Parting is such sweet sorrow...

Yes and that is it lovley, lovely readers. Our special relationship of teaching, learning, blogging and reading has run its course and come to its end. We've had some good times..."Marketing to Children" and "Groups", we've also had some bad..."Generational Marketing" and "Enterprise Week" but despite the late nights, Facebook slating and general reluctance to blog as I go; I must say overall it has been an enjoyable experience.

I've learnt that if you're writting about topics you can really get passionate about then it writes itself! It's the topics that you find had to be enthusiastic about that demand the time that is hard to give. For that reason, to anyone who has just started bloggingin their 1st year...just listen to Ruth and do the bloody blogs. The last week or so has been the most stressful and tiring one yet all due to me taking an instant dislike to blogs. They're not so bad. I might even start a new one for next year just to log things I've learnt. - Yes you were right Ruth, I can see the huge grin on your face...stop it.

The benefits are that the posts have forced me to carry the learning on and not just leave the information in the seminar room, learn the basics, reading the chapters, having a deeper understanding of the subject and applying the theory to examples of pictures, videos and scenarios.

Well enough now, Im packing up, Im logging off and Im taking Solomon with me.

Cheerio oh, fairwell, ta ta for now, so long, god speed, adios, arrivaderche, peace out, this is the final curtain, goodbye!

We are Fa-mi-ly!

For the best part of this blog; I ask you please to image the narration to be read by the most wonderful man on earth, David Attenborough. Thank you.

We have come to the great jungle of the ordinary British households to observe and more importantly, understand, these intriguing groups we call “Families”.
There are many, many species of family, none of which are ever the same if you are brave enough, to ever get close enough. The most commonly known species of family is the NUCLEAR FAMILY; most recognisable for its market portrayal of the “perfect” 2 by 4 family depicted on cereal boxes. This species is made up of a specific grouping; one mother, one father and two children, a boy and girl.

Moving onto the EXTENDED FAMILIES, these large packs of people are split into two different species; HORIZONTALLY and VERTICALLY. Those marvellous creatures in the VERTICALLY EXTENDED FAMILIES are recognised with the household including not only the nuclear members, but also an added generation where the grandparents are cohabiting with the pack. HORIZONTALLY EXTENDED FAMILIES differ in the fact that the pack is strong in numbers due to aunts, uncles, cousins also included within the household. With so many members within a confined space, it is only natural, for boasting of power and often authorities being challenged.

The RECONSTITUTED or STEP FAMILY as it is better known, is joined not through blood as other packs are traditionally formed, but through the act of marriage. With one parent not in the position through birth, often the young are challenging but authority is accepted through the understanding of respect. Gifts are often handed to the young from the new pack member to display an act of kindness that will hopefully lead to acceptance. It is important to remember when observing this family type that is increasingly common nowadays due to the divorce rate booming in the 70’s, that the child often is a part of 2 step families, and time is then split between the two packs.

Here we see another increasing type of family within the UK; it is the SINGLE PARENT FAMILY. One which used to hold such stigma now is quite normal amongst the other species. It is distinctly different from the other packs due to having only one parent and authority role over the young.

Families go through different stages of a life cycle, no matter what the species, and let’s find some examples within the British Shopping Mall:

Here in the depths of House of Fraser we see the NEWLY WEDS, 2 people embarking on the first few months of their family life together, no young as yet so most of their money is being spent on furniture and photo frames. This ritual is known as “nesting”. As marketers, adverts as such are best to attract the attention of such calm creatures:

Peering through the brightly decorated store of Mother Care, we can just about see FULL NEST 1, a family stage where you often see a lot of baby blues and baby pinks. The young are newly arrived and bank accounts are feeling the burn, often one parent must stay with its young for a few months before earning again. Adverts portraying the welfare of the new arrivals are the best source for any marketers chance of making contact with such families.

FULL NEST 2 is often heard before they are seen. The young are old enough to put their demands on the family income and make sure it is heard. Here we see them, a restless, excitable group in Toy’s R Us. It is typical to see the parents looking so tired and irritated as their young have been possessed by the forces of marketing pester power.

A calmer family stage is the FULL NEST 3. Although the group seems to be fragmented; we see parents in M&S, one of the young, now semi-independent can be found in HMV whilst another is with peers spending their own low income in Primark. Although the young are more independent and sometimes earning their own income, the financial pressure on the parents has not loosened much. At this stage of the family life cycle, it is recommended that marketers, target each pack member individually as they are separated from the rest to maximise efficiency.

A fantastic stage for marketers to target is the EMPTY NEST 1 family. The young have fled to start their own cycle and left the parents bank accounts alone. With more time, being within the peak of careers and much disposable income, we find these types often dwelling within travel agencies looking at luxurious and peaceful breaks away.

