Fourth Tutorial

By this point I had 4800 words for the essay. I asked if I was missing 200 of if it could stay like that. The essay must be, at least, 5000 words, and since the introduction is a bit short, it can be added the why this is a topic worth of study for me.

For the different stages of the design, it was suggested that there should be 5 different ways the project could be.

Another idea was to do the work for the company Aethaer, the one mentioned in the crits.

A good way to start this project would be to deconstruct luxurious and science brands and compare their signifiers.

Cop Crit

For this group crit I prepared a very brief explanation of what the practical work in regards to the dissertation is going to be about.

I explained that one of the conclusions from the dissertation is that consumers buy meaning, so I wanted to brand a product that was all about meaning. That product is air.

I asked several questions.

1.- Suggestions of similar brands?

Aethaer

The film Lorax

Consider packaging football t-shirts to have the smell of a particular football player


2.- What approach would you have to a project like this?

Chemical

Something like food, with ingredients

Luxurious. A product that Gucci would release.

3.- Do you think the name "essence" works?

It works. Since it's English is quite neutral and doesn't have any connotations that remind the audience of a certain smell.

4.- Any other suggestions or ideas would be highly appreciated

Check out the South Park game smell device.

A device to spray the air over oneself.

Show the process of capturing air.

Cheesy goldfish in a bag with branding on top.

Pop up a stall with bags of air.

Make it luxurious.

Make brands like gucci have a jar of air from them.

Range of products (low-high end)


I had one more question that I couldn't ask because we ran out of time, but the amount of ideas I got from the other 3 compensated the outcome.

5.- Main difference perceived between this product and perfumes/fragrances

Third Tutorial

On the third tutorial, Ben and I were looking to how to connect the strategies carried out by designers nowadays with the theories of Packard and Bernays. He also pointed out a few things that needed to be fixed, like structure or the way certain things were worded.

We also discussed the practical work. The concept of telling a lie convincingly was explored in the last week. One idea is a product from Ikea to build your own borders, as a way to throw a critic about Catalonia or Trump. A company like Ikea has a very wide target audience, so it has to solve all kinds of problems and persuade customers to believe certain product is real.

Looking back at the dissertation, the whole text points out that consumers buy meaning instead of product. It'd be interesting to explore this in more deep by branding a series of products to sell only meaning through typography, colours, imagery, etc. An example of this can be a bag of hope, a package ofinsurgency or a bottle of self-confidence.

This is how I came up with the idea of selling air from different parts of the world to convey different emotions. Different targets would find different airs attractive for different reasons.

Air from the Himalaya.

Air from Chicago.

Air from the fight between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor.

The feedback from Ben said that this could be a window to the future and make an advertising campaign about it. Have pictures of the process of capturing the air. Capturing anger, strength, etc.

The work of Marcel DuChamp and Piero Manzoni was discussed during this session.

Freud, S. (1923) The Ego and the ID

Freud, in his second theory about the structure of the physic apparatus, distinguishes three fundamental instances. The 'Id', formed by the conscious and unconscious, is the psychic expression of drives and desires. It is in conflict with the 'Ego' and 'Super-Ego'. The 'Ego' is the acting psychic instance and is the mediator between the other two. It tries to conciliate the normative and punitive exigences of the 'Super-Ego' as well as the demands of the 'Id' to satisfy unconscious desires. Its function is to achieve the greatest degree of pleasure in the limits of reality. The 'Super-ego' is the judge of the Ego, and constitutes the internalisation of the norms, rules and parental prohibitions. The specific functions of each entity are not always clear and they are interwoven in many levels and personality is constituted by this model of diverse forces in inevitable conflict.

Second tutorial

For this second tutorial I had sent the draft of my first chapter to Ben in advance so we could go through the corrections together.

There was an overuse of Packard that had to be corrected as well as other poor arguments that needed to be backed up with evidence. Ben suggested me to look into the work of Barbara Kruger and to carry out a practical work based on one of the tasks we did at the beginning of the course, to tell a lie convincingly.

He also suggested me to contact the studio mother agency, but after writing the second chapter with the information I already had gathered it's probably not going to be necessary. Some other references were mentioned, like the book 'can jokes bring down governments?' and Freud theories about jokes and humour. The idea was to create a fake product/brand/service that was convincing to test the credibility of the ways of persuasion from the theorist mentioned in the dissertation.


 

Second Chapter - Current brand strategies

A strategy is a careful plan or method for achieving a particular goal usually over a long period of time. The following chapter explains how these processes work in order to put theory into practice. By understanding these frameworks, their strenghts and weaknesses, it is possible to apply them and provide improvements if they were to be identified.

The strategy that precedes a design process works for the recognition or appearance of the brand. It has a long-term character and its most important aim is to maintain a consistency in appearance that results in a more recognisible product, service or company. Saffron Consultants (2015) divides branding projects into five different categories: Re-positioning, re-structuring, specialised focus, creation, and revolution. They explain that branding is a process of discovering a business. This understanding increases up to the point where the strategist considers there is enough evidence that can be reduced to a very specific message. Mushtaq (2017) considers of great importance to understand the subject around a product or service, its audience and what is already been done with similar products. It is a process of finding a balance between what makes a company unique, what it is that their competition cannot match and the needs of their audience. The whole process is about focusing on what makes them different, which might be a very small part of what they are, but much more relevant and with more importance than the rest of it. Fontvila (2016) carries out a workflow involving research into the background, structure, concept, personality, positioning, and target audience. Very similar to 'Core' (Do and Caballer, 2014) in essence - discussed later -, his conceptualisation of the brand relies on the definition of the concept through values, attributes (considered here as physical characteristics) and emotional benefits. He uses the brand value pyramid, which highlights the importance of beliefs and values, followed by the benefits and gives less importance to the physical characteristics. The reason is that these features are difficult to manage when it comes to creating a differentiation from the competition. For example, it is impossible to make a company that makes biscuits stand out for making biscuits with chunks of chocolate, as there are many others doing the exact same thing and is probably more popular than them.

In relation to what others have said about doing the opposite of what the competitors are doing and highlighting what is different about them, Fontvila (2016) uses a semantic differential scale. This helps to clearly see how a company is different from the rest and how they can exploit that difference to create a unique position in the mind of the customers. These differentiators are called creative axes and they are used to build the band upon based on the distinctivity of the values, emotional benefits and attributes in this order of importance. On the example below, the most noticeable difference between this company and its competition is the creative and emotional aspect in opposition to a more classic and rational competition.

