Chapter 8: Attitudes and Persuasive Communications

The high-involvement hierarchy assumes that a person approaches a product decision as a problem-solving process. The low-involvement hierarchy of effects assumes that the consumer initially doesn't have a strong preference for one brand over another; instead, he or she acts on the basis of limited knowledge and forms an evaluation only after he or she has bought the product.

According to the experiential hierarchy of effects, we act on the basis of our emotional reactions. The cognitive-affective model proposes that an emotional reaction is just the last step in a series of cognitive processes that follows sensory recognition of a stimulus and retrieval of information from memory that helps to categorize it. In contrast the independence hypothesis argues that affect and cognition are separate systems so that it's not always necessary to have a cognition to elicit an emotional response.

The use of branded products in film is an old practice but it has renewed attention as brands pay large sums to be included in popular programming. Sometimes the product placement is free because the director wants to use the branded prop for realism. Other times, the placement comes with a fee. The practice is called branded entertainment sometimes because the brands may sponsor the program (like American Idol).

Some researchers claim that product placement helps consumers to make decisions because consumers are then familiar with the brands when they shop. However, others say that placements can be a negative influence on consumer decisions if they are not congruent with the plot. In other words, the placement has to make sense in the minds of consumers in order to be effective.

several factors influence effectiveness of message source. The source is the perceived source of the message. It may be perceived as the person or people shown in the ad. Credibility and attractiveness are desirable source components.

Source attractiveness refers to the perceived social value the message receivers associate with the source. It is related to appearance, personality, social status, and similarity to the receiver. Celebrities increase awareness of a firm's advertising and enhance company image. A celebrity endorsement can be a way to differentiate among products.

Consumers vary in their commitment to an attitude. Their degree of commitment relates to their level of involvement with the attitude object. The lowest level is compliance. At the compliance level, we form an attitude because it helps us gain rewards or avoid punishment

At the identification level, we form an attitude to conform to another person's or group's expectations. At the highest level of involvement, called internalization, our attitudes become a deep part of our value system. At this level, attitudes are difficult to change because they are important to us.

many modern marketeres are reality engineers.

Audience characteristics help to determine whether the nature of the source or the message itself will be relatively more effective.

•One-sided: supportive arguments •Two-sided: both positive and negative information

types of two-sided: •Refutational argument: negative issue is raised, then dismissed •Positive attributes should refute presented negative attributes •Effective with well-educated and not-yet-loyal audiences

multi-attribute attitude models assume that consumers' attitude toward an attitude object (Ao) depends on the beliefs they have about several of its attributes The Fishbein model, developed by Martin Fishbein, is the most influential of multiattribute models. The model measures three components of attitudes:

1) salient beliefs, 2) object-attribute linkages, and 3) evaluation of each of the important attributes. Using these components, we can compute a consumer's overall attitude toward an object. Salient Beliefs - beliefs about the object a person considers during evaluation. Object- Attribute- probability that a particular object has an important attribute Evaluation- evaluate each important attribute.

We use the term attitude in many contexts. Attitudes are general evaluations of people, objects, or issues that tend to last. It is important for consumer researchers to understand the nature and power of attitudes.

Anything toward which one has an attitude is known as an attitude object.

Balance theory considers how a person perceives relations among different attitude objects, and how he alters his attitudes so that these remain consistent (or "balanced"). This perspective involves relations among three elements, so we call the resulting attitude structures triads.

Each triad contains (1) a person and his perceptions of (2) an attitude object, and (3) some other person or object. The theory specifies that we want relations among elements in a triad to be harmonious. If they are unbalanced, this creates tension that we are motivated to reduce by changing our perceptions in order to restore balance.

The elaboration likelihood model, known as the ELM, assumes that under conditions of high involvement, we will take the central route to persuasion, but under conditions of low involvement, we will take a peripheral route.

The central route is focused on the consumer's cognitive response to the message. The peripheral route focuses on other cues to decide how to react to the message.

The figure illustrates the communications model. The elements of the model include the source, the message, and the method of transmitting the message. Social scientists developed this model to understand mass communications in which a source transmits information to many receivers at one time. This model doesn't work as well in some situations like those encompassing social media.

The consumer who processes a message is not necessarily the passive receiver of information marketers once believed him or her to be. Figure 8.5 shows an updated model which accounts for the new developments like social media that now affect the communications process.