Now the last of the cycle, typically spending time and money in places such as M&S, the Post office and other department stores. Some are retired and with good financial savings, some feeling the change of lowered income. A lot of spare time and often find enjoyment in spending money on their grandchildren. It’s important for marketers to remember we have to move away from the “Worthers original days” to targeting these types with more wit and less patronisation. Coke did it very well:

So as we depart from the world of families within the UK it is important to remember that these groups are constantly changing and developing within their own family circle. Other things for marketers to keep an eye on is the constant changing environment of society and how theat has an influence on the dynamics of families and therefor their buyer behaviour. Remember that years ago it was normal for women to stay at home but now, most women are in high paying high pressure jobs. Divorce is incredibly common compared to generations ago, and their is a rise of same sex parents. Prepare new strategies to keep up with the ever evolving world of the British Families.

Values

We have all chucked around the word “values” but when you try and explain the meaning to a newly landed alien, I challenge you to not struggle on your words. Even Solomon’s definition is slightly babbling; “a value can be defined as a belief about some desirable end-state that transcends specific situations and guides selection of behaviour.” Now I don’t know about that alien, but Solomon doesn’t leave me comfortable and happy in the newly possessed definition of “values”. So I’ll do my best in this posting to create a decent picture... Certain values such as good health and peace on earth are universal; but every culture’s values are different just as they differ from person to person. In the case of culture, these are known as CORE VALUES and are taught and bestowed upon its societies.

Cultural Differences of Values
The “rankings” of these cultural core values are known as their VALUE SYSTEM. Below are some examples of how different cultures rank three core values:

• A sense of belonging: Germany 28.6%, USA 7.9% France 1.7% and Japan 2.3%
• Fun and enjoyment in life: Germany 10.1%, USA 4.5%, France 16.6% and Japan 7.5%
• Warm relationships with others: Germany 7.9%, USA 16.2%, France 17.7% and Japan 27.6%

So my little extraterrestrial friends, these differences would conclude that Germans just want to be liked; France likes the spice of life and Japan likes to be on good terms with everyone. When learning the beliefs and behaviours of your own culture is called ENCULTURATION and in contrast, and a great use to global marketers, (and visiting aliens), the learning of other cultures value systems is called ACCULTRATION. One company that expressed this well through “world’s local bank” campaigns was HSBC:

Life Experience

So we learn inherit our values through culture but there is another way; through our own life experiences. Life events have an impact on the values we keep ourselves, for example someone of my age living through the 9/11 attacks would influence the concern for security. Living through recessions would impact the values concerning money and financial stability. For those who are older and lived through the swinging 60’s, values may lie more in life philosophy and the wellbeing of others. Then form here you can also look at people’s personal experiences. Something such as experiencing a loved one through smoking might impact someone’s values on self-respect and health.

The Ladder Effect

This is where our purchases are motivated by our desired end-state, aka, values. The best way to demonstrate this is through the really annoying game your younger brother/sister plays by constantly polluting your ears with the words “WHY?” Bear with me.

You have bought a new car..why?

Because you wanted a hybrid..why a hybrid?

Because hybrids produce less harmful pollution...why is this important to you?

Because you want to do your part in preserving the environment. This is your end-state; your ultimate value of accomplishing something is the drive to buy a hybrid car.

Marketers go for your Achilles Heel

Yes it’s true, Marketers, the cleaver little masterminds have yet again figured out a way to use and abuse and the exploit further your Achilles heels (concerns and values). For example when marketers look at awkward unsure teenagers they see their main concerns are with the end state of warm relations with others and in particular that boy or girl they really, really fancy. How have marketers used this to their profitable advantage? Well you only have to buy wrigleys extra chewing gum of course!..

Women troubles? Buy Lynx Chocolate Deodorant...

Haven't got many friends? well Jacobs Creek can help you out, how many online friends did he say he had? Quick grab me a glass!...

And what about that new job you're worried about Mr Gordon Brown? Ah, I see you've taken advice from "Just for men" and gone for a "touch of grey", will it work?

Well who the heck said that money can’t buy you happiness? According to all of these marketers have just promised you friends, a girlfriend and a new job providing financial security!

Feeling slightly embarrassed that this strategy of exploiting your values in such an obvious way works? You should be. You see when you show a marketer your desired end-state, all they see is a Unique Selling point a market position.

But it wasn’t always like this.

Well no, our values weren’t always the same; look back at the 1950’s where American High Schools would have good housekeeping taught in textbooks. A perfect example of a cultures core values being bestowed through education to its society. A women’s’ values were to be concerning the happiness of her husband, the cleanliness of her house and the taking care of her children. Need to know more? Well here are the top 10 tips to be the sickeningly perfect housewife in the 1950’s...yes guys 1950’s, ask any woman today to follow this way of life and life won’t be worth living:

1. Have dinner ready: Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal on time.

This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him, and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospects of a good meal are part of the warm welcome needed.

2. Prepare yourself: Take 15 minutes to rest so you will be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh looking.
He has just been with a lot of work- weary people. Be a little gay and a little more interesting. His boring day may need a lift.

3. Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives, gathering up school books, toys, paper, etc. Then run a dust cloth over the tables.
Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift, too.

