Advertising Promotion and Other Aspects of Integrated Marketing Communications 8th Edition Terence A. Shimp - Test Bank

Chapter 5—Positioning

TRUE/FALSE

1.A brand’s positioning represents the key feature, benefit, or image that it stands for in the target audience’s collective mind.

ANS: T PTS: 1

2.Semiotics is the study of signs and the analysis of meaning-producing events.

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3.Meaning is determined solely by the message source’s choice of communication elements.

ANS: F PTS: 1

4.The fundamental concept in semiotics is the sign.

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5.Advertising is the only marcom tool that can effectively use signs in the creation of messages.

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6.A sign is something physical and perceivable that signifies something to somebody in some context.

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7.Meaning is both idiosyncratic and context dependent.

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8.The terms signs and meanings are synonymous.

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9.Words and nonverbal signs do not have meaning per se; instead, people have meanings for signs.

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10.A field of experience is the sum total of a person’s experiences that are stored in memory.

ANS: T PTS: 1

11.In positioning their brands, marketing communicators draw meaning from the culturally constituted world and transfer that meaning to their brands.

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12.Brand positioning is an essential preliminary activity, or fundamental decision, to developing a successful marcom program.

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13.Positioning is only a useful strategic tool.

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14.Strategically and tactically, positioning is a short statement—even a word—that represents the message you want to imprint in customers’ minds.

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15.A brand’s position represents how marketers want customers and prospects to think and feel about their brand.

ANS: F PTS: 1

16.A good positioning statement should satisfy two requirements: (1) reflect a brand’s competitive advantage, and (2) determine product placement.

ANS: F PTS: 1

17.A positioning statement that motivates action but does not reflect a brand’s competitive advantage is known as a “Loser.”

ANS: F PTS: 1

18.The “swimming up the river” situation occurs when a proposed positioning represents a competitive advantage for a trivial product feature or benefit but does not represent something that would give consumers compelling reasons to select the brand positioned as such.

ANS: T PTS: 1

19.Brands can be positioned in terms of their usage imagery or with respect to the kinds of people who use them.

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20.Positioning with respect to brand benefits can be accomplished by appealing to any of three categories of basic consumer needs: functional, symbolic, or experiential.

ANS: T PTS: 1

21.In general, appeals to functional needs are the most prevalent form of brand benefit positioning.

ANS: T PTS: 1

22.Appeals to symbolic needs include those directed at the consumer’s desire for self-enhancement, group membership, affiliation, and belongingness.

ANS: T PTS: 1

23.An appeal directed to functional needs would include the desire for group membership.

ANS: F PTS: 1

24.Consumers’ experiential needs represent their desires for products that provide sensory pleasure, variety, and, in a few product circumstances, cognitive stimulation.

ANS: T PTS: 1

25.Brand positioning directed at experiential needs attempts to provide solutions to consumers’ current consumption-related problems or potential problems by communicating that the brand possesses specific benefits capable of solving these problems.

ANS: F PTS: 1

26.An appeal directed to functional needs would include the desire for self-enhancement.

ANS: F PTS: 1

27.Consumers’ experiential needs represent their desires for products that provide sensory pleasure, variety, and cognitive stimulation.

ANS: T PTS: 1

28.Brands rarely offer a mixture of functional, symbolic, and experiential benefits.

ANS: F PTS: 1

29.Successful brand positioning requires a communication strategy that simultaneously appeals to functional, symbolic, and experiential needs.

ANS: F PTS: 1

30.Brands sometimes must be repositioned in order to grow and prosper.

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31.Product attributes can be distinguished as either product-related or non-product-related.

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32.The CPM perspective views consumers as rational, highly cognitive, systematic, and reasoned.

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33.Exposure occurs when an individual becomes aware of the stimulus.

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34.Consumers actually pay attention to a majority of the marcom messages to which they are exposed.

ANS: F PTS: 1

35.The way to most effectively gain the consumer’s attention is by creating messages that truly appeal to their needs for product-relevant information.

ANS: T PTS: 1

36.The two main stages of perceptual encoding are feature analysis and delayed synthesis.

ANS: F PTS: 1

37.An individual’s mood can influence his or her perception of stimulus objects.

ANS: T PTS: 1

38.Short-term memory serves as the center for current processing activity by integrating information from the sense organs and from long-term memory.

ANS: T PTS: 1

39.The dual-coding theory holds that pictures are represented in memory in verbal as well as visual form, whereas words are less likely to have visual representations.

