1. What is meant by self – concept theory and what is its role in the study of consumer behavior?

Ans: Self concept theory is defined as the sum or totality of our beliefs, preferences, opinions and attitudes which are organized in a systematic order towards our personal existence. It is the influence of the perception of people on their behavior. It is of how we perceive or think of ourselves and how we should think, behave, act, in our various life roles. Self concept affects the behavior directly.

Studying one’s self is the most complex unit in psychology. This is because every individual has a unique personality, traits, preferences, abilities, attitudes which becomes verydifficult to identify. However, self concept theory is a good and a reliable theory to know the importance of our perceptions towards our behavior.

ROLE IN CB

It is important to understand that consumer behavior tries to understand the behavior of consumers behind making a purchase. Self concept analyses the perception of individuals and thereby their behavior. This becomes very important in respect to Consumer Behavior as marketers analyze the behavior and design their advertisements. Advertisements are based on a target audience that perceivesthe product in a similar manner.

For example: An amusement park when advertises itself, it tries to create an image in consumer’s mind that could be related to fun and enjoyment. Disneyland promotes itself as the happiest place on earth. Hence such taglines or ads are created after analyzing the perceptions and behavior of the target market. This enables the marketers to create an imageof the product which consumers can relate to their own identity. Young people or people with high energy and zeal are likely to enjoy such ads and hence go to such amusements

park. Hence self concept is very important for Consumer Behavior.

MARKETING THE PRODUCT-

Marketers should analyze the application of this approach toidentify the buyer behavior in relative to a product that has some ego and social risks. Consumer behavior can be understood well by marketers by understanding the individualand societal self concept. Self concept is different for different individuals and so marketers need to focus on target marketing. Self concept varies a lot when conditions changes, and hence consumer behavior changes through targeted marketing. This can be illustrated though a beauty product advertisement example where in consumers self concept will be targeted. A female purchases a beauty product that gets her close to her ideal self.

Various examples are illustrated below:

For goods:

An FMCG product; for example a shampoo. Loreal marketsits product with a tag line of ‘You are worth it’. This signifies and focuses on the real and ideal self.Loreal products thus create an image of the product that makes the buyer feel and inclined towards the fact that it was made only for her and that it matchesidentity completely.

An example of Fiji waters can be taken to explain selfconcept. Fiji water markets itself as a bottle of water which comes straight from mountains filled with minerals, while removing all the impurities of water. It is priced at premium rate and is not available in the local shops. It is available in the luxurious markets and mall and is priced at premium rate. This gives buyer a superior feel.

A very god example could be of car segment. Every individual knows about Ferrari even though mostly no one has seen the advertisement, Ferrari has a psychological image in the mind of every consumer as apremium and luxurious cars that every individual woulddesire and aspire to get one.

These advertisements target the ideal, real and more importantly the extended self.

For services:

In case of services after identifying the customer’s requirement which also highlights the ‘Self’ of the consumer the services are modified. A counsellor will understand the need and position of the candidate and then counsel them. Similarly various other services like hotel services, movie theatre and other services use self concept to identify the perception and beliefsof the consumer.

Psychological products or symbolic products are those products through which consumers hold pride and which give them a forward looking aspect. They are those products whichhelp customers suffice their egos. It expresses the consumer’s quest for identity.

An example of this could be Gucci belt which are symbolic in nature and act as prestigious goods. Such product covey meaning to customers and consumers definethemselves to a great extent with the interaction of such products.

Product personality is also an important aspect. The kind ofproduct a customer buys reflects the personality of that individual. Hence it is important to market the right product for right kind of people depending upon the personality they hold.

There are various products purchased by smokers which are bought according to their personality. For example:Marlboro portrays a masculine smoker whereas a cigarette like ultra mild slims portrays an image will be associated with female smokers. Hence marketers should design their advertisements accordingly and hence promote its product.

There are various products that is purchased by consumers in order to match the needs of society or a particular group. It could be reference group or the group in which a person belongs to. Say for example: If a person wants to identify itself as a member of one group it might need to possess a particular car, have piercing, or tattooing. In order to identify itself as a member of the reference group it might need to possess certain education degree or various other things which are nothing but a part of extended self. Therefore marketers should identify such attitudes and behavior and could promote and advertise their products accordingly.

2. Explain and apply key terms (concepts and definitions) that apply to the area of self concept.

Ans: Self concept is the “the totality of the individual's thoughts and feelings having reference to himself as an object” (Muhammad Asif KHAN, 2012). Our lifestyles do give us an idea about our self concept.

There are four different concepts to Self theory concept namely:

Real Self Ideal Self Real Social Self Ideal Social Self

Real Self: This is defined as how people actually see themselves. Anopinion about oneself is created in the minds of the individuals based according to various roles that we play in our daily lives andthe responses that we get from people. As we play different roles inour daily lives such as that of a friend, professional, volunteer, parent and lover, our perception about ourselves changes with situations. However, there is one of the roles that we play becomes dominant in specific situations. This particular role affects our dressing style, our behavior, the way how we conduct ourselves towards our colleagues or our friends and our attitude towards life.

It has been seen that the consumers buy a product according to their self concept i.e. the image that people have of themselves do influence their purchases.

