Need some advice
 

As some of you know i am having a hard time with an assignment at the moment, and may have had a great idea for it. But i need a bit of advice from people out there whether it is a good idea or not.

The question of the assignment is:


For a product or service category of your choice, analyse the behaviour of consumers in terms of relevant behavioural theories and concepts. The choice of topic may be as narrow or as wide as you choose (i.e. A box of Dairy Milk Chocolates vs. the confectionery market). Whatever topic you choose, you must be confident that you are able to relate it to relative consumer behaviour material covered over the course of the year.

Now i have had an idea to do the Labour party, as this, as i think it will be pretty interesting, and not many people will do this.

Does anyone agree that the Labour party is a service and a brand, and would be a viable choice to do the assignment on.

Come on all you brainy people, giz a hand :)

Re: Need some advice
 

I don't know what the "relative consumer behaviour material covered over the course of the year" is. So I can't give an opinion :(

Re: Need some advice
 

ummmmmmmmmmmmm i think you might be pushing it going this way , my opinion only of course :confused:


what about using one of the oil companies such as shell or esso :)




then again i might be a total :dunce: and know nothing :D :D :D :D

Re: Need some advice
 

Yeah i know what you mean, and it would obviously be very hard to go through them now. But do you agree that the labour party is a service/brand, therefore viable for the assignment question. i.e

Re: Need some advice
 

I think you might be biting off a bit more than you can chew. People's voting behaviour is likely to be influenced by a lot of factors, so your analysis is likely to be overly simplistic.

It might be better to choose a subject that is influenced by fewer factors. That way you don't have to take too much into consideration, and can dwell longer on things you do consider?

Re: Need some advice
 

Yeah i know, that is why i am very hesitant, but looking at it in theory, i can see that a lot of consumer behaviour theories were used during the 1997 and 2001 elections. Also, when i was talking to the lecturer about my subject, she said she hated reading practically the same assignment again and again. You see i was orginally going to do minidisc vs cd players, but could not find a lot of information. Ahhhhh, i wish i never got this in my head now

Re: Need some advice
 

I know, thats what i'm scared of. But you know when you get an idea in your head, and it sort of snowballs

Yeah, another good point

Re: Need some advice
 

Why not NTL, plenty of research material here.;)

Re: Need some advice
 

How about simplifying things a little, but keep it an interesting subject for the lecturer. Rather than a political party, what about a charity? Perhaps one close to your heart? I think the same type of analysis might apply, but you can narrow it down a bit more?

I think you need to come up with something that is interesting, but still allows you to do the complexity of the subject justice.

Re: Need some advice
 

Coming from someone who is in the middle of essays at the moment......choose the easiest thing possible!

Re: Need some advice
 

i know what you mean mate. But i really want to get a good mark in this.

Right. I have made a decision, cause as i said once i get an idea in my head, it sort of snowballs.

Been looking around the internet to see its a viable subject or not, and honestly think it is.

I will explain a little bit (maybe just to sort it out in my head). I cannot use all theories of consumer behaviour as some basically just dont apply, and that is not what is required. I can use some theories though, and write a good deal about them. For instance, one theory is

Semiotics:-
Semiotics is basically Signs or image. Consumers choose products based on their self-image and therefore, peopleââ‚Ã⠀šÃ‚¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢s possessions should reflect part of their personality.

The labour party used this when changing the red rose to the 'cross my heart'. Even the change in image of the party, kinnock to Blair, Labour to New labour etc.

Sorry to keep boring you, but this is helping me.

Another thory is the Decision-making process. I.e Need Recognition/Problem Awareness. In the election people recognised the need for change in the country, with a lot of things. The scandle of the troies. NHS and Education, and people did change parties. Thats why there was a landslide.

There are more, but this post is getting on a bit. Can people see what i'm saying, for am i just wearing blinkers as i have this idea in my head.

Once again, sorry for boring you, but this is pretty important to me

Re: Need some advice
 

The Labour party, as with any political party, can probably be argued to be a "brand", but i'm not sure they are also a service. At least I'm not sure that a large proportion of voters would see any political party as a service, government may utimatley provide a service to the population, but do political parties provide services?

As for relative consumer behaviiour material, we have no idea what is being covered by your course, presumably some form of economics or business studies?

Having said that consumers, in the ususal sense, usually implies purchase of something. Do we purchase from a political party. Probably not, but if you could argue that voters influence decisions of politicians as to what services they provide, at what cost in taxes and so on, then you might be on to something?

