Consumer Perception of Brands

by

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

My thanks go out to all who have helped me complete this study and with whom this project may have not been possible. In particular, my gratitude goes out to friends, facilitator and family for extensive and helpful comments on early drafts. I am also deeply indebted to the authors who have shared my interest and preceded me. Their works provided me with a host of information to learn from and build upon, also served as examples to emulate.

DECLARATION

I [type your full first names & surname here], declare that the following dissertation/thesis and its entire content has been an individual, unaided effort and has not been submitted or published before. Furthermore, it reflects my opinion and take on the topic and is does not represent the opinion of the University.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTii

DECLARATIONiii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

1.1 Background of the Study1

1.2 Research Focus3

1.3 Aim and Objectives5

1.4 Research Significance7

1.5 Reliability/Dependability7

1.6 Validity8

1.7 Ethical Considerations9

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW11

2.1. Introduction11

2.2. Branding and the Customer11

2.3. Consumer brand awareness for global brands13

2.4. Innovation of Brands15

2.5. Lifestyle of the Consumers16

2.6. Consumer Behavior and Attitudes17

2.7. Consumer Purchasing Decisions18

2.8. Cultural Influences on the Consumer19

2.9. Sub-cultural Aspects of Consumer Behavior20

2.9.1. Subculture of Young People20

2.10. Social Factors in Consumer Behavior20

2.10.1. Primary Group20

2.10.2. Secondary Group21

REFERENCES23

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

“Brands are at the heart of marketing and business strategy (Doyle, 2002)”.

During the first decades of the twentieth century, there were two principles at work (Holt, 2002, 80). The first was focused on the economics of marketing using branding to establish the legitimacy and prestige of a business in order to present the brand's value proposition to the consumers, while the second is close to what he refers as “P.T. Barnum hucksterism” (Holt, 2002, 80), where consumers are seen as innocents that could buy inflated claims (Szmigin, 2003, 88). Additionally, in the past, marketing has tried to control rather than embrace the consumers, but this structure is breaking down as a result of failure in understanding what controls individual behaviour in postmodern consumption (Szmigin, 2003, 88).

In the same way, the relationship between the government and the citizens is very difficult to understand, the relationship between producers and consumers has never been so simple. People are not shouting in the streets what they want to buy; they select from a large range of options that are supplied to them by manufacturers and suppliers. The competitiveness between brands is increasing, and by inference, the number of advertisements increases too. “According to Draper although in the US, the average person is exposed to 1,600 advertising messages per day, people respond (and not necessarily positively) to only about 12 of them" (Castells 2010, 362). In addition, the world advertising expenditure has increased dramatically, from $60,000 million in 1950 to $580,000 million in 2005, representing a growth of 966% (Coen, 2006).

Source: Advertising Age, Global Marketing: Top 100, November 2005; Robert J. Coen; Worldwatch Institute, 100 Vital Signs 2006

These facts combined with the growth of the middle class in emerging markets, where a larger number of people is ...