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MM07

Consumer Behaviour

(For CNM Cases)

Assignment – I

  Assignment Code: 2016MM07A1                                                          Last Date of Submission: 30^th April 2016

                                                                                                                              Maximum Marks: 100

Attempt all the questions. All the questions are compulsory and carry equal marks.

                                                                         Section-A

1.         Changes in the country’s economy leads to changes in consumption process?  These economic changes may or may not influence the pre purchase, purchase and Post Purchase stages of consumer decision making.  Discuss with reference to Indian Economy.

2.         Assume that you are a consultant for a marketer who is facing the dent in profit margin due to increase in cost of raw material and other factors in manufacturing of a cosmetic product.  Based on your concept of perception, J N D, Schemas etc.  Give your suggestions and recommendations regarding package, color, design, symbolism so that marketer maintain and increase sales.

            Hint: You can use any current companies example to support your answer.

3.         a.         What   is the difference between an unconditioned stimulus and a conditioned stimulus? 

                        Support your answer with marketing examples.

            b.         Using popular song in the background to advertise a product is a good idea or a poor       idea, when you are looking for commercial success of product.  Discuss.                 (10+10)

4.         a.         What is consumer involvement?  How does this concept relate to motivation?

            b.         What are some strategies marketers can use to increase consumer involvement with      their product?                                                                                                           (10+10)

Section-B

Case Study

MP3 players are all the rage.  It’s no surprise then that the list of manufacturers that sell these pint-sized musical power houses continues to grow:  Microsoft, Creative Zen, Creative, Sony, iRiver… all have their own versions.  And yet Apple, with its line of ipods, continues to dominate this segment with 50 percent market share.

Why does Apple still run over the competition?  One could say that it is because the iPods are technologically superior.  And yet new players from other companies offer more features at lower prices.  Perhaps iPod’s commanding lead is due to greater flexibility and compatibility with online music services?  That’s not likely either, since devices form other companies are compatible with several online music stores, while the iPod only works with Apple’s iTunes Store.

The hysteria surrounding the iPod hints that the answer to this question perhaps isn’t so rational.  Whether they intended to or not, the folks at Apple created a product that has achieved cult status.  The Apple version of the MP3 player is instantly recognizable.  It sports a svelte design with rounded edges, circles as control buttons, and distinctive white ear bud headphones.  No one will mistake an iPod for some other brand.  Danika Cleary, a senior marketing manager for Apple, guesses that this artsy look and feel has propelled the iPod’s success.  She explains, “Users kind of cover it, in a way. We’ve seen people caress them.”

Caress them?  As though they are alive?  May be that explains why some people even dress their iPods.  Devoted users fit their tiny round music boxes with everything from socks and mohair slipcovers to “hoodie” sweatshirts and stick on tattoos.  It’s not just enough to have the product anymore.  Accessorizing the iPod has become a major trend fueled by a cottage industry of companies that make over 400 supporting products.  You can even buy iPod cases from Louis Vuitton for $265 – more than several iPod models cost.

From dressing an iPod in Louis Vuitton apparel, it may not be so big a step to believing that the device has its own tiny little mind.  Maybe that’s why some of us actually name out iPods.  That’s right, somewhere out there are iPods answering to “Steve,” “Jaime,” and “Gerald.”  One household with two units has named them “Bert” and “Ernie.”  “People attribute all sorts of personalities to their iPods”, says Clearly “I’ve heard many stories of people who think their iPod have certain preferences in music.”

If iPods have assumed these brand personalities, then we shouldn’t be surprised when they become part of social networks.  Pod-poaching (swapping iPods with friends, coworkers, and other acquaintances) has become quite popular.  This practice even occurs between total strangers (people call this “podjacking”).

Apple has indeed achieved something almost all brands can only aspire to,  It has a product with a brand image so strong that competitors find it almost impossible to gain ground.  But beyond that, Apple has achieved something it may have never anticipated.  The company created a product that has culture-shifting effects, which has changed the way we consume music.  And with Apple’s addition of the iPhone and iTouch to the iPod line, it may just end up changing the way that we do a lot of other things as well.

5.         Case Questions:

a.      Describe the brand personality of the iPod.  Compare this personality to other high-tech brands, such as Nokia cell phones.

b.      According to the information in this case, do iPod users seem to have a unique lifestyle?  Describe it.  Discuss the changes that iPod has had on the music-listening lifestyle in general.

(10+10)