younger skew, which opened up the opportunity to target a new social
group the first-time bike buyer. With the market size growing, the profile of the buyer
was getting younger and this segment was expected to grow even further as the shift of
the older middle-class consumers towards four-wheelers had begun.
41
The first step was to understand Liberation at all layers of needs.

Emotively, Liberation represents the wonder years in a mans life. The first taste of
freedom, the first coming into adulthood. A time of freedom, fun, exploration of the world
and experiences before responsibility and the realities of life take over. The bike in this
need state symbolizes a rite of passage the boy becomes a man and is the ideal
partner to explore spaces, both physically and emotively. In the physical sense it is about
mobility. Emotionally it is about reaching places youve never been.
Liberation evokes the heady kick and excitement of youth, the exciting discovery of
adulthood and the bike is integral as a source of pleasure.
There was a definite younger skew demographically, but the need also extended to
the Young at Heart. For the young man, the motorbike is a symbol to flaunt his adult
status (personified as a girlfriend for fun, romance). With older men it is about recapturing
moments gone by, the wish for evergreen enduring youthfulness.
The social values of the need state are therefore younger men in the golden period
between boys and adult men. The need has a strong peer context, typical to that life
stage. The need for affiliation, togetherness is also reflected in the relationship with the
bike a buddy with whom to share the fun.
With every brand boasting of an international collaboration, it was decided that this
was not a differentiating or for that matter much of a motivating proposition any more.
International technology is of course desirable, but there is also an emerging pride and
comfort especially among the youth about Indianness and being Indian.
Functional delivery needs to live up to the vibrant need for a trendy, cool experience a
combination of speed, power, pick up and trendy looks. Advanced technology to reflect
the fast paced lifestyles of the emerging Indian youth.
Two concepts were developed and tested on the same frame of reference.
And so the Apache was born!

Symbolism living life in the moment. Targeting that part of every man that brings back the
wonder years of Freedom, of Irresponsibility, of LIVING! A sense of release, exploration
and the anticipation that the world is waiting for you! For the newly initiated, the promise of
discovering a new world, for the young at heart, the recapturing of a time gone by, a retreat
to Ladland! About living life to the fullest and making most of the moment.
Social values unattached, young, popular men with lots of friends and popular among
girls.
Functional promise stylish looks, really cool accessories, power and pick up, lightness
to reflect the mood, easy maintenance.
Reason to believe driven by those who young people identify with and look like (not
celebrities). The brand had to be the rage of the moment; something that everyone is
talking about. This was brought about by innovative co-sponsorship and partnership of
events and promotions on Channel V and MotoGP.
42
Advertising the tonality is irreverent, but inoffensively so. Fun, easygoing, defying conventions and conservatism without becoming rebellious or edgy.
The television commercial is set to a rap tune, but the words are in an Indian
language in tune with the current youths desire for a blend of the international with
the Indian a distinct flavour of modern India.
The strongly evocative emotional proposition was also translated into trendy style and
irresistible features. Notably, the much used propositions of reliability and mileage promises
were absent.
The seeming purposelessness about the functional promises reinforced the indulgent
wonderful irresponsibility of the carefree, fun emotive positioning.
All activities and touch points were aligned with the symbolic positioning partnership
promotion with a trendy retail outlet, sponsorship on MotoGP sports.
In all, Apache is a brand where all layers of needs and all marketing touch points were
in perfect harmony and therefore the rewards, recognition and success inevitably had to
follow.
Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
What were the former characteristics of the market in India?