Re: Need some advice
 

Yeah, it kind of makes sense to me, but I think you will need to delineate at the outset what you will and will not cover, so perhaps just discuss how need recognition/problem awareness may (or may not) explain voter's behaviour in that one election. And be sure to dedicate a section to how you're obviously simplifying things, but your eassay is simply about the strengths and weaknesses of this one theory in explaining the facts. (Unless they want you to cover several theories). Might be best to check that with the lecturer?

Re: Need some advice
 

I'm not sure if (while the labour party is a brand) we are consumers of that brand. Consumers have a choice and can buy something else, we have no choice in the matter (while they are in power).I'm not sure we consume or use goods or servises that the labour party supplies. We just do as we are told.

Re: Need some advice
 

yeah, we have a choice. Vote this part or this party, or this party. Or not vote at all.

As with the purchasing, this can apply, for instance. A lot of us don't personally pay for services like hospitals, education, police even bin men, but they do come out of our taxes. The same for government, us voting is the same as placing £100 on the counter and saying "i'll 'ave that one please"

I do understand that one of the hardest thing in politics is what underlines voting tendencies and decision-making, but this is the same for marketing, and i'm pretty sure i can connect the 2

I know that i am talking to you about this when you are blind about the theories of Marketing, but one of the best ways of knowing if an assignment is good, is to talk about to someone who does not know the subject. If they understand your points, then it could be a good one

Re: Need some advice
 

Well, you have a choice at elections, much like you have a choice at the supermarket. The only difference is you can decide to get a kebab on the night if you don't like what you bought at the supermarket.

Oh, and the amount of products to choose from in this country is dismal (in politics, not the supermarket (necessarily)) :)

Re: Need some advice
 

Yep the choice of the voter (consumer) in this argument, may not be about what the voter thinks is best - because the parties are each saying they want to do so much about so many things - but which is the lesser of evils, not just in whether or not the voter agrees to higher / lower taxes but better / worse government services, regulation and so on.

Re: Need some advice
 

Exactly, which is all part of the conumer Decision making process. :) Yes the lesser of two evils it may be, but a decision still has to be made

Re: Need some advice
 

But thats why the NHS is in the state it is---because we have no say about how our money is spent, thus we are not true consumers. We put our money/votes in but what we get out isn't influenced by that.

Re: Need some advice
 

Yes, i know what you mean, the thing is i want to write the theory behind voting to match it with consumerism. I don't really want to write a political review of the Labour party. Do you see what i'm saying? :)

Re: Need some advice
 

So on that basis your subject matter might be viable, but you need to demonstrate that for a proportion of the market the brand is trying to attract, the consumer choice is not the usual promotional strategy of making your product the most attractive, but showing that the alternatives are less palatable than your own.

Re: Need some advice
 

YESsssss, Thank you. You have just given me a basis for part of it. I think that what i have to do is not base the assignment on the Labour party of now, but in 1997 and 2001. I will have to talk about the Tories as well, and their consumer (voters) behaviour at that time

Re: Need some advice
 

Well I don't know how wide the scope of your essay's coverage, but you have a wealth of subject matter even dealing with both elections where not a great deal had necessarily moved on in terms of voter choice. The Labour party were still making promises of action, whilst attempting to discredit the Tories, yet the Tories wernt really in the fight of suitable answers or credibility. The Liberal Democrats and others were just trying to throw spanners in the works. You may find your self better off limiting your subject to just one election, and even then you'll have a wealth of research to do to proove your argument accurately.

I suspect a lot of voter behaviour is about their perceptions and thus the aim of the brand is to create the perception that the choice of one party will be better, or do you less harm, than choosing another.

How you relate such behaviour / perceptions and influence of branding to the traditional consumer "purchasing decision" could well be the interesting bit.

Re: Need some advice
 

MovedGoalPosts i think you are right. Maybe just choosing the 1997 as that was 'The year of change' You have been really helpful, and may have just saved my arse. Cheers

Re: Need some advice
 

Glad to be of assistance, just hope that your lecturer likes the idea and I havent lead you up the garden path

Re: Need some advice
 

I've just emailed her, will wait for a response tomorrow. I don't think you've lead me up the garden path at all, you really have been very helpful. Think i can actually sleep now, without this bleedin' assignment going through my head. thanks again mate

Re: Need some advice
 

Right, off to bed. Looks as though i have an early start tomorrow with this. Want to thank everyone who posted for the advise, i know i was a bit stubborn, but i think i can make it work.
Col

Re: Need some advice
 

So when do we get to find out, if the ideas, and your assignment once submitted, met with approval?