The principles of consumer behaviour are evident in many areas of marketing. Perhaps the easiest place to see this critical foundation of marketing activity is in digital advertising.

Purpose: This exercise requires students to closely examine digital ads to see how they use the principles of consumer buying behaviour to make their message more successful. By collecting ads and creating a portfolio showcasing different products, different ad styles, and so forth, students will see how many marketing concepts discussed in the book play out in digital media.

Setting It Up: Encourage students to select ten concepts from the chapter and find ads to illustrate them. If your class is small and conducive to group work, you can have students group their ads according to chapter concepts and then compare how advertisers convey their messages. Alternatively, you could have students group ads by product categories and see if any consumer behaviour concepts are more prevalent in ads for certain products. For example, which kinds of products seem to rely on opinion leaders, on self-concept, and so on?

Submission: Each team member should submit their work.

Activities

Step 1

1. Review the main concepts in this chapter, and create checklist that itemizes them. Then, surf through some of your favourite websites where advertising occurs (such as face book or Google). Take a screenshot of the ads you select and paste them to a document.

Step 2

2. Because pictures can help reinforce understanding, consider doing this exercise for each chapter in the book. At the end of the semester, you will have a portfolio of ads that illustrate the concepts in the entire book, which can help you study. Look through your portfolio, and try to recall the concepts at work in each advertisement. This exercise can be a prelude to a longer study session for comprehensive exams.