Marketing Case Homework Part Case Solutions Case 41 Scent Marketing Reaches Consumers Emotions Discusses

PART IV

CASE SOLUTIONS

CASE 4-1 SCENT MARKETING REACHES CONSUMERS’ EMOTIONS

1) Chapter 13 discusses aromas as a situational characteristic that influences consumer

behavior. Assemble a small group of consumers and perform a focus group about their

impressions of scent marketing. Also, investigate what effects consumers believe these

scents have with their behavior. Compare and contrast these conscious reactions with

what behavioral effects we know that scents have based on existing research.

2) Chapter 14 discusses the nature of problem recognition. Discuss the role that scent

marketing might play in problem recognition in terms of actual state and desired state.

Scents can affect both the actual and the desired state of consumers. For example, a

3) Chapter 16 discusses consumer choice processes. Does scent marketing most impact

affective choice, attitude-based choice, or attribute-based choice? Justify your answer.

Scent affects the emotional center of the brand and impacts more holistic evaluation,

4) Chapter 16 also discusses bounded rationality, which is consumers’ limited capacity for

processing information. Many retailers who use scent diffuser use such small amounts of

scent that consumers may not realize that the retailer’s scent is playing a role. Discuss the

ethical implications.

5) When it comes to the ethical implications of scent marketing, do you feel that there is a

difference in retailers that use natural scents (like food retailers baking in the retail space)

versus retailers that use artificially manufactured scents?

Answers will vary.

6) Brainstorm a short list of brands, make sure that some are typically involved with

nominal decision making and others are typically associated with extensive decision

making. Then, imagine you are a marketer for those brands and describe the types of

aromas that would match with each brand.

7) Visit a local shopping mall and the lobbies of several major hotel chains. Pay attention to

the smells that you encounter while in each retail establishment. Prepare a short report

that compares and contrasts the scents that you encounter in each location.

CASE 4-2 AMAZON PRIME AIR PREPARES FOR TAKEOFF

1) Chapter 15 discusses information search. If Amazon is successful with its launching

Amazon Prime Air how could this change the information search in the consumer

decision process, and could it result in more online purchases?

As online shopping is increasingly adopted by consumers, there is a lot of opportunity for

2) Chapter 16 discusses evaluative criteria and chapter 18 discusses post-purchase cognitive

dissonance. What are some things that Amazon could do to aid consumers in making

decisions about a product and the evaluative criteria they are considering purchasing?

Could this help make consumers feel more comfortable about purchasing a product

online and reduce post-purchase guilt and dissonance?

through reviews, insightful videos and product information the better it could aid in

3) Chapter 17 discusses perceived risks. What perceived risk is Amazon reducing? How?

Amazon is rethinking its value proposition to consumers and addressing consumers’

4) Chapter 17 also discusses characteristics of online shoppers and provides a typology of

online shopping segments. Justify your response. (Hint: multiple segments could be

correct depending on your justification).

a. Which of these segments would be most likely to adopt Amazon Prime Air?

b. Which of these segments would be least likely to adopt Amazon Prime Air?

a. Answers may vary, however here is one answer. Upscale Clicks and Bricks are

5) Chapter 13 discusses situational characteristics. Which situational characteristics might

play a role in a consumer’s decision to purchase with Amazon Prime Air? Explain.

Temporal perspectives are situational characteristics that deal with the effect of time on

6) Chapter 7 discusses types of innovation. Is Amazon Prime Air best described as a

continuous, dynamically continuous, or discontinuous innovation?

Amazon Prime Air is best described as a discontinuous innovation because it is a

CASE 4-3 NISSAN GOES AFTER THE DOG LOVER NICHE

1) Chapter 14 discusses the nature of problem recognition. Imagine you are a marketing

manager for Nissan X-Trail 4Dogs and designing a marketing strategy to stimulate

problem recognition:

a. Would you focus on the actual state or the desired state? Why?

b. Describe a sample advertisement or promotional communication that you might

use in a campaign based on your answer for part a.

2) Chapter 14 also discusses different approaches for discovering consumer problems.

Which of these approaches do you think Nissan used when creating the concept for the

X-Trail 4Dogs? Justify your response.

Again, multiple answers could be correct, depending on the explanation. One possible

3) Chapter 15 discusses marketing strategies based on information patterns. Which strategy

would you recommend that marketers of the Nissan X-Trail 4Dogs use?

The preference strategy is a good option. Purchasing a car involves extended decision

4) Chapter 16 discusses different types of consumer choice processes. Which choice process

would the consumer likely use when making a car purchasing decision?

and then find the car that has all the important attributes. In the case of the Nissan X-Trail

5) Chapter 6 discusses family decision making and the household lifecycle. Many dog

owners consider their dog or dogs to be part of their family and consider them when

making purchases. Which of the family purchase roles could a dog play in the decision-

making process for a family vehicle?

