Marketing Notes and Communications

66

Product Positioning by Behavioral Life-styles

LEWIS ALPERT and RONALD GATTY

This approach to "product positioning," or drawing a profile of the users of competitive brands, goes beyond the usual demographics and is based on consumer patterns of purchasing and product-use designated "behavioral life-styles." For most major brands, the basic data are already available at low cost from syndicated services. in marketing management realize that products which appear to be competitive products may actually be serving different segments of the consumer market, and serving them in somewhat different ways. In order to provide a basis for brand strategy, the specific factors that distinguish product-users from non-users, and users of one brand from users of a competitive brand need to be identified. The differentiation of brands by studying the ways in which their consumers differ as well as how consumer perceptions of various brands differ is termed "product positioning." Utilizing simple and direct survey questions, consumers have been described in terms of their usage and image of the brand as well as in terms of the standard demographics such as age, income, and size of family. However, more recent developments employing factor analysis have proved useful in identifying the differences between products related to consumer preferences and purchases. The concepts and research methodology have been developed by Haley,! Gatty,- StoetzeP and others. This use of factor analysis goes well beyond the early brand-image studies in which the attitudinal variables were selected by subjective management judgments and motivational research. Factor analysis provides certain insights which assist in the development of hypotheses regarding which variables are important in "product positioning" and also in formulating brand profiles. The availability of new data sources and the development of factor analysis as a guide for product positioning has enabled many major companies to use this method in studying their brand position and identifying consumer market segments on the basis of the benefits consumers are seeking. The 1 Russell I. Haley, "Benefit Segmentation: A DecisionOriented Research Tool," JOURNAL OF MARKETING. Vol. 32 (July, 1968), pp. 30-35. Ronald Gatty, "Multivariate Analysis for Marketing Research," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series C. Applied Statistics, Vol. XV (November,

1966), pp. 157-172. Jean Stoetzel, "A Factor Analysis of the Liquor Preferences of French Consumers," Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 1 (December, 1960), pp. 7-11.

present paper goes further, however, in demonstrating that consumer behavior as well as attitudes can be used in factor analysis for product positioning. The factors that form the basis of such product profile are referred to as "behavioral life-style" factors since they depend on behavioral patterns of purchasing and product-use. Further research effort is now being directed toward integrating multivariate measures over all aspects of the consumer, both behavioral and attitudinal. to provide a better total picture of consumer differences. New Data Sources Computer programs for factor analysis have now become a standard offering of several commercial research firms. Also of importance is the increasing availability of basic data on brand usage provided by syndicated research services. Both W. R. Simmons Associates Research, Inc. and Brand Rating Research Corporation regularly conduct national probability surveys that provide a massive databank of information that can serve as a data base for studies of product positioning.

• ABOUT THE AUTHORS. Lewis Alpert is Vice President and Director of Media Services at Alfred Politz Research, a division of Computer Sciences. Inc. He received his AB degree from the University of Bridgeport and did graduate work at New York University and the University of Maryland. Prior to his present position. Mr. Alpert was Director of Marketing Applications and Technical Development ct D'Arcy Advertising. Ronald Gatty is Associate Professor in the doctoral program of the Bernard M. Baruch College. City University of New York. He earned his PhD at Cornell University. A statistician and research methodologist. Professor Gatty is a frequent contributor to professional journals. This research project was developed and sponsored by D'Arcy Advertising Company under the supervision of Russell I. Haley.

66

Journal of Marketing, April, 1969 TABLE 1 EIGHTY VARIABLES ON THE USE OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES, INTRODUCED AS INPUT DATA IN A FACTOR ANALYSIS OF 5,424 MALE RESPONDENTS FROM THE 1965 BRAND RATING INDEX SURVEY

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40.

