Consumer Behavior – Cheap Research Essays

The assigned case 1 is case 3-4 “Attention Millennials! Automobile Manufactures Adapt for You” (page 453-455 in textbook)
Please read the article carefully and provide your answers to the following discussion questions at the end of the case.
• Q1 (a, b)
• Q3 (choose any 2 subquestions from a to j)
• Q4 (a, b, c)
• Q5 (choose any 2 subquestions from a to f)
• Q6

3-4 ATTENTION MILLENNIALS! AUTOMOBILE MANUFACTURERS ADAPT FOR YOU
Millennials (Generation Y in the text) are the largest generation since their parents constituted the previous largest generation: the baby boomers. The Millennial generation encompasses a fairly wide range of ages, but the oldest of the group are now in their early 30s and are living very grown-up lives, complete with major consumer purchases. This generation is very attractive to marketers because of its sheer size and purchasing power. Yet, the Millennials think about brands and make purchases differently and are much more in tune with digital communication than any other generation.
Not long ago, parents struggled to keep their children from watching too much television. Now, as those children are coming of age, television advertisers have the opposite problem as they compete for the attention of Millennials. Young people are still consuming media at very high rates, but now they are in many new places other than television, like social media and mobile devices. To illustrate, in 1983, 100 million Americans watched the finale of Mash on television, compared to a mere 10 million that watched the finale of Breaking Bad on live television. Meanwhile, advertising on small mobile screens does not carry the same effect as advertising in traditional media once did.
Consumers are increasingly ignoring and disregarding advertising. This lack of attention to advertising is compounded by Americans engaging in other activities while viewing traditional media. (See Tables A and B for statistics regarding these factors for various demographic groups, including Millennials.)
According to the CEO of StarcomMediaVest, one of the largest advertising buying agencies:
I am nervous about us all being out of a job a year from now if Reed Hastings [chief executive of Netflix] takes over the world.
Millennials in particular are the subject of many marketing research companies. Various recent surveys show that this generation spends more time on social media, particularly on mobile devices, than any other group. Millennials spend 14.5 hours per week on average on mobile devices. However, while it is less than that of Generation X and baby boomers, they still spend 25 hours per week on average watching television. In response, advertisers are expected to spend $17.7 billion on mobile advertising in 2014, which is double the amount spent in 2013. Thirty-six percent of Millennials say that digital advertising is the most influential media for brand decisions, while 19 percent of Millennials say the same for television advertising. Meanwhile, 44 percent of Millennials want to have an open dialogue with brands using social channels. A full 55 percent of Millennials feel that a recommendation from a friend is the strongest influence of brand choice. Often, these recommendations are created sharing branded content on social media.