ANS: T PTS: 1

40.The HEM perspective views consumers as pursuing objectives that allow them to get the best value for their money.

ANS: F PTS: 1

41.Hedonistic needs are satisfied when consumers attend to messages that make them feel good.

ANS: T PTS: 1

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1.Exposure occurs when ____.

a. consumers come in contact with the marketer’s message

b. consumers become aware of the message

c. consumers are impacted by the message

d. consumers store information in long-term memory

e. consumers agree with the message

ANS: A PTS: 1

2.By definition, ____ simply means that consumers come into contact with the marketer’s message.

a. perception

b. exposure

c. attention

d. comprehension

e. interpretation

ANS: B PTS: 1

3.Gaining exposure is a necessary but ____ condition for communication success.

a. sufficient

b. insufficient

c. nominal

d. unnecessary

e. unimportant

ANS: B PTS: 1

4.The mere fact of being repeatedly exposed to a message increases the likelihood that the receiver will judge that message to be true is known as the ____.

a. mere repetition effect

b. mere exposure effect

c. exposure paradox

d. truth effect

e. repeat effect

ANS: D PTS: 1

5.In practical terms, exposing consumers to a brand’s message is a function of ____.

a. establishing a sufficient marcom budget

b. selecting appropriate media and vehicles in which to present a brand message

c. having a creative message

d. a and b

e. a, b, and c

ANS: D PTS: 1

6.Focusing on and considering a message to which one has been exposed is known as ____.

a. perception

b. exposure

c. attention

d. comprehension

e. interpretation

ANS: C PTS: 1

7.A brand’s ____ represents the key feature, benefit, or image that it stands for in the target audience’s collective mind.

a. logo

b. name

c. positioning

d. placement

e. semiotics

ANS: C PTS: 1

8.The central idea that encapsulates a brand’s meaning and distinctiveness vis-a-vis competitive brands is known as a ____.

a. positioning statement

b. summary statement

c. constructive process

d. sign

e. symbol

ANS: A PTS: 1

9.Fundamental to the concept and practice of positioning is the idea of ____.

a. meaning

b. target marketing

c. signs

d. symbols

e. referents

ANS: A PTS: 1

10.____ is the study of signs and the analysis of meaning-producing events.

a. Feature analysis

b. Active synthesis

c. Meaning analysis

d. Semiotics

e. Psychographics

ANS: D PTS: 1

11.The semiotics perspective sees meaning as ____.

a. an absolute

b. objective

c. independent of context

d. a constructive process

e. an arbitrary process

ANS: D PTS: 1

12.A(n) ____ is something physical and perceivable by our senses that represents, or signifies, something to somebody in some context.

a. symbol

b. sign

c. referent

d. object

e. point

ANS: B PTS: 1

13.The sum total of a person’s experiences that are stored in memory is known as the ____.

a. cognitive process

b. perceptual field

c. significant meaning

d. relative field

e. affective domain

ANS: B PTS: 1

14.The perceptions (thoughts) and affective reactions (feelings) that are evoked within a person when presented with a sign, such as a brand name, in a particular context is known as ____.

a. perception

b. attention

c. meaning

d. exposure

e. perceptual field

ANS: C PTS: 1

15.The concept of meaning transfer suggests that marketing communicators attempt to transfer meaning from the culturally constituted world to their brands. Which of the following is NOT a good illustration of meaning transfer?

a. Company A imprints an insignia of the British flag on its merchandise.

b. Company B advertises that it is a proud sponsor of the Olympics.

c. Company C always includes images of cowboys in its advertisements.

d. Company D claims its automobile tires are the best because its technology is the most modern in the industry.

e. Company E superimposes halos over the heads of children eating their brand of snacks in their advertisements.

