MKTG 310 Exam 2 Chapter 9 - Learning, Memory, and Product Positioning

pulsing

Any time it is important to produce widespread knowledge of the product rapidly, such as during a new-product introduction, frequent (close together) repetitions should be used. This is referred to as pulsing. Thus, political candidates frequently hold back a significant proportion of their media budgets until shortly before the election and then use a media blitz to ensure widespread knowledge of their desirable attributes. More long-range programs, such as store or brand image development, should use more widely spaced repetitions.

reinforcement

Anything that increases the likelihood that a given response will be repeated in the future

vicarious learning / modeling

It is not necessary for consumers to directly experience a reward or punishment to learn. Instead, they can observe the outcomes of others' behaviors and adjust their own accordingly. Similarly, they can use imagery to anticipate the outcome of various courses of action.

script

Memory of how an action sequence should occur, such as purchasing and drinking a soft drink to relieve thirst, is a special type of schema Scripts are necessary for consumers to shop effectively. One of the difficulties new forms of retailing have is teaching consumers the appropriate script for acquiring items in a new manner. This is the problem facing firms wanting to sell products via the Internet. Before these firms can succeed, their target markets must learn appropriate scripts for Internet shop- ping. Green marketing efforts relate in part to teaching consumers appropriate scripts for disposal that include recycling.

accessibility

The likelihood and ease with which information can be recalled from LTM

Analytical reasoning

The most complex form of cognitive learning

classical conditioning

The process of using an established relationship between one stimulus (music) and response (pleasant feelings) to bring about the learning of the same response (pleasant feelings) to a different stimulus (the brand)

product repositioning

a deliberate decision to significantly alter the way the market views a product. This could involve its level of performance, the feelings it evokes, the situations in which it should be used, or even who uses it Other recent repositioning efforts include the following: • H&R Block is moving from being a tax preparation specialist to "the accessible provider of financial services to Middle America." • Infiniti is attempting to move from a diffuse luxury car image to a "new brand image that is about performance." • Hyundai is attempting to move from a low-price image to one that is "refined and elegant."78 Repositioning can be very difficult and costly, requiring consumers to unlearn old associations and replace them with new ones.

analogical reasoning

an inference process that allows consumers to use an existing knowledge base to understand a new situation or object.

Learning

any change in the content or organization of long-term memory or behavior and is the result of information processing. In the previous chapter, we described information processing as a series of activities by which stimuli are perceived, transformed into information, and stored. The four activities in the series are: exposure attention interpretation memory

imagery

involves concrete sensory representations of ideas, feelings, and objects. It permits a direct recovery of aspects of past experiences.

shaping

process of encouraging partial responses leading to the final desired response (consume a free sample, buy at a discount, buy at full price)

long term memory (LTM)

that portion of total memory devoted to permanent information storage.

semantic memory

the basic knowledge and feelings an individual has about a concept. It represents the person's understanding of an object or event at its simplest level. At this level, a brand such as Acura might be categorized as "a luxury car."

explicit memory

the conscious recollection of an exposure event

Short term memory (STM)

working memory, is that portion of total memory that is currently activated or in use.

operant conditioning / instrumental learning

(or instrumental learning) involves rewarding desirable behaviors such as brand purchases with a positive outcome that serves to reinforce the behavior. The more often a response is reinforced, the more likely it will be repeated in the future as consumers learn that the response is associated with a positive outcome. • Direct mail or personal contact after a sale that congratulates the purchaser for making a wise purchase. • Giving extra reinforcement for purchasing a particular brand, such as rebates, toys in cereal boxes, or discount coupons. • Giving free product samples or introductory coupons to encourage product trial (shaping). • Making store interiors, shopping malls, or downtown areas pleasant places to shop (reinforcing) by providing entertainment, controlled temperature, exciting displays, and so forth.

Negative reinforcement

A negative reinforcement involves the removal or the avoidance of an unpleasant consequence. Vicks ads promise to relieve sinus pain and pressure. If they convince a consumer to try the sinus formula and it performs well, this consumer is likely to purchase and use it again in the future and, based on stimulus generalization, perhaps try other Vicks products as well.