Dog owners who consider their dogs to be family members often treat them similarly to

6) Using the information you learned from the textbook and this case, describe some

demographics and psychographics of a consumer that you feel would be a member of the

ideal target market for the Nissan X-Trail 4Dogs.

Answers will vary here. However, a good answer is that the person would come from the

CASE 4-4 WAWA DOMINATES WITH ITS MOBILE APP

1) Chapter 13 discusses the nature of situational influences in terms of communication

situations, purchase situations, use situations and disposition situations. How might a

consumer’s experience with mobile ordering with the Wawa app be impacted by

situational influences?

Answers will vary. However, a potential answer could mention that in terms of the

2) Chapter 14 discusses the types of consumer decisions.

a. Which type(s) of decision making would purchasing a sandwich from a quick

service restaurant (QSR) be?

b. Which type of decision making are marketers at Wawa hoping that the mobile app

will encourage consumers to purchase a sandwich from a QSR to be?

c. Assume that purchasing a sandwich from a QSR is categorized as nominal

decision making in a given situation. Which of the two categories of this type of

decision making is purchasing a sandwich from a QSR most likely to be? Why?

3) Chapter 17 discusses unplanned purchases and impulse purchases. Convenience stores

like Wawa earn a substantial portion of revenue from unplanned and impulse purchases

from customers in stores.

a. What effect could mobile ordering have on unplanned and impulse purchasing by

Wawa consumers?

b. What could Wawa do to combat any reduction in impulse purchasing?

a. If customers have completed their payment using mobile ordering before entering

4) Chapter 17 discusses how mobile apps are often used in omni-channel shopping.

Brainstorm some ideas about how the Wawa app could be used to encourage more in-

store purchases, as well as those made on mobile ordering from other places?

Students could use their creativity to come up a variety of acceptable answers. However,

5) Chapter 18 discusses repeat purchasing and loyalty programs. The chapter tells us that

there is a difference in loyalty programs; those that simply generate repeat purchases and

those that generate committed and loyal customers. The case mentions that Wawa uses a

loyalty program called Wawa Rewards.

a. What does the chapter suggest makes the difference for a loyalty program to

generate committed and loyal customers?

b. Do you feel that Wawa Rewards is generating repeat purchases or committed and

loyal customers? Explain your answer.

a. The text indicates that generating committed customers requires a customer-

6) Chapter 3 discusses American cultural values and illustrates the traditional, emerging,

and current state of those values. Which of the values relates to this case and do you feel

the representation in Figure 3-1 fits with the information in this case?

CASE 4-5 MACY’S EMBRACES BEACON TECHNOLOGY

1) Would this shopBeacon technology be best targeted to individuals engaged in the

nominal, limited, or extended decision-making process (or more than one)? Justify your

response.

then a push notification with a price promotion for that product could heavily influence

2) Chapter 17 discusses omni-channel shoppers. Do you think the benefits of this

technology will outweigh the possible nuisance of push notifications as they move

through the store and simultaneously receive information on their smartphones?

Answers will vary. The following is one possible answer. Some individuals who see a

3) Chapter 15 discusses mobile search and details five segments of mobile phone users.

Which of these segments do you feel will be most accepting of shopBeacon technology?

Which would be least accepting? Why?

Answers may vary, but the important part is that students justify their answers. Here are

4) Chapter 15 also discusses marketing strategies based on information search patterns.

Which of these strategies is best complimented by location-based technology? (Hint:

more than one could be correct with a logical explanation). Explain your answer.

toward their product. Once the purchase is made, then the technology would revert to

5) Chapter 17 discusses the nature of unplanned purchases. How would Macy’s shopBeacon

program affect

a. Planned purchases

b. Unplanned purchases

6) Assemble a small group of consumers and conduct a focus group on their perceptions of

location-based technology like shopBeacon. Would they download the app to engage

with it? Would they opt-in for some retailers and not others? Why? Would it play a role

in their selection of retailers to patronize?

Answers will vary.

7) Chapter 9 discusses brand image and product positioning. Think about Macy’s and other

department store’s brand images. One axis should be high versus low technology

adoption. The other axis could be any bi-polar set of adjectives of your choosing. Then,

construct a perceptual map that includes several department stores.

Answers will vary.

8) Chapter 7 discusses types of innovation. Is shopBeacon best described as a continuous,

dynamically continuous, or discontinuous innovation?