Messages that fall within the latitudes are deemed consistent even if they are not. This is known as an assimilation effect. However, those that fall outside our latitude of acceptance are rejected even if they are not that different. This is known as a contrast effect.

We assimilate new information about attitude objects in light of what we already know/feel •Initial attitude = frame of reference

An attitude has three components: Affect: the way a consumer feels about an attitude object Behavior: person's intentions to do something with regard to an attitude object Cognition: beliefs a consumer has about an attitude object

Which comes first: knowing, feeling, or doing? It turns out that each element may lead things off depending on the situation. The hierarchies of effects show the relative impact of the three components. Each hierarchy shows a fixed sequence of steps which can occur en route to an attitude.

If prospective customers viewed one brand as superior, a marketer could try to convince the consumer that a particular attribute is important. A marketer might discover that consumers do not equate his brand with a certain attribute;

a communications campaign can be used to strengthen the linkage. Marketers can encourage consumers to add a new attribute when new features are developed for products. Finally, one can decrease the competitors' higher ratings with comparative advertising

Comparative advertising: message compares two+ recognizable brands on specific attributes. •"Unlike McDonalds, all of Arby's chicken sandwiches are made with 100% all-natural chicken" •Negative outcomes include source derogation

comparative advertising enables a brand to compare itself to another on specific attributes. however it can result in a negative outcome. consumers may doubt credibility

The types of message appeals that we may use to communicate are listed in the slide. Whether to use emotion or rational argument depends on the situation. It may depend on the nature of the product and the relationship consumers have with the product. Sex appeals can be good for getting attention but also come with risks. Humor is also a good choice for gaining attention but one has to be careful that the humor does not overwhelm the primary message.

Fear appears emphasize the negative consequences that can occur unless the consumer changes a behavior or an attitude. Advertisers use literary elements to communicate benefits and meaning Allegory: story about an abstract concept personified in a fictional character Metaphor: two dissimilar objects in a close relationship ("A is B") Simile: compares two objects ("A is like B") Resonance: play on words with pictures

need to maintain consistency among all of our attitudinal components often motivates us to alter one or more of them. Our nature is to keep our attitudes and behaviors consistent. This is the basis for the principle of cognitive consistency.

Further, the theory of cognitive dissonance explains that when we do have inconsistent attitudes and behaviors, we will find some way to rectify the dissonance and bring our attitudes and behaviors back into consistency.

Source credibility refers to a communicator's expertise, objectivity, or trustworthiness. Disclaimers typically happen at the end of a commercial message that supply additional information the advertiser is required to provide. The Sleeper effect is when after a while, people appear to "forget" about the negative source and change their attitudes anyway. Native advertising refers to digital messages designed to blend into the editorial content of the publications in which they appear.

Knowledge bias implies that a source's knowledge about a topic is not accurate. Reporting bias occurs when a source has the required knowledge but we question his or her willingness to convey it accurately—as when a racket manufacturer pays a star tennis player to use its products exclusively. Source attractiveness refers to the social value recipients attribute to a communicator. Shared endorsements; users who follow or rate a product or service may find that their endorsements show up on the advertiser's page. Halo effect occurs when we assume that persons who rank high on one dimension excel on others as well.

New Message Formats

M-commerce - marketers promote goods and services via wireless devices. New social media platforms: •Blogs and video blogs •Podcasts •Twitter •Virtual worlds Widgets

•Advergaming refers to online games merged with interactive advertisements •Advertisers gain many benefits with advergames •Plinking is the act of embedding a product in a video

Many brands have used advergaming including Axe, Burger King, and Mini Cooper. The games keep the attention of players longer than typical advertising. They let marketers target specific types of consumers. Marketers can tailor the nature of the game and the products in it to the profiles of different users. The format gives advertisers a great deal of flexibility. Lastly, the games enable marketers to track exposure to advertising in the games.

The theory of trying states that we should replace the criterion of behavior in the reasoned action model with trying to reach a goal. As the figure shows, this perspective recognizes that additional factors might intervene between intent and performance.

