the shift towards affirmation
TRANSCRIPT
The Shift from Aspirational to Affirmational Marketing
Aspirational Marketing
Affirmational Marketing
Factors Affecting Marketing
Consumer Research
Recommendations
Limitations
Conclusion
Agenda
What’s common here?
ASPIRATIONAL
Aspirational Marketing
Prompts you to become someone else
Promises success OR change in persona
Assume you are not there yet
A Fantasy ride
Aspirational Marketing
`88 Scott was designed for a certain kind of individual. Successful. Informed. Quintessentially Urban ………………. is the embodiment of personal success and style. Maybe it`s the time to let the world know that you have arrived`
Affirmational Marketing
Affirmational Marketing
Encourages people to embrace their own individuality
Celebrates personal success
Reinstates that individual & brand are tied through common values
You`ve arrived
Affirmational Marketing
“You sell”
Want to be unique
Self-esteem to narcissism
Technology advancement
Ego Boom
Consumer Behavior
Religion
Financial Status
Social Education
Culture
Gender
Marketing
Factors influencing Marketing
Is Affirmational Marketing against religious beliefs?
Religion
Rise of self-help books
Affirmation
Reassurance
Validation
PermissionEducation
Different generations
Baby Boomers Generation X Millenials
Idealists Hard-working Stressed
Self reliant Self focused Accept Diversity Reject Rules
Techno-wise Sophisticated Celebrate Diversity Re-write Rules
Generations
Illustration
Shift towards Affirmational
Coca Cola final message
India (2011)US (1990)
US (2011)
Coca Cola going GLOCAL
Cultural Implications
Hofstede Cultural Dimensions
Culture is playing an important role in establishing the shift in marketing
Greater the power distance, greater the sense of collectivism, greater is the shift towards aspirational marketing
As societies evolves marketing strategy needs to change
Social Status GenderCulture
Hypothesis needs to be tested
• Aspirational marketing versus affirmational marketing – the difference in perception according to
• Gender
• Age
• Nationality (culture)
• Level of religious beliefs and
• Education
• *Income
Hypothesis needs to be tested
Sample size – target 50, actual sample size 54 respondents
Gender :
Male : Female = 40.7% : 59.3 %
Age: 18-30 – 92.6 %
North America
33%
Europe22%
Asia35%
Latin America
6%
Africa4%
Nationality
Survey Time
Level of religious beliefs
Not religious or less religious than average 50.1 %
Cannot really tell about their level of religious beliefs 20.4 %
Religious or more religious than average 29.8 %
Gender factor does not affect customer preferences to large extent
Age group (18-30) is more receptive to affirmational marketing and less receptive or neutral to aspirational marketing
Affirmational: Higher rate of positive responses for North America
Aspirational: High preference rate for Asian customers
Level of religious beliefs does not affect customer preferences
Education Level (Bachelor’s/Master’s) by assumption broaden customer horizons to be open to innovation
Survey Findings
Age, income, education affect receptiveness to affirmational marketing
Culture but not religion as an influence
Range of consumer preferences within the same culture
Insights
Adopt mix of aspirational / affirmational marketing
• Extent of each depending on factors
Recommendations
Gender Religion Financial Status
Culture Social Education
Implementation
Customization
• “illusion of choice”
Customer-generated content
• Product features
• Brand
Democratic process leads to higher customer loyalty
#1: One way is not the way
LIMITATIONS
Nike “Real Women”
Nike “Make Yourself”
Limitations
#2: Customers decide what is affirmative
LIMITATIONS
Company
Customers
Customer’s did not perceive Tata Nano as an affirmation of their economic status
Limitations
Mattel, which stopped Body Shop’s real women campaign, is forced to introduce Bald Barbie
#3: Influence of Strategy depends on Customers
LIMITATIONSLimitations
Difficult to use affirmational marketing in TV industry
#4: It does not apply to every industry
Limitations
Affirmational marketing cannot be ranked on a black and white scale
It is a grey area where success depends on combination of several factors
• Determine influence of factors like Religion, Gender, Target Customer Generation, Culture, etc.
For a future marketing manager, it is necessary to Research Consumer Behaviour and use managerial judgement
Conclusion
Generational segmentation
GenerationsBirth Years
Approx. % of US population in 2010
Some characteristics
Marketing strategy
Baby Boomers 1943-1960
22-26% Idealists, stressed, hard-working
Aspirational
Generation X 1961-1981
12-18% Skeptical, better-educated, self-focused
Affirmational
Generation Y / Millennials
1982-2001
24-27% diverse, techno-wise, striving to get ahead, strong egos
Hybrid?
Appendix A
• Sample size – target 50, actual sample size 54 respondents
Survey
Appendix B
1. Do you consider different commercial campaigns in order to make a
decision whether to buy a product or not?
Yes/No
2. Please indicate on the scale from 1-7 the level of importance of the
TV commercial for you in decision making process for the final
purchase?
Important-not important
3. Do you agree with a statement “TV/Online commercials in general
are really powerful means of communication between a customer
and a company”?
Yes/no
Survey Questionnaire
Appendix C
Commercial #1• LINK• Please evaluate the first commercial on the scale
from 1-7 according to your preferences (Like-dislike)
• Based on your customer experience, please rank the following statements, according to your first impressions after watching the given commercial (agree-disagree)• Inspires to buy the product• Looks artificial • Reflects modern woman needs• Shows current trends in cosmetics marketing• Doesn’t show the real beauty of women• Doesn’t provoke any feelings
• Please, indicate the geographical region where this commercial would be successful in your opinion (more than one answer is possible)• North America• Europe• Asia• Latin America• Africa• Middle East
Commercial #2• LINK• Please evaluate the second commercial on the scale
from 1-7 according to your preferences• (Like-dislike)• Based on your customer experience, please evaluate the
following statements, according to your first impressions after watching the given commercial
(agree-disagree)• Inspires to buy the product• Looks artificial • Reflects modern woman needs• Shows current trends in cosmetics marketing• Doesn’t show the real beauty of women• Doesn’t provoke any feelings
• Please, indicate the geographical region where this commercial would be successful in your opinion (more than one answer is possible)• North America• Europe• Asia• Latin America• Africa• Middle East
Customer preferences to online commercials
Appendix D
• Gender
Male/Female
• Age
• 18-25
• 26-30
• 31-35
• 36-40
• 41-45
• 46-50
• More than 50
• Nationality (Please choose a region)
• North America
• Europe
• Asia
• Latin America
• Africa
• Middle East
• Please indicate on the following scale (from 1 – not religious at all to 7 – very religious) how do you consider yourself according to your religious beliefs
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
• Education
• High-school
• Bachelor degree
• Master’s
• PhD
Demographics
Based on our hypothesis assumption, we designed the survey with the following demographics testing in order to analyze the correlation between gender, age, nationality (culture), level of religious beliefs and education
Appendix E
Survey results - General questions
Appendix F
Customer preferences comparisonCommercial#1
Appendix G
Customer preferences comparisonCommercial #2
Appendix H