Influencing Problem Recognition: Thai Life Insurance Commerical

In class last week, we discussed how marketers can influence problem recognition in consumers. Marketers do this by creating a dissatisfaction with how things currently are in the life of the consumer, and then motivating the consumer to do something to change it.

In class, we saw a video about the innovative Tesco/Homeplus subway shopping. I thought the video was very interesting in that the idea was extremely innovative and it really seemed efficient (and was efficient). We also discussed in class advertisements such as Fit Fruit & Vegetable Wash, "washing away what water alone can't". Both these advertisements address a need that we don't recognize that we have.

Here, I have a commercial that addresses a need that we DO have, but perhaps don't put as much importance on it. I actually saw this commercial along time ago, but I remember it because it had such a high impact on me. I think the ad is very effective in what it tries to do.

This Thai Life Insurance commercial emphasizes the need for time to spend with your loved ones, and the need for life insurance, which can really save the people you love in case of emergencies. The ad really plays on the emotions of the consumer and targets the fear within the consumer regarding "what-if" scenarios. The example is a bit different from what we've seen in class, but I think the marketers are definitely trying to create a dissatisfaction in the life of the consumer and influencing the problem recognition in consumers.

Product Placement

During class, we saw a part of the Britney Spears music video which featured many different brands and products in a more or less obvious way. In class we discussed that even if we don't remember exactly which product was shown in the video, it creates a lasting image in our implicit memory which causes us to identify the product and more likely select the product even though we don't really remember it.

In this post, I have included 2 examples of product placement, one of which is extremely obvious, and the other not so much.

The first one is this BudLight commercial, which makes it blatantly obvious that it is using product placement by even mentioning it in the very beginning. However, even though it is outrageous and almost annoyingly repeating the idea of product placement, I think it was still a very effective commercial. I think that viewers will recall a positive experience from watching this commercial and in turn have positive feelings towards BudLight the brand.

This second video is actually a Korean music video. The video is slightly explicit and I would only watch the first minute or so to understand the point.

What I thought was interesting about this was that there were two brands of beers featured in this MV: Budweiser and Heineken. I am kind of confused as to how both brands can be featured in the same music video. However, in the first minute or so, the images of the beers are visible in almost every scene. Most young adults who watch this MV are probably at KTV/noraebang and singing and dancing (in Asia) and when they see the beers, they will likely order the same drinks. Also, being a MV, it is meant to be watched more than once. I posted this video because the first time I saw this, I didn't really notice the brands of the beers, but the second time, I could not stop thinking about how much product placement the MV makers tried to include in the video.

Another product placement I noticed in this video was at 0:45. If you pause the video you will clearly see a box of Nature Valley's crunchy granola bar. This only appears in the MV once and it is very subtle, but I noticed it right away when I saw the video and I'm sure many other views did well. It was a very clever placement, which although subtle, seems to also be very effective in creating the implicit memeory.

Ultra Reality Commercial

Although this is not related to a particular topic we have discussed in class, I think this is a very interesting commercial. The commercial is very effective in getting its point across about the clarity and high level of quality that this new LG flatscreen TV is. The idea is honestly very simple and something that seems very obvious, but could not really done before.

What happens in this commercial is that an LG flatscreen is set up behind a window and displays a clear view of the outside. Then, suddenly, an outrageous disaster happens, and the effects of it are so realistic that the individual in the room reacts in horror.

Creative Packaging

http://www.demilked.com/creative-interesting-packaging-designs/

I found this article about really clever packaging that really grab consumer's attention. I know that if I saw some of these I would definitely take a minute to look at them more closely. The packaging doesn't actually affect the product at all, but for some of these (like matches), it makes an ordinary product that a consumer might not even want seem appealing. Also, products like the paint brushes and matches are the exact same product no matter what brand you buy, so the interesting packaging is a way to stand out from the competition. My favorites were the juice boxes and the tea bags!

Heinz Ketchup Commercial

I originally saw this commercial while at home watching TV during Spring Break, and I instantly thought of some of the topics we covered in this course. The most predominant one would be dual encoding; Heinz is using the "If You're Happy and You Know It" song in the form of a hum and hoping that consumers will associate it with their ketchup. I thought it was a great idea on their behalf, for not only is it extremely catchy, but also a song that many people are familiar with.

5 Fun experiments: Paid for sex, Paid to sleep, Free $100,000, Free Drugs, and Paid to eat.

Since all the CB groups are currently conducting their studies, I thought this article was quite relevant & very funny.

Link:  goo.gl/02e1kX

NASA* Bed Rest Study: If you could design your perfect job, what would it be? If you said, "Staying in bed all day, surfing the web and playing video games on a laptop," well, you're most people in our target demographic. You're also a couple of years too late.  In 2008, NASA was recruiting regular people using radio and TV ads for a 90-day study that involved earning $17,000 for doing little more than being confined to a bed (yes, you could play WoW if you wanted to). 

Harsh Reality: They wanted to see the effects of prolonged zero gravity on the body.  They found that after just a few weeks of constant bed rest, muscle atrophy set in, and bone density went down.  It then took weeks of physical therapy for people to get back in shape so they could perform their daily tasks.

