Perception

In todays session, we discovered how perception is used in advertising to aim at different target markets. This may include the type of backing track used or the images used in the advert whether it is in a magazine or on television.

"Perception is the process of sensing, selecting and interpreting consumer stimuli in the external world." (Wilkie, 1994)

Perception is also a view about how we see the world around us and can be linked to stereotyping. A task we completed today invovled a page of paint colours taken from a painting guide. There were 4 four groups altogether, each with a different target market. In our group, we had to create a name for each of the different colours that would suit and appeal to our target market which was Retired - Well Off. We aimed our colour names at this market by thinking about activities people in this sector may participate in, inlcluding exotic holidays, trips to the theatre, gardening and dining. Some colours jumped out and we were able to create a name that fitted to the colour, but others, such as pale lilac, were more challenging. Other target markets included Young Urban Professionals and Children under 8 years. It was interesting to discover that with each category each colour had a different meaning and some colours were not suitable for a particular target market. For example, in the young children's category the section of very pale, neutral colours would not appeal to young children. In this instance, the category could be advertised so that it appeals to the parents rather than the child. Other colours aimed at this category were named specifically so that they would appeal to the younger generation. As an example, bright red could be changed to racing car red and pale pink could be named fairy dust pink.

Other tasks completed in this session included identifying book genres to the front cover of specific books. All the answers created were based on our perception that the images portrayed on the cover. Certain types of lighting or views in the illustration could lead to many possibilities of the what the book may be about. A picture that is very dark, with simple detailing could show that the book may be a thriller or mystery and be aimed at males, whereas a picture that is very bright and bold and has more complex detail could be aimed at females. Our last task was to make a connection between a piece of music and what advert it would fit with. Whether it would be Jewellery or perfume, a sports car or a food product. Features of the music that would help influence our decision could include the rhythm and beat of the music, the dynamics, instruments used, whether there are any lyrics and the general feel or ambience that the music gives you.

Understanding the Customer - Week 1

In today's lecture, we discovered how our first impressions of a person can influence the way we perceive them and their way of life to create a stereotypical image for that person. We also had the opportunity to study a number of possessions belonging to classmates, allowing us to create an image of a person, finding reasons why they initially bought the item and also what type of person we think would buy the specific item. For example, one of the items was a toy in the form of Beaker from the Disney programme 'The Muppet's'. In discussion, we decided that the owner of this item was most probably female, was unique and had her own style and is not afraid to voice her own opinions. She is also someone whose personality traits include being outgoing and fun-loving. Another part of todays lecture involved us creating, in the form of a mind map or a brainstorm about us as individuals, the possessions that mean the most to us and qualities that make us who we are and what make us unique. This gave us an opportunity to discover what we do as hobbies or jobs, how we perceive our personalities and things in our life that mean a great deal such as family and friends. In my opinion, the most challenging part of the session involved us thinking about other people's opinions of us and although challenging initially, it was very interesting to see how others' opinions either differed or in many cases were similar to how we personally perceive ourselves. In my experience, i always class myself as being quite shy and occassionally lacking in confidence whereas others would say that i am outgoing and very confident due to my background of competing in the equestrian sport of Eventing.

When thinking about our personal possessions and what they mean to us, we were able to link this to a theory created by Russell Belk. 'A key to understanding what possessions mean is recognising that, knowingly or unknowingly, intentionally or unintentionally, we regard our possessions as part or ourselves.' (Possessions and the Extended Self - Journal of Consumer Research 15 Russell Belk (1988))

Although i have never thought about doing a blog before, i feel it is a great way to record the information we learn in our lectures. It means that we can always refer to it for future knowledge. It is also very informative in the way that others can refer to each individual blog and also make comments and allow us to view and comment on other blogs.