4. Prepare the children: Take a few minutes to wash the children's hands and faces if they are small, comb their hair, and if necessary, change their clothes.
They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part.

5. Minimize the noise: At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of washer, dryer, dishwasher or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet.
Be happy to see him. Greet him with a warm smile and be glad to see him.

6. Things to avoid: Don't greet him with problems or complaints. Don't complain if he's late for dinner.
Count this as minor compared with what he might have gone through that day.

7. Make him comfortable: Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or suggest he lie down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him. Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes.
Speak in a low, soft, soothing and pleasant voice. Allow him to relax and unwind.

8. Listen to him: You may have a dozen things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first.

9. Make the evening his: Never complain if he does not take you out to dinner or to other places of entertainment; instead, try to understand his world of strain and pressure, his need to be home and relax.

10. The goal: Try to make your home a place of peace and order where your husband can relax.

Groups - are you in the click?

You want to make a group eh? Well follow this easy recipe and you will be well on your way to a life of conformity and stereotype judgement!

First of all this needs MORE THAN TWO people, so grab one more than a couple but remember the more the merrier.

Isolate your chosen people from the one you haven’t chosen to avoid contamination. Mix in some SHARED NORMS ensuring no person is left out.

Pour in a generous amount of ROLE RELATIONSHIPS. It is important your people are marinated with the understanding of their particular role and how it is played within this group recipe. We can’t have a group made up purely of leaders, it’s like a vegetable soup made only of carrots.

Once fully marinated, place in the oven for a period of time to ensure the mix EXPERIENCES INTERDEPENDANT BEHAVIOURS. Nothing works better in a group than when all persons behave similarly and bounce off each other.

Finally remove from the oven, you can tell when the group is ready when you can see the INFLUENCE OF BEHAVIOUR AND WHAT IS LEARNT through each person. If so then voila! You have your group; name as you see fit.

Serving suggestions include dress code, colloquial language possibly a side of ritual activities.

Warning: Some groups may contain nuts.

Stuck for ideas of which groups to make? Well we have some perfected types that you can try:
· Ascribed: a group that you are born into such as your family and gender.
Unfortunately this is a recipe that only God can create, find another.

· Reference: a group you look to for lifestyle, such as neighbours or colleagues.
Recipe that’s great for everyday use.

· Acquired: a group that is joint or moved into, such as work or education.
This recipe is particularly good for developing behaviours.

· Aspirational: A group that you would like to belong to, such as celebrities.
Once made, this recipe can have strong effects n brands and purchasing behaviour.

· Dissociative: A group that you don’t want to be a part of such as Chavs.
Again this recipe may determine what you DON’T buy in fear of being associated with such a group.

· Contrived: a group that is made for a specific reason such as unions or karate class.
This is a recipe for fat free influence on your lifestyle/behaviours/purchasing.

· Associative: a group that you realistically belong to. Don’t kid yourself with this one.
A fair bit of influence on the products bought here, seems to be a recipe used to show off and get reassurance.

· Peer: a group where people are of equal standing of yourself.
This is a recipe especially influential on your behaviours; make sure you pick the right one!

Description of the Peer Group; Chav’s.
A ripe group which many would class as dissociative and those within normally are disillusioned that they are in fact an ingredient to this concoction. Marinated in anti social behaviours such as “music being played out loud on public transport”; this recipe may course allergic reaction to majority of society. Full of colloquial language such as “init cuz” and gone off attitudes to authority. Dress with fake Burberry, peak caps and plenty of oversized impression gold jewellery. Best served smoking on a park bench with cheap cider.

Out of the kitchen and into the classroom. Why do we have groups? According to Maslow and his hierarchy of need; it is vital for human beings to “belong”. This is due to us being social animals; we need unconditional social regard. This is how children learn through conditional positive regard; the knowing of what is right and wrong behaviour. This sense of need for belonging is used and abused by marketers in their campaigns. Aren’t we mean!?

This is what leads to the uber uncool evil entrapment of CONFORMITY.

This above video shows clearly how easy it is for people to accept the conditions of behaviour that a group of people can influence on others. But what is it that make these push over’s reject their individuality? It’s the pressure of group power. This emphasises on the importance of membership (because if you don’t like have the brand new super cool designer in your wardrobe then you are like, so totally not cool.) This leads to the fear of negative sanctions, (Oh no if I don’t get that new designer in my wardrobe they’re right, I will be so totally like uncool and then they won’t like me and then they won’t hang out with me, and then like that guy who I see with them a lot won’t ask me out, and then my life will be over!!!!!!) Alternatively, if you go with someone else’s flow, then you achieve a degree of support from the “cool” people and that girl who once looked down on you, might just help you get asked out by that guy who never knew your name before. Who knew that spending £670 on a handbag could lead to happily ever after?

