Category Beliefs among Non-users of Shampoo

There are some sets of beliefs that differentiate the users of a particular brand from a non-user.
These beliefs can be triggered by various stimuli including life styles and income levels of the
individuals. These attributes when coupled with the prices of the brand, impact the utilitarian
values of the customers. As far as the shampoo industry is concerned, the following sets of beliefs
may influence the non-users of shampoos:

● Lifestyle of individuals: Lifestyles include interests, behavioral patterns, opinions and

habits of people. Whether or not people are health conscious, whether they are outgoing or
prefer staying indoors, whether they are career oriented or they value their families, all
these attributes influence purchase intentions of customers. In the current scenario, we see
that most of the non-users belong to low income households and look for cheaper
alternative means for washing hair. As per the data collected from interviews, not a single
person washed his/her hair daily and the greatest percentage of people, 48%, washed their
hair only twice a week. Moreover, we also saw that the greatest percentage of people used
Shikakai for washing hair.
● Brand image and communication: The type of message that a company is portraying
about its brand also influences the purchasing patterns. About 96 percent people learned
about various brands through Television.
If a shampoo brand uses an outgoing woman who has to manage her party life with
professional life, this message might not be congruent with the mindsets of rural society.
● Purchasing Power of people and Affordability: This is the most easily understandable
attribute. If the prices of a product are very high and the customers are unable to get a
feeling of satisfaction after using that product, they will not be buying that product. If a
product is being sold in larger SKUs and the larger units are making it difficult for the
people to purchase these, then the people will not go with that brand. Economic trends
prevailing in a society will also affect the purchasing power of the people. For instance,
some sort of economic crisis may place shampoo in the category of luxury goods. Such an
incident will convert many users into lapsed users as people
Cognitive Beliefs on three Brands of Shampoo
Cognitive beliefs refer to the assumption, knowledge and ideas that a person might have about any
person, society in general, a product or any other concrete object. The cognitive beliefs on the
three brands of shampoos and the matching advertising elements are given as under:

Clinic Plus: Clinic Plus falls under the category of cosmetic shampoo. This brand launched by
Unilever was targeted among the members belonging to the lower socio-economic strata of
society. In the company portfolio, this shampoo is positioned as a “Family Value and Health
Foundation” brand. The advertising campaigns bolster the positioning statement of the brand by
communicating the importance of mother-daughter relationship and emphasizing how a mother
can use this product to foster confidence and growth in her family members.

Head & Shoulders: Head & Shoulders is a chemically tested brand launched by Proctor &
Gamble and is positioned as a premium product. It is meant for customers who want an effective
and convenient method for dandruff removal. This shampoo has such strong brand recognition that
whenever the word “anti-dandruff” is spoken, the name “Head & Shoulders” comes to mind. The
advertising campaigns focus on portraying H&S as the leading anti-dandruff shampoo by getting
endorsements from top tier celebrities.

Chik : This product launched by Cavin Kare falls under the category of cosmetic shampoos. Its
target audience includes people from the lower socio-income groups. In the company’s portfolio,
this brand is positioned as a cosmetic product that guarantees smooth and beautiful hair. The
advertisements are in line with the positioning statements as they show a confident user getting
through tough situations and maintaining her calm and composure.

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Effective Aspects and Advertising Elements
The effective aspects that are in line with the advertising elements are shown in the form of
following table:

Attributes Clinic Plus Head & Shoulders Chic

Category Cosmetic “ Family Leading Anti-dandruff Cosmetic Shampoo
Value and Health shampoo by Proctor & launched by Cavin
Care” brand by Gamble Kare
Unilever
Target Audience Lower Socio- Premium Lower Socio-
Economic Groups Economic Groups
Central Character School going girl Young male and Young woman lying in
typically between 8 tofemale members lying the age bracket of 18
14 years. in the age bracket of to 25 years.
18 to 25 years.
Setting Problem Solving Clinical Setting Problem Solving
Approach Approach
Influencer Mother Expert / Celebrity Mother
Message Family Values A life full of Family Values
confidence without
dandruff

Differences between cognitive and effective beliefs

There are a few differences between the cognitive and effective beliefs that have been portrayed
by the purchase patterns of the consumers. Although most of the respondents agreed that shampoos
are important for health of hair, not all the participants were active buyers of shampoos and used
other means for washing hair too. The low frequency of purchase is because of lower incomes.
Most of the participants had neutral views about the “Unique Selling Points” that are associated
with particular brands.

