Consumer Behaviour: An exploration of the process of persuasion from both an advertisers and a consumer s position

Transcription

1 1 Consumer Behaviour: An exploration of the process of persuasion from both an advertisers and a consumer s position 1 Introduction This working paper investigates advertising communications and the relationship with consumers behaviour by exploring recurring questions that surround the subject in relation to issues of persuasion. The use of mass media (as described by Chomsky in his work What Makes Mainstream Media Mainstream as [t]he elite media set a framework within which others operate. Chomsky, 1997) and how we control the media to persuade the receiver, or consumer, of media into altering the receivers behaviour is a macro or large-scale, overall conceptual framework, utilising all forms of media to work on transferring a message to the consumer (Galli and Gorn, 2011). With the idea of transferring a message in mind, we can further extend our initial concepts of the issues surrounding advertising into the more complex questions of; can we manufacture consent with this form of communication? (Lippmann, 1922), how do we know our mass media messages influence and who does it influence? (Thompson, 1995) and is there a fundamental shift in worldview? (Vargo and Lusch, 2004). 2 Research Question As a focus for this paper a question can be formed around: Consumer behaviour: an exploration of the process of persuasion from both an advertisers and a consumer s position, with a focus on two areas of research that have not been previously considered simultaneously, specifically - Manufacturing Consent (Herman and Chomsky, 1998) and Motivational Behaviour research (generally with reference to Converse et al., 1958) with an exploration of the flow and focus of exchange in the relationship between advertiser and consumer at a personal life world level. 3 Literature Review A review of the extant literature review began with an examination of a broad set of interdisciplinary and disparate texts in relation to gaining an insight into the history of consumer behaviour theory Figure 1, offers a visual longitudinal representation of the areas of literature under consideration within the paper. The separate works of Marx (1867), Bernays, (1969), Dichter (Packard, 1957), and Herman and Chomsky (1998) describe a unique pattern of inquiry not assimilated into one research document and therefore conceptualization to date. As figure 1 illustrates the review commenced with the Marx view on consumerism and mass media, progressing towards to Freud s approach to psychoanalysis (1920), LeBon s Crowd Study of the Popular Mind (1896), Trotter s Instincts of the Herd in War and Peace (1916) and

2 2 Lippmann s Public Opinion (1921) and then further with Bernays assimilation of the ideas surrounding propaganda (as described in his book Propaganda - relating to Public Relations and the nascent ideas of steering consumer behaviour) into the development of the ideas of Dichter (1949) and Motivational Behaviour with Converse et al (1958) summarizing and codifying a simplified view of the key concerns of Motivational Behaviour research before the end of the 1950 s. Further works that extend the review and align with the research proposed include the Manufacturing Consent (Herman and Chomsky, 1998). Two separate works can be considered fundamental departure points for the study, the first is Herman and Chomsky s The Manufacturing of Consent (1998), a macro theoretical construct describing how corporate or government bodies use the mass media to effect change on the population as an analysis of the news media. Herman and Chomsky argue that the mass media of the United States and by extension in this work - consumerist society: are effective and powerful ideological institutions that carry out a system-supportive propaganda function by reliance on market forces, internalized assumptions, and self-censorship, and without overt coercion (Herman and Chomsky 1998, pp. 306). The second, the works of Converse et al. in Elements of Marketing (1958), as a micro individualized construct - that represents the consumers response to the receipt of goods and services at the point of exchange with an overview of micro level processes undertaken by the consumer on receipt of advertising in general. This paper explores for first time the relationship between the two approaches (macro and micro), and in doing so will interrogate normative conceptual positions described in relation to research, practice and policy. The two approaches describe the relationship between the manufacturing of consent and the reaction by the receiver at two levels, the macro level (Herman and Chomsky 1998) and the micro levels (Converse et al, 1958) of communication. At the macro level conceptual position an understanding of what forms of communication are undertaken and why they need to be understood will be discussed. The meaning and usage of processes of different levels of persuasion will be outlined to help gain insight into the mass communication needs (and aspirations) of the sender of the message. At the micro level conceptual position an understanding of how the consumer receives the message and processes the communication will be discussed in order to gain insight into the effectiveness (the degree to which something is successful in producing a desired result) of the message and how, or if, it is transferred. 4 The Aim of the research To explore the research question: Consumer Behaviour: An exploration of the process of persuasion from both an advertisers and a consumer s position, and gain insight into the interface between two approaches that function on a macro (Manufacturing Consent) and micro (Motivational Research) level, through case study, case analysis and cross case analysis. The paper will discuss and explore two

3 3 previously disparate areas of inquiry as outlined above and build upon the works of Deacon (2008), Carson, Gilmore et al. (2001), Vargo and Lusch (2006) developing a conceptual model of: The evolution of Dominant Logic for Consumer Behaviour, in the context of advertising and marketing communications. Therefore, exploring the processes of emotional responses within the conversational exchanges between the two groups outlined. 5 Moving towards a Meso approach The focus of on-going research upon which this paper is based - is the further exploration of the interface between Manufacturing of Consent and Consumer Behaviour at the individual, single actor and socially constructed contextual level of the two approaches outlined with an aim to gain further insight into the detail of the interaction and move beyond reductive black-box conceptions of behavior.

4 4 References Bernays, E. (1969). The engineering of consent (New issue of 3 Revised ed.). USA: University of Oklahoma Press. Carson, D., Gilmore, A., Gronhaug, K., & Perry, C. (2001). Qualitative marketing research Sage Publications Limited. Chomsky, N. (1997). What makes mainstream media mainstream. Z Magazine, 10(10), Converse, P. D., Huegy, H. W., & Mitchell, R. V. (1965). The elements of marketing Prentice-Hall NJ. Deacon, J. (2008). A study of meaning and operation of the language of marketing in context. University of Ulster). Dichter, E. (1949). A psychological view of advertising effectiveness. The Journal of Marketing, 14(1), Freud, S. (1920). A general introduction to psychoanalysis Boni and Liveright. Galli, M., & Gorn, G. (2011). Unconscious transfer of meaning to brands. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 21(3), 215. Herman, E., & Chomsky, N. (1998). Manufacturing consent: The political economy of the mass media (2nd ed.). UK: Vintage. LeBon, G. (2003). The crowd a study of the popular mind (1896). UK: Kessinger Publishing Co. Lippmann, W. (1965). PUBLIC OPINION (1921). Marx, K. (2004). Capital: Critique of political economy V. 1 (New Ed edition ed.). UK: Penguin Classics. Packard, V. (2007). The hidden persuaders (Reissue ed.). USA: Ig Publishing. Parker, D. (2013). Consumer behaviour: An exploration of the process of persuasion from both an advertisers and a consumer s position. Unpublished PhD, University of Wales, Newport, Newport, Wales. Thompson, J. (1995). The media and modernity: A social theory of the media Stanford University Press. Trotter, W. (1916). Instincts of the herd in war and peace. Vargo, S. L., & Lusch, R. F. (2004). Evolving to a new dominant logic for marketing. Journal of Marketing,, 1-17.

5 5 Appendix Consumer Behaviour: An exploration of the process of persuasion from both an advertisers and a consumer s position Figure 1