Schema / schematic memory / knowledge structure

A pattern of such associations around a particular concept. Schematic memory is a complex web of associations. Brands in the schematic memory that come to mind (are recalled) for a specific problem or situation such as thirst are known as the evoked set.

positive reinforcement

A positive reinforcement is a pleasant or desired consequence. EX: A couple who likes Mexican food sees an ad for a new Chipotle Mexican Grill in their area and decides to try it. They enjoy the food, service, and atmosphere. They are now more likely to select the Chipo- tle Mexican Grill the next time they dine out.

retrieval failure

In cognitive learning, forgetting is often referred to as a retrieval failure because information that is available in LTM cannot be accessed, that is, retrieved from LTM into STM.

iconic rote learning

Learning a concept or the association between two or more concepts in the absence of conditioning. For example, one may see an ad that states "Ketoprofin is a headache remedy" and associate the new concept "ketoprofin" with the existing concept "headache remedy." Notice the distinction from conditioning in that there is neither an unconditioned stimulus (classical) nor a direct reward or reinforcement (operant) involved.

spillover (an effect)

Scandals don't always hurt just the scandalized brand but can damage competitors in that industry,

memory inference

Sometimes consumers have difficulty retrieving a specific piece of information because other related information in memory gets in the way. For example, seeing an ad for Canada Dry Ginger Ale might interfere with your memory of Mountain Dew. Competitive advertising makes it harder for consumers to recall any given advertisement and its contents. And even if they can recall the contents of a specific ad, they will often have a hard time associating that ad with a specific brand. As a consequence, competitive advertising can either reduce memory for the brand claims made in a specific advertisement or lead to brand-claim confusion across advertisements for competing brands.

Advertising wearout (an effect)

Too much repetition can cause consumers to actively shut out the message, evaluate it negatively, or disregard it,

product positioning

a decision by a marketer to try to achieve a defined brand image relative to competition within a market segment. That is, marketers decide that they want the members of a market segment to think and feel in a certain way about a brand relative to competing brands. The term product positioning is most commonly applied to decisions concerning brands, but it is also used to describe the same decisions for stores, companies, and product categories. Product positioning has a major impact on the long-term success of the brand, presuming the firm can create the desired position in the minds of consumers. A key issue in positioning relates to the need for brands to create product positions that differentiate them from competitors in ways that are meaningful to consumers. A brand that fails to differentiate itself from competitors (stimulus discrimination) will generally find it difficult to generate consumer interest and sales.

concepts

abstractions of reality that capture the meaning of an item in terms of other concepts. They are similar to a dictionary definition of a word.

Flashbulb memory

acute memory for the circumstances surrounding a surprising and novel event.8 Key aspects of flashbulb memories include the following: • They are vividly detailed and therefore highly enduring over time. • They contain specific situational detail about location, people, activities, and felt emotions. • They are held with a high degree of confidence. • They are perceived as special and different from memories of ordinary or mundane experiences.

cognitive learning

encompasses all the mental activities of humans as they work to solve problems or cope with situations. It involves learning ideas, concepts, attitudes, and facts that contribute to our ability to rea- son, solve problems, and learn relationships without direct experience or reinforcement. Cognitive learning can range from very simple information acquisition (as in iconic rote learning) to complex, creative problem solving (as in analytical reasoning). Three types of cognitive learning are important to marketers

Brand Leverage / family branding / brand extensions / umbrella branding

family branding, brand extensions, or umbrella branding, refers to marketers capitalizing on brand equity by using an existing brand name for new products. If done correctly, consumers will assign some of the characteristics of the existing brand to the new product carrying that name. Relatively recent brand extensions include Starbucks ice cream, Listerine breath strips, and Campbell's tomato juice. Examples of successful and unsuccessful brand extensions include the following: • Harley-Davidson has applied its name successfully to a wide variety of products, but its Harley-Davidson wine coolers were not successful. • Levi Strauss failed in its attempt to market Levi's tailored suits for men. • Country Time could not expand from lemonade to apple cider. • LifeSavers gum did not succeed. • Coleman successfully expanded from camping stoves and lanterns into a complete line of camping equipment. • Oil of Olay bar soap is successful in large part because of the equity of the Oil of Olay lotion.

