CHAPTER 8
PERCEPTION
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
LO1: Describe the nature of perception and its relationship to consumer memory and
decisions
LO2: Explain exposure, the types of exposure, and the resulting marketing implications
LO3: Explain attention, the factors that affect it, and the resulting marketing
implications
SUMMARY
LO1: Describe the nature of perception and its relationship to consumer memory and decisions
Perception consists of those activities by which an individual acquires and assigns meaning to stimuli.
LO2: Explain exposure, the types of exposure, and the resulting marketing implications
Exposure occurs when a stimulus comes within range of one of an individual’s primary sensory
LO3: Explain attention, the factors that affect it, and the resulting marketing implications
Attention occurs when the stimulus activates one or more of the sensory receptors and the resulting
sensations go into the brain for processing. People selectively attend to stimuli as a function of
stimulus, individual, and situational factors. Stimulus factors are physical characteristics of the
Nonfocused attention occurs when a person takes in information without deliberate effort.
Hemispheric lateralization is a term applied to activities that take place on each side of the brain. The
left side of the brain is concerned primarily with those activities typically called rational thought and
the ability to be conscious and report what is happening. The right side of the brain deals with
pictorial, geometric, timeless, and nonverbal information without the individual’s being able to
verbally report it.
LO4: Explain interpretation, the factors that affect it, and the resulting marketing implications
Interpretation is the assignment of meaning to stimuli that have been attended to. Interpretation tends
to be relative rather than absolute (perceptual relativity) and subjective rather than objective. Two
general forms of interpretation are cognitive and affective. Cognitive interpretation appears to involve
a process whereby new stimuli are placed into existing categories of meaning. Affective interpretation
is the emotional or feeling response triggered by the stimulus.
Interpretation is largely a function of individual traits, learning, and expectations that are triggered by
the stimulus and moderated by the situation. Stimulus characteristics are critical. Stimulus
LO5: Discuss how perception can enhance strategies for retailing, branding, advertising, and
packaging
Marketers use their knowledge of perception to enhance strategies in a number of areas including
retailing, branding, advertising, and packaging. For retailing, issues surrounding store and shelf location
are important determinants of perception. For branding, issues surrounding the selection of brand
LECTURE TIPS AND AIDS
1) Students enjoy discussing subliminal advertising, and some believe very strongly that it is both
commonly used and very effective. These students will probably bring up the works of Wilson
that, if interpreted “correctly,” have (in Key’s opinion) certain sexual meanings.
Have students use Key’s “methodology” (subjectively looking at ads for sexual symbols) to find
animals, stars, crosses, or other nonsexual symbols. If students examine enough ads, many of
these symbols can be found.
2) Creating a sudden, loud noise or having a student talk loudly in the back of the room at a specified
time in the lecture can establish the attention attracting power of stimuli.
4) The nature of interpretation can be shown by passing out the following statement to the class: “It
is absolutely essential that the worker make the key decisions in the workplace. He/she must
determine the production process.” Give half the class the quote attributed to a popular capitalist
5) You can have students go to www.ftc.gov and search for deceptive ad cases and bring one or more
to class to discuss. You can work on distinguishing between false claims and claim-belief
discrepancy issues.
7) Student Handout 2: MARKETING CLASSIC: ATTRACTIVE MODELS: ATTRACTION OR
DISTRACTION: Can be used to demonstrate how brand-irrelevant factors that attract attention
can actually distract consumer focus from the brand and its critical features. Suggests that not all
attention-getting stimuli are equal in their ability to drive attention to the brand.
Student Handout 1: USING WEBERS LAW
STIMULUS
WEBER’S
RATIO (K)
PITCH (at 2,000 cycles per second)
.0030
DEEP PRESSURE (at 400 grams)
.0130
VISUAL BRIGHTNESS (at 1,000 photons)
.0160
LIFTED WEIGHTS (at 300 grams)
.0200
LOUDNESS (.100 decibels, 1,000
.0909
cycles/second)
SMELL OF RUBBER (at 200 olfacties)
.1000
SKIN PRESSURE (at 5 grams per sq.
millimeter)
.1428
TASTE (saline at 3 moles per liter)
.2000
The following illustration of the j.n.d. for weight may be useful:
Weber’s Law: k =
I/I
For lifting weights, k = .020
Therefore,
a. If the original weight were 10 pounds (I), the change in weight needed
for one to detect a weight change is:
I = (I) x (k) = (10) x (.020) = .20 pounds.
b. If the original weight were 100 pounds (I), the change in weight needed
to detect a change would be:
Student Handout 2: MARKETING CLASSIC – ATTRACTIVE MODELS:
ATTRACTION OR DISTRACTION
Marketers often use intriguing headlines or attractive models to attract attention to their
advertisements. How effective is this tactic?
An eye-tracking device is a combination of computer and video technology that allows one to
record eye movements in relation to a stimulus such as a website, package, or commercial.
