By doing so, the user of the “Nikkei+ Fleabane” is able to set his own fitness goals, monitor the progression and compare himself to the other community user (Wisped 2013). The conducted “Nikkei+ Fleabane”-campaign has outlined following campaign goals: 1 . Increasing Nikkei+ online community 2. Increasing the engagement of community users 3. Increasing brand awareness and brand loyalty towards Nikkei 4. Bottom line: increased profit of Nikkei Inc. Achieved via campaign The campaign goals shall be achieved via a combination of operant conditioning and signification.
The American psychologist B. F. Skinner first described the concept of operant conditioning in 1937 (Stanton and Curette, 2003). The basis idea of operant conditioning is that after a behavior, there occurs a reinforcement or a punishment. The chosen strategy either strengthens or weakens the voluntary behavior. As a result, there is made an association between the voluntary behavior and a consequence for that particular behavior (About 2013).
Figure 1 : Influencing consumer behavior by operant conditioning (Sequester, Pettier and Hawkins 2012) Figure 1 depicts the process of operant conditioning. In the “Nikkei+ Fleabane”-campaign, the stimulus is the “Nikkei+ Fleabane”. The campaign wants to achieve the consumer’s experience with the Fleabane. This is the desire response. Once this stage is reached and the consumer had a pleasant experience, he probability of repeating the reinforcement behavior is increased, I. E. To use the “Nikkei+ Fleabane”.
The last described step describes the reinforcement and the increased probability of response to stimulus. Operant conditioning is alongside of classical conditioning a powerful tool utilized by marketing managers to influence consumer’s behavior (Sequester, Pettier and Hawkins, 2012). The “Nikkei+ Fleabane”- campaign wants to utilities this described effect implemented in a sportive context. The following section gives a brief overview of the different methods to implement operant conditioning and their effects on consumer’s behavior.
There are four main methods to utilities operant conditioning for influencing consumer’s behavior: Operation Performed after behavior Name Effect Present positive consequence Positive reinforcement Increases the probability of behavior Remove aversive consequences Negative reinforcement Neutral consequences occur Positive punctiliousness’s Present aversive consequences Negative Punctiliousness’s Decreases the probability of Table 1 : Operant conditioning of consumer’s behavior As you can see in table 1, desirable behavior can be induced by reinforcement, both positive and negative.
However, undesirable behavior can be reduced with both punishment methods (Sequester, Pettier and Hawkins 2012). Both reinforcement treatments are increasing the likelihood of the behavior. In the “positive reinforcement” there are favorable events or outcomes presented after the behavior, I. E. The behavior is strengthened by addition of something (About 2013). On the contrary, in the “negative reinforcement” treatment the behavior is strengthened by the removal of something considered as unpleasant. On the other side, there are two kinds of “punishment” methods available.
In both cases, the punishment” influences the consumer’s behavior towards a decrease of the behavior. The “positive punishment” will introduce an unfavorable event or outcome. The strategy behind that is to weaken the particular behavior. However, in the “negative punishment” a favorable event or outcome is removed after the behavior occurred (About 2013). The marketing strategy of the “Nikkei+ Fleabane”- campaign concentrates only on the usage of positive reinforcement treatment. The strategy pursues the goal of an increased probability to use the “Nikkei+ Fleabane” and to engage with the Nikkei+ online community.
Consequently, the campaign must encourage potential consumers to engage in “that” first trial. Firstly, the campaign must achieve awareness about the new product on the marketplace, e. G. Product presentations in shopping centers comparable to the Apple Store experience. Secondly, the campaign will introduce a money-back guarantee to reduce the “consumer’s fear” of spending money to a “useless” product. Partial responses lead to the final desired response, I. E. Purchasing the “Nikkei+ Fleabane” and using it in the Nikkei+ online community. This process is known as “shaping’ (Sequester, Pettier and Hawking 2012).
Additionally, there are different “schedules of reinforcement”. You have to consider this as an important point when implementing your operant conditioning. The regularity of reinforcement can have a dramatic impact on the strength and rate of the response. The schedule of reinforcement must be personalized to the particular situations, I. E. The effectiveness of the reinforcement depends on that (About 2013). In general, there are two types of reinforcement schedules; the “continuous reinforcement” and the “partial reinforcement” which sub-divides in four different methods.
The “continuous reinforcement” schedule introduces a reinforce after each single behavior. This prevents deletion. However, you must invest in a reinforce after each behavior. As a rule of thumb, this method is best used during the initial stages of learning. By doing so, the created association between the behavior and the response will be strong. After establishing the association, the method is usually switched to a partial reinforcement” schedule (About 2013). In a partial reinforcement” schedule the actual reinforcement occurs “partial reinforcement” with four different methods. The methods are as follows: 1 .