Ideal Self: This is defined as how people would like to see themselves. The ideal self or the ideal personality about him/herself is formed in the mind of an individual based on what he or she has learned from the demand of the society, life experiences and watching the lives of the role models. The idea of ideal self relates to the self esteem of an individual. Self esteem is an emotional evaluation of a person’s own worth or capabilities. It is

observed that the greater the difference is there between one’s realself and the ideal self, the lower is an individual’s self esteem.

Generally people buy products that reflect their actual self. But ifpeople are low in their self esteem and there is difference in theiractual and ideal self image that people aspire, then people purchaseproducts that they think could match their actual self to their ideal self. Generally products such as fashion items, cosmetics and accessories are guided by ideal self image.

Social Self: Humans are social by nature and hence it is often said that self is entirely a function of environment. Society affects thebehavior of an individual. There are two types of attitudes that areseen of an individual when in a society:

Real Social Self: This is defined as how people believe they are seen by significant people in their day to day lives.

Ideal Social Self: This is defined as how people would like others to see them in the society.

The effect on the behavior of an individual such as their sense of identity, values, lifestyle and attitudes also depends on the membership or non membership of a reference group. People may aspireto be in a group and may purchase products that might reflect their membership in the group. Aspiring to be a member of a group represents an ideal social self for the people. Marketers can exploit the social self concept to target the customers accordingly.

Extended Self: The extended self concept states that the products that we possess such as the accessories, fashion items etc, define who we are and could be said as our extended self. Our possessions often define ourselves. People may use their possessions in the society to reflect their thoughts, personality and image to others.

Companies often use extended self concept for co-branding. For e.g.,often in advertisements for high end automobiles, the protagonists are dressed impeccably showing self confidence and high self esteem.Here the clothes and the car would further add up to the personality

of the person buying the car. So, the clothes and car would show theextended self of the person.

Multiple Self: People tend to behave and react differently in different situations. This is the concept to multiple self. People do tend to reflect multiple selves in the daily lives. A person has a different self while at home, in office or with friends. This concept could be well used by the marketers to market their productsaccording to the behavior of the people.

3. Demonstrate how your discussion in parts a) and b) can lead tomore effective marketing strategies.Ans:

4. Critically evaluate ads relevant to self concept theory. Select 3 to 4 ads and evaluate by applying material in parts a) and b)Ans:

Ad- 1

Company Name: Adidas

Advertisement Tagline: Impossible is nothing

In this advertisement, Adidas has promoted its tagline by showing renowned boxer Muhammed Ali. Muhammed Ali is known for the hardshipsthat he faced in his childhood and his heroic journey to become a world champion in boxing. His life depicts a “never die attitude” and so is the tagline “impossible is nothing”.

The concept of extended self and ideal self is well depicted here inthe print advertisement.

Ideally, we all aspire to be a hero in our lives, in the same way asthe boxer. By buying and using the sportswear of Adidas, we could start in our quest to be a hero where nothing is impossible for us. Possession of the sportswear of the company will show our indomitable spirit to achieve anything against all odds.

Ad- 2

Company Name: Harley Davidson

Advertisement Tagline: Live Cage Free

Harley Davidson is known for its ruggedness. The owners of the cruise bike take pride in their free spirit and rebellious attitude.Belonging to a Harley Davidson bike group is a great pride for its members.

The tagline “Live Cage Free” depicts the attitude of the members of the group.

In this advertisement, a rider is shown all ready to start his journey. The tagline depicts the free spirit of human mind when you hop on the bike. The fine design of the bike also says a lot about the exclusiveness and superior design of the product. The biker is also shown wearing leather jacket, a must possession for every Harley Owner.

The concept of real social self is depicted here, as the advertisement tries to capture the attention of people who want to live life on their own terms. They want the society to term them as rebels who break all laws and live freely.

The concept of extended self is also depicted here. The leather jacket shown here is an important part of the Harley group. The possession of a Harley tells the extended self of an individual thatis rugged, raw, rebellious and free.

Ad- 3

This was a print ad by a reputable company “Timberland” which communicates to their users that if you as individual will not retire then how can your shoes. This inspires the individual and can be explained as a real self of an individual. This is because real self is nothing but what anindividual feels about himself. This advertisement clearly tells an individual and motivates him not to retire and thus

promotes its shoes. It tells the person and inspires the consumer to buy as through this ad it promises the individual that the shoes will never have a wear and tear issue associated with it. Not just that it could also be said as a Real Social self. This is because if other membersof the society also think the same about the product it willgive the consumer an added motivation as the society will also feel that the shoes are good enough and as such will beaccepted by the society. In real social self an individual tries to maintain a self image. This image could be well promoted for college students as they will tend to buy the most.

Ad- 4

Self concept theory is not just restricted to ‘Real self’. Butthere is also an aspect of Ideal self attached to it. It is not just related to products but also to services. In the above advertisement there is a macho guy who tries to break open the door of the lift as he is so powerful and is a body builder. Similarly this ad can be related to an ideal self of an individual. Ideal self is where an individual aspires to be. As there a lot of people who aspire to have such a body itis truly a great example of Ideal Self. Gold’s gym people are

gym freaks. They have a ’macho’ personality. So people who have such aspiration can associate to the product and become amember of Gold’s gym. People can become a member of the gym and thereby get a personality like the above person. This willalso enable them to have an Ideal Social self as he will be inspired by others too. He would be want that others see him as the person in the ad. Therefore we see that such ads appealto the ideal self of an individual and hence motivate him to buy the product.