Paid to Eat Study:  Back in the 1970s, researchers combined two cornerstones of American society, obesity and overcrowded prisons, into one fat-tastic study. A select group of prison inmates, hopefully the non-rapey kind, were offered early release on the grounds that they agreed to gain 25 percent of their body weight.  It doesn't get much better than that! Pack on a few extra pounds and before you know it you'll be home just in time to catch your best friend raising your kids and nailing your girlfriend!  

Harsh Reality:  Researchers were actually looking to see if there were genes that keep people from getting fat?  Well, they found out that some individuals were genetically disposed to make weight gain really really hard.  1/3 of the individuals studied could not gain weight even if they consumed 10,000 calories a day.

Sudden Wealth: what if some guys handed you $100,000, on the condition that they get to film what happens to you next? And what if you were living under a bridge at the time?

The crew of the documentary Reversal of Fortune planted a suitcase filled with 100 grand for homeless man Ted Rodrigue to find, and followed him around with a camera to document the results. Initially, Ted did exactly what the rest of us would do if someone gave us $100,000. He bought a new bicycle, picked up Mike from down at the local recycling plant and hit the fucking amusement park.

Harsh Reality: He couldn't manage his money and was back on the streets in 6 months.

World's Toughest Job

http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/24-people-who-applied-worlds-toughest-job-were-quite-surprise-157028

I thought this commercial was very interesting and sent a very powerful message. Viewers don't see the message until the very end and involves high level central route processing.

Problem recognition example

Note: please watch the video before reading the paragraph below
This ad is a great example how marketers influence problem recognition by reminding consumers about the problem: mom has been working hard all her life so you will become who you are today. At the end of the ad, they become the solution with just one simple reminder: "This mother's day, you might want to make her a card." "visit cardstore.com"

Changing Gender Roles

Over spring break I drove to Boston. On the way, I stopped for gas at a gas station that was connected to a McDonald's. I went into the men's bathroom in the McDonald's and the first thing I saw was this baby changing station on the wall. It reminded me of our lecture on differences between consumers and seemed to represent what we spoke about regarding changing gender roles. The baby changing station was a prominent feature in the men's bathroom which is a change in gender roles that we are seeing more and more lately. Seeing this also reminded me of the commercial we watched in class where a father is getting drive-through McDonald's for his family but doesn't want to stop the car because his baby is sleeping in the back seat. McDonald's seems to be both adopting to and pushing the idea of changing gender roles in their commercials and in their real life facilities.

Facebook Enlarges Advertisements on its Desktop Website

Facebook's stock has soared in response to advertisements hitting the social media site. Facebook desired more advertisers in order to increase their stock, thus their revenue. In order to profit, Facebook conducted experiments where the advertisement on the right side of the page was enlarged. The results - it worked! The study showed that larger ads have three times the usual number of clicks, likes, and shares. As a result, larger ads will appear across screens in the world in a month or so. 

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/04/09/facebook-enlarges-advertisements-on-its-desktop-website/

Pantene's Labels Against Women commercial

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOjNcZvwjxI

I first saw this commercial not too long after it came out. The video came to me again after learning about Attitude in class. The video is a great example of influencing affectively based attitudes under high effort processing. This high affective processing encourages the consumer to process the message holistically rather than analytically.  Specifically, in this ad, the consumers don’t analyze how good the quality of Pantene shampoo is, but the sense of confidence and the positive feelings associated with the shampoo that the viewers get from the ad. The message shows the issue of double standard and inequality in the society.  The positive message that Pantene gives the female audience makes the brand becomes more likable. The message is effective by forming strong attitudes because the argument is personally relevant, and about important attributes.

Gillette BODY Razor TV Commercial

While watching TV today I saw this commercial for a men's razor. The commercial used a hilly terrain as a metaphor for a man's body, something rugged and uneven as opposed to a paved road which is flat and without contours. To "tame" such a body requires a masculine tool like Gillette's BODY Razor which implies that this razor is a more masculine version than other razors. The commercial is below.

This ad was reminiscent of the Axe Detailer article and video in class. These campaigns aim to make "men's health and grooming" a more masculine chore/activity. Axe was able to make their product more masculine by relating it to a tire - something aggressive, masculine, functional, and cool. The inspiration came from the theme of car culture.

Gillette BODY Razor leaches off this idea by relating the body to the rugged terrain which should appeal to men and make personal grooming seem like a more manly activity.

Voluntary Attention via E-mail Exposure

In session 5 we learned about Exposure Attention and how to promote either Voluntary or Involuntary attention. In this post I will focus on Voluntary Attention, which involves a consumer paying attention to something selective. This action is more likely if the consumer intends to purchase something.

My example is an e-mail I received from Bodybuilding.com where I purchase health and fitness supplements. A few days ago they sent me an e-mail as pictured below.

An e-mail from Bodybuilding.com

The subject line of this e-mail is "Nathan, Are You Running Low On Cellucor - C4 Extreme?" This is effective because it asks a rhetorical question (one step to making a message personally relevant).

The question also connects with the consumer's needs and goals by increasing perceptual vigilance. Following this question is a heading that says "Muscles Can't Run on Empty" and a smaller subheading that says "Don't Let Your Supply Run Dry!". This reminded me of a habit we learned about earlier in the course where as we run out of an item or perishable good we consume it in smaller quantities.

Following the product advertisement are multiple pictures featuring the "ideal" body. Subscribers aspire to identify with the "characters" and situation.