ATTITUDE CHANGE STRATEGIES:Resolving two conflicting attitudes

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Consumer Psychology (PSY - 514)

LESSON35

ATTITUDE CHANGE STRATEGIES

CHAPTER 5: INDIVIDUAL DETERMINANTS OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Understanding:

· Attitude Change Strategies

Associating the product with admired group or events

Resolving two conflicting attitudes

Changing consumers believes about competitor's brands

Attitude Change Strategies

Attitude Change Strategies available to the marketers include:

1. Changing the consumers basic motivational function

2. Associating the product with admired group or events

3. Resolving two conflicting attitudes

4. Changing consumers beliefs about competitor's brands

We discussed strategy no.1 in our last lecture. In this section we will study the remaining three strategies.

2. Associating the product with admired group or events

Attitudes are related at least in part to special groups, events or causes. It is possible to alter attitudes towards

companies and their products, services and brands by pointing put their relationships to particular social groups,

events or causes. For example a detergent powder advertising that a certain percentage of their profits will be

going towards educating the poor children of the country.

A study found that both the brand and the cause benefit from such alliances. A low familiar cause benefits more

from its association with a positive brand than a highly familiar cause.

Another research found that if corporate sponsors fail to explicitly indicate their motives for a company/cause or

product/cause association, it is likely that consumer will from their own motive for the association between the

company, product or service and the cause. The research indicates that it is good idea for a sponsor to reveal to

target consumers the reasoning behind their sponsorship, so that consumers know their motives rather than form

their own potentially inaccurate or negative motives.

3. Resolving two conflicting attitudes

Attitude change strategies sometimes resolve actual or potential conflict between two attitudes. If the consumers

may be made to see that their negative attitude towards a product or a specific brand or attributes is not in conflict

with another attitude. They may be induced to change their evaluation of a brand (from negative to positive).

Usually detergent powders are effective in cleaning but these also cause a bad effect on the skin. Now in some

countries seventh generation of natural dishwashing and laundry detergents is introduced. These are as effective as

synthetic chemical cleaning agents and are safer because they are natural. For a person who cares about both

effectiveness and environmental safety Seventh generation is attempting to resolve what might otherwise be

conflicting attitudes.

Multi attribute models

Multi attribute models portray consumers' attitudes with regard to an attitude object (product, service, etc...) as a

function of consumers' perceptions and assessments of the key attributes or beliefs held with regards to a

particular attitude object. According to these models attitude change can be brought about in four ways:

1. Changing the relative evaluation of attributes

2. Changing brand beliefs

3. Adding an attribute

4. Changing the over-all brand rating

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Consumer Psychology (PSY - 514)

1. Changing the relative evaluation of attributes

The overall market for many consumer products is set out so that different consumer segments are offered

different brands with different features. If detergent powder is a product category then one brand may stress

potency and the other brand may stress gentleness.

In general when a product category is naturally divided according to distinct product features or benefits that

appeal to a particular segment of consumers marketers usually have an opportunity to persuade consumers to

"cross over". That is persuading consumers to shift their favorable attitude from one version of the product to the

other.

2. Changing brand beliefs

A cognitive oriented strategy for changing attitudes that concentrates on changing beliefs or perceptions about the

brand itself - a most common form of advertising appeal. Advertisers are constantly reminding us that their

product is "more" is "better" or "the best".

For example Dishwashing Liquid:

o Palmolive dishwashing liquids are designed to extend consumers' beliefs with regard to product's

gentleness by suggesting that it be used for hand washing of fine clothing items

Bush's Baked Beans

o We couldn't make our secret family recipe any better, so we made it easier (by placing it in a

microwavable cup)

3. Adding an attribute

This strategy can be accomplished by adding an attribute that previously has been ignored or one that represents

improvement or technological advancement.

For example previously ignored attribute Yogurt has more potassium than a banana (a fruit associated with high

quantity of potassium) for a consumer looking to increase their potassium intake the comparison has the power to

change their attitude from banana to yogurt. Another example may be of a refrigerator that has an advanced and

unique water filtration system, a feature that reflects a company's continued efforts to create innovative products.

4. Changing the over-all brand rating

Another cognitive oriented strategy that attempts to alter consumers' overall rating of a brand directly, without

attempting to change their evaluation of any single brand attribute. Such strategy frequently relies on some form of

global statement that this is:

"the largest selling brand"

"thee most awarded car ever"

Changing Beliefs about Competitor's Brands

This approach emphasizes the attitude strategy to change the consumers' beliefs about the attributes of

competitive brands. E.g. a pain killer advertises that no other pain killer works faster or stronger on muscle pain.

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