Saffron Consultants (2015) explain that the nature and aptitude of the brand will inform the attitude it will have towards their customers. The values and personality create the idea of the brand, the essence: the briefest and straightforward expression of what a brand represents; the core thinking that rules every other action and brand expressions. Mushtaq (2017) argues that the way a brand expresses itself can be by purposely challenging conventions, and that can inform the colours, fonts, imagery, a tone of voice that amplifies the message that needs to be conveyed. Lusensky (2010) points out the importance to keep these expressions flexible in order to be modified depending on the company's initiative or market situations. Sinek (2009) defends the same point of view as Mushtaq and explains that successful companies like Apple understand that they have to do the opposite their competition is doing. Normally, companies say what they do, how they do it and why they do it, but if this message is delivered the other way around it becomes much more powerful. For example: 'We make great computers, beautifully designed and simple to use. We like to think differently and challenge the status quo' is the wrong way of a more powerful option. It should be: 'We like to think differently and challenge status quo using beautiful design and simplicity. We just happen to make great computers as a result'. Sinek (2009) is very clear about this, and claims that "people do not buy what you do, they buy why you do it". Adams and Morioka (2006) call this the company's mission, and they should reflect why it is worth doing what they do beyond economics. The goal for a company is not to do businesses with whoever needs what they have but to do business with people that believe what they believe. As discussed in the first chapter, consumers buy meaning.

Do and Caballer (2014) carry out a process called 'Core', another approach to strategy that helps to design a brief, as many times clients know about their problems but not the solutions they need. Many studios hand to the client a list of questions in order to gather information for the development and conceptualisation, but 'Core' is more about a psychological session consisting in designing a strategy using what the clients already know. Also, it allows stakeholders or multiple decision makers to define common objectives. Adams and Morioka (2006) also highlight the importance of the opportunities for the growth that the client may have already identified. 'Core' (Do and Caballer, 2014) consists of three different stages. The first one is to provide a framework for the client to define their brand attributes with adjectives. These adjectives must fall into these categories: General aspects of the company, its culture, users, the tone of voice, emotional benefits and values. Those adjectives are written in columns as shown below.

Once this process is finished, the words have to be shortlisted down to three for each column, and then to only one. This will help the owners of a brand to define it in their own words. By using the shortlisted words, they can create a sentence that summarises the concept: '(Brand name) provides (product/service) to (users) customers in a (culture) environment with a (voice) voice helping them feel (emotional benefit)". An example of this is "Tea Haus provides custom teas to health-conscious customers in a sophisticated environment with a wise voice. Helping them feel mindful and re-energised'. The second stage of 'Core' consists in a definition of the target audience to the maximum possible level of detail that includes the demographics of the target, the story and background, their needs and how to surpass those needs they have. Positioning, as previously discussed, is about aligning values with clients, and these can be profiled based on their interests. The process would be to profile consumers, learn about their businesses and how they behave. This allows marketers to increase the price of a product depending on its location. For example, a Coca-Cola is 300% more expensive at shops that are nearby beaches because there is where they are really required. That is why Lexus, Toyota, and Scion are the same company. Their purpose is to cover different audiences and that is how they find the right position for their wide range of products. Do and Caballer (2014) claim that it is important to match and mirror them, release a message and stick to it. If the motivations are aligned, consumers will feel they have a purpose shared with a company. Sinek (2009) contradicts this idea of matching and mirroring. He defines it as asking friends "what should I dress for you to like me more". Organisations should say and do the things they actually believe in and they will attract people with similar values, and that is where authenticity can be an added value. Authenticity is strictly related to what Packard (1957) called 'the sense of roots', which was to pack in a product a feeling that humans collectively associate to what they consider a better past time so they can relive it by buying the product.The third and last phase consists in making a list of priorities for the company's revenue, awareness and efficiency in order to design a well defined brief that will use the information about brand attributes gathered in the first stage, a detailed profiling of the target audience in the second one, and a clear vision of the company's goals to be tackled down with the branding project.

The processes that have been explained can be combined into one that enhances the strengths of each one and covers each others' weaknesses. The process of 'Core' combined with the use of a semantic differential scale gives the designer a clear view of what needs to be done for a brand to do what is expected of it. The awareness of the importance that intangible features of a brand have over the physical attributes in order to create a unique position for it is already implicit in 'Core', but it is one to always consider when dealing with an overcrowded market. Nowadays, Roberts (2005) predictions of brands evolving into something that customers truly love and remain totally devoted to are happening. He named them "Lovemarks", and there are three main factors for this evolution: storytelling, sensuality through all the senses and dialogue. Storytelling is already happening through different media, especially graphic design. By assigning certain colours, typographies and other visual elements to brand attributes and personality the brand creates a meaningful way of expression that is unconsciously detected by the audience. Social media is providing the dialogue between companies and customers not only by having a space to chat, but by creating interactive content that send messages in both directions. It is a matter of time that technology will evolve for humans to experience brands through smell or touch from their computers.

Current brand strategies

Saffron - UK/Spain (2015)

Branding course at Doméstika

Saffron is the studio created by Jacob Benbunan and Wally Olins. The studio divides branding projects into different categories: Re-positioning, re-structuring, specialised focus, creation, and revolution. They explain that branding is a process of discovering, where the designer's understanding of business increases and has to be reduced to a very specific message. They try to find a balance between what makes unique a company, what is it that their competition cannot match and what do their audiences need. The whole process is about making what makes them different, which might be a very small part of what they are, much more relevant and with more importance than the rest of it.

The nature and aptitude of the brand will inform the attitude it will have towards their customers. The values and personality create the idea of the brand, the essence: the briefest and straightforward expression of what a brand represents; the core thinking that rules every other action and brand expressions.

Alphabet - UK (2017)

Interview.

Alex.

I think the main question would be: what is the process you guys follow when it comes to giving an identity to a brand? With 'what' I mean what boxes you aim to tick. Your design decisions are based on your own understanding of the world and the audiences, on research or do you rely on science like psychology? Or a mixture of everything? I find particularly interesting that when I'm walking, let's say, through a supermarket, I see people (and I do this myself) stopping for something we have seen but we don't know about just because the colours/shapes/typefaces/inserthereanyotherfeature appeals to us unconsciously. Of course, it is very personal and every product is designed to appeal to certain demographic... but I ask you specifically because you particularly design things in a very different and innovative way that makes things very appealing (I'm thinking now about your work with Hippo&Crate). I know my question might be too loose... don't sweat it. Just let me know what you think it's the 'formula' (that's not the word I'm looking for, but I guess that's a way to put it) of making a brand that works.


Abbas Mushtaq

I think when you work on a brief it all depends on the brief really. A positive about being a designer or a creative is that you end up knowing a little, about a lot of things. It’s important to understand the subject you’re working in, what the product is, who the audience is, what’s already out there. When you know that, then you can indeed look at design in a more scientific way, it’s good to do that, but use it as a means to amplify your creativity. For example, you might want the branding to be really loud, catch people's eye, and be different to what’s out there because your concept might be to flip convention on its head and approach something from a different way. So with that in mind, you can make calculated decisions about what kind of colours, fonts, imagery a tone of voice amplifies the idea you have. Likewise, if you want something calming, it’s important your design follows suit. There’s a quote from Saul Bass that’s always stuck with me – “Design is thinking made visual” . I couldn’t put it any better than that! I also think it’s important to find a clear aim and passion for every project. It’s not always easy to do this, but always better when you do. For example with a project, you might want to do something completely different. If you look around at what kind photography and look and feel similar brands have, you want to do the opposite. And so on. So research and comfort with what you’re doing is very important and a continuous learning curve for all of us. Even after finishing studying it’s easy to blindly jump into a project and push pixels around till it looks “nice”. But this is not how great work is done, and we all fall into this trap sometimes. Don’t make a habit of it!