Fixed-ratio schedule 2. Variable-ratio schedule 3. Fixed-interval schedule 4. Variable-interval schedule The “Nikkei+ Fleabane”-campaign will only use the “fixed-ratio”- and the schedule. In the fixed-ratio” schedule a reinforce is only introduced after every n-the behavior. With that reinforcement schedule you can save investments in your reinforce. However, it produces a steady and high rate of responding with a short pause after the introduction of the reinforce (About 2013). In the variable-ratio” schedule, the reinforce follows a random behavior. Empirically, this reinforcement plan has a very high resistance to deletion.
Like the fixed-ratio” schedule it creates a high and steady rate of responding (About 2013). The description of your outlined campaign will give detailed information of how we implemented the operant conditioning. Whereas the operant conditioning is long-known learning process, the “signification process” is a new and powerful for influencing and motivating groups of people (Punchbowl 2010). The “Nikkei+ Fleabane”-campaign incorporates the signification process. The campaign will use signification as as a process of integrating game dynamics into the Nikkei+ online community in order to drive participation and engagement.
The aim of the signification use is to To engage consumers and get them participate, share and interact in some activity. To market the Nikkei+ Fleabane” effectively, the campaign considers this technique as necessary to gaming’ the usage of the Nikkei+ Fleabane” in order of increased engagement, but also to foster its use to their social network. Table 2 presents the game mechanics which the Nikkei+ Fleabane”-campaign will introduce to fulfill the described human desires. Thereby, the red dots represent the primary desire a particular game mechanic fulfils (Punchbowl 2010). Game Mechanics Human Desires Reward
Status Achievement Self Expression Competition Altruism Nikkei+ unit Levels Challenges Table 2: Game Mechanics and interaction of basic human desires On the other hand the signification process permits to track consumer activities and using this information to analyses their physical activities and use of the band. With the collected data, the “Nikkei+ Fleabane” can create an individual profile of each user. Thus, with the data analysis consumers will be reward based on their level of activity and interaction with the application, promoting apart for the use of the band, the consumption of different Nikkei products, I. E. Term running 50 kilometers with your current running shoes, the “Nikkei+ app” promotes the user a Nikkei running shoe for better running performance. Furthermore, the signification process also allows being part of a community that incentive more people to Join groups. The signification process is on its core all about statistics, I. E. The statistics become the game (Punchbowl 2010). The Nikkei+ online community’ utilities this effect by providing public statistics about the user’s performance. Before implementing the Nikkei+ Fleabane”-campaign, we had to analyses the internal influences of our prospective and existing consumers.
As well, we had to consider the existing external influences which we have included in our outlined campaign. Internal Influences Perception The Nikkei+ Fleabane” is perceived as a new way to measure activity levels through consumers. The band has an impact on its target market through the way they organize and interpret the overall satisfaction of the product. Being a Nikkei product, people trust the brand to produce a quality product that works and fulfils their needs and wants towards becoming fit.
The Nikkei+ Fullback’s” sleek physical features include its lightweight, colorful LED lighting, black solid band, and simple design hat is easy to wear for everyday use. The band is perceived as a motivational took for Nikkei customers who already have an active lifestyle or who would like to have an active lifestyle. People associate their experience of the band with staying fit and start to value the product. Only being $149. 00 it is distinguished as a reasonable priced product for the quality and overall satisfaction you get from using it.
Motivation and emotion: Driving Consumer Behavior One of the motivations for a Fleabane” user is self-improvement motivation where consumers are aimed at changing one’s current state to some level, in this case nonusers exercise to improve their health and well-being. Consumers use the Fleabane” as hedonistic motivation as a symbol a healthy lifestyle of the consumer. Motivation and emotional involvement are closely related, the things that tap our deepest greatest value and evoke strong feelings associated with object and activities related to the Fleabane (Harris).
Personal, lifestyle and self-concept Personality helps distinguish consumers based on the specific characteristics that a person exhibits consistently. The personality can be conceptualized as a combination of specific traits or characteristics. For the Fleabane, probably the main traits are self-monitoring and competitiveness. The first as trait represents the tendency for consumers to observe and control behavior in ways that agree with social cues and influence. High self-monitors are influenced by advertising messages that provide information about how products will affect their image, as is the case of the Fleabane.
On the other hand the competitiveness trait is defined as an enduring tendency to strive to be better than others, as an example that consumers are directly competing with others in sports, Internet games and for the Fulfilled wrought the phone application (Harris). The purchase patterns are often influenced by consumer lifestyles, therefore the Fleabane is orientated for people that appeal to the health conscious market. In a recent Australian national Survey showed that 1 1 million of Australians aged 15 or over participated at least once a week in physical activity for exercise.
