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Understanding consumer and audience psychology

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Understanding consumer and audience psychology

Dr Darren G. LillekerThe Media School

About Me

• Research centres on political engagement and participation

• Interest in where the citizen meets the consumer– Finding this to be 80% consumer 20% citizen

• Published widely on how political communication is designed for impact (and why it fails)

• Consultant on understanding brand meanings• Led towards taking more psychological perspectives

A shameless plug

“a systematic exploration of political communication that utilises theories from communication psychology to explain why some aspects of some campaigns might be successful or might fail”

Today’s session

• Focusing on the broad themes around what people do with persuasive communication

• Introducing the idea of the schema• Talking about values, beliefs and attitudes• Introducing the lessons from a bunch of psychological

theories• Picking out some key lessons to inform a wide range

of communicators• Talking with you about communication (not just at

you)

Warm-Up Task

• Take a sheet of paper and write out the top three things people will think of when they hear your organisation’s name – put the organisation’s name at the top

Be prepared to talk about these and have others add their own.

Why brand meaning is hidden

• Most people talk about any organisation in terms of its function

• Meaning is emotional – it is about connections in the subconscious

• To uncover these is difficult but highly rewarding for communication planning

The power of metaphor

Relevant Schema – UK Conservatives

PARTY LOGO

BUT WHAT DOES IT

HIDE

PARTY IS ELITIST

LOOK AFTER ‘THEIR OWN’

CAN’T BE TRUSTED

Guess the high street outlet?

Brands as a ‘bag of associations’

• Schema theory– All physical associations– All emotional associations

• A combination of symbols, images and messages

• With related information about how these made you feel

“I may make you feel but I can’t make you think” (PT Grover, advertising pioneer)

Unpacking Associations

• More than just recall• Metaphor allows for the exploration of schema• Holistic accounts rare, often assumed• Associations we express often not deeply held

Evaluating Associations

• Values– How things ought to be do you behave as I think you should

• Beliefs– How things are do I think you behave as you should or not

• Attitudes formed from association and evaluations– Evaluations based on experience

These decide how each of us perceive the world around us, and judge communication

Attitudes

• Learned through direct (or 2nd hand) experience• Range from very strong to very weak– Weak attitudes often no more than beliefs

• Consistency of experiences shapes attitudes– If all experiences +/- attitudes will follow

• Attitudes are hardest to change… But!– 80% of attitudes are weak– 20% medium to strong, 10% strongest often negative

The importance of schema

Social Judgement Theory• Standing in relation to ‘ME’ - determines

– Who is listened to– What is recalled

Realm of Acceptance

Realm of Neutrality

Realm of Rejection

Brands we trustSpokespeople we likeRelevant product/serviceRelevant communication

People we distrustPolicies we oppose

People that are intriguingProducts that can be made relevant

Realm of Acceptance

Realm of Neutrality

Realm of Rejection

Brands we trustSpokespeople we likeRelevant product/serviceRelevant communication

People we distrustPolicies we oppose

People that are intriguingProducts that can be made relevant

Schema and Judgment

• Used a scaled measure for a number of brands– Trust in the brand– Proximity– Relevance of major (known) products– Likeability of ‘face’ of the brand– Likelihood of purchase/donation

Realm of Acceptance

Realm of Neutrality

Realm of Rejection

Additive scales position brands for likelihood of acceptance

We accept

• Messages from people we trust• Positions that agree with our values• Positions that conform to beliefs and attitudes• Messages/Symbols that have positive emotional

associations• Individuals/Brands that have positive emotional

associations

Ethos (your purpose), Pathos (your empathy) and Logos (your logic)

Schema thus act as a communication block

FOR THE PEOPLE WHO DREW THIS ANY MESSAGE FROM THE

CONSERVATIVES WILL BE TREATED WITH SCEPTICISM

Or a facilitator…

BUT ATTACKS AGAINST THE PARTY WILL BE MORE LIKELY TO BE

ACCEPTED IF THEY REINFORCE THESE NEGATIVE ASSOCIATIONS

What the Conservative associations say

• Ethos– Self-interested, out for selves, power hungry, devious

• Pathos– Not in it together, elitist (an elite), disconnected from

society

• Logos– Logic questioned as only working for themselves (elite

logic)

What the RNLI associations say

• Ethos– Self-sacrifice, caring, there for people in distress

• Pathos– Relate most to seaside/maritime communities, heroic,

emergency service

• Logos– Emergency service (so funded), remote from non-maritime

communities

The importance of Schema

• To know what people think of your brand is to know if they will listen to you and trust you

• To know negative associations is to consider how to change them

• To know positive associations is to consider how to build on them

• To know how schema are created is to design good communication

Task 2

• Think of your last piece of communication– Email to customers, tweet, Facebook post, ad,

article…

– What associations did it attempt to form around your brand?

– To what extent do you think it was successful?

• Write and be prepared to share

Please have a break!

Task 3

• What did you want the receiver to do with your communication– Consider your message (argument) carefully?– Just pick up simple associations?– A combination?

• What was the strategic intent?

