Cosumer Pathway/Touch Points

After reading chapters 8-11 in Brand Media Strategy, Group 3 conducted an activity to help classmates understand the Consumer Pathway more when relating it to different media outlets.

When doing this exercise we were connecting Oreo's Consumer Pathway with different touch points that relate to their branding strategy. Most of the groups found that our answers were quite similar, I personally think after focusing on Oreo's business model and marketing tactics we all have a general understanding of what this company's brand image is.

We also learned about the CCP, Central Communication Platform, and how this allow marketers to anchor and integrate the Brand Media Strategy and the media activations. The CCP is developed by the consumer insight or truth that is relevant to the target audience. By creating a CCP this will help companies focus on their inner layer.

Brand Archetype: Pampers

I thought group number three did a great job connecting the readings with prior concepts and theories, and by creating an interactive activity. A major of the reading assigned discussed Brand Archetypes. This also connected back to a course last semester, Venture Feasibility, where we focused on Customer Archetypes and Buyer Persona's. Since I am familiar with Customer Archetype I thought it was extremely interesting to create an Archetype from a Brand perspective.

Amelia and I were assigned Pampers, we both felt as though this brand represented "The Protector" Archetype. The protector values compassion and generosity. Who puts others first, providing tender loving care, support, and reassurance.

Proctor & Gamble: PAMPERS (THE PROTECTOR)

• Sayings as a Protector Might Live By:
• " Love thy Neighbor"
• "Take care of yourself"
• "Lead by Compassion"
• Saying Pampers Lives by:
• Inspired by babies. Created by Pampers.
•  Love, Sleep, Play
• The Wet Stops Here
• A Journey of Love, Sleep, and Play

Even though these sayings may not be exactly the same, we both felt as though the connected to the same type of emotion. Pampers promote a brand image that allows their products to take care of the babies problem, and to create an compassionate connection between child and parent.




 Champion Values Such As: Compassion, Motherly Advice, Hospitality, Protection, Comfort, Empathy, generosity, thoughtfulness, sincerity, sharing, warmth, and wisdom.  
Pampers: Connects Compassion with Mother and Child, Protection with absorbent technology and prevention of weighted down diapers, and comfort of the overall diaper.

For Brands that: are caring and nurturing, providing comfort and peace of mind when customers especially need it. 

• Today Pampers represent a Premium and Baby-Dry diapers that have a protective layer of lotion that helps keep little bottoms soft and smooth.

StoryBranding Model vs. Consumer Decision Making Journey

The StoryBranding Model: looks at the brand and its relationship with the prospect. This model states that any brand story had two main characters; the protagonist brand itself and it beneficiary, the prospect. To complete this model brands must deal with certain obstacles. Obstacles in marketing are considered sales barriers, as each obstacle is overcome the connection between the brand and the prospect becomes stronger.

Both the brand and the prospect cell have two layers. The outer layer consist of physical and behavioral properties and the in layers are composed of deeper, often hidden beliefs and values that are linked to and responsible for character behavior.

• 1a. The brand cell's outer layer consists of the physical design of the product and how it functions to satisfy the prospect's outer layer need.
• 2a. The prospects cell's outer layer first consists of the prospect's measurable traits and characteristic. (age, sex, income, and education)
• 1b. The brand's inner layer is sometimes referred to as the brand's essence or its DNA. This consists of values and beliefs that the brand becomes associated with.
• 2b. The prospects cell's inner Layer this constitutes the prospect's self and aspirational identity and serves as a point of inner connection with the brand. 

Consumer Decision Journey: Consumers make decisions from formed impressions of brands through touch points such as advertisements, news reports, conversations with family and friends, and product experiences. Unless consumers are actively shopping, much of that exposure appears wasted. As appeared the decision making process is a more circular journey, with four primary phases representing potential areas where marketers can win or lose: Initial Consideration,  Active Evaluation, Moment of Purchase, and Post Purchase Experience.

• Initial Consideration Set: The consumer considers an initial set of brands,based on brand perceptions and exposure to recent touch points.
• Active Evaluation: (information gathering, shopping) consumers add or subtract brands as they evaluate what they want.
• Moment of Purchase: Ultimately, the consumer selects a brand at the moment of purchase.
• Post-purchase Experience: After purchasing a product or service, the consumer builds expectations based on experience to inform the next decision journey.

Uh-Oh Oreo!

After conducting the creative strategy exercise in class with Nabisco's Double Stuff Oreos, I was able to connect with milk's favorite cookie from a consumer perspective and from a business perspective. This exercise forced us to use our five senses, and by using these senses it created different types of emotion.

On the consumer level, this exercise brought us back to a place of nostalgia. Over the years Nabisco has done a great job in connecting generations with their advertisements. As the millennials are getting older Nabisco has began to relate the advertisements to our generation and the newer generations. Now that Nabisco has already created a memory in our head from our childhood they do not have to do much more other than connect it to certain trends. For example, Generation Y, millennials, have become a more liberal generation and Oreo has started a campaign for Gay Pride. Even though their marketing tactics have evolved in the direction of society today doesn't mean that they shy away from being "Milk's Favorite Cookie."

From the business/marketing perspective, this exercise has brought me back to concepts I learned in Principles of Marketing. We learned the Growth-Share Matrix, which is a matrix based on the observation that a company's business units can be classified into four categories based on combinations of market growth and market share relative to the largest competitor. Market growth serves as a proxy for industry attractiveness, and relative market share serves as a proxy for competitive advantage. The growth-share matrix thus maps the business unit positions within these two important determinants of profitability. The four categories include: Dogs, Questions Marks, Stars, and Cash Cows. In Princples of Marketing, Dr. Elam mentioned that one of the most famous Cash Cows was the Oreo cookie. Cash Cows are leaders in a mature market, cash cows exhibit a return on assets that is greater than the market growth rate, and thus generate more cash than they consume. With Oreo's influential branding strategy they have created the ultimate product of nostalgia for adults and teens, and the easy recognizable brand of four lettters for kids.


Click Here >> Oreo's Marketing Mix