OUGD601 - Extended Essay - Linking Information / Notes - Changing / Influencing Consumption Patterns

Changing / Influencing Consumption Patterns

Design / advertising / Marketing – Decreasing Consumption

Brands / marketing can change (positively or negatively) common consumption behaviours (yellow)

Can be used to increase sustainable behaviour (yellow)

Marketing has lept to be green (green dot)

Marketing fuels churn however it is just a tool – selling to a new consumer is about taking responsibility (green type)

Promoting Consumer action and Participation

Encouraging sustainable consumption through Branding and Marketing

Hedonism

Hedonism is common within promotion, design and marketing as needs can be met by other brands, this is used to make brands stand out (orange)

Hedonism encourages people to buy products (orange)

Hedonism is used to describe the pleasure of owning something (orange)

Understand needs

Marketers should understand peoples desire and aims then to create something that meets these needs (yellow)

Marketing makes issues relevant and understandable (yellow)

Consumer buying behaviour varies between passion and why and what they buy and concern about convieince and cost (green type)

Market segments

Marketers group consumers with similar needs into segments – similar behaviour , location, age etc (orange)

needs of segments in markets are different and have to be treated differently and react differently to different marketing (orange)

Messaging - Cautionary marketing vs Positive

Cautionary marketing where negative results from inaction are stressed are less effective and may not motivate consumers (orange)

Rewards only gained by following a described course of action through cautionary marketing – there are ways of avoiding these effects (orange)

Marketing uses modelling to motivate consumers, this shows them the negative effects of an action or behaviour, it can work both as positive and negative reinforcement  (orange)

Positive environmental messages are important for marketing to be successful – back to basics messages can have a negative impact (neon pink)

Consumers unlikely to give up their ‘have’ lifestyles for ‘have nots’ (neon pink)

Playing on motives

emotional and dormant motives rule over rational and conscious motives (orange)

Incentivising behaviour

Incentivising sustainable behaviour may increase sustainability, this creates competitivity (yellow)

Suggests a financial incentive is needed for the consumer to buy green products (red)

gamification is used to link fun with brands (yellow)

need financial incentive for return recycling (green type)

Imagery

Environmentalism is visual this should be played upon with large and bright illustrations (neon pink)

Illustrative visuals increase the positive message of environmental marketing messages (neon pink)

Strong images most effective as people are commonly visual however they must be legitimate and real because the consumer will know they are fake (green type)

Ethics can’t replace quality

Ethics adds value but the product has to be right (green type)

Ethical aspects can’t make up for a bad product (green type)

Products don’t sell completely based on ethical values which needs to e considered in marketing (green type)

Trust

Honesty ethical value which leads to trust which is important in marketing (green type)

Heritage is easily understood, associated with trust and quality and traditional values (green type)

Names in brands make consumers feel like someone is passionate and cares about the product (green type)

Emotions

Products that show that a consumer is doing their bit adds emotional benefits – creates a sense of community and shares responsibility between consumers (green type)

Show benefits  

Show how an environmental product will benefit their lives (health, money, safety etc) as a way of getting them to pay a little extra and rewarding them for their positive action (neon pink)

Products should reflect the benefits that they will bring to a consumer (yellow)

Outlining how a product saves money, time and the environment increases the likelihood of a purchase (neon pink)

People do not buy because of the environment – to become more sustainable, products need to emphasise practical benefits of a products (yellow)

Consumers need to understand what they will get from a product (yellow)

Primary benefits of a product can be enhanced with environmental messages (neon pink)

Ethical values are made more relevant when considered in relation to consumer orientated values and benefits (green type)

Environmental and ethical values need to be linked to practical benefits for the consumer – can be indirect such as saving the planet (green type)

Rational or emotional

Green marketing has focused too much on the environment and less on the benefits consumers get from these products – not motivational and too rational (yellow)

Purchasing behaviours – rational selling encourages the consumer to think logically and be more informed whereas emotive selling encourages them to act on impulse and is quicker (green type)

Cheap items are seen as rational sells, whilst premium products are on the emotive sell (green type)

Added value is in the emotive sell (green type)

Products that show that a consumer is doing their bit adds emotional benefits – creates a sense of community and shares responsibility between consumers (green type)

Educate

Educating consumers about environmental impacts of products is important to get them to buy products (neon pink)

Consumers should be educated about ethical factors (green type)

Make it easy to understand

Focussing on a specific issue can help consumers understand how to help (yellow)

State the need for sustainable consumption and make it easy to consume more sustainably (neon pink)

Consumers assume the products are superior in all aspects if have environmental labels – make it clear to consumers how a product is better in a specific area (neon pink)

Marketing which makes green easy makes effective behavioural change (green type)

Marketing simple changes makes it easy for consumers to understand how they can help (green type)

Consumers want to know about a product and this should be made easy for them and clear (green type)

Environmental messages should be clear and bold. People have environmental concerns and will respond to / engage with things they agree with (neon pink)

Make it convenient

Show how products and actions can save time and effort, making them conducive with busy lifestyles (neon pink)

Recycling participation is reliant on ease of use (green)

Encouraging simple activities are more likely to encourage consumers to engage rather than playing on fear, pessimism or guilt (neon pink)

Companies who make green easier and affordable will be most successful (green type)

Tell people what you want them to do – make it simple (green type)

Make it social

People will do things if they think other are doing it (yellow)

We are motivated into doing things if others are doing them – marketing focusses on individual choice however we are largely influenced by social learning (yellow)

Tell people what can be achieved if lots of people did little bits, as people don’t believe they can do things alone (green type)

Normalising sustainability

Making sustainability normal is more effective than making it something to aim towards (yellow)

Eco labels by brands normalise sustainability (yellow)

Brands and Ethos

Environmental efforts need to be value based within a company (neon pink)

Brands are defined by their actions and ethos (green type)

Hard to get people on board if actions don’t reflect it (green type)

Ethics is becoming a third dimension to marketing (green type)

For consumers to see a brand as ethical ethos is needed (green type)

Use of language

Using general environmental statements with no link to a company’s actual activities is not effective (neon pink)

Advertising is best when it uses language that communicates to all types of consumer mind (green type)

People don’t understand carbon footprint and environmentally friendly sounds like a green wash (green type)

Environmentally friendly too vague (green type)

Some words in marketing have lost value or are too vague (green type)

Green means different things to different people (green type)

Carbon footprint not easily understood for the consumer (green type)

Words have history behind them and are associated with values (green type)

for effective communication people need to be engaged rather than talked to (green type)

‘green’ has strong meaning and is easily understood however the meaning has become broader

‘green’ meaning has become more vague but it is still considered positive

‘green’ is visual which is appealing to consumers who are mainly visual

Sustainability and CO2 are more scientific rational and analytical which the public don’t associate with

Pollution is visual

Local is positive, attractive and romantic, community focussed (green type)

Use of words in marketing depends on the audiences, understanding of the word, the context e.g. packaging , ads and quality or writing (green type)

Medium

Green on packaging more credible than in ads – green in ads less likely to be believed than without it (green type)

75% of decision making is made at point of sale so the label is a powerful marketing tool (green type)

Marketing cannot change behaviour

Marketing cannot change behaviour on its own, system changes are needed alongside this (yellow)

Brands can influence behaviour

Brands represent things which places them in a position to change perceptions (yellow)

Can influence more sustainable behaviour in individuals and society (yellow)

Brands could could become the driving force to sustainable behaviour change (yellow)

Brands can influence perceptions of lifestyles (yellow)