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MKT102A Role of Influencers in Marketing Assessment 3 Answer

Subject TitleConsumer Behaviour
Subject CodeMKT102A
Assessment TitlePresentation
Graduate Capabilities  



List the graduate capabilities being developed in this assessment 
a. Professional Expertise
b. Technology and Information Literacy
c. Global Citizenship
d. Skilled Collaboration
Learning Outcome/s (found in the Subject Outline)
a)  Discuss the relevance of consumer behaviour and psychology to marketing.
d)  Discuss the changing nature of consumer behaviour across technology, sustainability and privacy.

Weighting %30%
Assessment instructionsRise of Influencers in Decision Making 
In recent years there has been a significant shift towards using influencers to market to specific or micro segments. While marketers have always looked for the influential ‘cool kids’ to persuade purchases or the key decision maker in families, this phenomenon has seen the rise of a new type of micro-celebrity, whom is a perfect representation of their fans’ culture, attitudes, family life stage, aspirations and psychographics.  In this presentation, groups will explain using 3 specific brand examples how influencers influence purchase decisions and why marketers are so keen to use them? You should select one of the following categories to focus on; Food, Fashion, Gaming or Wellness.
IMPORTANT: You must show evidence of observational research across online forums, social media sites and other brand activity online or in-store.  The following list outlines the requirements of the assessment: 
The presentation should include:
  1. Brief introduction to the phenomena, your category and specific brands focused on
  2. Consumer behaviour theories behind why influencers are so successful? Recommend 3.
  3. Why marketers love them? (think about loyalty, how they drive us to purchase, brand archetype alignment and campaign success examples). Include findings from observations here.
  4. Ethics, social responsibility and privacy considerations of using this type of media, especially as our tracking and data analysis of consumers continues to sophisticate 
  5. Your opinion on how this marketing strategy might evolve e.g. are they just a phase? Will artificial intelligence be the next influencer?
Each group member will prepare and present a 3-5 slide PowerPoint presentation addressing the elements of his or her portion of the project; 
  • Each portion of the PowerPoint presentation should build on the previous speaker’s presentation;
  • The PowerPoint slides should support the speaker’s message, but not be a duplicate of the exact words the speaker uses. Slides should highlight the most important parts of the talk and include images as appropriate. Do NOT provide text-heavy slides;
  • The presentation should be delivered from an outline; it should not be read as a paper. Your goal is to deliver the speech in a manner that is engaging and conversational; 
  • Groups will submit their PowerPoint slide deck.
  • Peer review evaluation within the group are also to be conducted.


Answer

1. Introduction

  • The rise of an influencer in consumer decision-making is a concept that is gaining momentum due to the increase in social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. (Glucksman, 2017)
  • Digital marketing is one of the primary drivers of the growth we are witnessing in today's modernised world. (Sudha & Sheena, 2017)
  • Digital marketing can be done using the internet, using social media platforms to display the advertisements, the campaigns. 
  • It is a well-established fact that celebrities play a huge role in influencing the lives of their fans. (Chia & Poo, 2009)
  • In this assessment, I have chosen the Fashion category, and the three brands that will be focus are- Adidas, Louis Vuitton & Nike.
  • The three brands are worldwide famous and appoint the brand ambassadors for the marketing of fashion items like apparels, shoes, bags, etc. 
  • We will learn about consumer behaviour theories that conform to the role of influencers in marketing.
  • Our next focus would be to analyse the reasons why the part of influencers is rising in marketing.
  • We would then conclude with the ethical and social responsibilities that must be kept in mind, while marketing; and the scope of evolution of marketing strategies.

Notes: The rise of Social Media, along with optimum use of the Internet, has led to the emergence of digital marketing, wherein the role of influencers is considered the most important. People follow their favourite celebrities of platforms like Facebook, Instagram, etc., and assume that the things they wear, eat, use or acknowledge are worthy. The marketers, over the years, have recognised the fact that it is in their favour to use celebrities as the face of the brand, popularly called as Brand Ambassadors. In this assessment, we will learn about three Fashion Brands; Nike, Adidas and Louise Vuitton, that have been using influencers to cater the public attention.

  • Consumer behaviour theories Psychodynamic Theory: The theory states that consumers are moved by their unconscious desires while making a purchase. The people can easily be motivated with the help of an influential persona. (Webster, 2000)
  • Veblenian Socio-Psychological Theory: Under this theory, the consumers are driven by their social and cultural backgrounds and their decision making on purchase is based on the development of their social class. (Daniela, 2011)
  • Hawkins Stern Impulse Buying Theory: The theory is based on the impulse behaviour of the consumer. Under this theory, the consumer goes on to make impulse decisions that have no relation with their cultural and social backgrounds. (Amos et al., 2014)

Notes: The Psychodynamic Theory lays suits the conditions of influential marketing as people are easily driven with external forces. The decision making of the people is based on face value. For instance, people under this theory would easily be convinced if a popular actress endorses a handbag brand like Lavie, Gucci, etc.