Blind - USA (2014)

The word 'strategy' has certain negative connotations in certain companies because it usually means having several boring meetings that do not really yield any actions or results. Core is a process that helps designers to create a brief because many times the client does not even have a brief. Also, it allows stakeholders or multiple decision makers to define common objectives. In order to do this, a strategy is needed. All strategy is, it is a careful plan or method for achieving a particular goal usually over a long period of time. Core also includes designers in the strategy, which many agencies and companies do not do. After the process, the brand, its costumers and goals will be clearly defined by the clients themselves.

The price of a product or service depends on its location. For example, a Coca-Cola is 300% more expensive at shops that are nearby beaches because there is where they are really required. That's why Lexus, Toyota, and Scion are the same company. They are for different audiences and that is how they find the right position for their wide range of products. Positioning is about aligning values with clients, and these can be profiled based on their interests. In short, the process would be to: profile clients/customers, learn about their businesses and how they behave, match and mirror them, release a message and stick to it. If the motivations are aligned, the 'why' will be shared. (---Simon Sinek explains why this is important----)

Simon Sinek - The Golden Circle - USA (2009)

Succesful companies like Apple understand that they have to do the opposite their competition is doing. Normally, companies say what they do, how they do it and why they do it, but it has to be the other way around. For example: "we make great computers, beautiful design and simple to use. We like to think differently and challenge the status quo" is the wrong way of a more powerful option. "We like to think differently and challenge status quo using beautiful design and simplicity. We just happen to make great computers as a result".

People do not buy what you do, they buy why you do it. The goal is not to do businesses with whoever needs what you have. The goal is to do business with people that believe what you believe. Because people buy stuff to prove what they believe in.

An example of a failure is the company Tivo. They sold their product as a way to skip commercials on TV, to record programs... if instead they would have said "do you want to be in control of your life? We have a product for you". If Martin Luther King would have said: "I have a plan" instead of "I have a dream" people would probably not remember him. Simon contradicts what Chris Do and Jose Caballer said about matching and mirroring clients. He defines it as asking your friends "what should I dress for you to like me more". Organisations should say and do the things they actually believe in and they will attract people with similar values, and that is where authenticity can be recognised.

Face - Mexico (2017)

This design studio has their process specified on their website. One of the first things they tackle down is the specific needs of the project. They offer standard and tailored solutions based on the results of this strategy. Then, they hand to the client a list of questions in order to gather information for the development and conceptualization. At this point, they do a background research and competitive profiling. This investigation should throw light on the target audience and market, which helps to identify the overall brand assets. The strategy of the concept is based on the brief and the clients' benchmark, which helps to find the right visual references and define the project.

Ignasi Fontvila (2016)

Ignasi Fontvila is an expert in the field of naming companies and products. This type of work is part of the branding process. Naming a company or a product also requires a workflow involving research into the background, structure, concept, personality and positioning, and target audience. Very similar to 'Core' in essence, his conceptualisation of the brand relies on the definition of the concept, attributes (physical characteristics) and emotional benefits. He uses the brand value pyramid for Bendaryl, which highlights the importance of beliefs and values, followed by the benefits and gives less importance to the physical characteristics, because these are features that are difficult to manage when it comes to create a differentiation from the competition. For example, it's impossible to stand out a biscuit company for making biscuits with chunks of chocolate, as there are many others doing the exact same thing and are more popular than them.



In relation to what others have said about doing the opposite of what the competitors are doing and highlighting what is different, he mentions the use of a semantic differential scale. This helps to clearly see how a company is different from the rest and how they can exploit that difference to create a unique position in the mind of the customers. These differentiators that are going to be used to build the band upon are called creative axes, and they are based on the distinctivity of the attributes, emotional benefits and values. On the example, the most noticeable difference between the two are the creative and emotional aspect in opposition to a more classic and rational competition.

First chapter - Former and current ways of persuasion.

In this chapter, the nature of human decisions is going to be explored in the context of marketing as well as how emotions influence the decisions consumers make, the human hidden desires and its links with brands. It will also illustrate how former ways of consumer persuasion are relevant to current markets.

Bernays (1928) thought that human beings are rarely aware of what motivates their actions. He claimed that consumers believe they buy a car because they have concluded that is the best choice after a careful study of technical features from different models. The real reason might be the social environment is pushing that person to buy a certain car. "Many of man's thoughts and actions are compensatory substitutes for desires which have been obliged to suppress" (Bernays, 1928. P. 74). A consumer might not necessarily desire something for its intrinsic worth or usefulness, but because of its meaning. A person might really want a car because it is a symbol of social position, an evidence of success. As Packard (1957) puts it, customers buy a promise. Cosmetics sell hope, not lanolin. Oranges sell vitality. Cars sell prestige. One cannot assume that people know what they want or will tell the truth about it even if they do. Packard (1957) assures that people do not seem to be reasonable in their decisions, but this does not mean they do not have a purpose. Their behaviour makes sense in terms of their goals, needs, and motives. In addition to this, Bernays (1928) said that in order to attract customers, a company needs to understand not only their own business but also the structure, personality, and prejudices of their target audience. DuPont's investigators (1945-1954) found out that many people do not make a list of the things they need to buy in the store, which means that shoppers buy on impulse. James Vicary (quoted in Packard, 1957, p.112) suspected that consumers might be under pressure when confronted with so many different choices that they were forced to quickly decide what to purchase.

Olins (2003) explains that a product can connect with the audience using emotional appeals to encourage people to spend money. The key issue, Olins (2003, p. 11) points out, "it is how and where and in what cause it [emotional appeal] is used that is truly significant". Jannson-Boyd (2010) clarifies that it is important to find a mid-point in arousal, not too high or too low, where the audience can have a higher level of attention to stimulate visual selective attention. Humans explore environments mainly visually and there are several theories of what they normally focus on depending on their culture, language (if they write from left to right or the other way around) and so on. Although, Jannson-Boyd (2010) assures that there is not a consistent pattern of how humans conduct a visual search. Ries and Trout (2001, p.19), whose theories about positioning are relevant later on this text, argues "positioning is an organised system for finding a window in the mind. It is based on the concept that communication can only take place at the right time and under the right circumstances".

Olins (2003) claims that it is a fact that people like brands. If not, they would not buy them. There is a flaw in this statement because consumers have to buy certain products out of need. Brands compete with each other when two or more meet the same basic function. To understand how brands work it is important to understand what motivates human beings. Abraham Maslow (quoted in Lusensky, 2010, p.35-36) claimed that we all aspire to reach the top of his pyramid, either consciously or unconsciously. For example, 'esteem needs' lack of importance when 'safety needs' are not covered.



