Certainly not the marketing gurus.
As an independent consumer, I unconsciously associate brands and products with what I saw on the advertisements. Pigromix and Pigrolax will always be pink, lovely piglets and a very young Aiko Melendez (Philippine actress) then.
Spam will always be the shiny, even slices of fried luncheon meat on a bed of thick and creamy sauted pork and beans. No matter what new brands, labels or variants of the same brand surface, I will always look for the images that have been downloaded into my mind as a child.
With this, I therefore conclude that brand awareness is unconscious and starts simultaneous with the mental development of a child. However, “knowing” does not always mean actually “buying.”
WHAT MY PERSONAL CONSUMERISM TAUGHT ME:
As an independent consumer, I have learned “personal facts” about my purchasing habit, which could be true to most, if not all, average consumers in general:
1. What really drives a purchase?
Consumer purchases are either product-driven, or brand-driven, and the two may be precedent (one after the other: I need a rat poison, I will buy Dora rat killer OR Dora is a good pest control brand, I would like to buy some for future use) or a coatenous decision-making process (I am in front of the pest control section and I will grab any pest control product randomly). In terms of product choices, I may need a device to unscrew the cork in my wine bottle. Will I buy a spiral plug-in-pull-up type, or a clamp-and-loosen type? Never mind the brand.
It is rare, even unrealistic, that a consumer will make a purchase of a “practical need” because of a desire to acquire a certain brand: I want brand XXX in my home. “I will buy the brand's pest control product.” (There can be an argument in this context when it comes to luxury goods and status symbol brands, as such, I have emphasized the phrase practical need.)
Realistically speaking from the practical need buying pattern, the need for a product weights more than the preference for a brand in making a purchase.
2. Truth in Advertising and the Truth on Advertising.
These are two very different concepts. Truth is king (or queen) in any case or situation, hands down. And truth, especially in advertising, is not just a business ethic and a moral responsibility, it is simply the operative word. Hence, we often rally behind businesses who put emphasis on truth whenever they make claims about product or service quality and consumer benefits in all advertising media – TV, print, radio, online, flyers, leaflets, tarps, below-the ground advertising. It is also in reverence to the magnitude of truth that many disclaimers (usually in very small fonts with asterisks below a running TVC) accompany advertisements, and why there are so many consumer complaints against those fast food counter posters, flyers and tarpaulins emblazoned with shiny, crispy and huge meals because they are way too different from what actually comes off the kitchen and are served to customers.
Now, here's a piece of truth on advertising. It is not a sole determinant of a consumer purchase drive. (I would rather not dwell on its impact on a business's profit, since I do not own a corporation, I am a consumer speaking here). No matter how fancy, glossy or even truthful an advertisement is, it will not spark an outright urge to buy, even if the consumer subconscious is bombarded by the minute with the ad. The simple reasons are on top of this article, the same ones that explain why me and many other individuals like me are in the league of independent consumers. What dedicated advertising accomplishes would be a certain level of brand awareness, yet still, this leads to another lesson:
3. Brand awareness does not necessary translate to actual purchase of the brand.
As I have mentioned in point no. 1, what drives a purchase in a practical, realistic and day-to-day existence is the pressing need for a product. In the real world, after the need is acknowledged, there is the inevitable budget to consider. Again, in this area, one would argue, “but I have planned my budget in accordance with the prevailing market price of the brands that I prefer.” Good for you. And that is true. However, this leaves another area which is as true as your budget liquidity.
4. There are times when budget is not really the issue, but product availability.
Any experienced consumer (forgive the redundancy, just for emphasis) would recognize that product availability, or unavailability, instantly alters one's purchasing plan or pattern, especially when a need for a certain product is pressing.
I may forgo my buying pattern for Lucky Me Extra Hot Chili pancit canton next week if it is unavailable, but a caterer who needs her dozen of Nestlé All-Purpose Cream cannot wait till next week for a replenished supermarket stock, and may opt for other brands just to mark as done that item on her shopping list, and move on to other aisles. Indeed, the lowdown on Fast Moving Commodities like trusted coffee, milk and dairy brands is they usually lose on loyal consumers if the store runs out of stock, or is not quick to replenish them from the store warehouse. Not that it affects their standing in the market or mark a dent in their impressive revenue reports.
Going back to my Coca Cola and RC Cola narrative (point 2 of why I am an Independent Consumer), I have hinted that RC Cola could well be the Coca Cola of my adult, budget-conscious life phase, and that RC Cola is on the centerstage of the family refrigerator.
Allow me to paint a little micro-economic background here. Where my parent's house is, there are a lot of variety (sari-sari, in local color or Tagalog word) stores , “mini-marts,” corner eateries which sells almost all soft drink brands and flavors. With so many children, students, taxi drivers, busy working moms, call center agents, and neighborhood basketball players, one can easily deduce why RC Cola is a neighborhood bestseller.
Now, the studio-type apartment I rent is in a subdivision along the border of a Metro Manila city and a Rizal suburban, a typical neighborhood where tricycle lines are ubiquitous in the subdivision gate, and the few variety stores are usually just a house's grandma's past time while watching an afternoon TV soap. In my street, the two variety stores on the corner lot both carry only Coca Cola products, courtesy of the delivery truck that makes its round of the subdivision once a week. That makes it a Coke country for that part of the subdivision, and I, a captive Coke consumer, not that I mind at all.