Elaboration Likelihood ModelCommunication

Motivation

Ability

Attitudinal Reaction

(positive / negative)

Change in Thinking

(positive / negative)

Change in Attitude

(positive / negative)

Peripheral Attitude Shift

Peripheral Processing

No Change

NO

NO

NONO

YES

Peripheral v Central Processing

• An MS analysis of advertising found…– 75% of charity ads required central processing– 10% of commercial ads required same

• Audience research finds…– 80% of advertising is actually peripherally processed– Where too much thought is required consumers

switch off

Elaboration Likelihood ModelCommunication

Motivation

Ability

Attitudinal Reaction

(positive / negative)

Change in Thinking

(positive / negative)

Change in Attitude

(positive / negative)

Peripheral Attitude Shift

Peripheral Processing

No Change

NO

NO

NONO

YES

ANTI-CONSERVATIVE ATTACKS DO NOT

WARRANT CONSIDERATION, THEY

WILL SIMPLY REINFORCE THE NEGATIVE SCHEMA

THE CONSERVATIVE CHALLENGE IS TO

MAKE THOSE WITH NEGATIVE SCHEMA

THINK

Elaboration Likelihood ModelCommunication

Motivation

Ability

Attitudinal Reaction

(positive / negative)

Change in Thinking

(positive / negative)

Change in Attitude

(positive / negative)

Peripheral Attitude Shift

Peripheral Processing

No Change

NO

NO

NONO

YES

COGNITIVE INVOLVEMENT

Creating Cognitive Involvement

• Charismatic spokesperson• Creative communication• Relevant Message• Attractive and engaging • Strong, relevant narrative• Context Valence

The greatest danger is thinking everyone (anyone) cares

Can anyone provide 3 reasons why the average person would have cognitive involvement with your brand?

Peripheral Cues and campaigning

• Simple messages positions that resonate with intended audiences [ETHOS]

• Emotional communication, understanding their context [PATHOS]

• Evocative narratives, personal and social [ETHOS + PATHOS]

• Social context [PATHOS] linked to [ETHOS] to limit alternative considerations [LOGOS]

Hot Cognition

• Cognitive arousal stimulated by highly relevant communication

• Stimulation of emotions engineered to make some think– Form new attitudes– Mobilisation tactics

• Importance of action stressed through communication

Hot Cognition & Cognitive Dissonance

• Forcing individuals to question beliefs and attitudes leads to discomfort

• Reconciliation required to reduce discomfort– Can ignore new information– Can cope with new information without changing

attitudes– Can change attitudes– Can retreat from the situation entirely

Reduction strategy based on what is possible

Re-branding or Re-launching

• One of the greatest challenges– Involves creating new associations

• Involves understanding the most deep-rooted associations

• Judging which are important to maintain• Judging how to link to new associations

Sometimes it works

Sometimes not so much…

Mobilisation

• Getting consumers to buy• Crowdsourcing• Creating advocates• Getting supporters to work for you

“we no longer have passive consumers or citizens, they participate in myriad ways in shaping your brand. Getting them to act with you is the challenge but you and they win if you can”

The basic conditions for participation

Rethinking Participation

Seek Information

Like,Sign-up

Share

Comment Join Online

Blog

Advocate to Friends

Delivering CanvassingJoin Offline

InvolvementLow High

Communication is about nurturing interest, increasing involvement, building relationships, a community and mobilising

GOTV

Involvement and non-traditional and traditional participation

LOYALTY AND COMMITMENT

Simple forms of Mobilisation

• Sharing• Liking• Online reviews• Advocacy

What is appropriate for your brand• Generate awareness?• Get them

buying/donatingOR• Getting customers or

supporters to create the buzz

The Revised Loyalty Ladder

Information SeekerEngaging and appealing broad messages.Have clear idea of the target audience Hypermedia usage

ProspectTargeted through Activists and Active Advocates.Personal Appeals using broad messages.Market-oriented brand identity

Passive AdvocateWelcome and test desire to be connected.Communicate at various levels.

ConnectedForums, groups and opportunities for meets.

Active AdvocateBring them into the organisation.Create opportunities for them to be activists

ActivistsEmpower through connectedness. Build desire for outcomes; Make outcomes realisable

Adapting the TPB – take one

Creation of Positive Outcomes from Involvement (Expectancy Value)

Creation of Social Norms around support and alliance(Group Think)

Demonstrate value of action and reduce barriers (Foot-in-the-door)

The Role of Communication

Positive Outcomes +

Community Spirit +

Low Barrier to success

Heightened Propensity to participate=

The Impact on Cognition and Behaviour

Adapted from Azjen’s Theory of Planned Behaviour

Apply these to your organisation

• Expectancy value– Why should someone do what you require?

• Group think– How to create a norm for behaviour around your

organisation• Foot-in-the-Door– What might the first step be (browsing, visiting,

watching, liking…)

Adapting the TPB – take two

Empowering your customers?

• Participation can be inspirational• Participation can be empowering But• Participation must have some impact• Participation must be encouraged• Participation must be nudged in a direction

Rules for mobilising

• Interest • Desire • Likelihood of empowerment• Likelihood of an outcome• A nudge to act• Peer reinforcement of actions• Low initial threshold

You should have

• Your own and others ideas of what your brand represents

• The ethos communicated by the organisation• What you expected the audience to do on

receipt• Three reasons for cognitive involvement• A purpose for your customers/supporters• Arguments why they should participate in your

communication In other words you have the basics for a communication plan

Thoughts on communication

• Traditional media gains awareness; social media allows for activism, participation and belonging

• Participation takes many forms, and one action may (if the request is right) lead to another

• Customers/Supporters are the best recruiters: – personal connections create a sense of community

• A lack of a sense of community is demotivating• Communities mobilise internally and externally

Also running today:-The newspaper journalist: An endangered species? 5:30pm-7pm.-Putting pen to paper. 7pm- 9pm.- iBU app: Interactive Festival Timetable

Tweet us @BUFestivals #BUFest14Facebook: Bournemouth University’s Festival

of Learning

Share your feedback on this session by emailing research@bournemouth.ac.uk