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Retail Business Environment

Notes (d) Appeal Approaches: Several approaches to appeal may be used. The use of affect to
induce empathy with advertising characters may increase attraction to a product,
but may backfire if consumers believe that people's feelings are being exploited.
Fear appeals appear to work only if (1) an optimal level of fear is evoked–not so
much that people tune it out, but enough to scare people into action and (2) a way to
avoid the feared stimulus is explicitly indicated–e.g., gingivitis and tooth loss can
be avoided by using this mouth wash. Humor appears to be effective in gaining
attention, but does not appear to increase persuasion in practice. In addition, a more
favorable attitude toward the advertisement may be created by humorous
advertising, which may in turn result in increased sales. Comparative advertising,
which is illegal in many countries, often increases sales for the sponsoring brand,
but may backfire in certain cultures.

8.5 Multi-attribute Models and Attitude Change

On the basis of Fishbein’s multi-attribute model, four strategies can be considered to change
attitudes:
1. By changing the values consumers place on product attributes (ei component in the model)

2. By changing consumers’ brand beliefs (bi component in the model)
3. By changing brand evaluations (Attitude component)
4. By changing behavioural intentions (Attitude (beh))

1. Changing Values Placed on Product Attributes: Most consumers consider some product
attribute to be more important than others. Marketers often try to convince consumers
about the superiority or importance of those attributes on which their brands are relatively
strong. This requires attempting to convince consumers to reassess the value associated
with a certain attribute. For example, Apple computers do not have a floppy drive and
convince consumers that floppies are not reliable for storing data. Epson attempts to
convince consumers that its inkjet printers need no change of printing head every time the
ink cartridge is changed. A marketer may convince consumers that bad taste is good
quality in a mouthwash.
2. Changing Consumers’ Beliefs: A common and effective approach adopted by most
marketers to changing attitudes is to focus on the cognitive component. The strategy of
changing beliefs focuses on shifting beliefs about the performance of brand on one or
more attributes. Alternatively, marketers attempt to shift the importance consumers place
on certain attributes to those attributes on which their brand is stronger. This can be done
by introducing new attributes in the brands and emphasizing the importance of existing
ones. Epson printers emphasize the importance of Micro Peizo technology leading to
superior colour reproduction in prints. Apple convinces consumers that its computers use
the power processor. This makes these computers technologically different and superior.
Nizoral shampoo ads convince consumers that Ketoconazole ingredient gives better
protection against dandruff.
3. Changing Brand Evaluations: This strategy focuses on influencing consumers’ overall
brand attitudes without any reference to specific attributes. This can be accomplished by
associating a positive feeling with product usage. Nescafe commercial “ho shuru har din
aise” is one such attempt. “When you care enough to send the very best” ads of Hallmark
cards is another example of associating feelings with the brand. Some brands make a
claim that it is the largest selling brand, or the others are trying to imitate.

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