The respondent sits in a chair at a table and reads a magazine, watches television
commercials, views a website, or observes slides of print advertisements, billboards, shelf
facings, point-of-purchase displays, and so forth. Respondents control how long they view
each scene. The eye-tracking device sends an unnoticeable beam of filtered light that is
reflected off the respondent’s eyes. This reflected beam represents the focal point and can be
superimposed on whatever is being viewed. It allows the researcher to determine how long an
ad or other marketing stimulus is viewed, the sequence in which it was examined, which
elements were examined, and how much time was devoted to looking at each element.
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1) What is information processing? How does it differ from perception?
Information processing is a series of activities by which stimuli are perceived, transformed into
2) What is meant by exposure? What determines which stimuli an individual will be exposed to?
How do marketers utilize this knowledge?
Exposure occurs when a stimulus is placed within range of sensory receptor nerves. The individual
does not need to receive the stimuli for exposure to occur. Most exposure is self-selected and we
3) What are zipping, zapping, and muting? Why are they a concern to marketers?
Zipping occurs when a viewer fast-forwards through a commercial on a prerecorded program.
4) What are infomercials? How effective are they?
Infomercials are long, often 30 minutes or more, commercials that frequently have an 800 number
and/or web address through which to order or request additional information. These positively
5) What is ad avoidance? How is DVR technology affecting it? How are marketers dealing with this
phenomenon?
Ad avoidance occurs when the consumer selectively avoids exposure to advertising messages, e.g.,
zipping, zapping, and muting. Technologies such as the DVR are giving consumers more control
6) What is meant by attention? What determines which stimuli an individual will attend to? How do
marketers utilize this?
Attention occurs when the stimulus activates one or more sensory receptor nerves and the resulting
sensations go into the brain for processing. Attention is determined by three factors: (1) the
7) What stimulus factors can be used to attract attention? What problems can arise when stimulus
factors are used to attract attention?
Stimulus Factors
Potential Problems
Size
Smaller stimuli are more likely to be unnoticed
Intensity
When using repetition, attention generally decreases across repeated
drawing attention from the brand and its selling points
Color and Movement
Dull color and stagnant items are less noticeable
Items difficult to find and/or out of the visual field in a store will most likely
lack attention. Print ads on the left-hand page receive less attention. It is also
important not to place content within low impact zones.
Isolation
In the extreme, can limit the amount of information presented.
Format
Ads that lack a clear visual point of reference or have inappropriate
movement increase the processing effort and decrease attention. Likewise,
audio messages that are difficult to understand due to foreign accents,
inadequate volume, or a speech rate which too fast also reduce attention.
Expectations
Packaging, in-store displays, and ad that coincide with our expectations tent to
be unnoticed.
Interestingness
Consumers find unentertaining ads to be uninteresting
cannot attention to too much information
8) What is adaptation level theory?
Over time we adjust to (and no longer pay attention to) the level and type of stimulus to which we
are consistently exposed.
10) What impact does program involvement have on the attention paid to commercials embedded in
the program?
Program involvement, particularly moving from low to moderate involvement increases the
attention paid to ads in the program, as shown in figure 8-4
11) What is a contextual cue? Why is it of interest to marketers?
12) What is meant by non focused attention?
Non focused attention is a low-involvement scanning of the environment. It appears to be mainly a
right-brain activity.
13) What is meant by hemispheric lateralization?
For most individuals, the left side of the brain controls cognitive activities and “rational” thought,
while the right side deals with nonverbal information.
14) What is meant by subliminal perception? Is it a real phenomenon? Is it effective?
Perception below the conscious-awareness level (A subliminal stimulus is used in a message
15) What is meant by interpretation?
Interpretation is the assignment of meaning to sensations. Interpretation is related to how we
comprehend and make sense of incoming information.
16) What determines how an individual will interpret a given stimulus?
17) What is the difference between cognitive and affective interpretation?
Cognitive interpretation involves the process whereby new stimuli are placed into existing
18) What is the difference between semantic and psychological meaning?
Semantic meaning is the conventional meaning assigned to a word as it is found in the dictionary.
Psychological meaning is the meaning assigned to a word based on experiences and the context or
situation in which the word or other symbol is used.
19) What is sensory discrimination? What is a just noticeable difference (j.n.d.)?
The ability of an individual to distinguish between similar stimuli is called sensory discrimination.
20) What is a consumer inference? Why is this of interest to marketers?
An inference goes beyond what is directly stated or presented. Consumers use available data and
their own ideas to draw conclusions about information that is not provided. For example,
consumers may use price and/or ad intensity as quality signals.
21) How does a knowledge of information processing assist the manager in the following:
a) Formulating retail strategy?
Retailers can structure the interior of their stores to minimize information overload, and to
b) Developing brand names and logos?
