Question 1: Define consumer addiction and give two examples of it.

Answer:

Consumer addiction is a physiological or psychological dependency on products or

services. Many companies profit from selling addictive products or from selling
solutions for kicking a bad habit. Consumer addiction can be seen as a habit of the
customer when he or she is addicted to acquiring any kind of product or service not
because he or she will use it but only to have or acquire that product or service. It is
difficult for a consumer to stop the addiction, and oftentimes the person addicted to
consumption does not realize that he or she has it. The manifestation of consumer
addiction is that they are addicted to shopping, addicted to hoarding more than usual.
For example, people who are crazy about buying iPhones. Every time the iPhone
releases a new model like Iphone 14, 15... they will immediately buy the latest model.
The manifestation of a consumer addiction can also be that they feel empty that they
have not bought something in a certain amount over time, like Gucci clothes, for
example. This addiction to consumption will cause the sufferer to lose concentration,
lose sleep, suffer financial losses, and find it difficult to establish their own savings.

Question 2: Find examples of electronic recommendation agents on the Web.

Evaluate these. Are they helpful? What characteristics of the sites you locate are
likely to make you buy products you wouldn't have bought on your own?

Answer:

Examples of electronic recommendation agents on the Web: Song recommendation on

Nhaccuatui website: when we listen to a Chinese song, the playlist will recommend us a
list of that singer's Chinese songs or music of the same genre as the song you are
listening to or have heard; Video recommendation on Youtube page: when we are
watching the movie "Go home, son", the playlist will give us a list of video reviews, short
clips, .. related to the movie "Go home baby" says particular and Vietnamese movies in
general; recommend videos in the player on the Facebook page: the playlist will
recommend videos on the same topic as the videos we are watching or have seen,
recommend products on Shopee, Lazada,...

They are really helpful. They can influence consumer decisions. It helps shoppers find
the items they like with less time and effort. Moreover, they are also introduced to items
that they never thought of buying but fit their needs very well,...

In addition, electronic recommendation agents on the Web also bring countless benefits
to sellers, such as:
It helps sellers to analyze customer behavior: what they like, and what they don't like,
what is their interaction pattern with the items, customer's value,... From there the
seller can Anticipate future customer needs. It is thanks to the understanding of
customer needs that salespeople can make appropriate adjustments to customer
needs, ... to adapt their needs. This will lead to customer satisfaction and loyalty. Besides,
salespeople can also more easily build marketing plans based on customer data
collected by electronic recommendation agents on the Web. In addition, this proposal
also helps customers access more items from the seller. And of course, when those
benefits are brought to fruition, it is not difficult to predict that the revenue of the
business will increase.

About the question “What characteristics of the sites you locate are likely to make you
buy products you wouldn't have bought on your own?”, I will take the Shopee site as an
example for easy understanding. The special feature of Shopee that makes me want to
buy products that I did not intend to buy: first, the products on the Shopee site often
have very beautiful looking, and diverse categories, the design of the product will affect
about 50 % to whether I decide to buy or not. The Shopee web has a lot of shipping
vouchers and full-floor vouchers, seller's vouchers, etc. Usually, the products on Shopee
are also quite cheap, and the reviews on the site are also good. Lots and details. When
many people say "The product is very good", "the store packed it very carefully", or "The
product is almost the same as in the picture",... I will surely be curious and want to own
this product.

Question 3: Why is it difficult to place a product in a consumer's evoked set after

the person has already rejected that product? What strategies might a marketer
use to accomplish this goal?

Answer:

Through activity and knowledge, people acquire beliefs and attitudes. These factors in
turn affect people's shopping behavior. These factors in turn affect people's buying
behavior. Of course, manufacturers are very concerned with the beliefs people carry in
their heads about their products and services. Those beliefs create images of products
and brands, and people act on those images. If certain beliefs are incorrect and hinder
purchasing, then the manufacturer needs to launch a campaign to correct those beliefs.

