PBL 9

Media Messages.

Problem. How to translate an idea into a message?

Learning objectives.

1. What are insights and how to get them?

2. What is the process of translating an idea into a message?

3. How to influence the mind of consumers? (with a message)

1. What are insights and how to get them?

Some definitions of an insight:

- A new understanding, probably of human behaviour or attitude, as a result of which action may be taken and an enterprise more efficiently conducted

- Insight is an interpretation of observation. It requires a point of view on what already exists. You don't fish them out of focus groups, or ppt decks

- An Insight need not necessarily be an emotional one ... but it could very well be functional. It’s almost like digging deeper and deeper into the consumer’s response to anything, asking them why they say something, or why do they feel in a particular way, and how would they feel if it wasn't in a particular way, rather than stopping at the top most layer of what is said to you upfront.

- "Insight: A truth which until now has not been leveraged, but if leveraged will generate revenue." (Morgan Shorey that is Director of Business Development at Berlin Cameron United)

- "Why is a Good Insight Like a Refrigerator? Because the moment you look into it, a light comes on."

 Examples that might paint a picture of the role of insight as the driver of the idea

Google and YouTube 

When YouTube was first launched, it was designed as a video search engine – much the same as Google. It was an important insight that led them to change their strategy. Unlike Google, where users want to spend as little time as possible on the search engine and as much time as possible in the resulting pages, YouTube visitors are not searching for one particular thing. The like to get lost in the videos, almost randomly surfing from one video to another. YouTube now focuses on accuracy in delivering videos that you may find worthwhile once you’ve watched the video that’s in front of you. More time on site = more potential to earn advertising revenue. Simple. 

Nike - Just Do It 

Sportswear manufacturer Nike understood that sport is about succeeding, making your mark on the world, and overcoming challenges (from getting off the couch and into the gym, to shaving 0.002 seconds off your 100m sprint time). “Just do it” was born as a call to action, a call to be courageous, pick yourself off of the floor and get back in there. 

Source: http://www.quirk.biz/resources/article/4878/insights

Consumer insight: a revelatory breakthrough in your understanding of people’s lives that directs you to new ways in which to serve your customers better

How do you know when you’ve got one? A sign is that it will feel both surprising and obvious at the same time. Insights make you exclaim "Of course!" The revelation makes sense because it fits with what you already understand about human nature; yet there is something about it that is utterly fresh, to which you had been blinded by your, category-based, "curse of knowledge".

Pampers is a good example of that. What everyone "knew" was that the quality parents most sought from nappies was leak-free performance during activity – so that’s what all the innovation and communications rounded on.

Focus groups merely confirmed that prior "knowledge". When Pampers turned to ethnography, though, an "Of course!" moment was revealed. What counted for most in a home with a baby was sleep. Everyone craved it – and wetness was often the reason they didn’t get it.

So Pampers innovated nappies with extra "dry layers" for bedtime, and the entire brand strategy was shifted to the attainment of "Golden sleep".

This takes us to the second half of my definition: an insight should direct you to serving customers better. 

Source: http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/article/1193164/helen-edwards-true-meaning-customer-insight---why-marketers-treat-care

Consumer insights research gets under the skin and inside the consumer's head to find the "why" of a purchase, to understand what happened, and to project what could occur in the future. 

Consumer insights don't necessarily come from one focus group or customer survey. They are usually gathered through a combination of information-gathering activities and combined with an analysis that provides texture and meaning.

The insight behind “Real Beauty Sketches,” which was created out of Unilever’s global HQ in the U.K. with Ogilvy in Brazil, resulted from global studies that Dove has conducted over the years, says Sharon MacLeod, VP marketing at Unilever Canada.

Source: http://strategyonline.ca/2013/04/29/dove-sketches-real-beauty/

2. What is the process of translating an idea into a message?

-make a draft of your idea

-consult with co-workers or professionals

-take into account the customer needs/perceptions, attitudes

-think about competitors, already existing similar content

-take into account current market trends (colors, images, words, expressions

3. How to influence the mind of consumers? (with a message)

Most people believe that the choices they make result from a rational analysis of available alternatives. In reality, however, emotions greatly influence and, in many cases, even determine our decisions.

A brand is nothing more than a mental representation of a product in the consumer’s mind. If the representation consists only of the product’s attributes, features, and other information, there are no emotional links to influence consumer preference and action. The richer the emotional content of a brand’s mental representation, the more likely the consumer will be a loyal user.