Now form the classroom to the market board room.
For those who crave to take the inside track to popularity, marketers have victimised them for their susceptibility and made uncountable amounts of profit because of it. According to Solomon, Marketers have a good ride here since those who want to conform do so in buying the products that they are made aware of, and those who are anti-conformity create a paradox since “in order to be vigilant about not doing what is expected, one must always be aware of what is expected.” You have your conformers purchasing and your anti-conformers aware of the purchasing. Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner! Wait do you hear that? It’s the sound of thousands of anti-conformist kids crying into the sleeves if their Che Guevara hoodies...in unison.

Marketer’s have used this in pretty much every campaign in some way, such as aspirational groups, making it seem achievable through the purchasing of a specific product or buying into a brand:

In history though, the exclusive popularity of a brand or product has worked against it, and hijacked the image turning it into something completely different which can destroy the reputation that marketers have worked so hard to keep. The most obvious being Chav’s and Pikey’s holding the designer “Burberry” hostage – not THE Thomas Burberry, just his plaid pattern. This once upper class, classy and respected image is not iconic to the garish, yobbish, classless group of chav’s and pikey’s. I don’t think he’d mind too much but the fact is they don’t even buy the real thing, it’s the cheap imitations. Burberry has since then had to carry over a crises campaign to regain the reputation that has been tarnished, through the minimalist use of said plaid pattern in new designs.

Good Luck Tom

Segment, Target and Position

Segmenting

So you’re a marketer? You have a product? What’s your market? – the market as a whole is huge, and different markets have different customers included in it, but even then to successfully push your product you need to know specific details about the customers in the market and decide which of them you are aiming for. Solomon states that “effective market segmentation delineates segments whose members are similar to one another in one or more characteristics and different from members of other segments.”

Market Segments include:
• Demographic
- Age/Gender/Social Class/Occupation/Income/Ethnic Group/Religion/Stage in life
• Geographic
- Region/Country differences
• Psychographic
- Self-concept/personality/lifestyle
• Behavioural

-Brand Loyalty/extent of usage/usage situation/benefits desired
Solomon also states that the segmentation process is only valid when the following points are met:

- “Consumers within the segment are similar to one another in terms of product needs, and these needs are different from consumers in other segments.
- Important differences among segments can be identified.
- The segment is large enough to be profitable.
- Consumers in the segment can be reached by an appropriate marketing mix.
- The consumers in the segment will respond in the desired way to the marketing mix designed for them.”

Targeting

So once you have segmented the market, you can then think of which segment is best for you to target, no use in targeting those in central London is the company you’re marketing for only delivers to local Kent areas. To reach your targeted group, you need a strategy and these may vary depending on context; who, what, etc...
If there is one specific segment, you might then use one marketing mix to perform as best as possible to that particular group. If there’s many target groups you may decide to use more of the media mix to increase your success, E Marketing is great for you and me who spends countless hours logged online, but if the same product can be aimed at your Nan, the marketers emphasis may be more on the sales promotion attached to it and sent through the post due to her understanding of Facebook is something like this:

Positioning

Market segmented? Check. Target your particular segments? Check...now positioning:
This is VITAL!!! Put yourself in the market at too high a price...there’s going to be no one consuming. Put yourself too low, the consumer may have no trust in your quality. It’s all a balancing act. If you’re marketing a new product with a new company then DON’T challenge the big boys...

Social Class and Purchase

The good old words of Solomon would say that SOCIAL CLASS is someone’s standing in society and is “determined by a complex set of variables, including income, family background and occupation.”

Personally I feel that description is too “neat” and “final” for the reality of the discussion of “what is social class?” First of all you have to take into consideration what culture we are looking at. Social status is very different around the world. For example, in some Asian countries your social status is considered to be very high if you are a larger person? So what about here in the UK? (Before we start, I don’t think weight has any relation to social class in our country; put down that mars bar.)

Let’s brainstorm what we would believe is a variable of someone’s social class:

· Geographical – Chelsea Vs Croydon
· Dress – Jimmy Choo Vs Pineapple
· Where someone goes to socialise – Spa’s Vs Park Bench
· Education – Eaton Vs Community College
· Money they earn - £500,000 p/y Vs Unemployed/Benefit system
· Occupation – Surgeon Vs Road Sweeper

Krech, Crutchfield and Balladey (2000) state that “Social Class is a division of society made up of persons possessing certain common social characteristics which are taken to qualify them for intimate equal status relations with one another and which restrict their interaction with members of other social class”- This PERFECTLY literates the tone of the previous video by Cleese, Barker and Corbitt.

Thinking about it, it all comes down to the divisions of society, the “rungs” on a ladder that separate the population in a hierarchical manner. If you look at the examples I’ve used, the common denominator seems to be money. Keep this thought on the back burner as we move on...

