Blog 2:

Social learning theory, classical conditioning, and the elaboration likelihood model: A look at their affect on marketing, advertising, and branding with respect to Coca-Cola.

Word Count: 1540 (excludes title, abstract, map, and reference list. 46 in-text references are included in this word count)

Abstract
The purpose of this essay is to examine how socio-psychological principles can be applied in marketing, advertising and branding by way of Coca-Cola. The essay first explores celebrity endorsement through classical conditioning, and then music also as a form of this method. Secondly, the elaboration likelihood model is discussed in relation the persuasiveness of an advertisement’s argument. Both the peripheral and central routes to persuasion are applied to Coca-Cola’s advertising and marketing. Finally, the essay will outline the social learning theory and how modelling is applied in Coca-Cola advertisements.

Introduction
Coca-Cola has focused its’ image on the emotions and feelings of individuals. It has entwined itself within cultures and become embedded within social values and attitudes throughout the world. Using a number of techniques and strategies to market its’ product, Cocoa-Cola’s brand logo is highly identifiable worldwide. The elaboration likelihood model, social learning theory, and classical conditioning can be used to explore and explain Coca-Cola’s marketing, advertising, and branding techniques.

Classical conditioning: Celebrities
Classical conditioning aids the formation of attitudes. Using classical conditioning to their advantage, marketers and advertisers link brands with desirable people, such as Sarah Jessica Parker with Garnier Nutrisse, or Lleyton Hewitt with Nike, and David Beckham with Coca-cola.

The celebrities are the unconditioned stimulus which elicits feelings of warmth or admiration (the unconditioned response). Pairing a neutral stimulus or conditioned stimulus such as brand name with unconditioned stimulus over time will cause consumers to associate the original unconditioned response with new stimulus. After repeated pairings the conditioned stimulus alone will produce feelings which are the conditioned response. For classical conditioning to be effective the association must be presented to the consumer frequently (e.g. regular television advertising), and the conditioned stimulus must be presented prior to the unconditioned stimulus and very close in timing.

A celebrity endorsement strategy via classical conditioning enables marketers to project credible images in terms of expertise, persuasiveness, trustworthiness, and objectiveness (Till & Shimp, 1998). Advertisers must be aware of the attractiveness of the spokesperson (McCracken, 1989). Source attractiveness (physical appearance, personality, likeability, and similarity to the receiver) has proved to have greater success in influencing customers’ attitudes and beliefs than unattractive spokespersons (Ohanian, 1991). This behaviour can be explained by the halo effect, whereby individuals who perform well in one dimension, e.g. physical attractiveness, are assumed to also excel in others, e.g. happiness and popularity (Solomon, 2002).


Classical Conditioning: Music
Propositions have been made that music in television advertisements act as unconditioned stimulus which elicits an unconditioned emotional response that is likely to result in the consumer purchasing that specific brand.

An example is the “Always Coca-Cola” advertisement. This song utilises classical conditioning on two levels, the song and the literal association. The unconditioned stimulus being linked with the brand elicits an emotional response and thus conditions the consumer to purchase Coca-Cola. For example, as a consumer spots Coca-Cola in the shopping isle, recalls the advertisement and the song. This produces a positive emotional brand reaction - she picks up a bottle of Coca-Cola and places it in her trolley while singing “...whenever there is fun there’s always Coca-Cola...”.

The literal association being made between fun and Coca-Cola in the song’s words “...whenever there is school there will always be homework, whenever there’s a beat there’s always a drum, whenever there’s fun there’s always Coca-Cola...”





Here, it is implied that Coca-Cola is synonymous with fun: one does not occur without the other, such as not being able to go to school without having homework as a result.

Recent research has begun to move beyond music’s influence in advertising via classical conditioning and has found that it also effects the peripheral and central persuasion routes (elaboration likelihood model) (MacInnis & Park, 1991). Bruner (1990), and Alpert and Alpert (1990) reported that music manipulates consumers’ moods. A consumer’s mood can be negatively affected by sad music, but increases purchasing intentions. Hence many charities use sad music in advertisements. Additionally, music uses more processing resources leaving less for processing product-relevant information, thus Coca-cola uses happy ‘stick in your head music” which can avert advertising wear out (Anand & Sternthal, 1990).

Elaboration Likelihood Model
The elaboration likelihood model was developed by Petty, Cacioppo, and Schumann (1983) to “bring the concept of the motivational state described by enduring involvement to bear upon the question of the persuasiveness of advertising” (Foxall & Goldsmith, 1994). This theory combines the characteristics of the audience such as high or low involvement with the characteristics of the message, i.e. the argument and the presentation.

