Exam 5: Segmenting and Targeting the Audience

According to the theory of cognitive dissonance, people tend to compensate or justify the discrepancies between what they actually receive and what they thought they would receive.

________ means dividing the market into groups of people who have similar characteristics in certain key product-related areas.

The youngest of the baby boomers are now in their ________.

Purchasers and users have the same needs.

Explain how marketers may be able to reduce postpurchase cognitive dissonance.

Read the following scenario and then answer the questions that follow. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal described how the next "Pepsi Generation" likely will be drinking diet cola. Pepsi recently learned that one-third of teens were diet soda drinkers and that teens start drinking diet soft drinks at a very early age. However, they also acknowledged that a substantial portion of young people don't consider diet sodas cool, particularly men. The chief marketing officer for Pepsi-Cola North America was quoted as saying, "We are treating Diet Pepsi as the flagship brand. . . . It's a big step for us." Indeed, this is a major break with the traditional soft-drink marketing, in which the sugar-sweetened brand still dominates in market share. However, with concerns of rising obesity and schools cutting back on sugar-sweetened drinks in vending machines, soft-drink manufacturers, like Pepsi, are responding with increased marketing of their diet soft drinks. As part of this new change in focus, Diet Pepsi will be marketed as a hip, cool brand for everyone, including teenagers and Baby Boomers. Meanwhile, the article stated that Pepsi is narrowing its sales pitch for regular Pepsi-Cola to "soda drinkers younger than 25, Latinos, African-Americans, and sports fans." -What segmentation variables is Pepsi using when it narrows its marketing efforts for regular Pepsi-Cola to "soda drinkers younger than 25, Latinos, African- Americans, and sports fans"?

According to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, which level of needs includes self-fulfillment and enriching experiences?

Consumers with higher education tend to prefer print media, the Internet, and selected radio and cable stations.

The first step in the consumer decision process is information search.

Subsegments of a more general market segment are known as ________ markets and are defined by individuals with some distinctive interest or attitude, such as being ecologically minded consumers.

Explain how the VALS system categorizes consumers.

Psychographics refers to lifestyle and psychological characteristics such as activities, interests, and opinions.

Why might marketers want to target segments of the population based on lifestyles rather than age groups?

Wholesome Soups, a maker of organic soups, is starting a new marketing campaign emphasizing the ease of preparing and eating Wholesome Soups on the go. Print, television, and Internet ads feature college-aged students enjoying Wholesome Soups in between classes and during study breaks. Wholesome Soups' new marketing campaign is most likely aimed at which of the following?

________ are professional researchers hired by advertisers to identify trends that may affect consumer behavior.

Which of the following is a psychological influence on consumer decision making?

Values are defined as rules that we learn through social interaction that specify or prohibit certain behaviors.

________ needs are those we learn in response to our culture and environment and may include needs for esteem, prestige, affection, power, and learning.

Compare and contrast the terms family and household.

Which of the following most accurately characterizes members of Generation Y?