How was the market changing?
What roles did qualitative research and quantitative research fulfil?
What insights are drawn from existing theory?
This case study is based on a paper given at ESOMAR Annual Congress, Berlin,
September 2007 by Poonam Kumar, Motivational Research, APAC Region, TNS Asia, India
& Prasad Narsimhan TVS Motor Company, India (ESOMAR Copyright).
Reproduced by permission of TNS
There is a full version of the case on the accompanying web site:
www.wileyeurope.com/college/evans
43
SUMMARY
It might be tempting to assume that a need would be for the necessities of life whereas a
want would be for something that is merely desired in, perhaps, a luxury sense. This is not
the marketing view. Marketing sees needs as being any motivator that encourages some sort
of behavioural response. In this way, a need can certainly be for the necessities like food and
drink, but can equally be for more social and psychological reasons. Needs are motivational
forces providing direction and intensity of behaviour: both approach and avoidance behaviours.
Approach behaviour results from a positive motivation (sensory gratification, intellectual stimulation and social approval). Avoidance behaviour results from a negative motivation (problem
avoidance and problem removal).
Motivated behaviour occurs when an individual perceives an external goal (incentive) and
experiences internally a need or drive which stimulates them to reach that goal. Motives can
be classed as biogenic (psychological and safety needs) or sociogenic (affective, esteem and
actualization needs). Both of these types of motive are useful in marketing planning. Cognitive
dissonance may also motivate.
Maslow provides a view of human motivation which is hierarchical, moving from physiological to
social, psychological and spiritual needs. Freud on the other hand suggests we are motivated
by deep-seated drives, which we do not always recognize at a conscious level.
Satisfaction of needs and wants is a major emphasis of the marketing concept and they are
often activated through social interaction, observation, vicarious learning (imitation), advertising
and just due to the presence of products. Marketing may make latent needs manifest (through
specific wants and desires) but it does not create needs in people. People are not always aware
of the real needs determining their behaviour, so advertising may sometimes appeal to these
subconscious and unconscious needs.
Marketers can improve the effectiveness of their targeting activities by investigating the reasons
consumers go shopping. Consumers can be motivated to shop by personal and social motives,
hedonistic and utilitarian motives and cognitive and affective motives.
Values are more enduring and can be gleaned from meansend chain research. Other forms of
research are important for exploring what motivates consumers, such as projective techniques.
QUESTIONS
1. Find some examples of Freudian symbolism in advertising and packaging.
2. Using your course as a product/service, create a needsfeaturesbenefits framework
and discuss its use in marketing the course.
3. Discuss the reasons why consumers go shopping.
4. Find three press advertisements and for each of these:
a. Decide what are the likely target market and promotional objectives, based on media
and message used and your knowledge of competition within such markets.
44
b. What do Maslow and Freud contribute to explaining the message used and motivational factors in the target market?
5. Choose a product or service, and then design projective techniques to explore why
consumers do or do not buy it.
6. Marketing creates needs. Discuss.
7. What are values? Provide examples of consumer values in different cultures.
FURTHER READING
Elliott R (1999) Symbolic Meaning and Postmodern Consumer Culture, in Brownlie D et al. (eds)
(1999) Rethinking Marketing, Sage, London. This chapter concisely summarizes the key issues in
symbolic consumption and contextualizes them within postmodern society.
Packard V (1957) The Hidden Persuaders, McKay, New York. No marketing student should miss this
one. It might be old and some of the content will seem dated, but the critical analysis of the use of
consumer psychology for marketing purposes will still provide food for thought.
Woodruffe-Burton et al. (eds) (2005) Toward a Theory of Shopping, Journal of Consumer Behaviour,
Vol 4, No 4. This Special Issue of JCB is an excellent amalgam of research for a number of countries.
These papers contribute much to our understanding of consumer shopping behaviour.

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What are some of the theories of motivation discussed in the chapter?

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What are some of the reasons consumers go shopping according to the text?

What are some of the reasons consumers go shopping according to the text?

CHAPTER 1

Distinguish between needs and wants.

PART I INDIVIDUAL ASPECTS OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

CHAPTER 1 CONSUMER MOTIVES AND VALUES

Select relevant features

Newly married couple

This drill-bit set includes a

Shy and retiring

Convert features into

A young woman who

Piercing your navel makes a

Table 1.1: Needs, features, benefits

This approach is not new. The advertisement here

PART I INDIVIDUAL ASPECTS OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

CHAPTER 1 CONSUMER MOTIVES AND VALUES

We strive for a state of equilibrium (Homeostasis)

Figure 1.1: The homeostasis see-saw

PART I INDIVIDUAL ASPECTS OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

CHAPTER 1 CONSUMER MOTIVES AND VALUES

Is this sustainable? Does it matter? Are marketers just responding to human

PART I INDIVIDUAL ASPECTS OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Positive and Negative Motivation

Internal and External Motivation

CHAPTER 1 CONSUMER MOTIVES AND VALUES

Figure 1.2: Positive motivation

attractive goods and services,

Table 1.2: Different kinds of motivation

MASLOWS HIERARCHY OF NEEDS

PART I INDIVIDUAL ASPECTS OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Figure 1.3: Maslows hierarchy of needs

Take a look at this web site for more on Maslows theory:

CHAPTER 1 CONSUMER MOTIVES AND VALUES

PART I INDIVIDUAL ASPECTS OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

concerned with value

Adapted from Haley (1968)

Table 1.3: Toothpaste consumer benefit segments

Figure 1.5: Toothpaste benefits

CHAPTER 1 CONSUMER MOTIVES AND VALUES

There is evidence of a trend toward self-actualization as reflected in individualism. We explore this

FREUDIAN THEORY OF MOTIVATION

PART I INDIVIDUAL ASPECTS OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Table 1.4: Id, ego and superego

CHAPTER 1 CONSUMER MOTIVES AND VALUES

Naughty but nice

Figure 1.6: The Freudian see-saw

PART I INDIVIDUAL ASPECTS OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Figure 1.7: Naughty, nice, naughty but nice

CHAPTER 1 CONSUMER MOTIVES AND VALUES

Figure 1.8: Freeing the id?

Reproduced by permission of Bianco Footwear AS.

Source: Jean Paul Gaultier, Image courtesy of the

PART I INDIVIDUAL ASPECTS OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

CHAPTER 1 CONSUMER MOTIVES AND VALUES

Beautifully put together.

Available at Dixons, Currys, PCWorld and other leading