1. Introduction

The process by which an individual selects, organizes, and interprets stimuli into a meaningful and coherent

picture of the world is called perception.[1] Perception (from the Latin perceptio, percipio) is the organization,

identification and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the

environment. All perception involves signals in the nervous system, which in turn result from physical

stimulation of the sense organs. Consumer perception theory is any attempt to understand how a consumer’s

perception of a product or service influences their behavior.[2]

2. Marketing Concepts

The marketing concepts used in my assignment are:

2.1 Selective Exposure

Consumers seek out messages which are pleasant or with which they can sympathize. They also selectively

expose themselves to advertisements that reassure them of good purchases. [1]

2.2 Grouping

People group stimuli to form a unified impression or concept. Grouping helps memory and recall. Grouping

is used advantageously by marketers to imply certain desired meaning in connection with their products. [1]

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The picture shows an advertisement of Head

and Shoulders shampoo. The advertisement

shows the effectiveness of Head and

Shoulders shampoo in removing dandruff

from head leaving no sign of dandruff. This

advertisement makes the consumer believe

that Head and Shoulders shampoo is the best

for treating dandruffs and they should use this

shampoo if they want to have a healthy,

dandruff free hair.

2.3 Perceived Quality

Consumers often judge the quality of the product on basis of variety of informational cues that they associate

with the product. Cues are intrinsic concern physical characteristics of the product itself. In some cases

consumers use physical characteristics to judge the product quality. Consumers like to believe that they base

their evaluations of product quality on intrinsic cues, because that enables them to justify their product

decisions as being “rational” or “objective” product choices. [1]

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The picture shows an advertisement of

Feviquick. Fevikwik is a one drop instant

adhesive that fixes things rather quickly.

The advertisement here portrays the same:

an expensive figurine that's broken gets

fixed before you know it, giving it a

second life. The visuals depict the speed at

which the broken statue gets replaced by a

fixed one. Hence the add focuses on the

quality (reliability and speed) of Feviquick

to fix anything and everything possible.

The picture shows an advertisement of Cadbury

Celebrations. It shows a social gathering where

people are in a festive mood sharing and eating

Cadbury Celebrations. The overall mood created

by this advertisement leads to the consumer

associate gifting and eating Cadbury

Celebrations to share feeling of joy and

happiness with each other.

2.4 Motives

People tend to perceive the things they need or want; the stronger the need, the greater the tendency to ignore

unrelated stimuli in the environment. An individual’s perceptual process simply attunes itself more closely to

those elements in the environment that are important to him or her. [1]

2.5 Figure and Ground

People tend to organize perceptions into figure-and-ground relationships. The ground is usually perceived as

indefinite, hazy and continuous. The common line that separates the figure and the ground is generally

attributed to the figure rather than the ground, which helps give the figure greater definition. Marketers

usually design so the figure is the noticed stimuli. [1]

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The picture shows an advertisement of

Volkswagen Jetta. It shows that the

features and look of the car is so good

that you are ready to do anything to drive

it. It has motivated Ravana to such an

extent that he cut his nine heads in order

to get an opportunity to drive the car.

2.6 Physical Appearance

People tend to attribute the qualities they associate with certain people to others who may resemble them,

whether or not they consciously recognize the similarity. The selection of models for advertisements can be a

key element in their ultimate persuasiveness. Attractive models are more persuasive for some products. [1]

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The picture shows an advertisement of Sprite. This

advertisement shows a lot of sentences written. The

irrelevant words in each sentence is cut focusing only on

the relevant words written in green which forms the

shape of a Sprite bottle and can be noticed due to yellow

background. This advertisement shows the people who

drink sprite are clear about what they want in life and

focus only on what they want. Their focus is so strong

that it makes them stand distinctly from rest of the crowd.

2.7 Product Positioning Based on a Specific Benefit

The essence of successful marketing is the image that the product has in the mind of the consumer- that is its

positioning. The core of effective positioning is a unique position that the product occupies in the mind of

consumer. The use of slogans that smartly and precisely depict key benefits of the brands they promote and

have effectively positioned these brands in the minds of consumers. [1]

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The picture advertisement is of Sony Vaio E

series laptops. It features young, hot,

stunning and georgeous celebrity Kareena

Kapoor who is well known for a slim size

zero figure and stylish looks holding a Sony

Vaio E series laptop. This advertisement

communicates that Sony Vaio E series

laptops are slim, light weight, available in

stylish and attractive eye catching colors.

Owning such laptops will make a person feel

that he/she has a style quotient of his/her

own.

2.8 Product Repositioning

Regardless of how well a product appears to be, the marketers may be forced to reposition it in response to

market events, such as a competitor cutting into the brand’s market share or too many competitors stressing

the same attribute. Another reason to reposition a product is to satisfy changing consumer preferences. [1]

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The picture advertisement is of Dove

soap. It says that when you wash your

face with dove soap, it comes off like a

cream moistening the skin; unlike other

soaps that make your skin rough. So

dove soap uses moistening cream as its

unique selling proposition which

makes it distinct from its competitors

and also to position it distinctly in the

mind of its target customers.

The picture advertisement is of Fanta.

Through this advertisement Fanta repositions

itself as a soft drink that has 30% less sugar

with respect to other soft drinks. So through

this advertisement Fanta wants to re position

itself as a low sugar contained drink in the

mind of its target consumers who are

showing consciousness towards healthy and

less sugar contained diet or drink. Consumers

knowing that Fanta contains less sugar will

prefer to buy it over other soft drink.

2.9 Halo Effect

Halo effect has been used to describe situations in which the evaluation of a single object or person on a

multitude of dimensions is based on the evaluation of just one or a few dimensions. It includes the evaluation

of multiple objects on the basis of evaluation of just one dimension (e.g. a brand name).[1]

2.10 Stereotypes

Individuals tend to carry pictures in their minds of the meaning of various kinds of stimuli. These

stereotypes serve as expectations of what specific situations, people or events will be alike, and they are

important determinants of how such stimuli are subsequently perceived. [1]

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The picture advertisement is of Parachute Advances

Body Lotion. Parachute is an established brand name

concerned with hair care products. Parachute hair care

products stand for enhancing the strength and shine of

hair and prevents hair fall. So the launch of the new

Parachute Advances Body Lotion will make the

consumers believe that the lotion will make the skin soft,

smooth as well as protect it from the harmful effects of

sun rays i.e., prevent skin tanning in summers. Hence the

consumers will judge this new product based on its

established brand name and will purchase it.

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The picture advertisement is of Dabur Gulabari

Premium Gulabjal. It features Vanya Mishra who

is Miss India World 2012. It says that the beauty

secret of Miss India is that she uses Dabur

Gulabari Premium Gulabjal on her face that makes

her skin fair and also makes it glow. Thus the use

of Dabur Gulabari Premium Gulabjal has made

her look so beautiful that she has won the Miss

India crown.

Girls want to look beautiful. So this advertisement

targets the girls and makes them perceive that they

can also be beauty queen one day if they use

Dabur Gulabari Premium Gulabjal as the product

will enhance their beauty and make them look fair.

3. References

1. Leong G. Schiffman and Leslie Lazar Kanuk, Consumer Behavior (Pearson Education, Ninth

Edition), ch. 6.

2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perception (assessed on 6.4.2013)

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