ANS: D PTS: 1

16.When positioning their brands, marketing communicators draw meaning ____ and transfer that meaning to their brands.

a. from the dictionary

b. objectively

c. subjectively

d. from consumers

e. from the culturally constituted world

ANS: E PTS: 1

17.A sign relation is established in marketing communications when ____.

a. a brand and a referent belong to the same cultural context

b. a brand is characterized with a logo

c. a brand is personified

d. a metaphor is used

e. a simile is used

ANS: A PTS: 1

18.A good positioning statement should satisfy which of the following?

a. reflect a brand’s competitive advantage

b. motivate consumers to action

c. based on product-related attributes

d. a and b

e. a, b, and c

ANS: D PTS: 1

19.A positioning statement that neither reflects a brand’s advantage nor motivates consumers to action ____.

a. is a winner

b. is a loser

c. promotes competitors

d. is “swimming up the river”

e. is “swimming up the river without a paddle”

ANS: B PTS: 1

20.When a proposed positioning for a brand represents a competitive advantage for a trivial product feature or benefit, but does not represent something that would give consumers compelling reasons to select the brand positioned as such, this would be considered a ____ option.

a. loser

b. winner

c. swimming-up-the-river

d. promote-competitors

e. match-competitors

ANS: C PTS: 1

21.A positioning statement that reflects a brand’s competitive advantage but does not motivate consumers to action ____.

a. is a winner

b. is a loser

c. promotes competitors

d. is “swimming up the river”

e. is adequate

ANS: D PTS: 1

22.A positioning statement that motivates consumers to action but does not reflect a competitive advantage for the brand ____.

a. is a winner

b. promotes competitors

c. is a loser

d. is “swimming up the river”

e. is effective

ANS: B PTS: 1

23.When a proposed positioning for a brand represents a competitive advantage on a feature or benefit and gives consumers a persuasive reason for trying the brand, this would be considered a ____ option.

a. loser

b. winner

c. swimming-up-the-river

d. promote-competitors

e. match-competitors

ANS: B PTS: 1

24.A positioning statement that reflects a brand’s competitive advantage and motivates consumers to action ____.

a. promotes competitors

b. is a winner

c. is a loser

d. is “swimming up the river”

e. is ineffective

ANS: B PTS: 1

25.A brand’s image consists of types, favorability, strength, and uniqueness of ____.

a. benefits

b. attributes

c. associations

d. perceptions

e. features

ANS: C PTS: 1

26.Positioning with respect to brand benefits can be accomplished by appealing to ____ needs.

a. functional, symbolic, or biological

b. functional, experiential, or biological

c. utilitarian, symbolic, or experiential

d. functional, symbolic, or experiential

e. biological, utilitarian, or symbolic

ANS: D PTS: 1

27.A brand positioned in terms of ____ needs attempts to provide solutions to consumers’ current consumption-related problems or potential problems by communicating that the brand possesses specific benefits capable of solving those problems.

a. experiential

b. symbolic

c. functional

d. rational

e. emotional

ANS: C PTS: 1

28.A detergent that advertises how clean it gets clothes is appealing to the ____ consumer need.

a. functional

b. symbolic

c. biological

d. utilitarian

e. experiential

ANS: A PTS: 1

29.Appeals to ____ needs are the most prevalent form of brand benefit positioning.

a. symbolic

b. value-expressive

c. utilitarian

d. functional

e. experiential

ANS: D PTS: 1

30.Consumers’ functional needs include ____.

a. variety

b. good health

c. desire for self-enhancement

d. belongingness

e. cognitive stimulation

ANS: B PTS: 1

31.Sun Microsystems recently introduced a new desktop computer. The headline of their two-page advertisement in Business Week reads, “The World’s Most Powerful Desktop for the Price of a PC.” This statement is an appeal to a consumer’s ____.

a. emotional needs

b. symbolic needs

c. qualitative needs

d. functional needs

e. experiential needs

ANS: D PTS: 1

32.An example of an appeal to an individual’s functional needs might be ____.

a. a food distributor advertising seasonal fruits

b. a commercial featuring a man getting the attention of a beautiful woman because of the cologne he is wearing

c. an ad for Rolex watches that simply displays a watch with no verbal content

d. a Marlboro cigarette ad showing a cowboy with a pack of cigarettes beside him

e. Macintosh’s claim that their computers are user friendly

ANS: E PTS: 1

33.Georgetown Incorporated is a manufacturer of surgical gloves. Georgetown’s advertising efforts appeal to medical professionals, capitalizing on the need for safeguards against infectious diseases. The copy in a recent magazine ad reads, “While you’re saving their lives, we’re protecting yours.” This slogan appeals to ____ needs.

a. experiential

b. functional

c. professional

d. symbolic

e. emotional

ANS: B PTS: 1

34.A medicated shampoo advertises the fact that it is so effective that it actually prevents dandruff. This is an example of an appeal to consumers’ ____.

a. functional needs

b. symbolic needs

c. experiential needs

d. utilitarian needs

e. economic needs

ANS: A PTS: 1

35.Which of the following is not an appeal to functional needs?

a. A European automobile is promoted as being safer than other models.

b. A Japanese automobile is promoted as providing the consumer with a special feeling.

c. A dishwasher is advertised as having a five-year warranty.

d. A direct marketer of apparel items claims his polo shirts are made of the finest Egyptian cotton.

e. A software program promotes the fact that consumers will be protected from computer viruses.