The lower part of the pyramid represent the basic needs our modern, convenient and relatively safe society. After fulfilling those, we look for something more. Freud (1923), on the other hand, in his second theory about the structure of the physic apparatus, distinguishes three fundamental instances. The 'Id', formed by the conscious and unconscious, is the psychic expression of drives and desires. It is in conflict with the 'Ego' and 'Super-Ego'. The 'Ego' is the acting psychic instance and is the mediator between the other two. It tries to conciliate the normative and punitive exigences of the 'Super-Ego' as well as the demands of the 'Id' to satisfy unconscious desires. Its function is to achieve the greatest degree of pleasure in the limits of reality. The 'Super-ego' is the judge of the Ego and constitutes the internalisation of the norms, rules and parental prohibitions. The specific functions of each entity are not always clear and they are interwoven in many levels and personality is constituted by this model of diverse forces in inevitable conflict. In this model, things like aesthetic needs are the result of our unconsciousness trying to satisfy the Id. The Id can be equally unsatisfied, and the deprivation of biological and physiological needs can cause a person to accomplish cognitive needs to satisfy the Id.



These models can be applied to marketing strategies. For example, Barbara Kruger uses humour to bring forward unconscious and controversial messages such as 'I shop therefore I am' or 'Buy me, I will change your life' to create a comic, controversial and self-aware environment. Riezebos (2003) says the first choice taken in brand values is the aspiration level of the brand. There are three aspiration levels: the need-driven (related to material and biological consumer needs), the outer-directed (consumers' relational needs) and the inner-directed level (need for self-actualisation). "The choice for an aspiration level can be made by taking three factors into account: the characteristics of the product, the characteristics of the organisation and the choices made by competitors" (Riezebos, 2003, p.61). It is important that the strategy avoids creating conflicts or contradicted messages between the aspiration level of a company. Riezebos (2003) points out that the ideal scenario would be to first choose one or two aspiration levels: one that describes the needs on which the other is focusing in greater detail. Then, Riezebos (2003, p.61) specifies "a maximum of three values may be selected within the aspiration level(s) chosen". In the following table, each aspiration level has specific values.

Customers choose brands to tell others who they are and what they believe in. Consuming is a modern way of unconscious expression. In opposition to what Packard (1957) said about controlling customers decisions, marketing does not have an entire control over the brand, customers do. Its power comes from a mixture of performance and what it stands for. If customers find certain harmony in this mixture, they feel it adds an extra meaning to their identities. Lusensky (2010) puts it simpler: brands establish relationships with customers in a human way, so brands are treated like individuals with their own set of values and beliefs. If a personality can be designed for a business, it means that a business can be personified. Human personality traits are associated with a brand, and sometimes, real persons are utilised to represent a brand. For example, Richard Branson with Virgin. Aaker, J (1997) claims that these traits can be associated indirectly through other features like name, symbol, style, price or distribution channel.

Riezebos (2003) links these ideas with design, explaining that the identity must visualise material brand values and an immaterial experience world using visual codes for recognition. These codes can be kept or broken. Marketers need to understand the communication codes in particular cultures to be in control of the meaning. Unspoken rules and conventions that structure sign systems and meanings, Lawes (2002) says. When a personality has to be faithfully conveyed across different cultures, it is important to consider the five factors of brand personality: sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication, and ruggedness. Brand personality offers a way for personal expression by the consumer based on metaphors, symbols, emotional benefits and self-expressive benefits. But what counts the most in communication, Ries and Trout (2001) say, it is receptivity. When two individuals fall in love with each other it is because they are both receptive to that idea. One of the main objectives in advertising is to heighten expectations about a product or service and make consumers believe it will perform the expected miracles. In a talk in 1956 in Philadelphia, Pierre Marineau (quoted in Pike, 2015, p. 27) said that advertising is no longer what it was once: a presentation of the merits of a product. The intention is to create an ideal situation where the customer falls in love with the product that is being advertised. To create this illusion, Marineau said the first task is to create a differentiation in the mind of the consumer, an individualisation from the rest.

Ries and Trout (2001) explain different strategies to be heard in a market where every year there is more to be said than what is received. Positioning help marketers to overcome this, but it is not something that can be done to a product. As explained before, it is the mind of the consumer what can be altered to position a product. Ries and Trout (2001) explain that an oversimplified message is the most effective approach to take in an over-communicated society. Olins (2003) agrees and adds that a product must be differentiated and designed to be in a specific way to appeal to a specific market. Names, typefaces, colours or even music and smells derive from emotional power. There are hundreds of similar products in a very competitive market, all fighting each other to get customers attention. Design has the power in making this differentiation through emotions. It is a matter of choosing what is really important in that message for the best chance to get it through. When a company is second in a market, Ries and Trout (2001) explain that there is an opportunity to take the 'uncola' position. This is due to the strategy that 7-Up once carried out, linking their product with something that already existed in the mind of the consumer as an alternative to it. Conventional logic says that the concept can be found in a brand or its product, but this does not work when trying to find a unique position. It is the consumer's mind that creates it. The 'uncola' is not inside a 7-Up can, it is in the drinker's memory. 7-up took into account the position of their competitors.

This is only one example of many different strategies each position requires. These strategies that use existing businesses are directly related to how the signifier and the signified work for semiotic analysis. The signifier (for example, a brand name) does not have a meaning on its own. The meaning is acquired through associations with other pre-existing meanings until it stands on its own. The signifier is a statement of a fact. The signified is a connotative communication that generates associations, feel and overtones. It can be anything that can be linked with the signifier (Rosenbaum-Elliott et al., 2007). In 1982, the French philosopher Jacques Derrida (quoted in Chapman, 2005, p.12) analysed this and explained that meaning cannot be found in the signifier itself. It can only exist in relation to other things. There is little conscious access to this matrix, but it is everywhere in the human world. The absolute identity does not exist because these concepts are co-dependent. This matrix cannot exist without society, so it is a mirror individuals use to assess their own hierarchical position. Material possessions are deployed as signifiers of status. They allow consumers to cast a desired role. Humans consume meaning, not matter. Objects simply provide the canvas for these connotations for the user. These reflections help individuals to construct their own identity and shape their future. As Olins (2003) puts it, markets are very competitive, and rational choice is now an oddity. Brands are there for clarity, status, membership and everything else that helps consumers to define themselves. Claiming that a company is better than its competitors, is not re-positioning. It is comparative advertising and its psychological effectiveness is flawed, since what the consumer easily detects is: "If your brand is so good, how come it is not the leader?" (Ries and Trout, 2001). Olins (2003) defends the same concept and says that rejecting conventions that surround a business is sometimes the best idea. Companies should challenge the existing associations. Sinek (2010) explains that Apple has done exactly this with their computers. They have sold their vision of an ideal world instead of focusing on how the look of their products. For years, cars were becoming better looking and more streamlined, until the Volkswagen Beetle got in the market and challenged the canons of car manufacturing. The conventional way to advertise this car would have been to maximise the strengths and minimise the weaknesses, but they stated their position very clearly: 'think small'. Two simple words stated Volkswagen position and challenged consumer's assumption that bigger is not a synonym of better.

