Research_proposal On Brand Consciousness 123z2o

High status depicted from the usage of well-known brands

Table of Contents Acknowledgement …………………………………………………………………………….02 Chapter One Introduction …………………………………………………………………………..04 Pakistan’s consumer market ………………………………………………………….05 Abstract ………………………………………………………………………………05 Definition of variables ………………………………………………………………..05 Aims and Objectives…………………………………………………………………..05 Significance of the study……………………………………………………………....06 Chapter Two Literature review………………………………………………………………………08 Hypothesis …………………………………………………………………………….12 Chapter Three Research Design……………………………………………………………………….14 Type of research ………………………………………………………………………14 Population of research ………………………………………………………………..14 Sample size……………………………………………………………………………14 Sampling Technique………..…………………………………………………………14 Chapter Four Data collection technique....................…………………………………….………….16 Advantages of self-istered questionnaires….………………………….……….16 Data Processes and Analysis…………………………………………………………..16 Dummy Table ………………………………………………………………….……..16 Time schedule………………………………………………………........................................17 Estimated cost ………………………………………………………………………….……..17 References.................................................................................................................................18

1|Page

High status depicted from the usage of well-known brands

Acknowledgement

We are thankful to Almighty Allah who enabled us to make effective use of our potential and efforts to accomplish the task assign to us. We wouldn’t have done justice in presenting this project without mentioning the people around us to have been immense help for us. The prayers of our beloved parents and the knowledge imparted to us by our respected teacher Ms. Nighat Ansari was vital source of the implementation of our learning. It’s primarily the result of her hard work and devotion with which she delivered knowledge to us and motivated us to achieve wonders. With the consent of Allah we will try our level best to use this learning throughout our life whenever it will be required.

2|Page

High status depicted from the usage of well-known brands

Chapter One

3|Page

High status depicted from the usage of well-known brands

INTRODUCTION Brands are everywhere. There is no denying that corporations have taken the marketing of brand names very seriously. Billions of dollars have been spent trying to impress consumers while aiming to increase brand loyalty and recognition. Branding seems to be the key ingredient of every design; a company with a great brand reflects a great identity. In today's brand conscious society, a company's logo and brand styling are more important than ever. They are the interface between a business and its clients, and speak volumes to potential new customers. A logo can have one brief opportunity to make an impact and deliver its message, and can make all the difference in creating and sustaining customer confidence, and developing brand strength. Brand consciousness is awareness of a brand as a distinct product separate from others. It is about image and perception. If we need to define brand consciousness it would be like the consumer is aware that Coca-Cola is a cola, and we could say, they have a positive impression of the brand. Brand consciousness is more than simply an awareness or preference for brand. There are differences in the level of brand consciousness. Self-conscious individuals are especially concerned about the impression they make on others. They are more likely to be concerned about physical appearances and fashion. They are also more compliant with standards in the society and are more sensitive to interpersonal rejections. Thus there is a difference in brand consciousness between self-conscious teens who more highly value peer approval, than those who do not. Selfconscious consumers who are brand conscious will most likely have a negative attitude towards counterfeits of luxury brands. Building a campaign around a well-known product like Lifebuoy can be effective precisely because even the world’s poorest citizens can be “brand conscious".

4|Page

High status depicted from the usage of well-known brands PAKISTAN’S CONSUMER MARKET Pakistan’s per capita income is 1000 $ annually and is the eighth most populous country in the world (Asian Development Bank, 2002). It has highest per capita income in the whole south asian region (Asian Development Bank, 2002). Pakistan has consumption-oriented society and people tend to spend more on rituals and social engagements. Thus it can be inferred that in order to show their status and style, Pakistani consumers spend considerable amount of money on their clothing. Thus it is a lucrative market for multinational apparel firms. (Burki & Muhammad, 2008). ABSTRACT This study is going to be conducted to investigate the relationship of level of brand consciousness with social status among the youngsters of Lahore. A sample of 100 youngsters will be selected from the educational institutions and branded outlets. Out of 100 youngsters 50 will be male and 50 female. Data will be collected through self-istered questionnaires. DEFINITION OF VARIABLES The independent variable is the variable we manipulate or which varies for other reasons, which is “brand consciousness” in our research. The dependent variable is the variable we observe or measure and here “high status symbol” is the dependent variable. AIMS & OBJECTIVES The main objective of the research study is to ascertain about the market position of branded products, see whether people are buying them or not and if yes then what main reasons are forcing them to buy branded products instead of the others. This research aims to study factors affecting Pakistan’s youth purchase intention towards well-known brands. Youngsters have a desire to bolster their image and to look “cool”. 5|Page