Demonstrating that Australian culture has about 43% percentage of its population doing physical activities (Trade). As the purpose of the Fleabane is to motivate consumers to be more active, a suggested video advertising could be eased on arouse emotions of becoming healthier, monitoring your activities with the use of the band (Harris). Attitude and attitude change Given the Australian personal, lifestyle and self-concept, the Nikkei+ Fleabane”- campaign could suggest not to implement an attitude change process. However, 3 out of 5 Australian adults and 1 out of 4 Australian children are overweight or obese (IHA 2013).
The attitude change of the overweight or obsessed Australian people will occur in a further step because the current Nikkei+ Fleabane”-campaign will concentrate on the already active and exercising people. External Influences Culture and Culture Values Consumer culture represents the commonly held societal beliefs that define what is socially gratifying with specific society and their consumption. An example of how Australian see themselves is in the following quote from a Cultural Portal about Australia. “In Australia is a very popular exercise, Just as much as going to the shopping centre or doing any sport.
The so-called Australian Beach Culture is similar to California, ROI De Jeanine, and the Mediterranean”. Doing outdoor activities and physical activities for Australians is part of the culture values and/or the ideal lifestyle for them. This cultural value provides a well prognostic to market the Nikkei+ Fleabane” as it will enhance and promote physical activities. Reference Group Many people have an effect on consumer’s decisions when purchasing products. Aspiration reference groups are those who are easily influenced by the decisions of others.
An individual as the basis of their current behavior uses group’s perspective or values (Sequester, Pettier and Hawkins 2012). The three major influences of the Nikkei+ Fleabane” include informational, normative and identification. Providing expert advice and advice based on experience of using the Nikkei product influences arches the Fleabane due to the fact that they want to fulfill group expectations to gain direct reward known as normative influence. Finally, some consumers are more willing to purchase the Nikkei+ Fleabane”, as it is a norm within their reference group, based on their internal values of belonging to the group.
Reference groups increase as the degree of necessity of an item decreases. Bring a part of the Nikkei movement, it influences people with positive behavior with a change in their lifestyle and being more health conscious. Also it provides a positive attraction to the side effects of sing the band within a group as each member discusses and competes along side other members, creating a want to associate with the brand and the product. Reference groups provide information, rewards and identity that influence consumer’s purchases, consumptions and communication with products.
Social Class Within the Nikkei+ community’, fitness classifies people ranked not only on their ability, but also their attitude, values, and communication styles to determine their social class structure. The Nikkei+ Fleabane” is targeted towards consumers who are in the middle to upper class status as these people are more brand loyal. The middle to upper class makes up 46. 6% of the overall social class. Within these social classes, there is a ranking of members who classify consumers based on status according to their societies.
Social classes are groups who share similar values, interests and behaviors that are relatively continuous. The Fleabane has its own subclass within the Nikkei class that attains to consumers preferences in product satisfaction and targets their audience of fitness lovers. The brand itself holds up a strong reputation and those people who associate or use Nikkei products establish a reputation. By using immunization channels and communication styles we will appeal to our Nikkei+ Fleabane” consumers social group. Media & Social Media Nikkei is creating not only sport products but services to keep people engaged and using their products.
Through social networks such as Faceable, Nikkei is able to raise awareness of the “Nikkei+ Fleabane” and encourage people to share their results with family and friends online. The web is a sea of conversations navigate by search with Nikkei currently having over 15. 9 million Faceable fans (Statistic). In order to measure the fuel, the “Nikkei+ Fleabane”-campaign will introduce a number of APS and gadgets to quantify fuel, which can then be shared via Faceable and recorded on the Nikkei+ website. Using social channels, it is possible to engage in consumer activities by adding value to the Fleabane and amplifying good experiences from consumers.
Faceable allows you to track your activity throughout the day, and share your goals and results with others of similar interest. Also, this will engage brand loyal consumers and increase their likelihood to buy from Nikkei in the future when they are pleased with their results and others are pleased as well. The purchase of a Nikkei reduce is not the end of the marketing cycle, but the beginning when Nikkei can offer a consumer a wide variety of products and services tailored to their individuals needs such as the “Nikkei+ Fleabane”. Monoculture Microcircuits are specialized groups within a community (Sequester, Pettier and Hawkins 2013).
Nikkei has many different communities based on people’s wants, needs and goals they aim to achieve. Consumers are divided into microcircuits because of their similar decision making styles and similar needs, such as their desire to get fit team spirit. The Nikkei+ Fleabane” has the opportunity for many microcircuits wrought popular fitness activities, such as tennis, running, hockey, rugby, biking, surfing and much more. People form these groups and together work towards achieving personal and group goals, as well as influencing, and providing personal recommendations to others within the group.