Olins (2003) explains that there are four vectors by which a brand manifests itself: product, environment, communication, and behaviour. In other words: the what, where and how of a company. Brands are usually a mix of these four vectors, and those based on products function are doing right, but that function must be supported by the ergonomics and aesthetics of the design. On the other hand, if the product is not right, the design cannot make it work. People choose hotels based on what they feel like, their facilities and location. These three are all environmental factors. Coca-Cola, for example, is a communication-driven brand, specifically in advertising. Its packaging, materials, events and so on are designed to arouse a very specific set of emotions. These emotions are what makes this product be seen through its communication. Airlines are an example of behaviourally led brands. Customers judge them based on the service and not in the time it took for them to get from point A to point B.


In conclusion, there is not an exact way to persuade consumers to make a certain decision. Designers and marketers can influence those decisions, but there is no guarantee of success as many other aspects fall out of control. Brands are vulnerable to trends, the use consumers make of a brand and also to themselves, as bad management can be self-destructive. However, the right influence of emotions over a long period of time following a strong strategy can humanise brands by giving them personality. This personality is based on a set of assets that are easier to identify and remember for the consumers.

Chapter outlining - First tutorial

The tutorial with Ben helped me to finally focus on a specific theme. What started being "Psychology in branding" turned into "brand strategy and customer choices", but it still was too broad. After talking about my interests in this research, the question was better defined as how relevant are previous forms of research to brand strategy today?. But after going back to my notes and starting to write the first chapter, it was slightly changed to 'How relevant are previous forms of consumer persuasion to brand strategy today?'.

The dissertation will explore the relationship between clients, agencies, audiences and possible third parties and how they have been related in the past and nowadays.

These are the chapters that were outlined:

1) Existing/former ways of persuasion.

- Outdated methods of persuasion. Bernays, E (1928), Ollins, W (2003), Packard, V. (1957)

· Propaganda
· Different ersuasive tactics

- Contemporary methods of branding. Adams, S and Morioka, N (2006), Ries, A and Trout, J (2001), Ollins, W (2003), Jansson-Boyd, C. (2010), Rosenbaum-Elliott et al. (2007)

· Positioning
· Brand management
· Consumer psychology

2) New methods of branding.

- Future of branding. Lusensky, J (2010), Ollins, W (2003), The Futur, Simon Sinek, Chapman, J. (2005)

· CORE
· Lovemarks
· Golden Circle

3) Case studies.

How Apple became the successful company that it is nowadays after almost going to bankruptcy thanks to a succesful brand strategy.

4) Research: what would I remove from / add to these methods or how would I combine them for a better outcome?


Practical work: test out different methodologies of brand strategy across time.

Chapman, J. (2005). Emotionally Durable Design: Objects, Experiences & Empathy. P. 12, 36

P.12

----signifier: connect this to rosenbaum----

In 1982, the French philosopher Jacques Derrida analysed difference and explained that meaning cannot be found in the signifier itself. It can only exist in relation to other things. There is little conscious access to this matrix, but it is everywhere in the human world. The absolute identity does not exist because these concepts are co-dependent. This matrix cannot exist without society, so it is a mirror individuals use to assess their own hierarchical position. These comparisons are a fundamental survival tool.

Material possessions are deployed as signifiers of status. They allow consumers to cast a desired role. Capitalist societies measure success by wealth and the individual pressure to keep up with the group is not about being the fastest, but avoiding being the slowest.

P. 36

Humans consume meaning, not matter. Objects simply provide the canvas for these connotations for the user. These reflections help individuals to construct their own identity and shape their future.

Rosenbaum-Elliott et al. (2007). Strategic Brand Management. P. 4-7, 13, 22-27, 38, 53, 67-69, 94-97, 110, 112, 114

P. 4-7



Brakus, et al. (cited in Rosenbaum-Elliott et al., 2007) defines a brand as "a label, designating ownership by a firm, which we experience, evaluate have feeling towards, and build associations with to perceive value". The mind of the costumers are the realm where brands exist, so its management is all about perceptions. By influencing perceptions, the experience of using a product can be changed.

Brands that master the emotional/symbolic language are perceived as the safe choice rather than the easy one. By increasing the levels of risk, the choice is more complex and consumers have to develop a relationship with a brand. "As consumers become more involved with a purchase decision, their choice becomes increasingly driven by emotional processes and so the consumer benefit of the brand becomes a safe choice, safe in terms of all the expectations that consumers have for the product, be in performance, excitement, style, status, etc." (Rosenbaum-Elliott et al., 2007)

For consumers to recognise a need or an opportunity for a product, they must perceive what is in their way between where they are and where they want to be.

P. 13

Simple associations between a brand and its attributes or emotions largely drive consumers' choices. Consumers learn and are reminded about these characteristics through advertising and they will even build their own interpretations. As Carpenter et al (cited in Rosenbaum-Elliott et al., 2007) suggests, the best brands can make this happen even with meaningless differentiation based on irrelevant attributes.

P. 22-27

In order to understand how to use emotions is important to know the difference between the roles this concept plays in regards of feelings. Bradley and Lang (cited in Rosenbaum-Elliott et al., 2007) explain that feelings describe the point where someone becomes aware of an emotion. As Damasio (cited in Rosenbaum-Elliott et al., 2007) put it: "The full human impact of emotions is only realised when they are sensed, when they become feeling, and when those feelings are felt. That is where they become known, with the assistance of consciousness".

Emotions have two fundamental ways of creation: through the uncontrolled cognitive system and the sociocultural environment or experience, which can be manipulated at will.

Emotional judgements drive consumers choice. If someone says a car is 'too flashy', it says more about the judge than about the vehicle. Emotional judgements reflect subjective feelings without the need of using verbal descriptors, which means emotion relies on non-verbal channels of communication.

When looking for an emotional response, knowing a sociocultural context will not make the prediction easier. To understand emotional responses, one way is to assume that emotions work like mechanisms that cannot be altered. The following principles have been framed as laws by Frijda (cited in Rosenbaum-Elliott et al., 2007).

- Law of concern

The natural response that arises in consumers' in response to their goals, motives or concerns are emotions. They continually interpret situations they have to face through their own system of values, which lead them to have a preference to experience things that reinforce those values.

- Law of apparent reality

Emotions are brought out by events that seem real, and the intensity is given by the level of reality. For example, the Red Cross is more successful showing a photo of a starving child that telling potential donors that thousands die every day. The apparent reality focuses on consumers' weaknesses and it suggests that imagination can overwhelm reason for consumers to create their own reality.

- Law of closure

A desire for a product can cloud the judgement of consumers, making them ignore other aspects of it to be completed absorbed in the shopping experience.

- Law of the lightest load

The regular tendency is to minimise the negative emotional load. Consumers often engage in 'retail therapy', which is simply buying something to treat themselves after having a stressful time. Mood repairing is a major motivation that overarches a wide range of compensatory behaviours in consumption.

