Branded Identities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Branded Identities - Essay Example Similarly, the identities of brands, being closely linked with consumer behaviour, also have different value and impact over consumers' choice. Consumerism: Concept of consumerism has gone through various chronological advances. Traditional consumer models believed consumers are not effected by any influences but by their own brain's instinct and external factors like family, friends, choices cannot influence their buying decisions. This theory could not survive longer as it was limited in conception and did not fulfil the needs of various analyses. Traditional theory considered consumers as information processors who are not affected by any choices and alternatives available. On contrary it also describes that companies can dominate the mind of customers and customer don't bother about available or missing information. (Simon, 1955, Q. J. of Econ.) "The existence of underlying preferences is a vital scientific question for economists. If the answer is affirmative, then the evidence from cognitive psychology implies only that economists must look through the smoke screen of rules to discern deeper preferences that are needed to value economic policies. This is a difficult task but not an impossible one. If the answer is negative, then economists need to seek a foundation for policy analysis that does not require that the concept of 'the greatest good for the greatest number' be meaningful. I am guardedly optimistic that the question has an affirmative answer." (McFadden, D. 2000. p. 345-346). Consumerism & Psychology: Similarly, consumerism and psychological aspects are also attached together. Various theories are presented to establish a strong link between these two. Weber's ([1904] 1998) "iron cage" is also the depiction of psychological trap of consumers. Furthermore, Psychologist Barry Schwartz (1994), also is of the opinion that external and demographic factors psychological influence a person's buying behaviour. Barry Schwartz believes that companies offer incentives and psychological benefits to customers which are in real life very much meaningful for the consumers and consumers has a sense of achievement by having these benefits with them."By embracing the "freedom" of the marketplace in all aspects of our lives, we find that many of the things we value most deeply-meaningful, satisfying work; intimate, compassionate friends, family and community; real education; significant spiritual and ethical commitment; political involvement; and even, ultimately, material well-being-are increasingly difficult to achieve." (P. 10) Consumerism and its Historical, Social and Economic Impact: Cognitive psychologists believe that culture is manifest in peoples mind. (DiMaggio 1997, p.272; Cf. Shore 1996). They also believe that historical aspect and social background, and consumers' experiences play a vital role to develop their self-concept and identity. Different consumers behave differently because of their difference in socio-cultural background, behavior and economic perspective. 'Iron cage', is in fact, 'mental cage' that is influenced by various culturally framed mental fields.(Zerubavl 1991). Further

Research on music application users Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Research on music application users - Essay Example We all have to keep in mind that even if the type of research would move us to know our participants better, we must remain objective at all times. Also, we need to work closely as a group because all of us need to communicate clearly our ideas. The research project gave us important lessons that helped us grow as students. The first thing that the group decided upon was the types of research methods we were going to use for the project. Every member researched on different research methods and presented the pros and cons of each method. We deliberated and came up with ethnographic research that involves survey and questionnaires. It was important for us to determine the value of each method and assess whether we would be able to get the result we needed using the methods aforementioned. First, we looked at the advantages of using interview for research. We realized that this method is time-consuming but yields quality data since we can ask open-ended questions. There was so much inf ormation that can be extracted using interview. Nevertheless, the group leader took the initiative in properly briefing us on how to conduct an interview for Research purposes. Another essential fact about interview method is that the interviewer must be skilled in conducting an interview. At times the answers can get personal but the listener must not be biased at all. Also, we must not ask leading questions because the subject must express his/her opinions freely. So if I am an avid Itune user, then I must not let the subject know about this. In ethnographic research, we must understand the value of the users. The first principle is that every person has a different background and value system. This could definitely influence their attitude towards a product or service. Some users value affordability while others prefer easy accessibility. There are also many users who prefer to use services that associated with strong brands like Apple’s Itunes. The behavior of users can a lso help marketers forecast some innovations in product design. While many users love the features of Zune, it cannot be applied on non Mac OS laptop or PCs. Knowing consumer’s preferences and behaviors are extremely important when designing products. First, designers can make decisions on what they should or should not include in creating a product. Once a product is launched and used by consumers, then various feedbacks can useful for improving the product’s characteristics. Nowadays, one way of having leverage is increasing customer satisfaction and that means continuous innovation. Some businesses frown upon criticism, because of this they lose a great opportunity to learn from their market. Due to the research we conducted, the answers given to us revealed the usability of applications and services that marketers should take note of. Indeed, we can say that even if our research was simple, it provided very relevant data for designers of music applications. Persona l Contribution Every team member has their personal contribution that eventually led to a successful project. The first challenge that the group must overcome was organizing meetings. I was assigned to schedule the said meetings which was overwhelming at the at the beginning. I had to consider that each member had different priorities and schedule so a meeting must be scheduled based on everyone’s free time. Since I was the contact person, I have to keep track of all their messages and completely relay the information to the whole group. During meetings, all the tasks are delegated so we can start working on our share of tasks. We communicated in any means possible –mobile phone, Facebook, e-mail and quick meetings. Such effort