Conative Beliefs
Conative beliefs refer to the directed effort or natural impulse. Since cognitive part of the brain
deals with intelligence, and affective part is responsible for feelings and emotions, conative deals
with the approach that individuals take on thoughts and feelings. After being motivated by their
thought process (cognitive belief) and emotional appeal (affective appeal), the overall score for
each brand based on conative beliefs is as under:

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 ● Based on advertisements, the conative score for Clinic Plus comes out to be 3.9 on a scale
of 1 to 5 where 5 show the strongest likelihood of purchasing the product and 1 shows the
opposite.
● The conative score of Head and Shoulders is lower than that of Clinic Plus and comes out
to be 2.7.
● The conative score for Chic is 3.0. This shows that people are more indifferent to the
advertisements shown by Chic than they are to Clinic Plus.

Implication of Brands being rated high on conative aspects

As mentioned before,

● Cognitive process of brain refers to the intelligence that a human being processes. It
involves the thought process that a person develops while keeping various factors into
consideration.
● Affective Process refers to the emotional response that people develop to different stimuli.
This process encompasses the feelings associated with different objects.
● Conative Process involves the approach that a person takes to his emotions and thoughts.
Whether a person will buy something or not after getting motivated by emotional appeal,
depends upon this stage. If a particular brand is scoring higher on conative aspects, it means
that people are more likely to buy that product. It also means that the buyers might second
their purchase decision with logic and emotional appeal. For example, in our current
scenario, purchase decision is highly influenced by the affordability of the product and the
involvement of chemicals in it.

Brand score on the cognitive, affective, and conative aspects

The brand score on the cognitive, affective and conative basis is shown in the table below:

Brand Clinic Plus Head & Shoulders Chic

Cognitive Aspect Medium (2.9) Medium (2.9) Low (2.8)
Affective Aspect Low (2.7) Medium (3.3) Low (2.7)
Conative Aspect Medium (3.9) Medium (3.9) Medium (3.7)

Brand score on attitude towards the brand

On the basis of attitude towards the brand, the scores are as under:

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 Clinic Plus 3.4
Head and Shoulders 2.9
Chic 3.1

Theory of planned Behavior and its application to each brand

As per the theory of planned behavior, human behavior is deeply influenced by the intention to do
something. This can be summarized by the following figure:

The intentions are determined by the attitudes of person, his subjective norms and perceived
behavioral control. As per the social norms and the attitudes of people, the following assumptions
can be made about the brands:

Clinic Plus People have a strong inclination towards this

product and will buy it.
Head and Shoulders People are not very inclined towards this
product and there is a greater chance that
they will not buy it.
Chic People have mixed opinions about this brand
and might or might not buy it

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Elaboration Likelihood Model in Brands
This model is summarized as under:

As per this model, Head and Shoulders follow the Peripheral route as people are having a low
motivation to connect with the message. On the other hand, Chic and Clinic Plus follow a central
route as people are receiving a clear message on the basis advertisements and commercials and
can connect with the message given by the company.

The likelihood for purchase is as under:

Clinic Plus High

Head and Shoulders Low
Chic Medium

Launch of New Brand

The demographics and psychographics play an important role in the positioning of a new product.
People buy products on the basis of their income levels, product prices, and the information
conveyed by the company. In order to launch this new product, the company should spread the
message that the product has natural ingredients and that it has the lowest amount of chemicals.
Moreover, they should price it such that people from lower socioeconomic classes can purchase
it.

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