This technology is best described as a dynamically continuous innovation for consumers

CASE 4-6 TESLA’S NOVEL AND ENVIRONMENTAL APPROACH

DRIVES AMAZING BRAND LOYALTY

1) Chapter 9 discusses schemas, which are also known as schematic memories and

knowledge structures. Construct a schema diagram for Tesla.

2) Describe at least two segments of the market for Tesla electronic vehicles. List the

different needs, demographics, and psychographics for owning a Tesla for each of these

segments.

include key positioning statements, key copy points, visuals, and so forth for each and

defend your decisions.

The key here is that students make reasonable choices backed up with their rationale and

4) Evaluate Tesla’s website (www.tesla.com).

Tesla can be both a utilitarian decision and a value-expressive decision.

The high price of fuel can be a utilitarian factor. The climate issue can be a dimension on

6) In general, how do gas prices or fuel costs factor into the decision-making process for

consumers in terms of influencing the consideration set and decision-making rule used in

selecting a transportation option? In the context of Tesla’s high sticker price, does your

answer change? If so, how? Detail and explain. (Hint: consider the marketing strategies

based on information search patterns in Chapter 15).

High fuel costs increase the likelihood that electric vehicles are in the consideration set.

7) To which of the eight “Shades of Green” segments discussed in Chapter 3 does Tesla

appeal most? Explain you answer.

Several of the segments could be correct, but the important part is that students justify

8) Chapter 7 discusses types of innovation. Is a Tesla best described as a continuous,

dynamically continuous, or discontinuous innovations? Explain your answer.

A Tesla electric vehicle is best described as a dynamically continuous innovation because

CASE 4-7: GILT GROUPE’S INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO LOYALTY

PROGRAMS

1) Define loyalty as you understand it from the text. Do you think the Gilt Insider Program

at Gilt Groupe helps create loyalty? Explain.

Answers will vary.

2) Conduct a small focus group of consumers who you think may fit the Gilt Groupe target

market. Ask the participants about their perceptions of the Gilt Insider Program. How

effective do they think this loyalty program will be in generating engagement and

loyalty? What is their opinion of the rewards that are offered as part of the program?

Then, repeat this exercise with another group of consumers who you think would not be

part of the Gilt Groupe target market.

3) This loyalty program was designed to achieve two goals, namely, increasing consumer

engagement with Gilt Groupe and increasing sales from Gilt Groupe.

a. How well do you think that the Gilt Insider Program will meet each of these

goals?

b. Which of the goals do you think will be best achieved by this loyalty program?

c. This program was launched in 2013. Since some time has passed since then,

perform an internet search to discover any reports on the Gilt Insider Program’s

progress. How well did your predictions from part a and part b perform?

4) Many Gilt Groupe members will likely log in to Gilt.com to browse the flash sales daily

in order to accumulate points in the Gilt Insider Program. This engagement will expose

them to sales, and many are likely to make unplanned purchases. Chapter 13 discusses

situational influences. What situational characteristics are likely to play a role in these

purchase decisions? (Hint: more than one category could apply)

5) Chapter 17 discusses internet retailing and provides a typology of online shopping

segments.

a. Which segments are very likely to enroll in the Gilt Insider Program? Why?

b. Which segments are very unlikely to enroll in the Gilt Insider Program? Why?

6) Chapter 9 discusses schemas, which are also known as schematic memories and

knowledge structures. Construct a schema diagram for Gilt Groupe.

4-8 ALBERTSONS DITCHES SELF-CHECKOUT IN FAVOR OF HUMAN

1) The presence of self-service checkout lanes and/or service employees are part of the physical

surroundings in Albertsons’ store atmosphere or environment.

a) Using the Typology of Service Environments in Figure 13-2, describe where Albertsons

would be positioned within the grid.

b) Does having more human contact and fewer self-checkout lanes influence Albertsons’

position?

Having more human contact could satisfy social needs and influence customers’ behavior

2) Chapter 17 discusses the relationship between involvement, sales personnel, and the

likelihood of self-service. Cashiers are a basic form of sales personnel. Describe Albertsons

service environment in terms of involvement and the appropriateness of sales personnel

versus self-service.

3) Interpret the information in Tables A, B, and C.

a) What are the primary needs that self-service checkouts satisfy for those customers who

prefer them?

b) What other industries present the best opportunities for the self-service checkout industry

to grow?

Several other industries in Table C are poised for growth of self-service technology,

4) Chapter 10 discusses Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. What need is Albertsons attempting to

fulfill by increasing the company’s human contact with its customers? Explain.

By shedding self-checkout in favor of more human contact, Albertsons is attempting to

5) Chapter 7 discusses categories of innovations. What type of innovation is self-service

checkout technology?

Part IV Case Solutions-15