P. 38

Advertising has certain social roles, and one of them is educating consumers. Over the years, they have learned how to feel towards a product or service. For example, luxury ice-cream is something that was successfully repositioned as a product with romantic or sexual connotations. Products can be 'emotionalised' to increase their connection with powerful emotions.

Emotion-driven choices are almost instantaneous, and marketers have to make sure consumers have no impediments to react.

P. 53

Advertising creates and modifies cultural meanings and it also reflects the consumers' world view. This means that a culture can have new meanings and products can be part of a culture.

P. 67-69

It is important to understand the difference between the signifier and the signified for semiotic analysis. The signifier (E.G: A brand name) does not have a meaning on its own. The meaning is acquired through associations with other pre-existing meanings until it stands on its own. The signifier is a statement of a fact. The signified is a connotative communication that generates associations, feel and overtones. It can be anything that can be linked with the signifier.

Marketers need to understand the communication codes in particular cultures to be in control of the meaning. Unspoken rules and conventions that structure sign systems and meanings, Lawes (2002) says. (cited in Rosenbaum-Elliott et al., 2007)

The following analysis aimed to identify the key codes of major beer brands from six major markets worldwide.





The analysis enabled marketers to better understand how beer advertisement communicates with the audience and the hidden propositions competitors were making, allowing them to plan a new brand strategy.

----a brand as a person or a person as a brand----

If a personality can be designed for a business, it means that a business can be personified. Human personality traits are associated with a brand, and sometimes, real persons are used to represent a brand. For example, Richard Branson in Virgin.  Aaker (cited in Rosenbaum-Elliott et al., 2007) claims that these traits can be associated indirectly through other features like name, symbol, style, price or distribution channel. When a personality has to be faithfully conveyed across different cultures is important to consider the five factors of brand personality: sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication and ruggedness.  Brand personality offers a way for personal expression by the consumer based on metaphors, symbols, emotional benefits and self-expressive benefits.

P.94-97

Strong brand awareness can be achieved exploiting concepts like familiarity, which is a primitive sense of knowing about something without the need for specific details. (Schacter, 2001. cited in Rosenbaum-Elliott et al., 2007). This is important to consider, as in a market with so many brands dividing attention, a customer will rely on the brand that has certain sense of familiarity, whilst specific details about others will be put on a side. Brand awareness is the beginning of a relationship that, if everything works out, will lead a customer to feel loyal towards a certain brand. The key is to keep a strong and positive attitude.

Choices are not easy, and even less if they have to be done based on attributes. Brands have to offer trust, and this is when emotional associations become important. Particular memories linked with these associations affect directly the perception a consumer has from a brand. In the functional realm, brands are chosen based on attributes. But in the emotional realm, it is required more from a brand. There must be certain attitude. More difficult the choice is, more important the emotions become, but in the end, both features are equally important. If a product is not good enough, it is very difficult for the emotions to convince the consumer.

P.110

----DEFINITION OF BRAND----

The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines brand as to enable a person to identify one alternative from a competitor. This is very accurate, but Rosenbaum-Elliott et al. (2007) suggests that a brand must be a label, something that is attached to a product and gives information about it.

P.112

Brands that are the best in their category do not need to continually list their benefits. The other brands should have a differential positioning, focusing on the benefits that consumers find important.

P. 114

Consumers might buy lower calorie foods because they are gaining weight (a negative motive), or buy certain brands for more taste (a positive motive). Rosenbaum-Elliott et al. (2007) explains that benefits related to negative motives (problem-solution or problem avoidance) 'are unlikely to drive specific brand purchases. Someone may be looking for a lower calorie product, but probably not at the expense of taste. The reason this is such an important point is that positive motives suggest marketing communication where the execution itself actually becomes the product benefit'. Positive motives require a unique execution and the brand has to own the feeling created in adverts. If the motive is negative, the benefit is in the information provided.

Jansson-Boyd, C. (2010). Consumer Psychology. P. 47-49, 51, 57, 60

P.47-49

There is a direct relationship between the level of arousal a person might experience and the attention. Jannson-Boyd (2010) explains that a mid-point in arousal, not too high or too low, is where the audience can have a higher level of attention. There is when the visual selective attention happens. Humans explore environments mainly visually and there are several theories of what they normally focus on depending on their culture, language (if they right from left to right or the other way around) and so on. The truth is there seems not to be an exact consistent pattern of how humans conduct a visual search.

P.51

Humans have a selective perception that filters out certain information that is incompatible with our own interests. If a company has a clear visual brand identity it is very helpful for consumers to notice their products. The same brand might have different types of products, so a visual consistency helps them to be spotted and recognised. For example, Apple and Nike are easily recognisible, so most consumers pay little conscious attention to this stimuli. They have reached that level of recognition by repeated exposure.

P.57

Normally, people try to find out about those that appear to do worse than them in way way or another so they compare themselves to feel in a better position. This is called downward social comparison. If one owns a Porsche while others drive Beetles, it is likely that the first person feels superior and with a higher self-esteem. Although, not always one can choose who to compare with, and an owner of a Porsche comparing himself or herself with the owner of a Ferrari will be an upward comparison. This happens almost everyday to everyone exposed to the 'ideal' media images, which is a destructive kind of approach as it increases sales by lowering the self-esteem of consumers.

P.60

Some products have an undesired meaning. The same way consumers choose what to buy, they consciously know what not to purchase. The ideal self is the projection of the personality consumers try to be, and the opposite of this idea is the person they do not wish to become. It has been found that consumers express their dislikes and avoidance of products based on what they represent. If a product constitutes, for example, an idea of something old and outdated, consumers would like to get rid of it as a way to leave their past behind.

Riezebos, R (2003). Brand Management. P.61, 70, 127-134, 144

---- In relation to Maslow's Pyramid---

P.61
The first choice taken in brand values is the aspiration level of the brand. There are three aspiration levels: the need-driven, the outer-directed and the inner directed level. Riezebos (2003) explains it:

"If a manager chooses the aspiration level of a brand to be need driven, it means that the brand relates to material and biological consumer needs. If the outer-directed aspiration level is chosen, the brand refers to consumers' relational needs. For the inner-directed aspiration level, the brand should relate to consumers' need for self-actualisation. The choice for an aspiration level can be made by taking three factors into account: the characteristics of the product, the characteristics of the organisation and the choices made by competitors. Regarding the product, it is driven, as bread fulfils material and biological needs... With regard to the organisation, one should take care that the aspiration level of the brand does not conflict with the aspiration level of the company".

The ideal scenario is to first choose one or two aspiration levels: one that describes the needs on which the other is focusing in greater detail. Then, Riezebos says "a maximum of three values may be selected within the aspiration level(s) chosen". In the following table, each aspiration level has specific values.

There are three groups of aspiration levels with their respective needs and personal values.



P.70

There are five dimensions of psycho-social meaning for brands (also known as 'brand personality'). This does not mean that the perceived performance of a product has the same meaning for the consumer, only that a product can be wrapped in a certain unique make up.





