Classical vs Operant Conditioning in Tourism: Frequent Flyer Club with VA

Building connections between the consumer and the product/service is important in the learning and memory process. Classical Conditioning is where your mind is trained to associate products with behaviors and feelings.

The classical conditioning theory has been used often with marketers. The theory comes from Pavlov's bell experiment.

Pavlov wanted to see whether ringing the bell could activate an emotion in the dog to make it think it was hungry, this is called the conditioned response. Having the meat is the unconditioned response, as the dog naturally feels hungry when it sees or smells it. Pavlov ringing the bell and then giving the dog the meat meant that the dog would then associate feeling hungry with the sound of the bell. Before when the dog saw the meat, he would have felt hungry but when the bell had rang, this had made him feel hungry instead. This is called classical conditioning. The dog was conditioned to feel hungry every time it heard the bell.

Marketers have applied this theory, for example; when a McDonald's advert it on, their slogan has a chime that is memorable for the consumer. There is a whistle, and then the slogan 'I'm lovin' it'. This way of marketing became effective for McDonald's as when the advert finished and the chime rung, consumers would feel like they wanted a McDonald's. The chime became familiar in the consumers mind and essentially every time they heard the chime, they would be familiar with the chime and then start to think about McDonald's food.

However, another psychologist; B. F Skinner came up with the operant theory, which involves reinforcement or punishment to increase or decrease a behaviour. For example, good behaviour is rewarded and bad behaviour is punished. In a classroom setting, a teacher may reward good behaviour to a child with stars on a chart and sweets, and bad behaviour may be punishable by keeping the child indoors for a certain amount of time at break time, or having the child do a chore within the classroom, eg; tidy up the books/put away the toys. The child will then learn from this and then change their behaviour. The child that was rewarded would continue to want rewards, and the child that behaved badly would change their behaviour as they would also want to be rewarded. 

In a marketing perspective, companies have come up with reward schemes for consumers who stay loyal to their company, essentially giving them rewards in order that they repeat custom. 

Virgin Atlantic came out with their frequent flyer programme where you can earn points every time you fly with them. Being part of the 'Flying Club' means that you can work your way up. There is the red club, silver club and the gold club. Depending on how many miles you earn, you can spend these miles on upgrades, flights, chauffeur services, increased baggage, birthday extra miles, first class lounge, premium economy lounge, clubhouses and first class check ins. Each colour club you can buy more miles to earn you the better benefit. The higher you are in the club (gold) the better the rewards. Essentially, this gives consumers a goal to be a part of this club, and once in the club- to keep on striving for the bigger rewards. 

Having a reward scheme in place is good for companies as consumers then spend more money and stay loyal to the brand. The consumer would also have better brand experience as being part of the reward club may give them satisfaction as not everyone can get the same rewards, as there are three different tiers within Virgin Atlantic's flying club. 

The classic conditioning theory is difficult to apply too the tourism industry, as it is a fast paced environment with trends that change all of the time. The operant theory is easy to apply to the tourism industry for all of the reasons opposite. Because the industry is fast and changing all of the time, the consumer wants rewards and schemes that will save them money if possible. 

Do you think reward schemes are useful to the consumer? Are you party of any brand that has a reward club? (eg, coffee shops)

 References:
http://psychology.about.com/od/behavioralpsychology/a/conditioning-study-guide.htm

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=pavlov%27s+dog&espv=2&rlz=1C1DSGZ_enGB620GB620&biw=1366&bih=667&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiFjeqLzZbMAhUKiywKHcmaCk0Q_AUIBigB#imgdii=rNHH1F1oCMk_pM%3A%3BrNHH1F1oCMk_pM%3A%3Bxi4fz-sCObEKUM%3A&imgrc=rNHH1F1oCMk_pM%3A

 http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/gb/en/flying-club/membership-benefits.html

Stuck for Inspiration? Thomson have got you covered!

Thomson have introduced a new touch screen feature in their store for customers to walk in and start to plan their holidays. The screen comes with options so that if a customer doesn't know what they are looking for, it can help them find their dream holiday. 

The touch screen allows customers to view a scrapbook style of pictures put together randomly from lot of different types of holidays, so that they can pick their 'best four' and begin their search. The pictures range from family holiday pictures, to relaxing pictures, couples pictures and adventure pictures. This allows customers to find a destination best fitting their needs with the pictures they can drag and select. When the customer has completed their selection, a list of destinations will appear with hotels and prices for the customer to look through. The screen also can show the customer the world map where they can tap a country and find out what they can do there, plan their holiday and search a particular holiday destination.

