L'eau en Inde

Consumer Behaviour

TABLE OF CONTENT

1. Introduction                                                                                 2                
2. Behavioral approach (conditioning theory)                               2
   
3. Tri-component theory         

A. Cognitive component                                                 5

B. Affective component                                                         7
C. Observational learning theory                                        9

1. Conclusion                                                                         11

1. Bibliography                                                                           13                        

This study talks about the importance of company’s logos in influencing consumer attitudes. The consumer is the person using or consuming the product. The good or the service purchased is sometimes represented with a Logo, which is a graphic representation of a brand or a company that is used on different communication media. The goal of a company is to target the consumer or a group of consumer. For this, companies create logos and emblems, which are among the visual aspects of the brand.

The logo reinforces the image of the company. It can also promote the recognition of the mark like for example, for sports articles. The logo must therefore have, among other things, qualities of evocation of the activity and the values of the company, but also the qualities of legibility. To avoid a discrepancy, the logo must evolve at the same time as the company and its ambitions.

Through examples, theories and literature this essay will try to answer the following question: How do company logos change people opinions and influence their purchase? This report will show how consumer are affected by logos created by companies in decision-making process.

Firstly, this report will introduce the conditioning theory which is part of the Behavioral approach learning and will explain how its lead to a real impact on consumers through logos. Secondly, this study will examine the tri-components theory and more especially the cognitive and affective component and will identify the effects of the attitude of consumers towards the brand logos.

 The first part of this report will explain the behavioral approach of learning theory and more especially the classical conditioning theory and its influence on consumer perception of logos and influence in purchasing.

The behavioral learning theory shows that the consumer responds to the stimulus he receives and so learning takes place as the results of response to external events. There are two types of behavioral learning theories: the classical conditioning and the instrumental conditioning but this report will only be focus on the classical conditioning.

Based on Pavlov’s work, the classical conditioning process implies a relationship between a stimulus and a behavioral response. By combining a conditioned stimulus with the unconditioned stimulus, it gives a conditioned response identical to that caused by the first natural stimulus. A process of persuasion used in the advertising field, it aims to transfer to the brand the feelings felt by the individuals of an exposure to the message.

The experiment carried out in 1903 by the Russian physiologist Pavlov considered the dog's food as the unconditioned stimulus which generated an unconditioned response from the animal: salivation. He noticed that the tinkling of a bell (neutral stimulus) which became a conditioned stimulus was systematically associated with the delivery of the food. Then, after a certain time, tinkling could generate a conditioned response, in this case, salivation, without the feed being presented to the animal. This experiment is called stimulus generalization. (Pavlov, I. P., & Anrep, G. V. , 2003)

Social psychologists particularly wanted to know whether advertising, as a phenomenon of social influence, operates under such mechanisms.
Many logos are existing since decades and never changed like for example, the brand Nike logo is represented by a Swoosh since 1971 and on all their products, it is a simple logo which gives an impression of movement. The consumers see the logo and refer immediately to the brand. Indeed, the consumer is used of seeing the logo so he feels emotions about the logo because Nike is a brand of prestige and quality that influences consumers in their purchase.

[pic 1]

Figure 1 : Nike logo , the swoosh (1971)

Also, Garnier skin products all have the same logo but also the same packaging and design and box, consumers unconsciously impregnate the shape and colors of Garnier’s Logo and associate it directly with the brand. This example is relevant because thanks to the logo consumers are influenced in buying the product. This process is the basis for many marketing strategies, but there are also others theories that influence the consumer in their purchase.

[pic 2]

Figure 2: Garnier skin products (2013)

The second part of this study will talk about the tri-component theory and more precisely about the cognitive and affective component and how it influences through logos the consumer’s perception of the company or brand and it consequences on the purchase.

The first paragraph will introduce the cognitive learning theory. It is the result of the internal mental process. "This perspective views people as problem solvers who actively use information from the world around them to master their environments." (Solomon, 2011). The name cognitive refers to the term cognition (knowledge in the sense of process and product), it is the study of the functioning of intelligence, the origin of our knowledge as well as the strategies used to assimilate and reinvesting knowledge. It focuses on perception, memory processing and language.

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