ANS: B PTS: 1

36.Appeals to ____ needs include those directed at consumers’ desire for self-enhancement, group membership, affiliation, altruism, and other abstract need states that involve aspects of consumption not solved by practical product benefits.

a. functional

b. symbolic

c. experiential

d. social

e. cognitive

ANS: B PTS: 1

37.Symbolic needs include those directed at consumers’ desires for ____.

a. convenience

b. safety

c. cleanliness

d. affiliation

e. sensory pleasure

ANS: D PTS: 1

38.Marketers of ____ frequently appeal to symbolic needs.

a. beauty products

b. jewelry

c. alcoholic beverages

d. cigarettes

e. all of the above

ANS: E PTS: 1

39.An ad for a hair-coloring brand features a famous actress telling potential customers that they should use the relatively costly brand “because you’re worth it.” This brand’s concept is aimed at consumers’ ____ needs.

a. functional

b. symbolic

c. experiential

d. hedonic

e. ego

ANS: B PTS: 1

40.An ad for an automobile did not stress any features of the automobile, such as gas mileage, safety rating, etc., but rather how others will stop and stare when they see you driving this automobile. The ad was implying that others will be impressed with you because you are driving their automobile. This is an example of appealing to a consumer’s ____ needs.

a. functional

b. symbolic

c. experiential

d. rational

e. emotional

ANS: B PTS: 1

41.Consumers’ ____ needs represent their desires for products that provide sensory pleasure, variety, and in a few product circumstances, cognitive stimulation.

a. functional

b. symbolic

c. rational

d. cognitive

e. experiential

ANS: E PTS: 1

42.Consumers’ experiential needs represent their desires for products that provide ____.

a. cognitive stimulation

b. convenience

c. good health

d. self-enhancement

e. belongingness

ANS: A PTS: 1

43.An ad for Hanes brand of underwear says, “Wait ’til we get our Hanes on you!” The brand is positioned as being comfortable for the wearer, and the ad really stressed how comfortable the brand feels against your skin. This brand’s positioning is best described as appealing to consumers’ ____ needs.

a. functional

b. rational

c. emotional

d. symbolic

e. experiential

ANS: E PTS: 1

44.Product design, color, and size are all examples of ____.

a. non-product-related attributes

b. product benefits

c. basic consumer needs

d. product-related attributes

e. product imagery

ANS: D PTS: 1

45.Price, packaging, and user and usage imagery are all examples of ____.

a. product-related attributes

b. product benefits

c. basic consumer needs

d. product imagery

e. non-product-related attributes

ANS: E PTS: 1

46.Associating a brand with icon-like representations of the kind of people who are portrayed in advertisements as typical users of the brand is positioning a brand via ____.

a. product-related attributes

b. usage imagery

c. experiential needs

d. functional needs

e. user imagery

ANS: E PTS: 1

47.Revising a brand’s positioning is known as ____.

a. refocusing

b. realigning

c. repositioning

d. shifting

e. innovating

ANS: C PTS: 1

48.Removing the words “Oil of” from the brand name “Oil of Olay” was done in an attempt to ____.

a. give the brand a competitive advantage

b. reposition the brand

c. highlight a new feature of the brand

d. maintain market share

e. obtain better shelf placement in retail outlets

ANS: B PTS: 1

49.Marketing communicators direct their efforts toward influencing consumers’ brand-related ____.

a. beliefs

b. attitudes

c. emotional reactions

d. choices

e. all of the above

ANS: E PTS: 1

50.According to the CPM, consumer behavior is seen as ____.

a. rational

b. cognitive

c. systematic

d. reasoned

e. all of the above

ANS: E PTS: 1

51.According to the HEM, consumer behavior is seen as ____.

a. rational

b. highly cognitive

c. emotional

d. systematic

e. reasoned

ANS: C PTS: 1

52.Which of the following is a stage in the Consumer Processing Model (CPM)?

a. exposure

b. attention

c. comprehension

d. agreement

e. all of the above

ANS: E PTS: 1

53.Which of the following is NOT a stage in the Consumer Processing Model (CPM)?