Acctually, it is difficult to place a product into an evoked set after it has been rejected
because consumers are 'cognitive misers.' This means that people conserve their mental
resources and expend only a minimum effort required to solve a problem. Once a
product has been eliminated from consideration on the basis of some evaluation
process, consumers are not likely to expend additional cognitive resources to re-
evaluate that product.
A negative perception about a product makes it very difficult to put it in an evoked set of
consumers. It is also related to poor or round positioning of the product that causes
delusion and ambiguity among consumers. There are strategies that can help marketers
accomplish the goal of overcoming this 1 is repositioning of the product with the right.
Targetit could very well be that when that product is first being marketed or positioned,
they are marketing it in the wrong section or to the wrong consumers. So its placement
needs to be literally moved so that it's catching the eye or attention of those who are
most likely to purchase that product. Another is the use of pathos. Pathos are
considered to be an approach that focuses on emotional appeal to consumers. Here
consumers can be sensitized so that the product can be added in an folks sets. If you
actually stop and look at the commercial, the add had nothing to do with the product
being placed, but maybe it gave us a warm fuzzy feeling, and so we like that brand it out
and another strategy. Is association with another popularithis will help firms make
consumers start associating the product with that brand? That is already part of the
evoked set, so basically they're piggy backing on the success of another product or
product lying.

Besides, we can also use familiarity to change consumer attitudes.

Familiarity has a big impact on people's decision-making, whether they realize it or not.
That means it also has a big impact on conversions. Humans always prioritize what
they're familiar with, and even if the stimuli you're repeatedly exposed to are negative
(like a toxic relationship, for example), you'll find subconscious comfort in that. its
familiarity. For example, me and Vietnamese singer Mono. Originally, I didn't have any
sympathy for this guy, because I thought he had stolen the fame of his brother, Son Tung
MTP - a very famous singer in Vietnam; It's also partly because I've seen quite a few
offensive videos of him on Facebook - he shows off his six abs,... All of which makes me
not sympathetic to Mono. However, after going to school, I found out that my teacher
likes Mono, my friends around me also like him, and I have to listen to Mono's songs
over and over again, especially "Waiting for you" ” – a song that created the trend of
“Ooooh”. Not only that, surfing Facebook, Tiktok, Youtube, I also often see Mono.
Continuously like this for 3 or 4 weeks, I can't guess how many times I've listened to
Mono's "Waiting for you". And so now I've come to like Mono, still not a fan of course,
but at least I enjoy listening to his music and don't hate him anymore.

From there, it shows that marketers can use this method to change consumer attitudes.
That can be done after we re-examine our marketing strategies and reposition the
product. This can be considered the next step of method one.

Along with the above two methods are Promotional strategies. Promotional strategies
can be used to get the consumer to reconsider the product. Price discounts, coupons,
special offers, rebates, or free samples will increase the possibility that a product will
re-enter the evoked set. Any other means to get the consumer to try the product will
 increase the possibility of consideration of the product, and successful trials will
increase the chances of a product being included in the consumer's evoked set.

However, it is recommended that the company adapt its products to existing attitudes,
not try to change people's attitudes. Of course, there are exceptions when the very good
costs of efforts to change attitudes are adequately compensated.

For example with Honda company:

When the Honda company entered the U.S. motorcycle market it was faced with an
important decision. The company can sell its motorcycles to a few people who are
already interested in the item or try to increase the number of people interested in
motorcycles. The second direction will be more expensive because many people have a
bad attitude towards motorcycles. They associate motorcycles with black leather
jackets, spring knives, and criminals. However, Honda still went in the second direction,
and launched a large campaign based on the theme "you will meet the best people when
riding a Honda". Their campaign has been a success and many customers have adopted
a new attitude toward motorcycles. We have now pretty much assessed the forces that
influence consumer behavior. A person's choice of goods is the result of a complex
interplay of cultural, social, personal, and psychological factors. Among those factors,
many factors are not influenced by marketers. However, they are still useful for
uncovering the buyers most interested in that product. Other factors are influenced by
marketers and suggest to them how to develop products, price, and organize circulation
and promotions to create strong consumer response.

Question 4: List three types of consumer involvement, giving an example of each

type.

Answer:

• Involvement: perceived relevance of an object based on one’s needs, values,

and interests

• Three types of cousumer involvement:

1. Product Involvement: Product involvement refers to a consumer's level of interest in

a particular product. Consumer product involvement tends to be greater for goods that
cost more and are purchased only after careful research and thought. In simple terms,
product engagement is the level of interest and effort a consumer puts into purchasing
a product or brand.

Product Involvement is divided into 2 categories:

High level of product engagement

Customer product engagement is high for products that customers find highly valued,
which may cost more or may have long-term benefits and are purchased after careful
consideration. kidney. For example, a car would be a high-engagement product because
it is expensive and bought by consumers after thorough research.