High status depicted from the usage of well-known brands The purpose of this research is to determine: The factors influencing consumers to buy well-known brands rather than others. The Pakistani consumer buying behavior patterns, attitudes towards well-known brands and other brands and the preference for well-known brands. How other businesses can improve their products in of quality, durability and reliability to compete with well-known brands. To see how gender and income level of consumers affect their buying decision.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY Pakistan is a developing country and is considered as one of emerging economies of the world after China, Russia & India. As more & more foreign Retailers are coming to Pakistan, they are faced with tough competition from national and other foreign fashion brands. The findings of this paper will help us to identify the main reason why do specifically youngsters of Pakistan prefer well known foreign brands over lesser known goods and it will serve as a guide to such foreign apparel retailers who have limited knowledge of Pakistan’s brand consumer. This will help them to formulate marketing strategies to gain from Pakistan’s branded markets. This research will also help National brands to reflect on their marketing strategies and compete effectively in the cutthroat competition that exists in industry. This research will also be fruitful to the new emerging fashion designers, who in near future are in search of such a platform which can brand them so they can use this research to make optimum decisions. Other organization who used analyze trends in different countries can also get benefit from this research paper.

6|Page

High status depicted from the usage of well-known brands

Chapter Two

7|Page

High status depicted from the usage of well-known brands LITERATURE REVIEW Successful global brands must anticipate cultural trends, styles and evolving consumer values in order to appeal to customers across international boundaries; a product's relevance to its customers dictates its global potential. Brands which have a large disparity in consumer regard and image are not as likely to find a standardized global positioning to become a global brand. Successful multicultural rs have secured brand loyalty from culturally diverse consumers by tailoring the brand's image to reflect individual cultures. (Omelia, 1995). “Clothing choice criteria are defined as the intrinsic (inherent to the product) and extrinsic (product-related but not part of the physical product) product attributes that associated with desired benefits or incurred costs as consumers make buying decision among various alternatives. Intrinsic product attributes are those which cannot be changed without altering the physical characteristics of the product, for example, style, color, design, appearance, safety, comfort etc. While extrinsic ones are those that are exerted by manufacturers or retailers and do not form the component parts of the product. For example, price, brand, country of origin, warranty etc. (Davis, Hatch & Roberts, 1985). What is happening in the world of fashion and what are the current fashions trends is one of the factor which consumers consider when buying products and which results in their change of taste. Brands convey a certain fashion image or social status better than non-branded ones. The social identification implies the sense of belonging to certain groups or organizations. The brand consciousness and perfectionism consciousness are directly related to fashion consciousness of consumers. These are combined to form a new factor named “brand and fashion consciousness” in this study. Consumers with this style are more likely to purchase expensive International brands. (Ashforth and Mael, 1989, Aaker, J, 1999, Kim, Han and Park, 2001) The status-conscious market is more likely to be affected by the representative characteristics of a 8|Page

High status depicted from the usage of well-known brands brand; feelings aroused by the brand; and by the degree of agreement between the brand-'s opinion and the brand's image itself. Results also show that the higher the symbolic or representative characteristics, the stronger the positive feelings, and the greater the congruency between the consumer and brand image, the greater the chance of the brand being perceived as possessing high status elements. Past researchers have developed a greater understanding of the relationship between international branded products and status consciousness of consumers, how consumers are most likely to use status conscious approach in their lives and the status that comes from displaying one's self though branded products (Eastman, 1999; Mason, 1992; Motameni & Shahrokhi, 1998; O'Shaughnessy, 1992; Schitovsky, 1992). one important factor considered by consumers during the purchase decision is the ‘Quality Signal’. Consumers watch the fierce battles that transnational companies wage over quality and are impressed by the victors. A focus-group participant in Russia told us: “The more people who buy a brand, the better quality it is.” A Spanish consumer agreed: “I like global brands because they usually offer more quality and better guarantees than other products.” (Holt.D.B, Quelch.J.A & Taylor.E.L, 2004) Celebrity endorsers have been found to produce more positive responses towards advertising and greater purchase intentions than a non-celebrity endorser. Stars are loved and adored by their fans, so rs use stars to capitalize on these feelings to sway the fans towards their brand. Some stars have a universal appeal and therefore prove to be a good bet to generate interest among the masses. For example, L’Oreal hired Beyonce Knowles and Natalie as their spokesperson. (Atkin & Block, 1983; Petty & Cacioppo, 1983) At least two-dozen international brand outlets are doing robust business in the city with their summer collections, and the trend is expected to attract another five international brands to invest in the city, owners of brand outlets told Daily Times.The outlets are mostly situated on MM 9|Page