P.127-134

Kotler and Rath (1984) stated: "Design creates corporate distinctiveness in an otherwise product and image-surfeited marketplace. It can create a personality... so it stands out... it communicates value to the customer, makes selection easier, informs and entertains".

Robert Blaich defined design management as "the implementation of design as a formal activity program within the organisation, by communicating the importance of design for the long-term organisational goals, and by coordinating the design 'resources' on all levels of organisational activities, in pursuit of the organisational goals".

Design can influence consumers, so it is an instrument that must be used with care. The visual identity is the natural extension of the brand identity. Different roles in brand development can be fulfilled by design, most of the times spending much less money than advertising. The most important roles are:

1.- Identification: for categorisation and recognition.

2.- Differentiation: how an article is different from the competition.

3.- Transfer of material brand values: The performance of the brand can be represented through image, structure, material, colour, size or shape.

4.- Transfer of immaterial brand values: Design can attribute certain character traits to the psycho-social meaning of a brand.


Riezebos (2003) classifies design in regards to their characteristics and corresponding media.

****include table in p. 132****

----good introduction to point out i'm gonna focus on strategic design----

1.- Strategic design works for the recognition or appearance of the brand. It has a long-term character and its most important aim is the consistency in appearance for a consistency in recognition. There is a number of influential factors to take into account:

A.- Visual reference to brand values and positioning of the brand.

The design must visualise material brand values and an immaterial experience world.

B.- Category codes.

Products use visual codes for recognition (in Holland, for example, red is for buttermilk and light blue is for skimmed milk). These codes can be kept or broken, but low-budget projects should go by set codes.

C.- Brand individuality.

Easy recognition is important for early phases and high marketing communication budgets.

D.- Competitive position of the brand (authority).

Design can make a product seen as the best in its class by exploiting specific values.

2.- Tactical design is aimed at brand content. Current trends and developments is what strongly leads it and it is mostly used for external target groups. It is a temporary form of design and it is applicable to features like packaging or advertisement. These are the factors to take into account:

A.- Visual references to brand values and position of the brand.

B.- Visual references to trends.

C.- In sales promotion, design can help increasing its success by making clear that it fits the brand.

D.- In experience communication, design helps in creating an experience world surrounding an event surprising and inviting the public.

In this type of design, there are certain communication goals, target groups and product or market segments. The aim is to ensure that a brand becomes and remains meaningful showing broads and flexible applications of the brand but keeping visual expressions related to the brand values in a coherent manner.

3.- Operational design is related to the services surrounding a product. In this media (letters, forms, instructions, etc) design facilitates information in a friendly and serviceable manner.

P.144

There are several reasons why a brand might decide to change its visual identity. It is worth to mention that brand can live for a long period of time if the strategic design has been carefully carried out.

Some of the reasons are:
1.- To keep the brand 'up to date'. Gradual changes that are barely noticed by the consumer might be the best solution, as the position of the brand should not be altered in this instance and, in fact, the aspects of the previous style can be exploited to determine how to increase the familiarity of the new one.

2.- Repositioning, revitalisation or 'rebirth' of a brand. This means the brand values have changed and it affects the visual identity.

3.- Introduction of extensions that require family resemblance.

4.- Expansion to different geographic markets. Different codes, naming and so on to make a product fit. Although, the design should have the minimal alterations. In a roll-out of global brands, an opposite approach is required for a better differentiation from local markets.


5.- Fusions, acquisitions and partnerships. Solutions to this might be to create a new brand or keep one of the old ones depending on their goals.

6.- New techniques of packaging, displaying and everything that involves technology upgrading. 

Packard, V. (1957). The Hidden Persuaders. P.35, 37-40, 43, 47, 48, 65, 70, 74-77, 86-96, 100, 106, 107, 110, 112

P.35

Customers buy a promise. Cosmetics sell hope, not lanolin. Oranges sell vitality. Cars sell prestige. 

P.37-38

Advertising Age once claimed: "In very few instances do people really know what they want, even when say they do". One cannot assume that people know what they want or will tell the truth about it even if they do.  Consumers will more likely give answers that protect them to sound insensible, stupid or irrational. Accepting what a costumers say they want is, in the words of a consulting firm, "the least reliable index the manufacturer can have on what he ought to do to win customers".

P.39-40

The Color Research Institute carried out a series of tests to see if irrational decisions could be controlled through packaging. They gave housewives three different boxes of detergent and these women were asked to try them for a few weeks. They needed to report which one was the best for delicate clothing. The boxes were very different, but the detergent was the same.

The first box was designed using yellow as it was a colour that could stand out at the store shelves. The second box was predominantly blue, without any yellow. The third box had splashes of yellow on a blue background.

The women reported that the detergent in the yellow box was too strong and even ruined some clothes. The one in the blue box seemed to be quite weak. The third box, which had an ideal balance of colour, received the most favourable responses. They used words like "wonderful" and "fine" to describe the performance of the detergent.

P.43

Packard (1957) assures that people do not seem to be reasonable. But this does not mean they do not have a purpose. They do, and their behaviour makes sense in terms of their goals, needs and motives.

P.47

There are different levels of human consciousness. The first level is the conscious, the rational level. It is the level where an individual knows what is going on and he or she is able to tell why. The second and lower level is the subconscious, where the awareness of a situation is more vague and it is more related to attitudes, feelings and sensations but an explanation of these reactions cannot be easily found. Here is where assumptions, prejudices or fears live. The third and final level is where an individual is not aware of true attitudes and feelings, features that are preferably not discussed if possible. Exploring these unconscious attitudes towards brands formed the science of motivational analysis or research, which allow designers to apply psychoanalytic techniques to market research.

P.48

In 1941, Dr. Dichter encouraged ad agencies to organise themselves as what they really were, "one of the most advanced laboratories in psychology". He claimed that for an ad agency to be successful it needs to manipulate human emotions and desires to develop a need for something that a personn was once unfamiliar with or even undesirous of.

P. 65

Research director of a New York advertising agency once claimed: "People have a terrific loyalty to their brand of cigarette and yet in tests cannot tell it from other brands. They are smoking an image completely."

In a talk in 1956 in Philadelphia, Pierre Marineau said that advertising is no longer what it was once: a presentation of a product's merits. The intention is to create an illogical situation where the customer falls in love with the product that is being advertised and have a profound brand loyalty even if the product is very similar to many others. In order to do this, Marineau said the first task is to create a differentiation in the mind of the prospect, an individualisation from the rest.

----LINK THIS WITH POSITIONING----

P.70

Packard (1957) points out a study made by Social Research, Inc. A team of social scientists used different probing techniques on 352 car owners in the Chicago area and they found out that a minority of the population have any real interest in the technical side of cars. In fact, what the investigation reflected was that automobiles are heavily loaded with social meanings and they "provide avenues for the expression of the character, temperament and self concept of the owner and driver. The buying process is an interaction between the personality of the car and the personality of the individual".

The report pointed out the personality of a specific sort of owner of different major makes of car. These are some profiles of the owners that were defined with single words:

- Cadillac: Proud, Flashy, salesman, middle-aged, social mobility, good income level, responsible.

