Lecture 6

Question 1

Define a group, and a reference group.

Explain some of the marketer-created reference groups.

Answer 1

Groups = two or more people who interact to accomplish individual/mutual goals

Reference groups = any person/group that serves as a point of comparison for an individual forming values, attitudes or behaviours

Marketer-created reference groups (MRG)

• Experts
• > Unique position to help consumers evaluate a product because of their occupation, training or experience
• > Perceived by consumers to be credible and trustworthy
• Celebrity endoresments
• > Assumption: when a celebrity endorses a produt, attributes associated with the celebrity transfer to the product
• Trade characters
• > quasi -celebrity endorsers that present an idealised and exclusive image that is under the complete control of the company
• > Provide product-related information and personality for the brand/product (eg. Louie the Fly, Red&Yellow M&M, Ronald McDonald)
• Common person appeals
• > Focus on ordinary people in everyday situations who are using/endorsing a particular product
• > Perceived by consumers as similar (non-aspirational), can model desired patterns of behaviour
• Third party accreditation
• > For a fee, accredit that a product/service meets certain minimum standards (Heart Foundation, Australian Organic Certified)
• > Provide consumers with some assurance that a claim being made by a brand has been externally verified

Question 2

Define a fear appeal and explain its components

Answer 2

= Fear arises from perceptions of threat, fear appeals should include a threat component (to elicit fear) and a response componenet (demonstrate how to reduce the threat)

• Threat component: severity (is threat serious) and susceptibility (could threat happen to me)
• Response component: response efficacy (does the suggested response work), self efficacy (can I perform the suggested response) and barriers to self-efficacy (what stops me doing the response)
• Potential for collateral damage (distress or stigmatise groups -> people with AIDS following early AIDs campaigns), may be counterproductive for those with low levels of self-efficacy (those who can’t afford to perform recommended response), evoke maladaptive responses (fatalism among smokers, stranger danger