High status depicted from the usage of well-known brands Alam Road, Gulberg Main Boulevard and in the Defence Housing Authority (DHA).The shopkeepers told Daily Times that the country’s economic slump did not affect them much because their number of customers had not fallen. They said that because they sold branded items, their ‘brand-conscious’ customers always returned. “Lahoris are very brand conscious,” said Farhan Nadeem, the manager of a Slazenger outlet on MM Alam Road. He said buying branded items gave people the satisfaction of buying good-quality products. Since most brands had become status symbols, the status-conscious always bought branded products, he added. “Branded products have become part of their lives and they cannot go anywhere without them,” he said. “We have lot of expensive products and people buy them without caring how much they cost. They prefer comfort and satisfaction over the cost,” said Farrukh. “Women, particularly employed women, buy very expensive handbags,” said Muhammad Azeem, the manager of the Ammar Belal designer wear outlet. He said young men mostly bought expensive cufflinks and glasses, elderly men went for watches, ties and shoes, while women’s favorite buys included shoes and handbags.Amina Ahmad, a shopper in Gulberg, said, “I buy branded shoes and bags because they are of the best quality and are most comfortable.” Arsalan, a young boy buying Nike, said, “I buy branded products because I don’t get satisfaction from buying unbranded things.”Fashion designer Taufiq Hussain said brand-consciousness came from self-awareness. He said that people who want good quality products always go for the best products available. Fashion designer Bee Gee, a pioneer of designer fashion in Lahore, said that people buy branded products because such products help them maintain a high status in society. Shazia Khalid, a psychologist at Punjab University, said that people who wanted to keep their ‘status’ above the rest chose branded items to convey a message without having to say it out loud. She said that this trend had created a brand new community of people who bought only branded items, especially apparel. (Daily times, 2008). 10 | P a g e

High status depicted from the usage of well-known brands What’s in name? Does the name on the product label make a difference? To answer this question one needs to know more about the person buying a product. Unfortunately, previous research has found little relation between personality variables and brand preferences. Kassarjian (1971) proposed three reasons that researchers have not found such a relation between personality and consumer behavior. First the personality scales used in past research have low reliability and validity. Second, scales that were originally developed to measure gross personality characteristics (e.g., emotionality or activity) have been used to predict specific consumer behaviors (e.g., the brand of toothpaste chosen). Third, most researchers have been used a shotgun approach and have not offered specific hypothesis or theoretical justification. In the present study we attempt to overcome these criticisms. Over 100 years ago, William James (1890) discussed the consciousness of the self. James suggested that the empirical self, or the self that is known to be person, can be divided into three constituents: the material self, the social self, and the spiritual self. The material self consists of all the material possessions that form the basis of one’s identity, including one’s body, clothes, immediate family, home, and personal property. The social self consists of the recognition and attention one receives from others. James (1890) suggested that a person “has as many social selves as there are distinct groups of persons about whose opinion he cares. He generally shows a different side of himself to each of these different groups” (p.294).

11 | P a g e

High status depicted from the usage of well-known brands

HYPOTHESIS H1: Pakistani youngsters who have higher level of brand consciousness will perceive well-known brands to have higher status symbol. H0: Pakistani youngsters who have higher level of brand consciousness will not perceive wellknown brands to have higher status symbol

12 | P a g e

High status depicted from the usage of well-known brands

Chapter Three

13 | P a g e

High status depicted from the usage of well-known brands

TYPE OF RESEARCH The type of research is a descriptive study in order to identify, determine and analyze the reasons why consumers prefer well-known brands to other brands when purchasing consumer goods. The main focus is to study the relationship between brand consciousness and high status symbol.

WHY TO USE DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH? We are using descriptive research because we are having two variables one independent (brand consciousness) and the other dependent (high status symbol), this would easily enable us to describe how they are related to each other. It is a less expensive research technique and provides with a lot of information for detailed studying. It would also be useful in identifying further areas of research. The subject is being observed in a completely natural and unchanged natural environment. Descriptive research is often used as a pre-cursor to more quantitatively research design.

POPULATION OF RESEARCH The targeted population is all the youngsters of Lahore age from 15 to 25.

SAMPLE SIZE The sample for this research will be drawn from the youngsters of Lahore. For selecting a sample size we have chosen cost basis approach. The sample size for the study will be 100 consumers which include only the youngsters of city. We will take 50 males and 50 females for this research.

SAMPLING TECHNIQUE Simple random sampling will be preferred for this descriptive research study because it avoids bias in the data and it also ensures the representation of the entire segment.

14 | P a g e

High status depicted from the usage of well-known brands

Chapter Four

15 | P a g e

High status depicted from the usage of well-known brands

DATA PROCESSES AND ANALYSIS DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUE The tools which we will use in the collection of our data are survey research and in survey research more specifically self-istered questionnaire. It will be a structured questionnaire. We will go to educational institutions and branded shops to fill out the questionnaires from our target population.

