1. important _:_:_:_:_:_:_ unimportant* 2. boring _:_:_:_:_:_:_ interesting 3. relevant _:_:_:_:_:_:_ irrelevant* 4. exciting _:_:_:_:_:_:_ unexciting*
5. means nothing _:_:_:_:_:_:_ means a lot to me
6. appealing _:_:_:_:_:_:_ unappealing*
7. fascinating _:_:_:_:_:_:_ mundane*
8. worthless _:_:_:_:_:_:_ valuable
9. involving _:_:_:_:_:_:_ uninvolving*
10. not needed _:_:_:_:_:_:_ needed
A recent campaign to promote hip hop mogul Jay-Z’s autobiography Decoded il- lustrates the power of message-response involvement. It took the form of a scavenger hunt, where all 320 pages of the book were reprinted in unusual places in 13 cities, sites included a rooftop in New Orleans, a pool bottom in Miami, cheeseburger wrappers in New York City, and on a basketball backboard in the star’s old neighborhood. Fans who found all of the hidden pages won two tickets to any Jay-Z concert anywhere, for life. 49
Although consumers differ in their levels of involvement with respect to a product message, marketers do not have to simply sit back and hope for the best. By being aware of some basic factors that increase or decrease attention, they can take steps to increase the likelihood that product information will get through. A marketer can boost a person’s motivation to process relevant information via one or more of the following techniques: 50
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Appeal to the consumers’ hedonic needs —Ads that use sensory appeals like those discussed in Chapter 2 generate higher levels of attention. 51
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Use novel stimuli, such as unusual cinematography, sudden silences, or unex-pected movements, in commercials —When a British firm called Egg Banking intro-
duced a credit card to the French market, its ad agency created unusual commercials to make people question their assumptions. One ad stated, “Cats always land on their paws,” and then two researchers in white lab coats dropped a kitten off a rooftop— never to see it again (animal rights activists were not amused). 52
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Use prominent stimuli, such as loud music and fast action, to capture attentionin commercials —In print formats, larger ads increase attention. Also, viewers look
longer at colored pictures than at black-and-white ones.
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Include celebrity endorsers to generate higher interest in commercials —As we’ll see in Chapter 7 , people process more information when it comes from someone they admire (or maybe even Charlie Sheen).
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Provide value that customers appreciate —Charmin bathroom tissue set up public toilets in Times Square that hordes of grateful visitors used. Thousands more people (evidently with time on their hands) visited the brand’s Web site to view the display. 53
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Let customers make the messages — Consumer-generated content, where freelancers and fans film their own commercials for favorite products, is one of the hottest trends in marketing right now. This practice creates a high degree of message–response in-volvement (also called advertising involvement ), which refers to the consumer’s inter-
est in processing marketing communications. 54 At the least, give customers a say if
CB AS I SEE IT
Professor Laurie Meamber, George Mason University
was reborn during this period with the increasing attention to design of everyday objects and experiences by companies such as Apple, Disney, and even General Motors, which marketed the iconic Hummer brand vehicles from the late 1990s until the retire- ment of the brand in 2010. Objects and experiences contain aesthetic value when they offer unique aes- thetic identities that appeal to the consumer’s senses. Aesthetic value does not replace other values, such as performance value, symbolic value, and monetary value or other consump- tion-specific or product-specific values. Instead, aesthetic value supplements these other forms of value. My own research with several collaborators ex- amines various instances of aesthetic consumption in the realm of the arts, experiences, and consumer products. In the realm of the arts, we are wit- nessing an explosion of immersive and interactive artistic experiences, whether it is an installation that en- gages consumers’ senses through a multimedia experience or a live perfor- mance that uses computer-generated projections to alter scale, time, loca- tion, commingling with live performers, connecting with remote performers, and audiences, such as those devel- oped by Cyburbia Productions.