a. exposure

b. attention

c. emotion

d. comprehension

e. retention

ANS: C PTS: 1

54.What is the first step in the Consumer Processing Model (CPM)?

a. exposure

b. attention

c. comprehension

d. agreement

e. retention

ANS: A PTS: 1

55.In actuality, consumers pay attention to ____ of marcom stimuli.

a. a large portion

b. all

c. half

d. a small portion

e. most

ANS: D PTS: 1

56.A consumer will devote ____ attention to an advertisement if it holds a high level of relevance to his or her interest.

a. involuntary

b. conscious

c. automatic

d. undivided

e. involuntary

ANS: B PTS: 1

57.Marketing communicators can most effectively gain the consumer’s attention by creating messages that truly appeal to their needs for ____.

a. product-relevant information

b. positioning-relevant information

c. demographic-relevant information

d. promotion-relevant information

e. sensory stimulation

ANS: A PTS: 1

58.Research shows that ____ reduces message effectiveness.

a. spending

b. duration

c. intensity

d. clutter

e. novelty

ANS: D PTS: 1

59.The term comprehension is often used interchangeably with perception; both terms refer to ____.

a. integration

b. learning

c. association

d. adaptation

e. interpretation

ANS: E PTS: 1

60.The two main stages involved in perceptual encoding are ____.

a. conscious and automatic

b. feature analysis and active synthesis

c. voluntary and involuntary

d. primary and secondary

e. retention and retrieval

ANS: B PTS: 1

61.The perceptual process of interpreting stimuli is called ____.

a. perceptual overloading

b. perceptual decoding

c. habituation

d. cognitive dissonance

e. perceptual encoding

ANS: E PTS: 1

62.The initial stage of perceptual encoding whereby the receiver examines the basic features of a stimulus and from this makes a preliminary classification is called ____.

a. feature analysis

b. heuristics

c. comprehension

d. active synthesis

e. perception

ANS: A PTS: 1

63.The second stage of perceptual encoding is called ____ whereby the context or situation in which information is received plays a major role in determining what is perceived and interpreted.

a. feature analysis

b. heuristics

c. comprehension

d. active synthesis

e. perception

ANS: D PTS: 1

64.Combining stimulus features with expectations of what should be present in the context in which a stimulus is perceived is known as ____,

a. attribution

b. habituation

c. feature analysis

d. active synthesis

e. perceptual mapping

ANS: D PTS: 1

65.Carl did not know a word he came across in a book he was reading. However, he looked at the sentence and paragraph in which it was used and inferred a meaning from that. What process was Carl using to interpret the word?

a. attribution theory

b. habituation

c. feature analysis

d. active synthesis

e. perceptual mapping

ANS: D PTS: 1

66.Which of the following plays a role in determining consumer perceptions?

a. expectations

b. needs

c. personality traits

d. past experiences

e. all of the above

ANS: E PTS: 1

67.Which of the following is NOT a reason miscomprehension of marcom messages occurs?

a. Consumers are biased by their own preconceptions and thus “see” what they choose to see.

b. Processing of advertisements often takes place under time pressures and noisy circumstances.

c. Consumers are not exposed to the medium in which the message appears.

d. Messages are themselves sometimes misleading or unclear.

e. all of the above are reasons miscomprehension occurs

ANS: C PTS: 1

68.Which of the following can influence consumers to agree with a marcom message?

a. detailed messages

b. short words

c. simple to understand concepts

d. putting the message in a relevant context

e. message credibility

ANS: E PTS: 1

69.Short-term memory is also known as ____ memory.

a. relevant

b. referral

c. perceptual

d. working

e. cognitive

ANS: D PTS: 1

70.Into which type of memory is information initially received?

a. sensory store

b. short-term memory

c. working memory

d. long-term memory

e. perceptual memory

ANS: A PTS: 1

71.Information in short-term memory that is not thought about or rehearsed will be lost from STM in about ____.

a. thirty seconds or less

b. three minutes or less

c. six minutes or less

d. nine minutes or less

e. twelve minutes or less

ANS: A PTS: 1

72.You are watching a television commercial, and a spokesperson talks about the attributes of the product. You are shown a picture of the product in use while the warranty information is flashed across the screen at the same time. Your ability to process the warranty detail is limited because your ____ cannot handle the information overload.

