Week #6: How do marketers view the psychology of consumers?

(Week 6: April 20-26)

Goals, overview. Marketers tend to see us in very simple terms. The book The New Positioning by Jack Trout is a good case in point. His book is widely considered to be an influential consumer psychology reference manual for marketers. In it, Trout says there are six rules about the consumer mind:
  1. Minds can’t cope
  2. Minds are limited
  3. Minds hate confusion
  4. Minds are insecure
  5. Minds don’t change
  6. Minds can lose focus
Are we that basic? Many advertisers certainly think so. The goal of this activity is to understand how master marketers view the psychology of the consumer, and how companies use that understanding to market their products.

Activities. We will hear about consumer psychology from two of the most successful marketing consultants in the business: Clotaire Rapaille and Frank Luntz. We will then listen to a “cool hunter” talk about her work trying to find and market “the next cool thing.”

The material for this activity is drawn from two PBS Frontline episodes. I have found sources to watch them online for free, as well as links to their transcripts. However, I recommend you either buy or rent them, as your experience of watching them will be much more enjoyable than watching them on the web. I actually own these Frontline episodes and have watched them many times over the years. The two Front Line episodes you will be watching are:

The Persuaders
Merchants of Cool
What parts to watch, focus on

The Persuaders. Watch the entire episode, but focus on the following:
  • The interview with Clotaire Rapaille (approximately 42:45 to minute 51)
  • The interview with Frank Luntz (starts approx. 59 minutes, ends approx. 108:20).
Merchants of Cool. Watch the entire episode, but focus on the following:
  • The section on “cool hunting,” which begins approximately 6 minutes into the episode, and ends at approx. 10 minutes.
If you want to understand more about cool hunting and the deliberate creation of marketable culture, go to the Cool Hunting site and sign up for updates.

Web resources

The following resources provide insight into particular topics in this area of inquiry:
Forum discussion question: Based on your activities this week, how do you think advertisers view consumers? Provide a response about why you think so. Also, respond to two other posts from colleagues. Discussion concludes over the weekend.

Post on your blog, using the heading “Consumer psychology.” Post a minimum of 2-3 paragraphs that summarize how you view consumer psychology as a result of this activity. Include references to the material that you watched. What are your “take-away” realizations as a result of this activity? As always, feel free to note any biases you suspect in the materials that were used. Also, be vigilant about using visually differentiated text in your presentation. Remember: blog posts are due by Sunday evening.

* "people behind packages" image from Clipart.com, a paid subscription service; baby tatoo image found through photobucket.com (http://media.photobucket.com/image/baby%20tatoo/florica_album/tatoo_baby.jpg?o=23); the creator's name is not clear.
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