Here are the factual socio-economical class categories:
A – Upper Middle Class (Heritage)
B – Middle Class (Exam based professions) - Doctors
C1 – Lower Middle (Office Job Careers) - Managers
C2 - Skilled Working Class (Skilled hands on job) - Plumbers
D – Working Class (unskilled jobs) – Till Clerk
E – Lower (Contributes nothing into society) – OAP’s/Students/Unemployed/Homeless

We’ll I’m going to be honest I’m not too happy with being pigeon holed with bums...sleeping into the afternoon, constantly drunk, no job, living on the taxes of others...swings and roundabouts. As a Facebook group beautifully articulates: Being a student is like being on the doll but your parents are proud of you.

In comparison in India the Social Class System goes as:

Brahmins – (Priests and Teachers)
Ksatriyas – (warriors and Rulers)
Vaisyas – (Farmers and Merchants)
Sudras – (Labourers)
Untouchables – (Polluted labourers)

On second thought I’d rather be a “social class group E” than considered a polluted labourer.

And just for fun, but still in a relevant way, the Animal Kingdom:

A – Swan (Literal Royalty)
B – Eagle (Not quite loyalty, but still has its face on a lot of emblems)
C1 – Hawk (does just as good as an Eagle, but just not as cool)
C2 – Chicken (provides us with that epic staple food AND KFC)
D – Pigeon (doesn’t do anything impressive but they’re part of daily life)
E – Do Do (Epic Fail of Life)

So there are the categories for Social Class, but can we change our social status? Well I guess if you’re born into a C2 Lower Middle Class Family, get the scholarship to go to a decent private school, get to University and land a sweet paying medical job...CONGRATULATIONS you just upped the levels from C2 to B and all in the space of 25 years! So is it money that ultimately determines your class? Well if you look at someone like Katie Price who not many would say is full of class; her huge... bank account that leads to her Porche and wardrobes of D&G, Gucci and Prada would put her automatically in high social class ranks.

Does our Social Class determine who we are? Or do we determine our Social Class?

I could go on and on and round and round like a contradicting schizophrenic , debating whether class is a simple category you are born into, if you can change it with money, or if someone can have a different social class status attached to each variable. But instead I’ll exchange the philosophy for some marketing.
So Mr Mark Eter, (Mark-eter...get it?), with great knowledge comes great power; what can you do with this knowledge of social class?

· People recognise that classes are associated with certain items. Eg. Expensive designer clothes for those higher in the “ranks” – these are called status props; if someone has this prop, we assume they are connected to the class. For marketers this is great; make your product a social prop, those in the class have to have it to be in keep, and those who ASPIRE to be in the higher classes may save up for it.

- Things such as Channel Lipstick show your social class, due to their symbolic “pull out at any old time” nature. People see it in use. Its considered a moderate purchase item as its around £17.00. For a lippy its expensive BUT everyone can afford £17.00 and therefore the social prop.

- Fridge’s are non symbolic as no one really sees or judges you on where you store your milk. It is on the other hand an expensive purchase item denting your purse at about £200 - £2000. These items are those that decipher your income.

- Income and Social Class together are determined by, yes you guessed it BOTH, symbolic and expensive items. Such as my beloved Audi R8 V10 (pause for dramatic effect and to wipe the drool form around ones mouth.)

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm

So as a marketer if you can attach the correct social status denotation and connotation to your product, bob is your dad’s brother.For example this next video advertisement shows a product aimed at a specific social class of C2 with the workers on screen: (couldn't find a more blaitently obvious video if i tried!)

This might all sound quite easy and straight forward but alas, due to the changes of society, more people in higher paying jobs, people working later into life, a rise in incomes, better educational systems and the ever growing world of the working woman...the neat little step ladder triangle, has been moulded:

Because of all the above variables, the system has been fragmented and developed to this place where we have much more people in working and lower class, very littel in upper, but many in the segments of middle class. It is becuase of this increase of the middle classes that politicians shift their focus to gain votes. It also begs the question that with so many fragments, are we not now in a classless society? Simon Hattenstone from The Guardian has written a report on such a topic in relation to the present General Elections, a part of his report looking at a very Labour area says: "Why are so many people voting Labour here? "Because we're workers. And they look after people. I live with a disabled bloke and you get looked after." What about Cameron? "Oh yes! He went to Eton, didn't he. Ordinary working person, aren't I? Could do with more money on the pension though."

A very interesting and relevant artical that can be read in full here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/apr/14/general-election-social-class-salford

Memory and Nostalgia

Remember that? and aaahh the good old days...

Memory; think of your mind as a computer where when things happen and they go into this computer as inputted data and stored in a file somewhere at the back of your head. Now when this event happened your mind may have also stored certain details such as smells, tastes, songs, items of clothing etc. These extra details may then in the future act as triggers to restore this memory file.

External Input - Encoding of Information - Storing and Reataining Information - Retreaval when needed.

These memories that are related to events are called episodic memories according to Solomon as they have personal relevance to that person. Eg choosing a wedding song to remind a couple of their wedding day will trigger memories and feelings that someone else would not have as they do not share this experience linked to the song.