Petty et al. (1983) questioned how advertising persuades people, given the differences in their ability and motivation to process information which characterise mass media audiences (Foxall & Goldsmith, 1994). The elaboration likelihood model proposes that there are two routes to persuasion: peripheral and central (see figure 1.). These routes can alter one’s belief structure based on the occurring cognitive processes at the time of persuasion. The peripheral route (the direct route from exposure to memory) is correlated with individuals’ inability to exercise careful analysis on all messages encountered. There are countless messages in our environment, thus the central processing route cannot pay attention to them all. An individual’s motivation to consider issue-relevant information is affected by many environmental variables, as is the ability to complete cognitive processing.

Messages hold no intrinsic interest if the individual is less involved in the product category. Though an individual may not be interested in the message argument, some aspect of the ad may “grab” their attention, and consequently low levels of their information processing capacity will be focused. The message can still be persuasive as individuals can use heuristics to buy a product, such as ‘buy the most familiar’, and purchase the product simply as a result of becoming familiar with it. Consumers may develop positive feelings toward Coca-Cola because of the music or endorser without actually evaluating Coca-Cola itself. It can be postulated that many Coca-Cola sales are made from consumer’s peripheral route.

However, consumers’ message involvement seems to be a consequence of their enduring involvement: those who display high-enduring product involvement are more likely to pay attention to a message (Foxall & Goldsmith, 1994). The central route is a dynamic and conscious process that determines the argument’s persuasiveness. Individuals construct favourable and unfavourable opinions in response to the advocated position during the central route’s cognitive process. Determination of whether the position holds any merit is reliant on the outcome of these favourable and unfavourable thought processes. Those consumers who not only drink Coca-Cola, but also collect the merchandise, company produced CD’s, or who are embedded firmly in the “Pepsi – Coke rivalry”, are individuals who have a high-involvement with Coca-Cola, are much more receptive to Coca-Cola’s advertisements.



Figure 1. A model of consumer information processing. Source: Foxall & Goldsmith, 1994, p. 75.

Social Learning
In social learning, (observational learning or vicarious conditioning) people are more likely to imitate behaviours if they have seen others rewarded for performing them. Social learning, with respect to marketing and advertising, occurs when consumers imitate the behaviours of those advertised, and implement it into their own consumerism. “A variety of consumer behaviours, such as shopping, interacting with sales clerks, brand selecting and consumption, can be modelled for consumers who pattern their future behaviour on the examples observed” (Foxall & Goldsmith, 1994, p. 73). Consumers are frequently influenced by marketers via advertising modelling how the company would like the consumers to behave with regard to their product.

Many Coca-Cola advertisements focus on the brand being associated with fun, partying, and being with friends. In Coca-Cola television advertisements, Coca-Cola is the sparkling, bubbly, and refreshing drink that so many enjoy. Its unique taste and cool refreshing flavour is all that is needed to satisfy Australians on a hot summer’s day. In Australia, Coca-Cola has tapped into our large beach and party culture.



Advertisements model how Coca-Cola should be enjoyed: on the beach with friends, having a party etc. As a component of the brand’s image, the advertisements associate a distinctive type of user with Coca-Cola. This is usually carefully cultivated by the marketer because of the dual promises that it poses.

Firstly, using the brand acts as a symbol of what kind of person you are (Foxall & Goldsmith, 1994). If you drink Coca-Cola you must be cool, young, keen to have fun, and good looking. Secondly, if this is not you, then you can become more like the portrayed desirable consumer by using the brand



Conversely, it can be argued that Coca-Cola advertisements such as these, have not imitated the Australian culture of partying and having fun, but rather, created it. Consumers have imitated the behaviours seen on television and thus when they want to have fun they go to the beach or have a party and drink Coca-Cola.

Conclusion
Classical conditioning, social learning theory, and the elaboration likelihood model, can be applied to Coca-Cola’s marketing, advertising, and branding.

Utilising classical conditioning, Coca-Cola’s marketers link their product with desirable people such as David Beckman, and use music in their television advertisements to encourage individuals to consume Coca-Cola.

Coke utilises the central and peripheral routes to persuasion, as outlined in the elaboration likelihood model, by having its advertisements appeal to both “low and high” enduring consumers. Catchy music and strong visuals capture those who are less involved in the cola product category, while Coca-Cola’s strong positive image and message appeals to those already committed to the brand.

Finally, Coca-Cola uses modelling to convey its’ image of being consumed by young attractive people having fun and partying. It reinforces the image of those who already consume the product, and holds out the promise for those do not, that they too can become more like the portrayed desirable Coca-Cola consumer by using the product.

In the words taken from the BBC website, “The image plus the product creates a powerful selling machine” (Coca-Cola - a Soft Drink with Other Uses,2006).


Reference

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Coca-Cola - a Soft Drink with Other Uses. (2006, July 27). Retrieved October 26, 2007, from h2g2: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A12590327

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