By Brian Leong

Consumerism & Economics Common Assessment

In this presentation, I will show 5 products that I own and talk about the perceptions of each product, the values and beliefs connected to it, and other influences that made me buy it.

The Ovation guitar is designed to have a different shape from ALL other guitars so the Ovation is perceived to be special and unique. Ovation advertisements have words like “unique tone” and “unmatched playability”, which create the belief that Ovation is special and improves your guitar-playing.

By using these advertising techniques, Ovation is associating itself with the values Individuality and Accomplishment.

When I needed a new guitar, I went to the guitar store to decide which one to buy. Then I remembered that my guitar teacher, who was extremely good at playing the guitar, owned an Ovation.

I thought that if I bought an Ovation, I would be able to play like my teacher. Also, Ovation’s associated values fit in with my personal values.

Dell’s slogan, “the power to do more”, suggests that people will be able to do more and be more accomplished if they use Dell computers, so Dell is perceived as a successful brand.Dell talks a lot about businesses and enterprises – big terms which make people feel important and significant when they buy Dell computers.

Dell thus creates the belief that by giving people the power to do more, it makes them more important too.

Dell is therefore associating itself with the values Excellence, Accomplishment and Power.I wanted to buy this product because many of my friends had a laptop at home and I wanted one too. I picked Dell because I thought a Dell laptop would help significantly with my work. I was influenced by peer pressure and the product’s associated values to buy it.

Vapur emphasises that it is a healthier and more environmentally friendly choice than other bottles, in fact, it calls itself the “anti-bottle”. People thus believe buying Vapur is a more ethical choice.

The Vapur “anti-bottle” is also designed to look different from other bottles because it can be folded when empty, which is something other bottles can’t do. Vapur is therefore perceived as different and entirely unique.

Vapur is associated with the values Nature, Health and Individuality because it is environmentally friendly, healthy (BPA-free) and different from other bottles.

I bought this product because my environmental stewardship teacher taught us how bad bottle water was. I bought this reusable bottle as it was a more ethical choice than bottle water and it looked cool. Vapur’s associated values also fit extremely well with my personal values.

Converse is always talking about celebrities, sports, teenage culture and music, which are creative, individual and perceived as cool. People perceive Converse shoes as casual yet cool. People will also believe that buying Converse shoes will make them sporty and popular.

Converse is therefore associating itself with the values Image, Creativity and Individuality.

I bought my first pair of Converse shoes when I needed shoes for the Halloween Social. I was going as a ghetto gangster so I bought Converse shoes because they would look cool and go with my costume.

I bought it because I could utilise its perception in my costume and not really because it fits in with my personal values.

The Mentos slogan is “The Fresh Maker”, which creates the belief that Mentos will refresh you and make you feel good.

Mentos TV advertisements typically depict an underdog eating Mentos and emerging as the champion. This gives the perception that Mentos is eaten by successful people.

Gum is not allowed in school and school is normally associated with rules and restrictions. As a result, people perceive Mentos gum as a mark of freedom.

The values associated with Mentos gum are Joy, Accomplishment and Freedom.

I buy Mentos gum because I enjoy the quality of the product, I do feel refreshed, and I like the feeling of freedom when I chew gum. I bought it mainly because of the associated values of Freedom and Joy.