There are different types of memory, long term, short term and Sensory. In our minds (computers) we have a limited amount of “storage” for Short-Term Memory and the duration is only about 20 seconds before it is disposed of. Long-Term Memory however lasts for long or a permanent duration and the mind has an unlimited “storage” space for it. Sensory memory however has a high capacity of temporary storage with the duration of lasting only a second or so.

The way you turn sensory memory into Short-Term is through Attention, if it catches the attention it is then transformed. Then, Short-Term memory into long-term memory is by Elaborate Rehearsal, certain Short-Term memory will be deeply processed with its meaning considered and then it is automatically transferred into the storage of Long-Term memory.

So basically, something happens, if it grabs your attention it goes into short term memory, if you consider it, it is then stored in long term memory. Something can either stay in your mind for 1 second or permanently. How strange is that?! For marketers this is important, the first must figure out a way to grab the attention of its consumers and then make them think about it for it to even be remembered and therefore follow through with a purchase.

Now an outcome of certain long-term memories can be Nostalgia; an emotion where you look back in fond memory of something but also feel a sense of sadness that you can’t experience it in real time once again. The science of it goes: “a stimulus at times is at times able to evoke a weakened response much later, an effect known as spontaneous recovery, and this re-established connection may explain consumers’ powerful nostalgic reactions to songs or pictures they have not been exposed to in many years.” Thanks Solomon. Any clearer?

Well an example might help, for me personally, something nostalgic would be seeing a Leonardo Porcelain Doll, from the age of about 6, I collected these dolls and had around 40 at one point, all on a shelf that circulated my room. I would recall taking them out of the box, playing with their dresses and hair so they didn’t look so stiff and securing them on their supports so they stood upright. It’s strange to say but thinking about it allows me to remember the texture of the dress materials and hair, and even how hard it was sometimes to fix them to their stands and balance them. If you think hard enough what do you think of from back when? (I know it’s harder to do without a trigger! I sat here for a good 10 minutes before the dolls came to me!)

Here’s a montage of my nostalgia, what would yours look like?

Marketers use this as a good tool to reach reactions from consumers, as I suppose it’s difficult to not pay attention to something that has meaning to you. Apply the nostalgic approach to your desired target consumer and you could be on to a winner!

A great example of companies using nostalgia in their marketing is the recent 2010 Intel "over the generations" advert.

For more nostalgic items and adverts please take at look at this sight, it made me smile! http://www.popular-nostalgia.com/category/advertising/

Gender

Boys V Girls, Blue V Pink, Barbie V Action Man. Schiebe Condry (1984) examined advertisements according to product type and found major gender differences in the values promoted. Generally women were hit with adverts for beauty and youth and men with ambition and physical strength.

There is a difference between men and women, some say we are from different planets? Men are form mars and women are from Venus apparently. Interestingly if you look into this saying; Mars was the Ancient Greek God of War, symbol of power and strength, Venus was the Goddess of beauty and love. Relate this to products on the market today; we have a chocolate bar called “Mars” incredibly masculine chocolate bar, and a female shaver under the name of “Venus” which gives you silky smooth legs making you feel like a goddess...how symbolic and obvious can it get!?
How to impress a woman:
• Cuddles
• Respect
• Complements
• Kisses
• Comfort
• Protection
• Caressing
• Stroking
• Loving
• Teasing
• Supporting
• Holding
• Wine and dine
• Gifts
• Go to the ends of the earth

How to impress a man:
• Show up naked
• Bring food

But surely in the day and age where we have the metro sexual man, conjunctional roles in the house hold and the stay at home dads, this stereotype can’t still be held as the biblical rule book of marketing to genders?
The Marketer Magazine in April 2010 displayed the Do’s and Don’ts for marketing to men;

“Embrace male complexity: there’s more to men than the traditional stereotypes suggest.
Think multiple Platforms: the male market is particularly multimedia consuming, from online games to iPhone apps.
Emphasise product attributes: whether or not men make purchasing decisions on emotional basis, they will expect to be given full product specifications before making the choice.”

The last point is a perfect link to the fact that men think differently when consuming. Their brains are wired to only partially digest information, pay less attention to pictures and long copy but look for the most direct clarified message. It is also reported that men like humour in their adverts and respond better to the cruder and more aggressive humour. This is reflected in one of the Marketers “Don’ts” for marketing to men which says:

“Don’t take it too seriously: a sense of humour will definitely help when trying to appeal to the male market. It’s okay to indulge a men’s sense of masculinity, from using sex as a marketing pull to blokeish behaviour.”

Where as in comparison women like to look into detail, respond to images, fit storylines to the images and products that advertisers use.

This following clip by Mark Gungor in one of his seminars, comically explains the differences between the male and female brain...







Try it for yourself, BBC have an online test that will determine how male or female your brain is, www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind



My results showed that my brain is predominantly female, but more male than the alverage woman's brain. Go on have a go! The break down of your results are really interesting.



Another way of testing your male/female brain is to look at this picture of a room below for about 30 seconds, then turn away form the screen and list as many things you remember about it as possible.