TABLE A Types of Advertisements Most Ignored and Disregarded
Total Gender Age Education
Male Female 18–34 35–44 45–54 55+ H.S. or Less Some College College Grad+
% % % % % % % % % %
Any (NET) 91 90 92 90 92 88 93 89 92 94
Internet banner ads 43 42 45 42 47 43 43 40 46 46
Internet search engine ads 20 20 21 21 21 19 20 17 22 23
Television ads 14 15 13 9 13 14 20 17 12 12
Radio ads 7 7 8 11 7 5 6 8 7 7
Newspaper ads 6 6 5 7 4 7 5 6 5 6
None of these 9 10 8 10 8 12 7 11 8 6
Source: Harris Interactive Poll of American Adults.
TABLE B Activities Done While Watching Television
Total Gender Age Education
Male Female 18–34 35–44 45–54 55+ H.S. or Less Some College College Grad+
% % % % % % % % % %
Surf the Internet using a computer 56 53 59 68 59 55 45 52 57 62
Read a book, magazine, or newspaper 44 37 51 42 41 44 47 35 50 51
Go on a social networking site (e.g., Facebook, Twitter) 40 34 45 57 47 36 21 33 44 46
Text on my mobile phone 37 35 39 57 46 38 14 28 41 47
Shop online 29 27 31 40 33 27 19 22 31 39
Surf the Internet using my mobile phone 18 20 16 30 23 15 6 10 19 29
Read a book on an eReader device (e.g., Kindle, Nook) 7 6 9 6 8 9 7 5 10 9
Surf the Internet on a tablet computer (e.g., iPad, Xoom) 7 8 6 7 13 4 5 6 5 11
Something else 30 26 33 32 26 28 30 26 33 32
None 14 18 11 8 12 16 20 19 12 10
Not applicable 3 4 2 5 3 2 2 3 2 4
Source: Harris Interactive Poll of American Adults.
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Automobile manufacturers are particularly attracted to Millennials and many of them are having to learn new ways to appeal as they focus their efforts on this group. They are trying new approaches to the product offerings, like flashy colors. Also, many automobile manufacturers are attempting to garner the attention of Millennials through nontraditional tactics involving consumer engagement and entertaining, quirky content on social media. Volkswagen, Ford, Toyota, and Mini Cooper have had some success through advertising on Buzzfeed, an entertaining website known for viral content that targets Millennials. Jonathan Perelman, vice president of agency strategy and industry development at Buzzfeed, states:
The power for auto brands, really any brand, but really for automotive brands is you can tell a really compelling, sometimes funny story that’s adding value to the consumer so that they’re not only going to want to engage with that ad, but also share it with their friends. There’s an implied endorsement that you as my friend understand what I like. You’re going to have a significant lift in your feelings toward the brand. That’s the power today in social content marketing. Being able to be in the conversation, adding value to the consumer and tapping into the networks where people are already communicating.
According to Chris Travell, vice president of strategic consulting for Maritz Research:
Millennials are an important group of buyers in the industry today, and not just in terms of sheer size. They are also helping to refine the vehicle shopping and ownership experience. These younger buyers are much more connected than previous car buyers. The manufacturer that develops a strategy that resonates with millennial buyers will increase the likelihood of consideration the next time that customer is in the market. In turn, this will increase the likelihood of selling a car to that customer.
However, there is a wide disparity among Millennials’ responses to automobile manufacturers’ efforts. Fiat failed miserably with its “Endless Fun” campaign, which featured seven-year-old memes and .gifs featuring bizarre images of things like people dancing around a Fiat in horse masks. Honda chose an unconventional method by mocking how other advertisers focus on Millennial stereotypes in its #UnBuenFit campaign.
Ford is one automobile manufacturer that seems to have tapped into ways of communicating with Millennials that has been very effective. Ford has been the number one brand in purchase consideration for Millennials for the past several years. According to Sheryl Connelly, global consumer trends and futuring manager at Ford:
This group of consumers is an incredible market opportunity, but the way that millennials interact with brands is totally different from earlier generations. Understanding their priorities helps us market to them, so that we’re giving a message that is relevant to them.
Ford has discovered a formula that turns Millennial consumers into brand ambassadors and it appears to be working. Amy Marentic, Ford’s global car and crossover marketing manager, explains Ford’s approach to Millennials:
We’re turning a 108-year old brand over to consumers. I’m very serious about that. Our market share with Millennials has increased significantly… . We’re now the top selling brand to all Millennials … don’t be afraid to turn your brand over to others.
Ford points to several techniques that have led to its success. The first is to get Millennials talking to each other about the brand. When Ford was preparing to launch its Fiesta model in the United States, it gave 100 of the vehicles to influential, web-savvy Millennials, who were dubbed as “Fiesta Agents.” Ms. Marentic said:
We gave them a Fiesta for six months, and gave them gas and insurance, and they had to do monthly missions for us and then put the results online. If I tell them how great the new Ford Fiesta is, they won’t notice, but when their friends and family tell them, they’ll pay attention.
Second, Ford appeals to Millennials’ love of technology through new technology called MyFord Touch. MyFord Touch performs many tasks while consumers are driving, including syncing their phones, reading their texts, adjusting the temperature, and making dinner suggestions.
[Millennials] are always on and they want their experience in the car to be always on. It understands 10,000 voice commands.
Finally, Ms. Marentic suggests that Ford’s success with Millennials comes from being edgy and entertaining. For example, in order to improve the formerly stuffy image of the Ford Focus, Ford created a spokescharacter named Doug that is only present on social media such as Twitter and YouTube. Doug is a rude-mannered and irreverent orange sock puppet. For example, when Doug is informed by a Ford marketing executive that the Focus has double French stitching on the seats. Doug replies:
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How many times have I sat in single-French-stitched seats and said, “I might as well be at the town dump sitting on garbage cans”?
This is precisely the untraditional type of content that Ford has used to successfully capture the attention of Millennials that remains so elusive for other automobile manufacturers and brands.
Discussion Questions
1. Chapter 8 discusses factors that affect consumer attention. How do the following situational factors play a role in Millennials’ attention to Ford’s promotions?
a. Clutter
b. Program involvement

2. Chapter 11 discusses appeal characteristics in advertising. Use Google Videos or Google Images to find examples of the advertisements for the Ford Fiesta advertising campaigns. Evaluate those advertisements based on
a. Appeal characteristics
b. Message structure characteristics

3. Chapter 8 discusses stimulus factors in advertising. Use Google Videos or Google Images to find examples of the advertisements for the Ford Fiesta’s advertising campaigns. Evaluate those advertisements based on the following stimulus factors:
a. Size
b. Intensity
c. Attractive visuals
d. Color and movement
e. Position
f. Isolation
g. Format
h. Contrast and expectations
i. Interestingness
j. Information quantity

4. Evaluate the information displayed in Tables A and B. Imagine you are a marketing manager for an automobile manufacturer that is targeting Millennials. Your goal is to gain the attention of your target market. Use that information to answer the following questions.
a. According to Table A, which types of media are least likely to be ignored by Millennials?
b. How do the media that are least likely to be ignored compare with what media other surveys show Millennials prefer?
c. Assume that television advertising is a part of your promotional mix. How would you handle the fact that a large part of your target market is multitasking while watching television?
d. Imagine that your target market is a different demographic. How would your answers to the previous parts of this question change?

5. Chapter 9 discusses strength of learning. Ford is hoping that Millennials learn that Ford is focused on their needs and wants. So far, it appears to be working. Strength of learning is enhanced by the following six factors. Evaluate Ford’s marketing to Millennials on these factors.
a. Importance
b. Message involvement
c. Mood
d. Reinforcement
e. Repetition
f. Dual coding