Marketing 10 DaysEssay Preview: Marketing 10 DaysReport this essayMarketing 10 daysName:Course:Tutor:Date:Increase in globalization has resulted to increase in competition among most of the businesses enterprises both locally and globally and also change in a number of socio-cultural activities. In order to create and retain competitiveness, most of the business firms have embarked into thorough marketing activities which in turn has resulted into heavy consumption of their goods and services (Cooke, French & Sniehotta, 2010). Research studies have shown that most of the people who indulge in drug abuse and especially of the drugs that are not outlawed such as alcohol both in UK and other parts of the globe are lured by marketing activities such as advertisements and “word of mouth” popularly known as peer influence; this is according to Jayne, Valentine & Holloway (2008).
For marketing activities to be effective, they have to address the needs and expectations of the market. This is not the case with businesses that are involved in the production and distribution of drugs or related products (Szmigin et al. 2008). This is because their marketing activities focus on why the clients need to buy the product. This essay will focus on the consumer theories that could apply to Binge drinking among UK students, the strategies that the government has taken if any, cases of alcohol abuse in other parts of the globe and some of the campaigns that would be effective in influencing drinking habits of the youth.
Consumer behaviour refers to the factors that influence the process of customers purchasing goods and services. In most cases, consumers will purchase the products that they are convinced will help meet their needs and expectations (Cooke et al. 2010). From the case study, Melanie will only purchase alcoholic drinks that will meet the need at that particular time. In other words, just like any other consumer, Melanie will not settle for any thing less than the products that will meet her needs which in this case is getting drunk. Consumer behaviours are dictated by external factors as well as personal traits, economics, sociology and psychology are some of the factors that affect customer behaviour (Krystallis, Vassallo & Chryssohoidis 2012).
Consumer behaviour tries to understand the decision making process of buyers and how marketers can make use of the same to attract more customers, retain the existing and through that improve their competitive advantage. Consumer behaviours are based on demographics and social issues (McMahon, McAlaney & Edgar 2007). This explains why binge drinking in United Kingdom (UK) is common among the students and Melanie seems to base her drinking behaviours on the fact that she is still a student. Consumers seek to make the most from opportunities. For example, consumers always require products of high quality and pay the least possible (Cooke et al. 2010). In addition, consumers will make use of opportunities such as promotional activities, sales and offers. This relates with binge drinking of Melanie in that she argues she will be young once and that she will also be a student once and she has to make maximum use of the opportunity (Esser et al. 2012).
Consumers also budget the amount of money they will spend on certain goods and services and will avoid products or services that they had not budgeted for. Melanie and other students usually budget the amount of money they will spend once they go out. In order to avoid spending excess than what they have budgeted for, they only carry the amount they have budgeted and leave the rest behind. Consumers often compare different products, their prices and how they will meet their needs and expectations (Krystallis et al. 2012). This is reflected in the drinking habits of Melanie and other students where they drink different alcoholic behaviours depending on the amount of money they have, the day (Wednesday is considered as the biggest day as sportsmen and women go out to enjoy themselves and that means heavy drinking), and the intention of going out. For example, Melanie argues that there would be no need for her to go out if she will not get drunk.
Consumers are also loyal to certain products such that they will end up buying them even when they do not have any significant impacts on their lives (Hackley et al. 2008). In relation to this case study, Melanie at times seeks to question why she gets as drunk as she does especially when she sees other people in the same state. She has the information about the effects that binge drinking will have on her health and especially that she is a young lady but seeks to brush it off by arguing that she is a student and that she will only be young once and she has to enjoy to the maximum while she is still young (Plant et al. 2010). Word-of-mouth is the most effective way of marketing and marketers rely on it heavily. This is also the same case with drinking. In other words, most of the students engage in drinking and end up in binge drinking as a result of peer influence. It is therefore relative hard for Melanie to quit drinking or reduce her drinking behaviours as long as she is a student, young and her friends are still engaged in drinking activities (Fillmore & Jude 2011).
