Ch. 6 - Consumer Decision Making

A method that I find very interesting is the use of magazine advertisement as a tool to influence consumer behavior. While magazines like Ebony attract African-American women that are intelligent, upper-class, and fashion trendy, others like Cosmo are designed to attract women on an international level that are sexy, fashion trendy, and upper-class, as well. Besides the point, the magazines both use advertisements of women corresponding to their covers, as in the Ebony magazine there is an African-American woman with the Pantene hair and look, and in the Cosmopolitan magazine there is a Caucasian woman with the Pantene hair and look. Going a step further, this helps all women understand that no matter the hair type, the product can produce Pantene hair that shines, regardless of ethnicity. This makes a big difference to the consumer because it functions like an aspirational reference group would, as these two  women with nicer hair are Pantene Pro-V users, making other ladies reading the magazine that are passing by the advertisement want to conform to the norms of the group of more attractive women because it is a likable quality that comes with benefits in society. However, it makes the marketing strategy even more interesting because women have always aspired to be high-maintenance to give the impression that they are also from a higher social class, even if they aren't from an upperclassmen at all. This understanding of consumer behavior makes the promotion of products like Pantene Pro-V very easy because all they have to do is illustrate the results of product use, in combination with social norms, to increase the demand for their product.