a. perceptual field

b. sensory store

c. short-term memory

d. long-term memory

e. heuristic

ANS: C PTS: 1

73.Cognitive psychologists consider which type of memory to be a virtual storehouse of unlimited information?

a. sensory stores

b. short-term memory

c. working memory

d. long-term memory

e. accessible memory

ANS: D PTS: 1

74.Information in long-term memory is organized into coherent and associated cognitive units called ____.

a. networks

b. content links

c. perceptual fields

d. schemata

e. focal nodes

ANS: D PTS: 1

75.Changes in the context or organization of information in consumers’ long-term memories is known as ____.

a. perception

b. comprehension

c. learning

d. exposure

e. attention

ANS: C PTS: 1

76.When a marketing communicator wishes to build mental “ropes” between a brand and some feature or benefit of that brand in consumers’ memories, s/he is attempting to facilitate ____.

a. establishment of new packets of information

b. connection of new schemas

c. use of sensory stores

d. storage in short-term memory

e. strengthening of linkages

ANS: E PTS: 1

77.Information that is learned and stored in memory only impacts consumer choice behavior when it is ____.

a. linked to concrete attributes

b. both verbal and visual

c. positive and repeated

d. searched and retrieved

e. included in existing schemas

ANS: D PTS: 1

78.The ____ holds that pictures are represented in memory in verbal as well as visual form, whereas words are less likely to have visual representations.

a. consumer processing model

b. hedonic experiential model

c. attribution theory

d. dual-coding theory

e. habituation model

ANS: D PTS: 1

79.Consumer objectives such as “obtaining the best buy” or “getting the most for their money” best characterize the ____ model.

a. hedonic experiential

b. consumer processing

c. consumer socialization

d. operant conditioning

e. feature analysis

ANS: B PTS: 1

80.Which approach emphasizes nonverbal content or emotionally provocative words and is intended to generate images, fantasies, and positive emotions and feelings?

a. Consumer Processing Model (CPM)

b. Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)

c. Hedonic, Experiential Model (HEM)

d. Dual-coding Model (DCM)

e. Feel-Do-Think Model (FDT)

ANS: C PTS: 1

81.The positioning strategy that works best depends on the specific nature of the product, the competitive situation, and the ____.

a. nature of the distribution channel

b. type of media being used

c. character and needs of the target audience

d. current economic and cultural conditions

e. organizational objectives

ANS: C PTS: 1

ESSAY

1.Explain how marketers create meaning for a brand.

ANS:

Brand communicators and the marketing team in general must identify a positioning statement, which is the central idea that encapsulates a brand’s meaning and distinctiveness vis-a-vis competitive brands. Meaning for a brand is determined both by the message source’s choice of communication elements and by the receiver’s unique social-cultural background and mind-set at the time he or she is exposed to a message. Marketing communications in all forms uses signs in the creation of messages. A sign is something physical and perceivable that signifies something (the referent) to somebody (the interpreter) in some context. Since people have meanings for signs, a desirable outcome is most likely accomplished when signs are common to both the sender’s and the receiver’s field of experience (also called perceptual field), which is the sum total of a person’s experiences that are stored in memory. The larger the overlap in their perceptual fields, the greater the likelihood that signs will be interpreted by the receiver in the manner intended by the sender. Marketing communicators when in the process of positioning their brands draw meaning from the culturally constituted world and transfer that meaning to their brands.

PTS: 1

2.List the two requirements a good positioning statement should satisfy, and discuss the implications when a positioning statement satisfies both, none, or only one of these requirements.

ANS:

A good positioning statement should satisfy two requirements: (1) reflect a brand’s competitive advantage (vis-a-vis competitive offerings in the same product category) and (2) motivate consumers to action. The “Loser” label characterizes a proposed positioning wherein the brand possesses no competitive advantage and the basis for the positioning is not sufficiently important to motivate consumers to want to purchase the brand. The “Swimming Up The River (SUTR)” situation occurs when a proposed positioning represents a competitive advantage for a trivial product feature or benefit but does not represent something that would give consumers compelling reasons to select the brand positioned as such. The “Promote Competitors” description characterizes a positioning statement that does not reflect a competitive advantage but does represent an important reason for making brand selection decisions in the product category, which results in essentially serving to aid other brands that do have a competitive advantage. Finally, the “Winner” label characterizes a prospect where we have positioned our brand on a product feature or benefit for which we have an advantage over competitors and which gives consumers a persuasive reason for trying our brand. These scenarios are illustrated in Figure 5.3.