Car wax & polish Regular double edge blades Stainless steel injector Hair tonic Pre-shave lotion Suits Shoes Dress shirts Sport shirts Hats Rye whisky Canadian whisky Bourbon Scotch Gin Vodka Rum

Brandy Cordials or liqueurs Domestic wine Imported wine Bottled cocktails Bottled cocktail mixers Soft drinks as highball mixers Airplane trips Rented car in past year Movie film used Motor oil Anti-freeze Stainless steel blades Gasoline credit cards Travel credit cards Foreign trips last year Small cigars Cigarillos Regular size cigars Pipe tobacco Camping trips Ammunition Three-inch tape

In both services, extensive data are gathered through personal interviews and self-administered questionnaires or diaries on media exposure and brands purchased. This paper will show how brand position may be defined by using factor analysis and the concept of behavioral life-style factors, with data drawn from 1965 Brand Rating Index. The approach developed can be followed for any product or brand covered by the .syndicated services. The use of these concepts and methodology will provide a foundation for understanding one's brand competition. They point the way to finding a framework for developing marketing and advertising goals, keeping one's own consumers, and taking advantage of the vulnerabilities of one's competitors. The first phase of this study sets out to determine the general behavioral life-styles of men that could

41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 80.

Miles driven Pain reliever tablets Cold tablets Cough drops Throat lozenges Cigarettes Pictures Pictures without flash bulbs Gallons of gas Regular soft drinks Diet soft drinks After-shave lotion Ale Miles driven in town Miles driven on highway Movies Hair shampoo Mouthwash Sleeping tablets Hemorrhoid remedy Stomach remedy Headache remedy Denture cream Shaving soap Long distance telephone calls Candy bars Packaged hard candies Chewing gum Deodorant cream Deodorant roll-on Deodorant spray Electric shave Shaving cream in cans Shaving cream in tubes Lather shaving cream in tube Beer Heavy drinkers. Brand Y beer Light drinkers. Brand Y beer Heavy drinkers. Brand W beer Light drinkers. Brand W beer

be inferred from consumer usage of 80 categories of products, brands, and services reported by the syndicated service. The second phase of the study will report the result of a research experiment illustrating the differences between specific brands of beer in terms of the purchasing patterns and behavioral life-style factors of the male consumers. Separate analyses were conducted for heavy and light users of two major brands designated as Brand W and Brand Y. Men's Life-style Factors for All Products Eighty variables concerning consumer usage of products and services, as listed in Table 1, were drawn from the BRI 1965 survey data which is available on computer tape. All of the 5,424 male respondents were checked against each of the 80

Marketing Notes and Communications

67 TABLE 2

FACTOR ANALYSIS OF PRODUCT-USE DATA : THE FIRST 16 FACTORS AND

Factors and Variables Factor I: The Hard Drinker Rye whisky Canadian whisky Bourbon Scotch Gin Vodka Highball mixers Beer Factor II: The Car-Conscious Man Car wax and polish Motor oil Anti-freeze Miles driven Gasoline Factor III: The Candv Consumer Candy bars Packaged hard candies Chewing gum Factor IV: The Cosmopolitan Traveler Plane trips in past year Car rental in past year Gas credit cards Other credit cards Foreign trips last year Factor V: The Electric Shaver Pre-shave lotion Electric shaver Factor VI: The Cigar and Pipe Smoker Small cigars Cigarillos Regular cigars Pipe tobacco Factor VII: The Dress-Conscious Man Suits Shoes Dress shirts Sport shirts

Factor Loading

.61 .62 .60

.49 .62 .59 .72

.65

.55 .77 .76 .78 .87

.70 .72 .63

67

.68 .50 .50 .54

.69 oo

82

71

75 67 57

54 67 70 65

categories in order to designate which of the categories are applicable to the various respondents. The original BRI data showed several degrees of frequency-of-usage so that some judgment had to be applied in determining the degree of usage that would qualify the respondent as a "user." The factor analysis was programed to draw out 25 factors in accord with the principal components method.* For each of the 80 variables the computer output lists a "factor loading" on each of the 25 extracted factors. * Biomedical Computer Programs (Los Angeles: School of Medicine, University of California, Revised 1965).