Here is an example of the screen:

Thomson are using the sensory marketing theory by having these screens in place. Research has shown that by triggering the haptic sense (touch) consumers feel more attached to the product. Instead of traditionally walking in to a travel agent and listening to the agent talk about a destination, the screens allow the consumer to experience the destination by playing on these senses, as the screens also have audio and videos of the destinations. The videos have calming music where necessary (Spa holidays, relaxing holidays), and happy music where there is adventure. 

The screens can be used for anyone of any age, as the haptic touch uses habitual human movement so that anyone can work the screens without even having to think about it. When at the screen, an agent will come over to help you through the process, making the experience memorable and the agent is able to give you even more information on a destination. 

The visuals on the screen are astonishing; with videos and bright colours used, the consumer see's the good imagery and this stimulates different emotions. The most common colours on the screen is blue and white, making the consumer feel calm.

The idea is very impressive, as it gives the consumer a completely different approach when looking for a holiday, especially if they are stuck for inspiration about where to go. The screen essentially finds you the perfect holiday in an experiential way.

I found this to be extremely effective, I was so impressed by the screens and this use of sensory marketing as by using this theory, the consumer is more likely to remember it and be inclined to buy the product as they have an emotional attachment. The screens are enjoyable to use, although sometimes it wouldn't work and I would have to tap things more than once for the screen to respond. Perhaps Thomson could work on their screens a little more to ensure that consumers won't be annoyed by the screen not working when they are using it. 

Although Thomson have triggered the human senses using sight, touch and hearing, they haven't used anything for smell. The store could have scents such as suncream, seasalt and tropical smells in order to trigger thoughts of holidays in a consumer. This will make the consumer think about their past holidays and make them want to book another. 

What do you think about the screens in Thomson?

NEW: Taylor Swift and Queen on your Coke can?

Coke are well known for their successful styles of marketing, from their 'share a Coke with (name)' which took the world by storm when sales went up by 0.4% in the first 12 weeks when it started in Australia. 

Some people were thinking, 'what can Coke do next to follow up on share a Coke?' I certainly was. And here it is, the 'Share a Coke and a Song' campaign. 

The bottles and cans now feature a lyric from famous songs, linking the music industry with theirs. Although, Coke aren't simply trying to boost sales of forgotten songs, they have described their campaign as being able to bring people together, as music can say things that people can't. 

Coke have also described their campaign as 'bringing back the feeling of falling in love'. With over 70 lyrics carefully chosen to capture the special moments in life. They chose lyrics that inspire a connection and their goal is to cater to diverse tastes. 

From Coke: "'Share a coke and a song' capture the feeling of falling in love. (The Way You Love Me and You Belong With Me), celebrating victory (All I Do is Win) and (We are the Champions) to moments of friendship, (Lean on Me) to flirtation (It's Getting Hot in Here), to sass (We Never Go Out Of Style) to motivation (I'm Your Biggest Fan) and patriotism  (I'm Proud to Be An America) and (Sweet Land of Liberty).... Just to name a few.
Coke are focusing on representing their brand values by sharing their moments with the consumer, and then consumers sharing their special moments with their friends and family. 

As before with being able to customise names on bottles, there will be machines where consumers can select their own song lyrics. Involving the consumers further and spreading awareness. Fans can also use the app Shazam to record a video of themselves lip-syncing the song on their Coke and upload it to social media, spreading awareness even further, so that Coke don't have to spend money on marketing. 

Here is an example of what the cans are going to look like:

Coke essentially are using their integrated marketing strategy by having the consumer feel part of their brand. Brand experience is important when it comes to consumers as marketers know that if there is a similar product (for example, Pepsi) they want consumers to stay loyal to their brand instead of going for a cheaper alternative with a similar taste. 

When brands are new, smart marketers will make sure that the consumers have an emotional attachment to the brand to ensure that consumers stay loyal, which is exactly what Coke do every time they bring out a new campaign. Whether it be at Christmas pulling on consumers heart-strings with their commercials, or having consumers buy their friends a Coke just because their name is on the bottle for novelty reasons, not the taste. Coke are successful when it comes to marketing, as they keep their brand value strong and increase employee loyalty by having these emotional attachments in place.

Coke have certainly got their timing right, with Spring here and Summer on it's way, consumer's are ready for something new and no other competitors are doing anything like this at the moment which gives them a huge advantage.

With the new Coke bottles/cans to be out on the 18th of April, it will be interesting to see whether the Share a Song and a Coke will be as successful as Share a Coke with a Friend.

 Do you think this will be more successful?

Reference: Coke:  http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/share-a-coke-and-a-song-summer-campaign-to-feature-music-lyrics-on-packaging/