- Ford: Speed demon, good income, young man, proud, upper lower class, drives to work, practical.

- Pontiac: Stable class outlook, middle of road, married woman, mother, sincere, conventional, busy.

The investigators claimed "people buy the cars they think are especially appropriate for them". 

P.74-77

In the conflict between pleasure and guilt, brands give moral permission to have fun without guilt. A group of investigators wanted to find an answer of why people keep smoking despite their guilt feelings. They found out that smokers like to have a cigarette between their fingers when they enter in a room full of people, so they look less nervous and more sophisticated. Many see smoking as a symbol of heir vigour, potency and virile maturity. It is a psychological satisfaction that overcomes health fears, hides ridicule and also the obvious weakness of 'enslavement to habit'.

To deal with this guilt feeling, candies started to be made in bite-size pieces to appeal indulgence in moderation. The consumer can buy a bar and only eat a bite before putting it away. This shows understanding from manufacturers, like some kind of permission for eating it in moderation.

The guilt can come in another shape. When releasing products that make the life of consumers easier, there might be some resistance, as consumers sometimes view certain products as threats to what they expect from themselves. Instead of selling more freedom, companies need to convince consumers to buy their products so they can work harder on other things.

P.86-96

Packard (1957) assures that there are eight hidden needs human beings have that marketers can take advantage of when selling a product. These are some of them:

- Emotional security

One of the emotions that can be sold through a product is security. That is what freezers do. Economically, they do not make sense taking into account the intial cost, the electric bill and the leftovers that are eventually thrown away. The Weiss and Geller advertising agency made a study where probers found out that the popularity of freezers increased after World War II. Many families were anxious because of the uncertainties of the time. The freezer was, for many, a representation of the assurance that there is always food in the house, and the food represents warmth, security and safety.

- Reassurance of worth.

People need to hear that what they are doing has a value. A product that points out the worth of a consumer is a good candidate to be used in order to remind the user his or her importance in their environments. In the 50's The Chicago Tribune made a study about sales of soaps for housewives. The results proved that those advertisements that exalted the role of housekeeping as something to be proud of were much more successful than others, because housewives were very unappreciated by that time and marketers knew.

- Ego gratification

Similar to the reassurance of worth, the product should be an extension of the user and should not gain more importance than a human being in order to boost their ego.

- Sense of power

A car is a good example of how a product can represent an extension of a person's power.


- Sense of roots

When adverts use phrases like 'the good old days' or 'just how grandma used to make it' they are appealing to a sense of belonging and nostalgia that many people need to satisfy.

- Immortality

Life-insurances are a clear example of selling immortality. Everyone is aware that they are going to die, but no one stands the idea of being obliterated, so they try to remain immortal through other means. 


------


"Infatuation with one's own body is an infantile trait that persists in many an adult's subconscious. The ethics of exploiting it to sell goods is something else". Fortune.

P.100

Cigars makers sold 6 million cigars only in 1955 because it is a potent symbol of masculinity for an affordable price. It is favoured by gangsters and big bankers. Young and Rubicam ad agency found out in a study that young men do not feel comfortable smoking cigars as it feels presumptuous. Although, Weiss and Geller found out that cigars appeal both to strong and weak men.

P.106-107

Freudian psychiatry pictures many adults as subconsciously searching for mouth satisfaction. Social Research found that many foods are loaded with hidden meanings, as depending on what someone eats it can be interpreted as a punishment or a reward. For people under stress or in situations of anxiety, new food can be a problem and it's easier to reinstate more comfortable feelings by serving them the food they feel familiar with.

P. 110

Social Research also found that oral gratifications are very important when explaining why many people continue smoking cigarettes. Smoking provides a repeated and continuous stimulation for the mouth while it allows the hand to do something well organised and familiar.

Something similar happens with a remedy and substitute of smoking, the chewing gum. A study carried out by Weiss and Geller says that chewing relieves tension. Sweetening the breath, aid digestion or freshen the mouth are just side effects of mitigating anxiety, providing oral comfort, releasing tension and aggressive feelings.

P.112

DuPont's investigators found out that many people do not make a list of the things they need to buy in the store. The reason is because they make the decision in the store, which means shoppers buy on impulse. James Vicary suspected that consumers might be under pressure when confronted with so many different choices that they were forced to quickly decide what to purchase. By hiding a camera that recorded the eye-blink rate of the shopper he could tell the inner tension that person was going through. It was found that his suspicions were right. Gerald Stahl, executive vice-president of the Package Designers Council, added to this: "Psychiatrists say that people have so much to choose from that they want help".


Sense of roots

Packard (1957) talked about the sense of roots, in which the intention is to pack a feeling that humans collectively associate to what they consider a better past time so they can relive it through a product.

Bernays, E (1928). Propaganda. P.74, 75, 77, 84, 86, 87

P.74-75

Human beings are rarely aware of what motivate their actions. Regular consumers believe that they buy a car because they have concluded that is the best choice after a careful study of technical features from different models. They are fooling themselves. The real reason might be that a consumer's friend he financially respects bought one last week; or because the neighbours thought he or she could not afford a car like that; or maybe the colours match their college fraternity.

"Many of man's thoughts and actions are compensatory substitutes for desires which has been obliged to suppress. A thing may be desired not for its intrinsic worth or usefulness, but because he has unconsciously come to see in it a symbol of something else, a desire for which he is ashamed to admit to himself". A person might really want a car because it is a symbol of social position, an evidence of success.

P.77

It is possible to deal with potential customers in the mass through group formations setting up psychological and emotional currents that will work for them. There is no point in a direct attack if someone is interested in knowing more. Companies must provide this circumstance and context that will swing emotional currents to meet consumers' demands.

A whole country might be covered in ads with a text that says: "YOU buy a Mozart piano now. It is cheap. The best artists use it. It will last for years". These claims might be all be true, but they are in direct conflict with other manufacturers' claims and in indirect competition with other products, as everyone is competing for the consumer's money.

The question that remains is: why is the purchaser actually planning to spend his or her money on a new car instead of a new piano? Simple. Both are different commodities, locomotion and music. The customer buys a car because it is at the moment the group custom to buy cars. That is why is so important to create the circumstances that will modify that custom.

P.84

In order to make customers a company needs to understand not only their own business, but also the structure, personality and prejudices of their target audience.

P.86-87

Just like the production manager has to be familiar with every detail concerning the materials he is working with, the person in charge of a firm's public relations has to know the structure, prejudices and whims of the general public to handle their problems accordingly. People have their own standards, demands and habits. They can be modified but not contradicted. It is not possible to persuade a whole generation to wear long shirts. Although, working through leaders of fashion, people can be persuaded to wear a similar clothing piece. The public cannot be molded at will like an amorphous mass, or dictated to. Businesses and individuals have different personalities that can get along. The terms of this friendship can be mutually beneficial, and a business must explain itself, its aims and objectives to the public in terms that the public can understand and is willing to accept.