MAJOR FACTOR LOADINGS WITH 80

Factors and Variables Factor VIII: The Well-Groomed Man Hair tonic After-shave lotion Hair shampoo Mouthwash Factor I X : The Cough- and Cold-Conscious Man Cold tablets Cough drops Throat lozenges Factor X: The Man with the Photographic Memory Unexposed movie film Flash pictures taken Pictures taken without flashbulbs Factor XI: The Liquor and Wine Connoisseur Rum Brandy Liqueurs Domestic wine Imported wine

VARIABLES

Loading Factor

.56 .53 .65 .47

.64 .68

.71

.60 .85 .84

.57 .67

.66 .53 .68

Factor XII: The Old Man Hats Denture cream

.55

Factor XIII: The Hard-Driving Man Miles driven in town Miles driven on highways

.83 .81

Factor XIV: The Cocktail Drinker Bottled cocktails Cocktail mixers

.81 .73

.48

Factor XV: The Regular Shaver Regrular double-edged blades Stainless steel double-edged blades

-.77 .67

Factor XVI: The Deodorized Male Roll-on deodorant Spray deodorant

-.80 .67

For purposes of illustration, 16 of these extracted factors are shown in Table 2, including the product-usage variables that are highly associated with each of the factors. The degree of usage is measured by the "factor loading." In order to determine the percentage of variation in the variable explained by that factor (that is, communality), the factor loading is squared. Some of the factors which are associated with the use of only one or perhaps two products are designated as distinct product-use factors. Other factors, however, do suggest categories of behav-

68

Journal of Marketing, April, 1969

TABLE 3 MEN'S LIFE-STYLE FACTORS IN PURCHASING ALL PRODUCTS AND IN PURCHASING BEER. AVERAGE FACTOR SCORES FOR EACH CONSUMER SEGMENT, AS A DEVIATION FROM THE TOTAL MALE SEGMENT, BASED ON BRI 1965 DATA

Number of Men in Sample Life-Style Factor 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25.

The Hard Drinker The Car-Conscious Man The Candy Consumer The Cosmopolitan Traveler The Electric Shaver The Cigar & Pipe Smoker The Dress-Conscious Man The Well-Groomed Man The Cough- and Cold-Conscious Man The Man With A Photographic Memory The Liquor & Wine Connoisseur The Old Man The Hard-Driving Man The Cocktail Drinkers The Regular Shaver The Deodorized Male The Lather Shaver I The Lather Shaver II Light Drinkers of Beer Brand W The Soft Drinkers The Outdoorsman Light Drinkers of Beer Brand Y The Bellyachers The Injector Blade Shavers Drinkers of Beer Brand W

All Men

Beer Drinkers 29iS

Non-Beer Drinkers 21,81

Beer Brand Y Heavy Light Drinkers Drinkers

Beer Brand W Heavy Light Drinkers Drinkers

188

316

99

15S

1.04 -.03

.20 .24 .17 .25

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

.59 .02

-.71 -.02

1.44 -.17

.01 .07 .02 .09

-.08

£0 .36

.69 .05 .07 .11

.03

-.16

-.13

-.25

-.10 -.01 -.02 -.09

.09

.01 .18 .01 .06

.28

0 0 0 0 0

.01 -.04 -.11 .04 .01 -.06 .02 .05 .07 -.24 .04 .07 .21 .07 .08 .04

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0

.02 .08

ioral life-styles that go well beyond the use of a single type of product and thus add to knowledge in providing a framework for identifying characteristics of people which are relevant to certain patterns of product usage. Of the 25 extracted factors, ten seem to be associated not only with the use of a group of products, but also with a pattern of purchasing: a single product category. Thus factor analysis provides a characterization of the consumer that yields some interesting groupings of behavioral life-styles in purchasing which would not be apparent from simple tabulation and inspection. Together the 25 factors yield an interesting picture of the behavioral life-styles in the purchasing patterns of the American male. The purpose here has been to contrast how these purchasing patterns differ between consumers and non-consumers of two competing brands of beer.