Connecting with others allows individuals to create advocate programs, increase their performance, and expand their resources of a certain interest. By implementing the Nikkei+ Fleabane” it is providing an opportunity to bring others together, and form these sub groups, with the ultimate goal of being physical and healthy. The Nikkei+ Fleabane”-campaign Objective: The campaign is based on positive reinforcement, providing a different stimulus targeting new consumers and increasing engagement of current consumers through the use of the Nikkei Fleabane.
The campaign aims to increase the number of consumers as well as promoting the consumption of all range of Nikkei products. The campaign includes individual and team challenges, rewards and different level of users with differentiate benefits on each level. The communication channels used for this campaign are, mobile applications, Faceable, personalized emails. Levels Figure 2: “Nikkei+ Fleabane” level hierarchy The Nikkei+ Fleabane”-campaign is using the described signification process.
Thus, five levels of users was set up to motivate consumers increase their fitness level (see figure 2), appealing to the self-monitoring and competitiveness traits of the target market in Australia. The use of discriminatory stimuli will positive reinforce users to escalate from one level to the next one. In order to reach the next level users behavior will have to change, doing more physical activities and using the band to track them down. Recognition of their achievement will be sending in personalized assuages to their emails, phone applications and a post on Faceable.
The detailed description of the reward system is in Table 3. Our campaign focuses on the positive reinforcement of using the “Nikkei+ Fleabane” and all the benefits the band can offer someone. Through challenges, achieving different levels, and attaining an overall Nikkei + ranking, consumers are motivated to participate in physical activity, Join a team, and start a challenge. In doing this, consumers see their progress and are able to track their daily activities and their calories burned during activity. It is an effective ND dynamic way that Nikkei utilities its target market and increases brand awareness.
After watching our campaign we hope that it motivates consumers to want to purchase the Nikkei fuel band as a fun way to keep active by competing, collaborating, and comparing activities with others in the Nikkei + network. By using the Nikkei fuel band, you will ultimately get fit like the guys in our campaign. “Nikkei+ Fleabane” level Calories Activities Elite > 35,000 16-18 Nikkei + stats board Advance > 21,000 12-16 receive a personal congratulation message *post faceable message, and name on Nikkei + stats board Athletic > 17,500 9_12
Nikkei + stats board Fit > 14,000 6-9 Nikkei + stats board Easy Going > 10,500 2-4 Nikkei + stats board This chart is based on a per week basis * Optional Table 3: Nikkei+ Fleabane” reward system Internal Influences Psychological Factors Perception: how individuals select, organize and interpret stimuli into the world gathering information through senses Sensation: product packaging, Nikkei Brand, Names, Advertisement Experience and association Valued product, quality product The Nikkei fuel band is perceived as a new way to measure activity levels through and wants towards becoming fit.
The Nikkei Fuel band’s sleek physical features include, TTS lightweight, colorful LED lighting, black solid band, and simple design that is easy to wear for everyday use. The band is perceived as a motivational took for Nikkei customers who already have an active lifestyle or who would like to have an active lifestyle. People associate their experience of the band with staying fit and start to value the product. Only being $149. 0 it is distinguished as a reasonable priced product for the quality and overall satisfaction you get from using it. Social Reference Groups : Group whose presumed perspective or values are being used by an individual as the axis of his current behavior what other people think, who uses the brand friends and opinions you trust informational influence- expertise, experience normative influence- fulfils group expectations to gain direct reward Identification influence- has internalized the groups values and norms ex.
Purchase new runners belong to fitness group Word of mouth marketing Sharing experiences Change in lifestyle- health awareness Many people have an effect consumers decisions when purchasing products. Or values. The three major influences of the Nikkei fuel band include, informational, normative and identification. Providing expert advice and advice based on experience of using the Nikkei product influences consumers to buy the product based on others opinions.
Some consumers will purchase the band due to the fact that they want to fulfill group expectations to gain direct reward known as normative influence. Finally some consumers are more willing to purchase the Nikkei fuel band, as it is a norm within their reference group, based on their internal values of belonging to the group. Reference groups increase as the degree of necessity of an item decreases. Bring a part of the Nikkei movement, it influences people with positive behavior with change in their lifestyle and being more health conscious.
Also it provides a positive attraction to the side effects of using the band within a group as each member discusses and competes along side other members, creating a want to associate with the brand and the product. Reference Groups provide information, rewards and identity that influence consumer’s purchases, consumptions and communication with products. Cultural Factors Social Class: society, status ranking of members in each social class working (brand loyal) , middle, upper Within the Nikkei community, fitness classifies people ranked not only on their ability,