Results generally show that men remember the big pictures, details such as location of objects (special awareness) and larger objects. Women on the other hand recalled the smaller intimate details like colours of flowers or carpet or pictures and even often go as far to say the picture may be a wife or husband etc, (creating storylines and depth to items).

Marketing to Children.

Why have kids become the focus of our lives?

To rephrase the question, how have children gone from “seen and not heard” back in the Victorian days, to the “little prince/princess” generations?

Well, back then children had no family influence at all; they were considered business since they were put to work at the age of 10 to earn more money for the household, another quiet pair of working hands set firmly in their place. Nowadays children can be considered to be the ones running the family with their high pitched demands for the latest and loudest of toys; with a ruling iron fist clutching onto bank account of mummy and daddy. So how did our society fall to the mercy of these little ones? Blame it on the schools? Blame it on the parents? Blame it on marketing?

In the space of these two very different times, there have been some significant changes both economically and politically in society. Families have much more disposable income with more and more people in better paying jobs, governments now protect the rights of little Timmy instead of breaking his back at the factory.

But what sparked these changes? Well, overall nowadays we want better lives for our children, we want them to have what we didn’t, even if we had everything we wanted, parents are always raising that bar. The devaluation of morals and the lack of religion in society had allowed the children of today to become little adults who are more clued up than ever. At the age of 10; children aren’t fixing the cogs of oiled up ton in weight machines but running around in playgrounds after science class, arguing over who will win the premiership and gossiping about the latest gay storyline in Eastenders. Legally children have to be in education until the age of 16 which enables them to socialise faster and younger.

Looking at the families themselves, there are in comparison less children per family, the majority have 1 or 2, Victorians liked an army of often double figures. Less children means more money to share around, especially since pregnancies are getting later, the average age often being 30 means that being close to the peak of their careers, parents have more disposable income.
Welcome the era of the “Latch Key Kids”. The family influence is watered down since children socialise more with their time in school (9-4 five days a week) with peers and teachers, than the precious little time with the family. There’s little time around the table and going to church, but more and more time with dinner in front of the telly or in their bedrooms. With Mum and Dad’s high paying high pressure job, there is a lot of working late and out of office, bringing the work home and often going away for weekends.

In a nutshell, mummy/daddy has a hectic job that keeps them away but leaves them with plenty. The few children they have are sitting constantly at the TV and itching to get one up on their friends’ collection of toys in the playground. On return of that weekend long work related absence from home or a simple telling off that turns in guilt due to the nagging feeling of not really being present in the Childs’ life as much as you would like to be; leads to guilt stained offers of penance.
- “Timmy! ...I’m home, I hope you’ve been good while I’ve been gone, I got you a present”
And in beauty of this beast; Timmy has completed his Match Attack collection and hence will be king of the playground tomorrow. SCORE!

Marketers, the cunning creatures, have witnessed and played on this reality. Children and a number of avenues to get what they want.

1. Just ask, they have a voice and have been handed a level of family influence so use it.

2. Guilt ridden gifts from sorry affections of the absentee hard working parents.

3. A broken home allows for a constant reassurance of love – “Don’t worry Timmy; even though Mummy and Daddy don’t love each other anymore, they still love you. Here’s a Playstation.” Or even a broken home transforms Timmy son to a pawn in “Divorce Chess”.
– Mum: “Happy Birthday Timmy, have a laptop”. SCORE!
-Dad: “Merry Christmas Son, here’s the computer game your mum always said you couldn’t have for being too violent, oh, and a ticket to Disney Land.” SCORE!
It’s on this basis that pester power is most effective.

KGOY Trend.
Kids Getting Older, Younger; It’s blindingly obvious that children are children for only a short while. Their attitudes to fashion items, status items and even television programmes are changing rapidly. They live in an adult world and have no choice other than to be involved, soak up every swear word and double entendre.

Below Karen form BBC "outnumbered" displays her knowledge of Hells Kitchen and Above she is "Lesbian Spotting".

If it carries on like this, can you imagine?
“Mother I’m far too old to be watching Iggle Piggle prancing around with that silly blanket in the Night Garden; can you switch to Sex and the City please? By the way, have you seen my dummy recently?”

There are two sides of the parenting pool though, the ones who find this previous prediction the scariest thought possible and try to keep their child a child for as long as possible, and the parent who encourages their child to grow up.

These Helicopter mums, who are regressive in parenting, buy the toys that keep Timmy a little prince with push cars, Lego and Hungry Hippos. The progressive parents encourage the maturity in their children with game consoles, laptops and football season tickets. These parents often embrace the changes in technology.

Mintel Pocket Money Report.
Instead of working at the factory for money to give to the family, children often get pocket money from the parents are then essentially in charge of their own funds. Mintel reports that “children across the three age groups from less affluent households tend to receive more pocket money than those from AB socio-economic group.” – possibly due to the AB parents being able to afford the expensive toys so have no need to give much money to the children, and the less “well off” parents feeling bad for not affording that dent in the account, can substitute by handing a modest amount on a regular basis.