Involving consumers in sensorial experiences is nothing new in the arts, but sophisticated immersive of- ferings have increased as new media
technology has become readily acces- sible. Themed environments, likewise, are creating a particular experience of the world for their visitors using a range of aesthetic experiences to delight consumer sensibilities. For example, at many historic homes open to the public, interactive exhibits— such as those that allow visitors to animate the milling process at a gristmill or films shown in theaters replete with seats that shake to repli- cate the jolt from cannon fire—allow consumers to get a sense of what life was like for those living this history. Also, consumer products are ripe with sensorial content. As mentioned previ- ously, Hummer-brand vehicles, which were based on the look of the Humvee military vehicle, are noted for their unique design, inside and out. Con- sumers in our study conducted on the Hummer brand indicated that these vehicles had a rugged interior and the looks of a body builder. Even mundane consumer products contain sensorial qualities that offer aesthetic value. For example, consumers we interviewed discussed how objects such as coffee makers inspired emotional reactions because of their beautiful appearance. This research suggests that consum- ers do not always separate art prod- ucts from craft products when making consumption choices, and experience similar emotional reactions to both original pieces and mass-produced products.
H
ave you ever attended a live perfor- mance and been bombarded by sen- sorial content: the sights and sounds of the performers, their costumes, and the staging that surrounds them? Have you ever visited a place, such as a theme park or a historical site, and been amazed at the way it has been designed to engage your senses? Have you ever bought a car and enjoyed its looks and feel both inside and out? These are all instances of aesthetic consumption. Aesthetics is a term that derives from the Greek word aesthesis and means perceiving the world with the senses. Aesthetic experiences are sensorial in nature and include every- day consumption of places, products, and events, including art and perfor- mance. Consumers are ensconced in aesthetic experiences as they go about their daily lives and often make choices based on aesthetic factors. Aesthetic value has become important in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Some writers assert that the aesthetic age
updated version of its logo on its Web site without warning fans first. Almost instantly, more than 2,000 customers posted complaints on Facebook. The company first tried to stand by its decision, but eventually it folded and returned to the tried-and-true. The president of Gap Brand North America admitted that the company “did not go about this in the right way” and missed the “opportunity to engage with the online community.” 55
What are some other tactics to increase message involvement? One is to invent new media platforms to grab our attention. Procter & Gamble printed trivia questions and answers on its Pringles snack chips with ink made of blue or red food coloring, and a company called Speaking Roses International patented a technology to laser-print words,
Dairy Queen helped to create the DQ Tycoon videogame, which boosts involvement as it lets players run their own fast-food franchise. They have to race against the clock to complete mundane tasks such as preparing Peanut Buster Parfaits, taking orders, restocking the refrigerator, and dipping cones.
Source: Courtesy of American Dairy Queen
Corporation.
images, or logos on flower petals. 56 An Australian firm creates hand stamps that night-
clubs use to identify paying customers; the stamps include logos or ad messages so par- tiers’ hands become an advertising platform. 57
Another tactic is to create spectacles or performances , where the message is itself a form of entertainment. In the early days of radio and television, ads literally were performances—show hosts integrated marketing messages into the episodes. Today live advertising is making a comeback as marketers try harder and harder to captivate jaded consumers: 58
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Axe body products sponsored a posh Hamptons (New York) nightclub for the whole season, where it became The Axe Lounge sporting branding on the DJ booth and menu and Axe products in the restrooms.
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A British show broadcast a group of skydivers who performed a dangerous jump to create a human formation in the air that spelled out the letters H , O , N , D , and A .•
Honda built a musical road in Lancaster, PA; grooves in the cement create a series of pitches that play the William Tell Overture when a car drives over them.
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A New York campaign for Jameson Irish Whiskey projects an ad onto a wall—an op- erator scans the street for pedestrians who fit the brand’s profile and inserts live text messages directed at them into the display.
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To promote the 25th anniversary of the Michael Jackson album Thriller , which fea- tured zombies dancing in a music video, Sony BMG staged such a performance on the London Underground. A group of “passengers” suddenly burst into a zombie-like dance before they disappeared into the crowd—and this videotaped scene was posted online. The video inspired similar performances in other countries, and within a week more than a million people had downloaded these films.