Lesson 11º

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Product Image

For marketing purposes it is very important to bear in mind the consumer's perception of a product. An engineer or a physician consider a car to be a lump of steel and plastic. However, for consumers, a car is a lot more than a lump of metal as we consider a car to be either modern or classic, young or old, friendly, sporty or family size.

In the mind of the consumer a product besides the characteristics and physical attributes that we have given it we also give it psychological and sociological attributes. This way we think about a product being masculine or feminine, young, old, sociable, friendly, etc.

Therefore, we assign personalities to products. What is perhaps nothing but a piece of metal, plastic or a chemical product we give human personality features. For example, consumers might consider a certain type of beer young, socialbe and friendly.

One of the most important functions of publicity is to build the brand's personality. Advertising has a fundamental role in maintaining and improving a product's personality. The sale of many products depends on the personality that the consumer asigns it. For visible products, products that we show the rest of society like clothes, cars, etc. image and personality are extremely important.

For example, many adverts don't point out any technical advantages about the product but a certain life style. The following examples come from the magazine Anuncios.com. The following example doesn't say anything about the characteristics of the denim clothes that are trying to be sold, the advert concentrates on the type of people which the product is targeting and the personality of the product.

 

Agency: 210
Advertiser: Sáez Merino

 

A classic example of product personality is portrayed in the Beetle Car. The beetle is a lot more than just a lump of steel. It has a friendly personality and the image of being a young, dynamic and alternative product.

 

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Equally, Coca Cola is a lot more than just water with sugar, in the consumer's mind. Coca cola has the image of being the authentic Cola.

 

 

The following example shows how water can be a lot more than just water. The luxury brand Perrier created an image of water drunk by upper class people.

 

 

Tobacco, in the minds of the consumers, is a lot more than just a few leaves with nicotine. Camel has substantially increased thier sales by creating a friendly, young and fun personality to represent their brand. Warning, smoking is very dangerous and can harm your health.

 

 

Visa is the official sponsor of the Argentinian national football team. This allows the company to improve its image and be identified with a specific market.