Knowledge of how words are interpreted, the visual images they convey, and the ease with
which they are remembered, is very useful in brand name selection. In designing logos,
dimensions of naturalness, elaborateness, and symmetry are important.
c) Formulating media strategy?
d) Designing advertisements?
This knowledge can help us design ads that will both attract attention and provide the desired
meaning.
e) Package design and labels?
22) What is co-branding? Is it effective?
23) What is cross-promotion retail strategy? Provide two examples?
Cross-promotion involves placing signage in one area of the store to promote complementary
the store.
24) How can rhetorical figures enhance attention?
Rhetorical figures involve the use of an unexpected twist or artful deviation in how a message is
25) What is a smart banner? How does this relate to selective attention?
Smart banners are banner ads that are activated based on terms used in search engines. There is
evidence of preconscious screening among web surfers. It seems they are able to spot a banner ad
26) What is figure-ground?
Figure-ground involves presenting the stimulus in such a way that it is perceived as the focal
object to be attended to and all other stimuli are perceived as the background.
27) What ethical concerns arise in applying knowledge of the perceptual process?
28) What is ambush marketing?
This is the term for a marketing approach in which firms attempt to associate their companies with
an event such as the Olympics without becoming an official sponsor. It is “any communication or
Discussion Questions
29) Given that smoking scenes in movies increase the positive image and intention to smoke among
youth, what regulations, if any, should apply to this?
This discussion is interesting when you develop a list of those groups or stakeholders that should
30) How could a marketing manager for (a) the Salvation Army, (b) smartphones, (c) Qdoba Mexican
Grill, (d) Lucky Jeans, or (e) Belkin Wi-Fi equipment use the material in this chapter to guide the
development of a national advertising campaign (choose one)? To assist local retailers or
organizations in developing their promotional activities? Would the usefulness of this material be
limited to advertising decisions?
A critical point that must be made is that the answer relies heavily on the definition of the target
market and the firm’s objective (attract new customers, retain existing customers, etc.). If you use
this for a written assignment, you may want to provide this information to the students.
Attention: As above, except that the emphasis is on the ad content and the use of stimulus factors
to attract attention unless it is for a product that the target market will actively seek out.
Interpretation: Here the student must be sure that the meaning assigned the ad is consistent with
the objectives of the firm.
31) Respond to the questions in Consumer Insight 8–1.
a) Do you think that later adopters of DVRs or SVOD services will be less interested in “ad
b) Can you think of other strategies beyond those discussed that could be used to reduce
consumers’ tendency to skip ads?
With strategies such as hybrid and interactive ads on DVR and Automatic Content
c) Do you agree that advertisers can be rewarded by embracing these technologies and the cord
cutters?
32) Hershey created a line of upscale chocolates called “Cacao Reserve by Hershey’s.” The company
created fancy packaging, priced the product at the high end, and did little mass marketing for its new
product. Initial sales were disappointingly slow even though the premium chocolate market is
growing nicely, with brands like Ghirardelli faring well. As a consequence, Hershey almost
immediately (within six months) dropped its prices and started mass advertising. The product
ultimately flopped and was discontinued. Using concepts in this chapter, why do you think Hershey
failed in its move into the premium chocolate market? Do you think the adjustments were the most
appropriate, or could Hershey have taken other steps?
Cacao Reserve by Hershey’s is an example of a brand extension. The problem here is “perceived
33) Pick three brand names that utilize a morphemic approach and three that utilize a phonetic
approach. Are the morphemes and phonetics consistent with the overall position of these brands?
Examples of morphemic approaches include NutraSweet, OfficeMax, and Kleenex.
34) Develop a brand name for (a) a voice-activated wireless speaker, (b) a sports apparel store, (c) an
Internet grocery shopping service, (d) a mobile app, or (e) a pet walking service. Justify your
name.
This is an enjoyable classroom project when individual students or groups are assigned one of the
product categories. The name should consider the key benefits of the product and how you want
35) Develop a logo for (a) a voice-activated wireless speaker, (b) a sports apparel store, (c) an Internet
grocery shopping service, (d) a mobile app, or (e) a pet walking service. Justify your design.
This is a very enjoyable classroom project when individual students or small groups are assigned
one of the product categories. The logo should take into account the key benefits of the product
36) Evaluate the in-text ads in Illustrations 8-1 through 8-10. Analyze the attention-attracting
characteristics and the meaning they convey. Are they good ads? What risks are associated with
each?
This is a fun exercise. The students will have numerous opinions on the effectiveness of the ads.
37) Develop three co-branded products; one that would be beneficial to both individual brands, one
that would benefit one brand but not the other, and one that would benefit neither brand. Explain
your logic.
Because the effects of co-branding can be positive or negative and can differ for the two brands
38) Find an ad that you feel might mislead consumers through a claim-belief discrepancy. What
inference processes are you assuming?
This is a very enjoyable classroom project when individual students or small groups are assigned