Self-referencing

indicates that consumers are relating brand information to themselves. The "self" is a powerful memory schema, and integrating brand information into this schema enhances learning and memory. Self-referencing can be encouraged in ads by using nostalgia appeals, which encourage consumers to remember past personal experiences. It can also be encouraged by using language such as "you" and "your" (second-person pronoun).

perceptual mapping

offers marketing managers a useful technique for measuring and developing a product's position. Perceptual mapping takes consumers' perceptions of how similar various brands or products are to each other and relates these perceptions to product attributes. (Perceptual map for chocolate candy) Dimension 1: economical and common (Cow tails, kit cat, m&m, hersheys kisses, choxie, rolos,) Dimension 2: adventurous and fun vs. serious (godiva, ghiardelli) expensive and chic.

conditioning (classical and operating)

probably most appropriately described as a set of procedures that marketers can use to increase the chances that an association between two stimuli is formed or learned. The word conditioning has a negative connotation to many people and brings forth images of robot-like humans. However, the general procedure simply involves presenting two stimuli in close proximity so that eventually the two are perceived (consciously or unconsciously) to be related or associated. That is, consumers learn that the stimuli go (or do not go) together. There are two basic forms of conditioned learning: classical and operant. Classical conditioning attempts to create an association between a stimulus (e.g., brand name) and some response (e.g., behavior or feeling). Operant conditioning attempts to create an association between a response (e.g., buying a brand) and some outcome (e.g., satisfaction) that serves to reinforce the response.

stimulus generalization

rub-off effect, occurs when a response to one stimulus is elicited by a similar but distinct stimulus. Thus, a consumer who learns that Nabisco's Oreo cookies taste good and therefore assumes that the company's new Oreo Chocolate Cones will also taste good has engaged in stimulus generalization. Stimulus generalization is common and provides a major source of brand equity and opportunities for brand extensions.

low-involvement

the consumer has little or no motivation to process or learn the material. A consumer whose television program is interrupted by a commercial for a product he or she doesn't currently use or feel a desire for generally has little motivation to learn the material presented in the commercial. Much, if not most, consumer learning occurs in relatively low-involvement contexts.

high-involvement learning

the consumer is motivated to process or learn the material. For example, an individual reading PC Magazine prior to purchasing a computer is probably highly motivated to learn relevant material dealing with the various computer brands.

maintenance rehearsal (Studying)

the continual repetition of a piece of information in order to hold it in current memory for use in problem solving or transferal to LTM. EX: Repeating the same formula or definition several times before taking an exam is an example. Marketers frequently simulate this by repeating the brand name or a key benefit in a prominent manner several times in an ad.

Extinction

the desired response (e.g., pleasant feelings or brand purchase) decays or dies out if learning is not repeated and rein- forced.

episodic memory

the memory of a sequence of events in which a person participated. These personal memories of events such as a first date, graduation, or learning to drive can be quite strong. They often elicit imagery and feelings. Marketers frequently attempt to evoke episodic memories either because their brand was involved in them or to associate the positive feelings they generate with the brand. Flashbulb memories are a special type of episodic memory.

implicit memory

the non-conscious retrieval of previously encountered stimuli. It is a sense of familiarity, a feeling, or a set of beliefs about an item without conscious awareness of when and how they were acquired. An example of implicit memory relates to brand placements.

Punishment

the opposite of reinforcement. It is any consequence that decreases the likelihood that a given response will be repeated in the future. EX: If the couple who tried the Chipotle Mexican Grill described earlier thought that the service was bad or that the food was poorly prepared, they would be unlikely to patronize it in the future.

stimulus discrimination / differentiation

the process of learning to respond differently to similar but distinct stimuli. This process is critical for marketers who want consumers to perceive their brands as possessing unique and important features compared with other brands. For example, the management of Bayer aspirin feels that consumers should not see its aspirin as being the same as other brands. In order to obtain a premium price or a large market share, Bayer must teach consumers that its aspirin is distinct from other brands. Stimulus discrimination is an important consideration in brand image and product positioning,

brand image

the schematic memory of a brand. It contains the target market's interpretation of the product's attributes, benefits, usage situations, users, and manufacturer/ marketer characteristics. It is what people think of and feel when they hear or see a brand name. It is, in essence, the set of associations consumers have learned about the brand. Company image and store image are similar except that they apply to companies and stores rather than brands.

Elaborative activities

the use of previously stored experiences, values, attitudes, beliefs, and feelings to interpret and evaluate information in working memory as well as to add relevant previously stored information. Elaborative activities serve to redefine or add new elements to memory.

Brand Equity

the value consumers assign to a brand above and beyond the functional characteristics of the product. For example, many people pay a significant premium for Bayer aspirin relative to store brands of aspirin although they are chemically identical.