The Veblenian Socio-Psychological Theory can be used to hit a specific set of demographic. For instance, a famous cricketer who comes from an aboriginal and indigenous population would influence the people coming from such backgrounds.

Hawkins Stern Impulse Buying Theory will help the marketers if they promote their products or services with some offers. The use of celebrity influencers or micro-influencers can add value to it.

 Why Marketers love the Influencers

  • Influencers can impact consumer behaviour.
  • With the advent of digital marketing, the role of influencers has four-folded.
  • Influencers can portray the creative and appealing approach towards the buying of a product. (Sudha & Sheena, 2017)
  • The marketers hardly need to prove the value of their products while advertising, the influencers using those products itself leaves a mark on people's minds.
  • The reach of celebrity-influencers is broad; millions of people follow them, and so the importance of the brands there are ambassadors. 
  • The advent of micro-influencers is gaining importance as they hit the specific audience, with socio-cultural backgrounds. (Khamis et al., 2017)
  • The brand archetype alignment plays a critical role here, as the type of influencer chosen for the kind of brand drives the consumers. 
  • Nike: Nike has Christiano Ronaldo as its brand ambassador. He is a worldwide famous sportsman. (Delventhal, 2017)
  • Adidas: Adidas has had numerous brand ambassadors from time to time. It had Kylie Jenner as one of them, who is a youth fashion icon. (Etyan, 2018)
  • Louis Vuitton: Every year, the brand comes with "Pre-Fall-Year" and posters celebrities of the world. It is merely a fashion campaign. (Louise Vuitton, 2020)
  • The more famous a celebrity is; the more is the reach of the brand. 
  • The marketers try to endorse celebrities who have expertise in product usage or services to help them fetch more attention. For instance; an actor supporting an apparel brand, a sportsman endorsing a wellness brand, etc. (Nelson & Deborah, 2017)

Notes: The celebrities today are rated with the help of their net worth. More the net worth, more the influence of the brands they endorse. It costs the brands hugely; however, the investment is worth if the influencers can cater to a broader public. The brands like Adidas, Nike and Louise Vuitton have been making use of the influencers for a longer time, and that has added to their value four-folds. The idea of celebrities' endorsing a product that suits the cultural and social backgrounds of people helps the brands cater to more considerable public attention.

Ethics, social responsibility and privacy considerations 

  • Social media marketing is an opportunity as well as a threat, at the same time. It can hurt the emotions and sentiments of people at worst.
  • Some of the ethical, social and privacy considerations to be kept in mind while connecting with the consumers are:
  • Consumers' Data: Data is the new gold in the 21st Century. On the one hand, it can help marketers learn about consumer preferences and on the other hand, inflict the privacy of consumers. (Martin & Murphy, 2017)
  • Methods of Acquiring Data: Today, the trend of e-mail is gaining power, replacing the texts. The purchasing of e-mails is a big concern. 
  • The Privacy: The data collected by ethical means like questionnaire, surveys, online polls, etc., must be protected from any sort of third-party intervention. (Howells, 2020)
  • Habit and addiction: The digital marketing can play a broader role in making a person addictive, habitual and prone to get misled. (Conick, 2017)
  • Emotional exploitation: Social consciousness is critical for marketers; they must refrain from sharing any post that people are sensitive. For instance; political conflicts, social disharmony, etc. (Sudha & Sheena, 2017)

Notes: Nothing comes with 100% positive impacts. There are some negative implications too. Social media and the internet has brought us closer, getting in touch with influencers, micro-influencers has become more comfortable. The marketers are keen to learn everything about the consumers; their likes/dislikes, perceptions, beliefs, etc. As long as it doesn't harm a person's privacy, it is acceptable. However, as the digitalised world is gaining momentum, the cases of data theft, privacy concerns are increasing exponentially. In such cases, the marketers must abide by the legislation that is concerning cybersecurity, privacy concerns and opt for the data collection methods that are ethical and responsible.

The opinion of the evolution of Marketing Strategy

  • The evolution of marketing strategies is divided into three phases-
  • Internet Marketing
  • Marketing 2.O (Social Networks)
  • M-Marketing (Mobile Phones) (Guzzo et al., 2012)
  • The current marketing strategy that the marketers use is a careful blend of all three.
  • Artificial Intelligence can be referred to as a method where human intelligence is simulated into the machines so that the machines attain traits of a human mind. (Nilsson, 2014)
  • The advancement of digital marketing is critical; however, it must be noted that the use of influencers into marketing is not recent. (Easton, 2002)
  • The human connections are way beyond technology. The technology can help build social relationships; however, technology cannot only replace them. (Borza & Borza, 2014)
  • The influencers are loved, admired, idolised and followed by people. The way they connect is something irreplaceable. (Chia & Poo, 2009)
  • To conclude, it can be said that though Artificial Intelligence can help the marketers exponentially, there is doubt that it can replace the role of influencers.

Notes: The marketing strategies have evolved. The advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become widespread. It is believed that AI might be the new influencer; however, I think that what a human does; a machine can never. The social connections, the beauty of relationships is possible only when humans connect with each, no matter what source is used for the connection.

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