Marketers try to persuade consumers and these persuasion attempts are based on basic psychological principles. There are six approaches to persuasion, as shown in the slide. Reciprocity means that we are more likely to give if we first receive. Scarcity means that people tend to find things that are not readily available more desirable. Authority means that we tend to believe authoritative sources. Consistency means that we try not to contradict what we've said before. Liking means that we will agree with those we like or admire. Consensus means that we will consider what others do before we decide what to do.

Social judgment theory also assumes that people assimilate new information about attitude objects in light of what they already know or feel. The initial attitude acts like a frame of reference, and we categorize new information in light of this standard.

People do differ in terms of what information they find acceptable. They form what is known as latitudes of acceptance and rejection around the attitude standard. Ideas that fall within the latitude are deemed favorable but others are not.

The standard learning hierarchy shown first assumes that a person approaches a product decision as a problem-solving process. She first forms beliefs based on knowledge, then evaluates the beliefs and forms feelings about the product. She then engages in relevant behavior.

The low-involvement hierarchy assumes the consumer initially does not have strong preferences for one brand over another and instead forms an evaluation only after she has bought the product. The experiential hierarchy of effects says we act on our emotional reactions.

The two-factor theory explains the fine line between familiarity and boredom. It proposes that separate psychological processes operate when we repeatedly show an ad to a viewer. The positive side of repetition is that it increases familiarity and reduces uncertainty about the product.

The negative side is that boredom increases with each exposure. At some point, the boredom is greater than the amount of reduced uncertainty and then wear-out begins. The figure depicts this relationship.

Attitude models identify specific components and combine them to predict a consumer's overall attitude toward a product or brand. This type of model assumes that a consumer's attitude toward an attitude object depends on the beliefs that she has about several of its attributes.

The three elements that make up multiattribute models are attributes, beliefs, and important weights. The attributes are used to evaluate the attitude object. The beliefs refer to the assessment of whether the brand has specific attributes. Importance weights reflect the relative priority of an attribute to the consumer.

To improve Fishbein's model a new version called the theory of reasoned action was developed. It contains several additions to the original to improve its ability to predict behavior. First, the theory of reasoned action aims to measure behavioral intentions. Second, it recognizes the power of other people to influence what we do.

Third, it measures attitude toward the act of buying rather than just attitude toward the product. This means that it considers the consequences of purchase. Even with these improvements, there are still obstacles to predicting behavior using the model.

There is another explanation to the theory of cognitive dissonance. Self-perception theory assumes that we observe our own behavior to determine just what our attitudes are. We infer the attitude from our behavior. This theory helps to explain the effectiveness of sales strategies such as the foot-in-the door technique. Such sales techniques are noted in the slide.

foot-in-the-door technique: consumer more likely to comply w request if they first agreed to comply w smaller request low-ball technique: person asked for small favor and is informed after agreeing to it that itll be costly door-in-the-face technique: person asekd to do something extreme and refuses then asked to do something smaller

3 hierarchies of effects zajonc's model:affect-behavior-cognition=attitude based on hedonic consumption

high involvement:cognition-affect-behavior=attitude based on cognitive info processing low involvement:cognition-behavior-affect=attitude based on behavioral learning processes

The communications model identifies several important components for marketers when they try to change consumers' attitudes toward products and services.

marketers traditionally rely on communications model. shows elements we must control in order to communicate w customers

characteristics of good and bad messages. positive effects-showing convenience of use, showing new prod/improved features casting background indirect comparision to other prods

negative effects-extensive info on componennets, ingredients, nutrition outdoor setting where mssg gets lost, large number of onscreen characters, graphic displays

Daniel Katz developed the functional theory of attitudes to explain how attitudes facilitate social behavior. This theory suggests that attitudes exist because they serve some function for the person. Two people can have an attitude toward some object for very different reasons.

utilitarian function:relates to rewards and punishments ego-defensive function:protect ourselves from external threats or internal feelings value-expressive function:expresses consumer's values/self-concept knowledge function:need for order,structure/meaning

new mssg formats

•Martyrdom effect •M-commerce •Transmedia storytelling •Reality engineering •Guerrilla marketing

There are so many decisions to make about how we say what it is that we want to say. The questions listed are some of the decisions marketers must make about messages.

•Should we use pictures or words? •How often should message be repeated? •Should it draw an explicit conclusion? •Should it show both sides of argument? •Should it explicitly compare product to competitors? •Should it arouse emotions? •Should it be concrete or based on imagery?