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Part Two Integrated Marketing Program Situation Analysis
Belch: Advertising and
Promotion, Sixth Edition
II. Integrated Marketing
Program Situation Analysis
4. Perspectives on
Consumer Behavior
© The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2003
specific brand attributes and attach different levels of importance to these attributes.
Using this approach, an attitude toward a particular brand can be represented as
n
B ∑ i
i=
1
A = B × E
i
where AB = attitude toward a brand
Bi = beliefs about the brand’s performance on attribute i
Ei = importance attached to attribute i
n = number of attributes considered
For example, a consumer may have beliefs (Bi) about various brands of toothpaste
on certain attributes. One brand may be perceived as having fluoride and thus preventing
cavities, tasting good, and helping control tartar buildup. Another brand may not
be perceived as having these attributes, but consumers may believe it performs well on
other attributes such as freshening breath and whitening teeth.
To predict attitudes, one must know how much importance consumers attach to
each of these attributes (Ei). For example, parents purchasing toothpaste for their children
may prefer a brand that performs well on cavity prevention, a preference that
leads to a more favorable attitude toward the first brand. Teenagers and young adults
may prefer a brand that freshens their breath and makes their teeth white and thus prefer
the second brand.
Consumers may hold a number of different beliefs about brands in any product or
service category. However, not all of these beliefs are activated in forming an attitude.
Beliefs concerning specific attributes or consequences that are activated and form the
basis of an attitude are referred to as salient beliefs. Marketers should identify and
understand these salient beliefs. They must also recognize that the saliency of beliefs
varies among different market segments, over time, and across different consumption
situations.
Attitude Change Strategies Multiattribute models help marketers understand
and diagnose the underlying basis of consumers’ attitudes. By understanding the
beliefs that underlie consumers’ evaluations of a brand and the importance of various
attributes or consequences, the marketer is better able to develop communication
strategies for creating, changing, or reinforcing brand attitudes. The multiattribute
model provides insight into several ways marketers can influence consumer attitudes,
including:
• Increasing or changing the strength or belief rating of a brand on an important
attribute (Southwest Airlines has the most on-time arrivals).
• Changing consumers’ perceptions of the importance or value of an attribute
(demonstrating safety in Mercedes’ ads).
• Adding a new attribute to the attitude formation process (American Airlines’
increased leg room).
• Changing perceptions of belief ratings for a competing brand (Volvo’s ads that
show Volvo as stylish).
The first strategy is commonly used by advertisers. They identify an attribute or
consequence that is important and remind consumers how well their brand performs
on this attribute. In situations where consumers do not perceive the marketer’s brand
as possessing an important attribute or the belief strength is low, advertising strategies
may be targeted at changing the belief rating. Even when belief strength is high, advertising
may be used to increase the rating of a brand on an important attribute. BMW’s
“The Ultimate Driving Machine” campaign is a good example of a strategy designed
to create a belief and reinforce it through advertising.
Marketers often attempt to influence consumer attitudes by changing the relative
importance of a particular attribute. This second strategy involves getting consumers
to attach more importance to the attribute in forming their attitude toward the brand.
Marketers using this strategy want to increase the importance of an attribute their particular
brand has.