Source: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/inside-the-consumer-mind/201302/how-emotions-influence-what-we-buy

Understanding consumer psychology is fundamentally about:

• Understanding how people make use of their time and money
• Where they focus their attention

Consumers generally make irrational decisions.  Humans rarely make choices in unconditional terms. Understanding this idea can hold great benefits for marketers in employing strategies in each of the four P’s of marketing — especially when it comes to PRICING strategy. Why particularly pricing? Because as consumers, we don’t have an internal value measure that tells us how much things are worth. Instead we focus on the comparative advantage of one thing over another and assess value accordingly.

Humans are always comparing. We compare our friends, jobs, relationships, and especially our POSSESSIONS (our cars, homes, wines, cell phones, etc.) Most of these possessions are branded. And for most brand-conscious consumers, the brand they choose is a reflection of who they are; their status, their personality, etc. Thus after making comparisons, consumers always want to feel good about their possessions by knowing that they have the thing with the higher value because that reflects high value in their sense of self. So how can we as marketers, leverage the comparative nature of humans to reinforce higher value in the mind of our consumer?

An easy way is by creating the expectancy of a higher future price. Like in the example with the gas prices. I figured that gas prices will go back up in a few days, therefore most people and I were more than happy to fill up gas as soon as possible.

Another way is by creating STRATEGIC ALTERNATIVES. These alternatives are placed beside the intended sell to serve as a subtle influence. There are two essential methods to employing the strategic alternatives strategy. The first is by presenting an extremely unattractive alternative and the second is by presenting an incredibly high priced alternative.

Remember when Apple came out with the iPod Touch? This was their pricing strategy:

16GB for $229, 32GB for $299, and 64GB for $399

The extra features are only available in the upgraded options (32GB & 64GB)

Which option would you choose? The majority of consumers would conclude that they attain the best value from the 32GB option. Some would buy the 16GB. Few would buy the 64GB.

The extra features on the upgrades makes the 16GB incredibly unattractive, especially when the next upgrade only has a $70 difference with double the storage capacity! The 64GB has no added features, but doubles the storage for $100 difference.

So the 16GB is unattractive and the 64GB is not ‘worth’ the value. This is the STRATEGIC ALTERNATIVE strategy in action. Which Ipod Touch do you think Apple was aiming to be its main sell?

Knowing these strategies can not only make you more strategic as a marketer, but more aware as a consumer.

Source: https://medium.com/marketing-psychology/how-to-influence-consumer-buying-decisions-6aa4d51a598f

Strategies to influence your market:

1. Perception

You can build a strong perception  through testimonials, social strategies, client references, and etc.  If you’re able to get people to talk about you then closing the deal with future clients will not be a problem. Their perception about you is already integrated into their mind.

2. Social Media

You have to stay persistent in this area as it will pay off. Having a strong subscriber base connected to your blog is invaluable. You are able to generate publicity a lot more effectively.  The result of this will increase your search engine rankings for certain keywords.

3. Social Advertising 

What’s great about social advertising is that you can expose your brand image. Social advertising is  an excellent source for branding and leads.

4. Media Buying

You can buy media banners off news sites. A great strategy to use in this area is press releases. For example, find a news site in your industry that is relevant to what you do. 

5. Press Releases

It's recommended to submit press releases in reference to anything valuable you’ve done. If you have a list of happy consumers on a new product submit a press release. Your press releases will be indexed in the search engines. Do you realize how many consumers research a brand online before buying or after talking to you.

6. Success Stories

If you’ve had certain success in business or with a product describe it. Better yet, why not collect success stories from clients or consumers. You could get a full report from a consumer or client detailing everything out. Make the success story more detailed and show proven results. This would most certainly create an influence factor in your consumer’s mind.

7. Leverage You Tube

One could create an array of different type of You Tube videos. Some of your videos could be humorous or controversial. On the other hand, you could have your consumer do reviews on your product.

Source: http://www.dewittsmedia.com/seo-blogs/dewitts-media/9-strategies-to-influence-your-consumers/

How Package Design Can Influence Your Subconscious Mind.

  

Lines, text, pictures, colors, shapes of packages.

Source: http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/how-package-designers-use-science-influence-your-subconscious-mind-158319

http://www.aef.com/on_campus/classroom/book_excerpts/data/1504


Longer lecture/definition of insights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iK68Wn_RS5Y