Just like consumer behaviour is affected by the socio-cultural activities or the location in which an individual is based in so does binge drinking. Melanie points out that she is not capable of avoiding drinking during week days but once she seizes being a student, gets employment and is committed full time she will be able to quit. This shows that the change of societal setting from being a student will transform her choices when it comes to social activities (Gilpin, Karanikas & Richardson 2012).
Reference groups are very important in any individuals life. This is because they dictate to a certain extent the activities that the individual will be involved in. Reference groups also determine the manner in which individuals are able to manage certain activities and whether they will be beneficial to the individual or not (Evangelista, Poon & Albaum 2012). People get grouped because of external factors that disfavour or favour them. In other words, for groups to be created the individuals within that group have to share certain factors and as long as the factors are present the group will stay intact unless stronger factors are used to mitigate the initial ones (Norman, Conner & Stride 2012). In relation to the binge drinking of Melanie, she has identified a number of reference groups with some being successful in influencing her decisions than others. Some of the groups mentioned by Melanie include students, sports clubs such as the footballers, hockey and rugby players,
Sugar-related Stress and Stress on Self-Esteem
In a previous post I argued that alcohol could affect cognitive development. My answer is very different though, the previous post had an intriguing description of research which used different definitions of alcohol and its effects.
A study in an institution found a decrease in IQ between the ages of 15 and 21 (Moletti et al. 2001):
According to a research project led by a University of Massachusetts, Amherst psychoanalyst, a group of researchers at Harvard and Harvard The Social Study revealed that alcohol exposure may be an effective predictor of the development of a broad range of cognitive problems, such as social withdrawal, stress in school, problems with language, emotional well-being, mental illness, and schizophrenia and other types of cognitive disorders. They found that when alcohol was found in drink, these mental symptoms included memory loss, lack of self-control, social dysfunction, negative affect, and other problems with self-esteem, social inhibition, and self-esteem. This study, led by a research team at Harvard, Harvard Medical School, and Imperial College London, revealed that exposure to alcohol in various forms and doses is associated with the development of multiple types of impairments, including problems with memory retrieval, working memory, anxiety disorder and psychosocial disorder. The researchers found that alcohol can alter the functioning of the frontal and prefrontal cortices, which may contribute to the difficulties linked to alcohol dependence and impulsivity. When alcohol is abused, it alters the brain mechanisms that drive mood fluctuations. These changes may increase self-esteem and depression symptoms in people who suffer from anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other social phobias. The study also found that alcohol consumption can influence the regulation of mood, suggesting that it also plays a substantial role in the development of mood dysfunctions, such as social withdrawal from social situations, and the risk associated with binge eating and alcohol.
In my view the findings of these studies are based on the conclusions that the effects of drinking on cognitive functioning are not limited to alcohol. If researchers were to apply the same framework to the brain and find a change in behaviour, they would find that the results of the same research papers were not simply attributable to the use of the same sample size. There might be other ways of estimating how long the effects of alcohol have been lasting?
The current generation of neuroscientists has failed to find out just how much of the brain damage produced by alcohol addiction can be attributed to the cognitive distortions that occur with drinking. Rather they have relied on a few general concepts that are now known to be inaccurate:
A. Alcohol has lasting effects on the brain, and thus is thought to be a major risk factor for alcohol misuse; B. The relationship between alcohol use and changes in cognition is not understood but may be due to different brain chemistry, different brain mechanisms, differences in the types of drugs that are studied and the way that alcohol is metabolised. C. Changes in cognition may account for differences in the effects of drinking. D. Alcohol intake is not only measured in terms of intake but also by a number of physiological parameters, including the extent to which alcohol alters brain chemistry and the amount of alcohol eaten [Haubert et al. 1996].
These are the best estimates you can make of the brain damage caused by alcohol. The researchers don’t have the means to fully measure and measure the effect, but we want to be able to determine what is responsible for what.
The effects of alcohol on other aspects of memory and behaviour
In an article earlier in the year, published in the journals Memory & Cognition, Mihaly & Kripke said:
Forcing people to recall more information while thinking about what has happened can be devastating. However, the reality is that it is a way of managing memory and its changes that is more complex than you think, and is therefore susceptible to the