Other trends show that “earning money is much more common among children with siblings, suggesting that only-children are pampered more.” And reflecting on the KGYO movement, Mintel says that “girls are more likely to get money from parents both for specific things and to spend at will. This is a reflection of the fact that girls of this age (11-14) like to choose their own clothes and prefer shopping with friends rather than parents” – Latch Key children. “At this age too, girls are more self-conscious and would start to buy cosmetics and additional toiletries.”

Channel 4, Jo Frost exhibits the extremes of KGOY in kids beauty pageants.

ASA Law
So now marketers with all this information are just salivating to push their products and reap the benefits, but the ASA and BCAP has a duty to restrict and regulate the process of marketing to children for ethical purposes. Examples as follows:

Section 7.1.1 Children’s inexperience. Advertising must not take advantage of children’s inexperience of their natural credulity and sense of loyalty.
7.1.2 Unrealistic expectations. Advertisements for products of interest to children must take account of the level of experience of those in the relevant age groups so as to avoid arousing unrealistic expectations. (Don’t advertise a cereal enabling the child to fly once consumed, Timmy might have a nasty bump from jumping off the stairs after breakfast).

7.2.1 Diet and Lifestyle. Advertisements must avoid anything likely to encourage poor nutritional habits or an unhealthy lifestyle in children.

7.3.2 Pressure to purchase: Unfair Pressure. Advertisements must not imply that children will be inferior to others, disloyal or will have to let someone down, if they or their family do not use a particular product or service. (That’s the job of the playground and peer pressure!)

Marketing by Generation

We are each a product of our generation, each generation has their own specific characteristics no matter how individual as people we may like to think we are.

If we’ve learnt anything about marketing by now, it’s how marketer LOVE how easy it is to target you by your categorisations! Your generation is just another pigeon hole that you fall into just like your belief systems, your gender, your geographical location etc etc!

Let’s learn more...

Marketers are “Talking bout my geeeeneration!” and WHO they are ;)

2003-2010 (preset) – Generation Z / Digital Generation

Babies (0-2)

Toddlers / Pre-Schoolers (2-3)

Children (4-7)

1981-2002 - Generation Y / Millenials

Tweens (8-12)

Teens (13-17)

Young Adults (18-29)

1965-1980 - Generation X / Busters

Adults (30-45)

1945-1964 - Baby Boomers

Adults (46-65)

1927-1944 - Mature Citizens / Traditionalists

Senior Adults (66-83)

To a marketer, based on which generation you fall into will determine certain factors such as your VALUES related to experience, your SELF CONCEPT and PERCEPTION, what to you is NOSTALGIC and the level of importance of GROUP MEMBERSHIP. Sounding familiar?

So let’s break down what some of some of these generations have been through, what affect it has on their characteristics and therefore, see how easy it is for marketers to cater their products and promotions to suit specific generations:

1928 – Women in UK get same Voting Rights as men (START OF TRADITIONALISTS GENERATION)

1930 – Mass unemployment in the UK

1932 – Hunger marches in UK

1936 – BBC begins transmission

1940 – Battle of Britain, The Blitz Bomb Raid starts

1945 - End of war in Europe; Atomic bombs dropped on Japan; first computer built; microwave oven invented; United Nations founded; huge Labour victory in UK general election. (START OF BABY BOOMERS)

1948 – NHS Launched

1951 - Festival of Britain; first colour TV; Conservatives defeat Labour in UK general election; Churchill becomes prime minister

1952 – Death of George V and accession of Queen Elizabeth II

1957 - European Economic Community established; Homosexuality decriminalised in UK

1964 – Labour back in Power

1966 – England win World Cup (START OF GENERATION X)

1967 – First colour transmission in UK

1968 – Theatre censorship abolished after 23 years

1969 - UK troops sent into N Ireland; US puts first men on the moon; death penalty abolished in UK

1970 - Age of majority lowered to 18 in UK; invention of computer floppy disks;

1971 – The beginning of Open Universities

1972 – Minors Strike

1973 – Industrial Strike

1975 – Margaret Thatcher elected leader of Tories

1978 – Worlds foirst Test Tube Baby

1979 – Margaret Thatcher as first female PM; First heart transplant

1980 – Social Democrats launched

1982 – Falklands (START OF GENERATION Y)

1988 – Gulf War

1990 – John Major replaces Margaret Thatcher

1994 - Channel Tunnel opens

1996 – Prince Charles and Princess Diana divorce

1997 – Princess Diana Dies, Tony Blair wins elections for PM

2001 – Twin Towers 9/11

2002 – Euro Launched Officially (START OF DIGITAL GENERATION)

So if you consider how old you are, and look at the events you've lived through and compare that to what, say, your grandparents have lived through, its quite different yes?

Your grandparents have lived through wars and rationing and that would be a good reason why they are more likely to sew up a hole in a pair of tights rather than bin them and buy a new pair as we would. Mend, reuse, save money as apposed to buy new buy better.