Chapter 6

Personality and Lifestyles

CONSUMER
BEHAVIOR, 8e
Michael Solomon
Chapter Objectives
When you finish this chapter you should understand
why:
A consumers personality influences the way he
responds to marketing stimuli, but efforts to use this
information in marketing contexts meet with mixed
results.
Consumers lifestyles are key to many marketing
strategies.
Psychographics go beyond simple demographics in
helping marketers understand and reach different
consumer segments.

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Chapter Objectives (cont.)
Identifying patterns of consumption can be superior
to knowledge of individual purchases when crafting
a lifestyle marketing strategy.

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Personality
Personality: a persons unique psychological
makeup and how it consistently influences the way
a person responds to his/her environment

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Freudian Systems
Personality = conflict between gratification and
responsibility
Id: pleasure principle
Superego: our conscience
Ego: mediates between id and superego
Reality principle: ego gratifies the id in such a way
that the outside world will find acceptable

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Freudian Systems (cont.)
Marketing Implications
Unconscious motives
underlying purchases
Symbolism in products to
compromise id and
superego
Sports car as sexual
gratification for men
Phallic symbols, such
as cigars

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Motivational Research
Freudian ideas unlock deeper product and
advertisement meanings
Consumer depth interviews
Latent motives for purchases
Examples of Dichters motives (Table 6.1)
Bowling, electric trains, power tools = power
Ice cream, beauty products = social acceptance

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Dichters Consumption Motives
Motive Associated Products

Power-masculinity-virility Power tools, hot rods, coffee, red meat, razors

Security Ice cream, home baking, hospital care

Eroticism Sweets, gloves

Moral purity-cleanliness White bread, cotton fabrics, bathing, oatmeal

Social acceptance Toys, sugar, honey, soap, beauty products

Individuality Gourmet foods, foreign cars, vodka, perfume

Status Scotch, carpets

Femininity Cakes, dolls, silk, tea, household curios

Reward Cigarettes, candy, alcohol, ice cream, cookies

Mastery over environment Kitchen appliances, boats, sporting goods

Disalienation Home decorating, skiing, morning radio broadcasts

Magic-mystery Soups, paints, carbonated drinks, vodka

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Table 6.1 (abridged) 6-8

Motivational Research (cont.)
Criticisms
Invalid or works too well
Too sexually-based
Appeal
Less expensive than large-scale surveys
Powerful hook for promotional strategy
Intuitively plausible findings (after the fact)
Enhanced validity with other techniques

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Neo-Freudian Theories
Karen Horney
Compliant versus detached versus aggressive
Alfred Adler
Motivation to overcome inferiority
Harry Stack Sullivan
Personality evolves to reduce anxiety

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Neo-Freudian Theories: Jung
Carl Jung: analytical psychology
Collective unconscious
Archetypes in advertising (see Figure 6.1: old
wise man, earth mother, etc.)
BrandAsset Archetypes model
BAV Brand Health measures

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BrandAsset Valuator Archetypes

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Figure 6.1 (part 1 of 2)
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BrandAsset Valuator Archetypes (cont.)

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Figure 6.1 (part 2 of 2)
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BrandAsset Archetypes + BAV Brand
Health
Archetypes across cultures and time
Archetypes telegraph instantly
Strong evidence of achieving business objectives
with this model
Early warning signal of brand trouble

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Trait Theory
Personality traits: identifiable characteristics that
define a person
Traits relevant to consumer behavior:
Innovativeness
Materialism
Self-consciousness
Need for cognition
Frugality

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Are You an Innie or an Outie?
Idiocentrics Allocentrics
(individualist orientation) (group orientation)

Contentment More satisfied with current life Less satisfied with current
life

Health Less likely to avoid unhealthy More likely to avoid

Consciousness foods unhealthy foods

Food Preparation Spend less time preparing Love kitchen; spend more
food time preparing food

Workaholics More likely to work hard and Less likely to work hard
stay late at work

Travel and More interested in traveling to Visit library and read more
Entertainment other cultures

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Problems with Trait Theory
Prediction of product choices using traits of
consumers is mixed at best
Scales not valid/reliable
Tests borrow scales used for the mentally ill
Inappropriate testing conditions
Ad hoc instrument changes
Use of global measures to predict specific brand
purchases
Shotgun approach (no thought of scale
application)

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Brand Personality
Brand personality: set of traits people attribute to a
product as if it were a person
Brand equity: extent to which a consumer holds
strong, favorable, and unique associations with a
brand in memoryand the extent to which s/he is
willing to pay more for the branded version of a
product than for a nonbranded (generic) version
Extensive consumer research goes into brand
campaigns

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Brand Behaviors and Personality Trait
Inferences
Brand Action Trait Inference
Brand is repositioned several times or changes Flighty, schizophrenic
slogan repeatedly

Brand uses continuing character in advertising Familiar, comfortable

Brand charges high prices and uses exclusive Snobbish, sophisticated

distribution

Brand frequently available on deal Cheap, uncultured

Brand offers many line extensions Versatile, adaptable

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Table 6.2 (abridged) 6-19

Lifestyles
Lifestyle: patterns of consumption reflecting a
persons choices of how one spends time and
money
Lifestyle marketing perspective: people sort
themselves into groups on the basis of:
What they like to do
How they spend leisure time
How they spend disposable income
Example: Magazines targeting specific lifestyles:
WWF Magazine, 4 Wheel & Off Road, Readers
Digest
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Lifestyles as Group Identities
Forms of expressive symbolism
Self-definition of group members = common symbol
system
Terms include lifestyle, taste public, consumer
group, symbolic community, status culture
Each person provides a unique twist to be an
individual
Tastes/preferences evolve over time

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Building Blocks of Lifestyles
Product usage in desirable social settings
Consumption style
Patterns of behavior
Co-branding strategies: brands team up with
other companies to promote their products
understand this
Product complementarity: symbolic meanings of
different products relate to one another
Consumption constellations: define,
communicate, and perform social roles

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Linking Products to Lifestyles

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Figure 6.2 6-23

Discussion
What consumption
constellation might
characterize you and your
friends today?

