ASSIGNMENT NO – 1
VALS THEORY

VALS is known as Values, Attitude and Lifestyle is one of the primary ways to perform psychographic segmentation. All three terms are intangible in nature and therefore give an idea of the inert nature of the consumer. If you know what your consumer is thinking, you would know what kind of promotions or communications will attract him most. How do you know what the consumer is thinking? This can be done by determining his VALS – Values, attitudes and lifestyle.
VALS is different for different people. For example: Let’s take Income as a segment. If you are a person with high income your lifestyle would probably include habits of the SEC – A class such as dining out of home frequently and that too in top class restaurants, wearing only branded clothes and buying the best cars. Whereas if you are a middle class income group consumer, you would be more wary of spending money and would rather concentrate on savings.
So now how does VALS affect a marketer? Consider the case of a Banker. What would a banker sell someone who had a high income lifestyle? Investment options with a dedicated relationship manager to take care of their needs. In fact, the bankers also have a term for high income individuals known as HNWI – High Net worth Individuals. But, if the customer’s lifestyle was that of a low income customer, you are more likely to be targeted for savings.

The VALS framework

The VALS framework was developed keeping a consumers resources as well as his capacity to accept innovation in mind. The X axis consisted of primary motivation (explained below) and the Y axis consisted of resources such as income, education, confidence etc. Thus these two factors were determined to be critical to define the values attitude and lifestyle of any consumer.
After researching above 1500 consumers, Arnold Mitchell actually divided consumers into 9 different types based on the amount of resources they had as well as their capacity for primary motivation. These classes of consumers based on their VALS were.
Innovators – The class of consumer at the top of the VALS framework. They are characterized by High income and high resource individuals for whom independence is very important. They have their own individual taste in things and are motivated in achieving the finer things in life.
Thinkers – A well-educated professional is an excellent example of Thinkers in the VALS framework. These are the people who have high resources and are motivated by their knowledge. These are the rational decision making consumers and are well informed about their surroundings. These consumers are likely to accept any social change because of their knowledge level.
Believers – The subtle difference between thinkers and believers is that thinkers make their own decisions whereas believers are more social in nature and hence also believe other consumers. They are characterized by lower resources and are less likely to accept innovation on their own. They are the best class of word of mouth consumers.
Achievers – The achievers are mainly motivated by – guess what – Achievements. These individuals want to excel at their job as well in their family. Thus they are more likely to purchase a brand which has shown its success over time. The achievers are said to be high resource consumers but at the same time, if any brand is rising, they are more likely to adopt that brand faster.
Strivers – Low resource consumer group which wants to reach some achievement are known as strivers. These customers do not have the resources to be an achiever. But as they have values similar to an achiever, they fall under the striver category. If a striver can gain the necessary resources such as a high income or social status then he can move on to becoming an achiever.
Experiencers – The group of consumers who have high resources but also need a mode of self-expression are known as Experiencers. Mostly characterized by young adults, it consists of people who want to experience being different. This class of consumers is filled up with early adopters who spend heavily on food, clothing and other youthful products and services.
Makers – These are consumers who also want self-expression but they are limited by the number of resources they have. Thus they would be more focused towards building a better family rather than going out and actually spending higher amount of money. Making themselves into better individuals and families becomes a form of self-expression for the Makers.
Survivors – The class of consumers in the VALS framework with the least resources and therefore the least likely to adopt any innovation. As they are not likely to change their course of action regularly, they form into brand loyal customers. An example can include old age pension earners living alone for whom the basic necessities are important and they are least likely to concentrate on anything else.
ASSIGNMENT NO – 2
MURRAY’S THEORY OF PSYCHOGENIC NEEDS

1. Ambition needs Need | Definition | Example | Achievement | To accomplish difficult tasks, overcoming obstacles and achieving expertize. | To create successful marketing strategies for developing brand equity of Citibank | Exhibition | To impress others through one's actions and words, even if what is said or done is shocking. | Presentations to the Board of Directors | Recognition | To show achievements to others and gain recognition for these. | College, Institute, organization | 2. Materialistic needs Construction | To make and build things. | Honda is a manufacturer of quality automobiles | Acquisition | To acquire things. | Spending on the purchase of a Honda car | Retention | To keep things those have been acquired. | Prevent the Honda car from stealth | Order | To make things clean, neat and tidy. | Maintenance of the Honda car | 3. Power needs Abasement | To surrender and submit to others, accept blame and punishment. To enjoy pain and misfortune. | Employee admitting to stealing important information and accepting punishment for it. | Aggression | To forcefully overcome an opponent, controlling, taking revenge or punishing them. | MNC’s taking over local players through sheer force. | Autonomy | To break free from constraints, resisting coercion and dominating authority. To be irresponsible and independent. | OPEC cartel – Domination over the world supply of Crude Oil | Blame avoidance | To not be blamed for things done. | Goldman Sachs during the 2007 recession | Need | Definition | Example | Contrariance | To oppose the attempted persuasion of others. | Apple Computers | Deference | To admire a superior person, praising them and yielding to them and following their rules. | CEO of the firm who is being followed by their employees. | Dominance | To control one's environment, controlling other people through command or subtle persuasion. | Air force, Army, Navy. | Harm avoidance | To escape or avoid pain, injury and death. | Not going Bungee jumping after seeing a screw on the structure unscrew. | Infavoidance | To avoid being humiliated or embarrassed. | Lying about something potentially embarrassing. | 4. Status defense needs Counteraction | To make up for failure by trying again, pride-fully seeking to overcome obstacles. | Apple - Microsoft lawsuit | Defendance | To defend oneself against attack or blame, hiding any failure of the self. | Goldman Sachs defended itself even in the recession. | Infavoidance | To avoid being humiliated or embarrassed. | Lying about something potentially embarrassing. | 5. Affection needs Affiliation | To be close and loyal to another person, pleasing them and winning their friendship and attention. | Toyota- Kirloskar Partnership | Nurturance | To help the helpless, feeding them and keeping them from danger. | CRY foundation | Play | To have fun, laugh and relax, enjoying one-self. | Essel world | Rejection | To separate one-self from a negatively viewed object or person, excluding or abandoning it. | Hero Honda got seprarated | Sex | To form relationship that lead to sexual intercourse. | Bharatmatrimony.com | Need | Definition | Example | Succourance | To have one's needs satisfied by someone or something. Includes being loved, nursed, helped, forgiven and consoled. | Emirates airlines airhostess | 6. Information needs Cognizance | To seek knowledge and ask questions about things in order to understand. | Google Search | Exposition | To provide information educate others. | Educomp Information systems | Sentience | To seek out and enjoy sensual experiences. | |