All consumer products ultimate connect with the consumer is based on whether their offering meets the aspiration of the target audience. Its no secret that every human has some unfulfilled aspiration. It could be about tangible products like cars, house or intangibles such as recognition, reward, power etc. Marketing delves deeper and says that the 'tangibles' are a form of expression of the consumer about their emotional needs. For example, conventional marketing speaks about owning a house would give a sense of security, cars would make you feel 'arrrived', good brands would make a statement about you-so on and so forth. Obviously, every consumer brand fills this emotional gap that is unmet in the consumer's mind and says, well this is THE brand that can make you feel confident, wanted, popular etc. There are numerous examples of brands creating successful campaigns based on this concept.
The point in question is whether the consumer aspires for something to fulfil his want or whether he 'feels' that his want would be fulfilled based on his perception about how people think!
For example, he may want a car not because he has an aspiration for it but because 'he feels' that people would relate to him as successful. Or he may not buy a particular brand of laptop because 'he feels' others may think about him being outdated. This also raises whether you and me buy because ' I want to' or whether ' I don't want to' ( being thought of as uncool, out-of-sync etc.) The driving emotions in both cases also differ. The case for aspiration is driven by a positive one and the latter is a negative emotion in this case. Needless, to mention, which emotion dominates our life more is everyone's guess.
However, all this is built on our own perceptions about how we feel people will react, think and judge. We are concerned with trying to shield ourselves from all this and well, thats where we find brands as the best protectors. And this is an ongoing process. As I feel, we are humans and being aspirational is no crime. For me travelling, seeing new places gives me a high!
I think if we are aspirational in the true sense, we would choose brands that make good sense- emotionally as well as rationally. Also, while aspiration is more absolute and is not necessarily based on other people's reactions, perception is all about 'others'.
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The point in question is whether the consumer aspires for something to fulfil his want or whether he 'feels' that his want would be fulfilled based on his perception about how people think!
For example, he may want a car not because he has an aspiration for it but because 'he feels' that people would relate to him as successful. Or he may not buy a particular brand of laptop because 'he feels' others may think about him being outdated. This also raises whether you and me buy because ' I want to' or whether ' I don't want to' ( being thought of as uncool, out-of-sync etc.) The driving emotions in both cases also differ. The case for aspiration is driven by a positive one and the latter is a negative emotion in this case. Needless, to mention, which emotion dominates our life more is everyone's guess.
However, all this is built on our own perceptions about how we feel people will react, think and judge. We are concerned with trying to shield ourselves from all this and well, thats where we find brands as the best protectors. And this is an ongoing process. As I feel, we are humans and being aspirational is no crime. For me travelling, seeing new places gives me a high!
I think if we are aspirational in the true sense, we would choose brands that make good sense- emotionally as well as rationally. Also, while aspiration is more absolute and is not necessarily based on other people's reactions, perception is all about 'others'.
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