Low Product Engagement: Low engagement products are those that are purchased
every day and become a habit of the consumer. These products are usually cheaper and
do not require in-depth research. For example, a tube of toothpaste is a low engagement
product for the general public because it is purchased at fixed intervals (perhaps every
month) and doesn't cost a fortune. When consumers buy this product, they don't have
to think much.

2. Purchase decision Involvement

The level of involvement in purchase decisions involvenent may be considered a

continuum from decisions that are fairly routine (consumers are not very involved) to
decisions that require extensive thought and a high level of involvement. Whether a
decision is low, high, or limited, involvement varies by consumer, not by product,
although some products such as purchasing a house typically require a high-
involvement for all consumers. Consumers with no experience purchasing a product
may have more involvement than someone who is replacing a product.

Some low-involvement purchases are made with no planning or previous thought.

These buying decisions are called impulse buying. While you’re waiting to check out at
the grocery store, perhaps you see a magazine with Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt on the
cover and buy it on the spot simply because you want it. You might see a roll of tape at a
check-out stand and remember you need one or you might see a bag of chips and realize
you’re hungry or just want them. These are items that are typically low-involvement
decisions. Low-involvement decisions aren’t necessarily products purchased on impulse,
although they can be.

By contrast, high-involvement decisions carry a higher risk to buyers if they fail, are
complex, and/or have high price tags. A car, a house, and an insurance policy are
examples. These items are not purchased often but are relevant and important to the
buyer. Buyers don’t engage in routine response behavior when purchasing high-
involvement products. Instead, consumers engage in what’s called extended problem
solving, where they spend a lot of time comparing different aspects such as the features
of the products, prices, and warranties.

3. Advertising Involvement: Advertising engagement is largely determined by

consumer characteristics, their perceptions and preferences.

Some results suggest that differences in involvement may result in three different types
of information acquisition processes. One process is caused by a "high involvement"
condition and two are caused by low involvement" conditions. Here "high involvement''
refers to high interest levels in the advertised brand. Under the "high involvement"
condition, individuals devote all their attention to the advertisement and execute a
brand processing strategy. Consequently, they will critically evaluate the brand
information in the advertisement and will, generally, form an overall evaluation of the
advertised brand during exposure to the advertisement. This means that their verbal
thought processes during exposure to the advertisement will contain a large number of
counterarguments and support arguments. For example, when watching TVCs like
"Sống như ý" by VITA, viewers will be caught up in advertising and think about the
meanings TVC brings and the brand's message.

Under the first "low involvement" condition, individuals will also execute a brand
processing strategy; however, this strategy will be executed with reduced attention
level. This will generally result in a reduction in the number of counterarguments and
support arguments generated which, in turn, will frequently result in a difference
between this condition and the "high involvement" condition in the attitudes that are
formed. Under this condition, then, individuals will comprehend the message since the
proper schema is activated, but they will not be as critical of the information as they
were under conditions of "high involvement". For example, when looking at flyers,
banners, posters posted on buses, consumers will only see a glimpse and the things the
brand wants to convey only stay for a moment in the minds of consumers. Consumers
won't think much of those ads.

Question 5: Some consumer advocates have protested the use of super-thin

models in advertising, claiming that these women encourage others to starve
themselves to attain the "waif” look. Other critics respond that the media's power
to shape behavior has been overestimated, and that it is insulting to people to
assume that they are unable to separate fantasy from reality. How do you think?

Answer:

I think the first point is true. On the second point, I feel critics have underestimated the
influence of the media.

In terms of the positive. A good role model is a super-thin model that will encourage
people to lose weight. And losing weight is also very good for people with obesity, losing
weight also makes people more beautiful, healthier, and more confident.

But it also has its downsides. Nowadays, more and more media and social networks are
developing. Advertising with super-thin models will bring bad consequences such as
creating a trend to lose weight to become super thin, and the super-thin model will
become the standard of beauty. Since then, women will compete to lose excess weight,
fast to keep fit,... Typically women in China, now their beauty standard is skinny - a girl
is 1m65 tall but weighs only 40 kg - has not reached the standard BMI standard - which
means that the body is not balanced. There are also many cases of excessive weight loss
that died due to malnutrition. In addition, the use of such advertising may also have
adverse effects on children.
Therefore, I oppose the use of super-thin models in advertising.