ADVANTAGES OF SELF-ISTERED QUESTIONNAIRES INCLUDE They are less expensive than interviews. They do not require a large staff of skilled interviewers. They can be istered in large numbers all at one place and time. Anonymity and privacy encourage more candidate and honest responses. There is a lack of interviewer bias. Speed of istration and analysis. Suitable for computer based research methods. There is a less pressure on respondents. It is a relatively cost-effective research method to ister Self-istered questionnaires require careful attention to layout and working of questions so as to avoid ambiguity. It is a relatively cost-effective research method to ister since the once the layout wording and order of the questions is determined the questionnaire can be distributed massively. In this method we can use open ended and as well as close ended questions. In the open ended questions the respondents own opinion is taken where as in the close ended he/she is restricted to choose among the options available.

16 | P a g e

High status depicted from the usage of well-known brands

DATA PROCESSES & ANALYSIS We will use bi-variate analysis because we have to find the association between two variables i.e. high social status and brand consciousness. With bi-variate analysis, we are testing hypotheses of "association". In its simplest form, association simply refers to the extent to which it becomes easier to know/predict a value for the Dependent variable if we know a case's value on the independent variable. Measure of association helps us to understand this relationship. These measures of association relate to how much better this prediction becomes with knowledge of the Independent Variable or how well an independent variable relates to the dependent variable.

DUMMY TABLE LEVEL OF BRAND CONSCIOUSNESS HIGH PRICED MEDIUM PRICED LOW PRICED

STATUS SYMBOL UPPER 75% 17% 8%

MIDDLE 20% 68% 12%

LOWER 4% 30% 50%

ESTIMATION OF COST AND TIME 17 | P a g e

High status depicted from the usage of well-known brands Although self-istered questionnaires are not as much costly as other survey methods.

ESTIMATED TIME Visiting Places Branded outlets LUMS Choiefat University of the Punjab

Number of questionnaires to be filled

Estimated time consumed

25 25 25 25

1 day 1 day 1 day 1 day

ESTIMATED COST Printing cost of questionnaires 500Rs Printing cost of report 250Rs Traveling cost 1500Rs Total 2250Rs

REFERENCES Aaker, J.L. (1999), "The malleable self: the role of self-expression in persuasion", Journal of Marketing Research, 45-58. 18 | P a g e

High status depicted from the usage of well-known brands Ashforth, B.E., Mael, F. (1989), "Social identity theory and the organization", Academy of Management Review,20-39. Atkin, Charles and Martin Block (1983), "Effectiveness of Celebrity Endorsers," Journal of Advertising Research, 23 (February/March), 57-61. International Brands Woo Status-Conscious Lahoris (2008).Daily times,5 Davis, L.L. (1985), “Effects of physical quality and brand labeling on perceptions of product quality”, Journal of Consumer Studies and Home Economics Eastman, J.K., Goldsmith, R.E., Flynn, L.R. (1999), "Status consumption in consumer behaviour: scale development and validation", Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice Hatch, K. and Roberts, J.A. (1985), “Use of intrinsic and extrinsic cues to assess textile clothing quality”, Perceptual and Motor Skills, 671-677. Holt.D.B, Quelch.J.A & Taylor.E.L (2004) Managing the Global Brand A Typology of Consumer Perceptions. Jossey Bass, A Willey Imprint. Kim, C.K., Han, D., Park, S. (2001), "The effect of brand personality and brand identification on brand loyalty: applying the theory of social identification", Japanese Psychological Research, 195-206. Mason, R.S. (1981), Conspicuous Consumption: A Study of Exceptional Consumer Behavior Motameni, R., Shahrokhi, M. (1998), "Brand equity: a global perspective", Journal of Product & Brand Management, 275-90. O’Shaughnessy, J. (1992), Explaining Buyer Behavior, Oxford University Press, New York, NY., . r, St Martin’s Press,41-51. Omellia, Johanna (1995), "The essence of global branding,” Drug & Cosmetic Industry, 50-55. Petty, Richard E. and John T. Cacioppo (1986), Communication and Persuasion: Central and Peripheral Routes to Attitude Change Schitovsky, T. (1992), The Joyless Economy, rev. ed., Oxford University Press Burki, B.H., Mohammed, S.(2008), “Mobilizing Savings from the Urban Poor in Pakistan”- an Initial Inquiry, Research paper for Shore Bank International Ltd Asian Development Bank, “Country strategy Programme (2002-2006)”, 10-11 19 | P a g e

High status depicted from the usage of well-known brands James, W. (1890). The principles of psychology. Holt Kassarjian, H.H. (1971). “Personality and consumer behavior”, Journal of Marketing Research,8, 409-418.

20 | P a g e