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Psychographics
Psychographics: use of
psychological, sociological,
and anthropological factors
to:
Determine market
segments
Determine their reasons
for choosing products
Fine-tune offerings to
meet needs of different
segments
Consumers can share the same
demographics and still be very
different!
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Best Buy Psychographic Segments
Jill: busy suburban mom who buys electronics for
family
Buzz: focused, active younger male interested in
buying latest gadgets
Ray: family man who likes his technology practical
BB4B (Best Buy for Business): small employer
Barry: affluent professional male wholl drop tens
of thousands of dollars on a home theater system

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Lifestyle/Personality Variables for Soup
Lifestyle
Active Lifestyle (Vegetable):
I am: outdoorsy, physically fit,
workaholic, socially active
Family Spirited (Chicken Noodle):
I am: family-oriented, churchgoer,
traditional
Homebody (Tomato):
I am: a homebody, good cook, pet
lover; I enjoy spending time alone
Intellectually Stimulated Pastimes
(French Onion):
I am: a technology whiz, world
traveler, book lover
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Table 6.3
Personality
Mentally Alert (Clam Chowder):
I am: intellectual, sophisticated,
creative, detail-oriented, witty,
nutrition conscious
Social (Chili):
I am: fun at parties, outgoing,
spontaneous, trendsetter
Athletic (Cream Soups):
I am: athletic, competitive,
adventurous
Carefree (Minestrone):
I am: down-to-earth, affectionate,
fun loving, optimistic
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Doing a Psychographic Analysis
Lifestyle profile: differentiates between users and
nonusers of a product
Product-specific profile: identifies a target group and
profiles consumers based on product-related
dimensions
General lifestyle segmentation: places a large
sample of respondents into homogeneous groups
based on similarities of preferences
Product-specific segmentation: tailors questions to
a product category

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AIOs
Grouping consumers according to:
Activities
Interests
Opinions
80/20 Rule: lifestyle segments that produce the bulk
of customers
Heavy users and the benefits they derive from
product

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Lifestyle Dimensions
Activities Interests Opinions Demographics

Work Family Themselves Age

Hobbies Home Social issues Education

Social events Job Politics Income

Vacation Community Business Occupation

Entertainment Recreation Economics Family size

Club membership Fashion Education Dwelling

Community Food Products Geography

Shopping Media Future City size

Sports Achievements Culture Stage in life cycle

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Table 6.4 6-30

Psychographic Segmentation Uses
To define target market
To create new view of market
To position product
To better communicate product attributes
To develop overall strategy
To market social/political issues

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VALS2TM

Click to take the

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Figure 6.3 6-32
Discussion
Construct separate advertising executions for a
cosmetics product targeted to the Belonger,
Achiever, Experiencer, and Maker VALS types.
How would the basic appeal differ for each group?

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Global Psychographic Typologies
Global MOSAIC
Identifies segments across 19 countries
RISC
Lifestyles/sociocultural change in 40+ countries
Divides population into 10 segments using 3 axis:
Exploration/Stability
Social/Individual
Global/Local
40 measured trends (e.g., spirituality)

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Discussion
Extreme sports. Day trading. Blogging.
Vegetarianism. Can you predict what will be hot in
the near future?
Identify a lifestyle trend that is just surfacing in your
universe.
Describe this trend in detail, and justify your
prediction.
What specific styles and/or products are part of this
trend?

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Ten Risk Segments

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Figure 6.4 6-36

Geodemography
Consumer expenditures/socioeconomic factors +
geographic information
Birds of a feature flock together
Can be reached more economically (e.g., 90277
zip code in Redondo Beach, CA)

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Discussion
Geodemographic techniques assume that people
who live in the same neighborhood have other
things in common as well.
Why do they make this assumption, and how
accurate is it?

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Food Cultures
Food culture: pattern of food and beverage
consumption that reflects the values of a social
group
Differences in international food cultures:
In China, milk chocolate has less milk
In United States, Campbells soup is saltier than in
Mexico
In Germany, food must be healthier

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PRIZM by Claritas, Inc.
66 clusters of U.S. zip codes
Example: Young Influential, Money and
Brains, Kids and Cul-de-Sacs
Ranked by income, home value, and occupation
Maximize effectiveness, cost-efficiency, and impact
of marketing communications

Click to access
Mybestsegments.com

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Comparison of Two PRIZM Clusters

Furs and Station Wagons Tobacco Roads

New money, parents in 40s and 50s Racially mixed farm town in South
Newly built subdivisions with tennis courts, Small downtowns with thrift shops, diners,
swimming pools, gardens and laundromats; shanty-type homes without
indoor plumbing

High Usage Low Usage High Usage Low Usage

Country clubs Motorcycles Travel by bus Knitting
Wine by the case Laxatives Asthma medicine Live theater
Lawn furniture Nonfilter cigarettes Malt liquors Smoke detectors
Gourmet magazine Chewing tobacco Grit magazine Ms. Magazine
BMW 5 Series Hunting magazine Pregnancy tests Ferraris
Rye bread Chevrolet Chevette Pontiac Bonneville Whole-wheat bread
Natural cold cereal Canned stews Shortening Mexican foods

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Table 6.5 6-41