PTS: 1

3.Positioning with respect to brand benefits can be accomplished by appealing to any of three categories of basic consumer needs. Name and describe these needs, and for each type of need, describe an example of a brand for which you think is basing its brands concept on that need.

ANS:

Positioning with respect to brand benefits can be accomplished by appealing to any of three categories of consumers needs: functional, symbolic, or experiential. A brand positioned in terms of functional needs attempts to provide solutions to consumers’ current consumption-related problems or potential problems by communicating that the brand possesses specific benefits capable of solving those problems. Timberland outerwear appeals to the consumer’s need for protection from the elements. Appeals to symbolic needs include those directed at consumers’ desire for self-enhancement, group membership, affiliation, altruism, and other abstract need states that involve aspects of consumption not solved by practical benefits. Marketers in categories such as personal beauty products, jewelry, alcoholic beverages, cigarettes, and motor vehicles frequently appeal to symbolic needs. Consumers’ experiential needs represent their desires for products that provide sensory pleasure, variety, and in a few product circumstances, cognitive stimulation. Brands of foods that are not essential for nutrition, such as candy and ice cream, often position themselves based on this consumer need.

PTS: 1

4.Discuss how two magazine advertisements for the same product would be different if one is based on the CPM perspective of consumer information processing and the other is based on the HEM perspective.

ANS:

From a consumer-processing perspective (CPM), information processing and choice are seen as rational, cognitive, systematic, and reasoned. Thus, a magazine ad based on this perspective would most likely contain copy with reasons why a consumer should purchase this product. The hedonic, experiential perspective (HEM), on the other hand, views consumer processing of marcom messages and behavior as driven by emotions in pursuit of fun, fantasies, and feelings. A magazine ad based on this perspective could very likely not even contain any copy touting the brand’s attributes or benefits, but rather it would contain images that appeal to emotion and fantasy.

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5.Name and briefly describe the stages in the Consumer Processing Model (CPM).

ANS:

Stage 1: Being Exposed to Information. Exposure simply means that consumers come in contact with the marketer’s message. In practical terms, exposing consumers to a brand’s message is a function of two key managerial decisions: (1) establishing a sufficient marcom budget, and (2) selecting appropriate media and vehicles in which to present a brand message. Gaining exposure is a necessary but insufficient condition for communication success.

Stage 2: Paying Attention. Attention means to focus cognitive resources on and think about a message to which one has been exposed. Since consumers’ information-processing capacity is limited, they will selectively allocate mental energy to only messages that are relevant and of interest to current goals.

Stage 3: Comprehension of What is Attended. The term comprehension often is used interchangeably with perception; both terms refer to interpretation. The perceptual process of interpreting stimuli is called perceptual encoding, and two main stages are involved. Feature analysis is the initial stage whereby a receiver examines the basic features of a stimulus and makes a preliminary classification. The second stage, active synthesis, goes beyond merely examining physical features and considers the context or situation in which information is received.

Stage 4: Agreement with What is Comprehended. It is crucial from a marcom perspective that consumers not only comprehend a message but that they also agree with the message. Agreement depends on whether the message is credible and whether it contains information and appeals that are compatible with the values that are important with the consumer.

Stages 5 and 6: Retention and Search/Retrieval of Stored Information. Both stages involve memory factors. From a marcom perspective, memory involves the related issues of what consumers remember (recognize and recall) about marketing stimuli and how they access and retrieve information when in the process of choosing among product alternatives.

Stages 7 and 8: Deciding From Alternatives and Acting on the Basis of the Decision. These two stages are listed at the beginning of the section on the CPM perspective but are not discussed further in the chapter.

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6.Discuss how consumer miscomprehension can occur and what marketing communicators can do to avoid it.

ANS:

People sometimes misinterpret or miscomprehend messages so as to make them more consistent with their existing beliefs or expectations. Miscomprehension of marcom messages occurs primarily for three reasons: (1) messages are themselves sometimes misleading or unclear, (2) consumers’ are biased by their own preconceptions and thus “see” what they choose to see, and (3) processing of advertisements often takes place under time pressures and noisy circumstances. Marketing communicators cannot assume that consumers interpret messages in the manner intended. It is for this reason that message testing (i.e., copy testing) is absolutely imperative before investing in media time and space. Repetition is also important to assure that most viewers/readers eventually understand the marketer’s intended meaning.

PTS: 1