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-administered questionnaires….………………………….……….16
Data Processes and Analysis…………………………………………………………..16
Dummy Table ………………………………………………………………….……..16
Time schedule………………………………………………………........................................17
Estimated cost ………………………………………………………………………….……..17
References.................................................................................................................................18

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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.

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 High status depicted from the usage of well-known brands

Chapter One

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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. Self-

conscious 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".

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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-administered 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”.

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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 terms

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.

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Chapter Two

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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 advertisers 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

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brand; feelings aroused by the brand; and by the degree of agreement between the brand-user'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 advertisers 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

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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).

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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).

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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 well-

known brands to have higher status symbol

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Chapter Three

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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.

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Chapter Four

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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-administered 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-ADMINISTERED QUESTIONNAIRES INCLUDE

They are less expensive than interviews. They do not require a large staff of skilled interviewers.

They can be administered 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

administration and analysis. Suitable for computer based research methods. There is a less

pressure on respondents. It is a relatively cost-effective research method to administer

Self-administered questionnaires require careful attention to layout and working of questions so

as to avoid ambiguity. It is a relatively cost-effective research method to administer 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.

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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 STATUS SYMBOL

CONSCIOUSNESS UPPER MIDDLE LOWER

HIGH PRICED 75% 20% 4%
MEDIUM PRICED 17% 68% 30%
LOW PRICED 8% 12% 50%

ESTIMATION OF COST AND TIME

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Although self-administered questionnaires are not as much costly as other survey methods.

ESTIMATED TIME

Visiting Places Number of questionnaires Estimated time

to be filled consumed
Branded outlets 25 1 day
LUMS 25 1 day
Choiefat 25 1 day
University of the 25 1 day
Punjab

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.

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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:
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Hatch, K. and Roberts, J.A. (1985), “Use of intrinsic and extrinsic cues to assess textile clothing
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Holt.D.B, Quelch.J.A & Taylor.E.L (2004) Managing the Global Brand A Typology of Consumer
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Kim, C.K., Han, D., Park, S. (2001), "The effect of brand personality and brand identification on
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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 &
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O’Shaughnessy, J. (1992), Explaining Buyer Behavior, Oxford University Press, New York, NY.,
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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

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James, W. (1890). The principles of psychology. Holt

Kassarjian, H.H. (1971). “Personality and consumer behavior”, Journal of Marketing Research,8,
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