-.01 .04 .13

-.05 .01 .07 .02 .06 .08

-.29 .06

-.08 -.25 .09

-.10 -.01 .69

-.42 -.42

-.04

.06

-.32

.28 -.45 -.68

.18

.35 .33 .15

.14

-.05 -.20 -.02

.50 .48

-.11 .41 .27

-.33 -.73 .43 .07 .72

-.49 .32

.16 .06

-.18

-.40 -.73

-.18

-.69 -.86

.60

-.04 3.01 -.09 -.03 -.02

-1.97 -.99

-.10

.04

.05

-1.76

.39

.04

-.04 -.06 .15 .17 .13 .05 .06 .20

-.22 .16 .07

-.07 -.09 -.25 5.17 .22

.22 .04

-.12 -.26

-.30 .20

.03 .01

5.56

-.18

Life-styles of Beer Drinkers The next step is to see how consumers of the product under study—in this case, beer—differ from non-consumers, and how consumers of one brand differ from the consumers of the major competitive brand. Tables 3 and 4 provide summarized data for drawing the contrasts. In Table 2 beer drinking is shown to be particularly associated with the Hard Drinker. In addition, heavy beer drinkers are more clearly defined than light beer drinkers as can be seen from Table 4 where factor loading is generally higher for heavy beer drinkers. Thus, they are distinctly Hard Drinkers and not Soft Drinkers and are not inclined to be either Liquor or Wine Connoisseurs. Brand distinctions are quite apparent among heavy beer drinkers. For example. Brand Y drinkers are Outdoorsmen, and thus more inclined to be Hard Drinkers; whereas the Brand W drinkers

69

Marketing Notes and Communications TABLE 4 PROFILE OF PRODUCT U S E AND BEHAVIORAL LIFE-STYLES OF BEER CONSUMERS AND HEAVY AND LIGHT CONSUMERS OF MAJOR BEER BRANDS Y AND W FACTORS ARE IN RANK ORDER OF DIFFERENCES FROM NON-CONSUMERS OF BEER, MEASURED IN FACTOR LOADINGS

All Beer Consumers Hard Drinker

.88

-.24 Old Man Cigar & Pipe Smoker .19 Cough- & ColdConscious .17 Man Outdoorsman .15 Cosmopolitan Traveler .15 Electric Shaver .15 Hard-Driving Man

.09

Liquor & Wine Connoisseur - . 0 8

Heavy Beer Consumers Brand W Brand Y Hard Drinker Soft Drinker Cough- & ColdConscious Man

1.40 -.78

.78

Outdoorsman .68 Liquor & Wine Connoisseur - . 4 6 Cocktail Drinker —.46 .44 Electric Shaver Cosmopolitan .42 Traveler -.42 Photographer Hard-Driving .33 Man Deodorized Male .33 Candy-Conscious .19 Man Car-Conscious Man -.15 Dress-Conscious Man -.09 Not An Old Man -.07

Light Beer Consumers Brand W Brand Y

-.45 Hard Drinker 1.33 Old Man - . 9 9 Soft Drinker .34 Soft Drinker Liquor & Wine Cosmopolitan Connoisseur -.69 Traveler .19 .18 Cosmopolitan Hard Drinker Traveler .52 Cough- & ColdCandy-ConConscious scious Man .49 Man .14 Well-Groomed Dress-ConMan .43 scious Man .14 Cigar & Pipe Cigar & Pipe Smoker .38 Smoker .11 Liquor & Wine Cough- & ColdConscious Connoisseur .10 .36 Man Car-Conscious .07 -.32 Photographer Man Old Man .30 Cocktail -.06 Drinker Deodorized Male .30 Outdoorsman .30 Hard-Driving Man .12

are more associated with the Cosmopolitan Traveler. The Dre.ss-Conscious Man, The Well-Groomed Man, The Cocktail Drinker, and The Car-Conscious Man. Brand W drinkers seem to seek more oral satisfaction, being associated with the Candy Consumer and the Cigar and Pipe Smoker. Among light beer drinkers, approximately the same type of pattern can be discerned though with less extreme differences between the two brands. The foregoing highlights the major diflferences in behavioral life-styles and product-use of the various groups of consumers, as suggested by the interpretation of the factor analyses. From this analysis come sound working hypotheses about consumers of a product and its major brands, which must be integrated into the overall on-going con-

Cosmopolitan Traveler Car-Conscious Man Cough- & ColdConscious Man Well-Groomed Man Soft Drinker

.33 .26 .22 .19 .17

Hard-Driving — .17 Man Candy-Conscious Man .16 Dress-Conscious Man Deodorized Male Old Man Photographer

.16 .09 .07 .06

sumer research program in order to develop a fuller definition of market segments and product positioning with an expanded profile of the consumers in each segment. A knowledge of behavioral life-styles should influence overall formation of marketing strategy for a brand, and it can also provide immediate creative guidance for advertising copy. Advertisers will be better able to identify the audience for their copy and the types of appeals which may interest them. The development of product-positioning described in this article will add insight to the straightforward measures of consumer attitudes and demographics that have so long served as the basis of product positioning and brand positioning.