Advertising Appeals and Consumer Behavior for Men's Personal Care

Message Appeal Strategy

Advertising message appeals aim to influence the way consumers perceive themselves and how purchasing particular products can be advantageous to them. The message communicated through advertising appeals directly affects consumers' buying decisions and patterns. The type of message appeal proposed for this campaign is the masculine/feminine appeal.

This appeal is considered the most suitable for several reasons. First, it specifically seeks to depict an ideal male or female image to consumers who aspire to meet society's — and their own — vision of what it means to be a man or woman. Second, this appeal is particularly common when the product being sold is aimed at either men or women exclusively. Moreover, this type of appeal tends to be most effective for cosmetic, beauty, and fashion products. In this regard, the new line of products will carry the message that targeted consumers can be ideal and perfect in terms of beauty and masculinity. Given that the target market consists of individuals between 18 and 35 years old, the message appeal will also emphasize appearing as a trendy and fashionable man (Koekemoer, 2014).

Cultural Analysis and Target Markets

Culture plays a pivotal role in shaping an individual's buying patterns, values, and beliefs. Culture can be defined as a shared set of beliefs and practices among a group of individuals in a particular place and time. Cultural factors exert a major influence on purchasing decisions, and each person develops a distinct set of behaviors, views, and principles from their household background and upbringing.

This line of personal care products for men aged 18 to 35 is expected to appeal to three cultural groups: Chinese, African American, and White American consumers. According to Khan et al. (2017), in recent years the demand for cosmetic, beauty, and personal care products among Chinese consumers has grown from 6.7 percent to 10.9 percent, as progressively more men from this cultural background are adopting personal care products. White Americans represent a second target culture, largely because many men from this background have a well-established history of incorporating grooming products into their daily lives and are likely to continue doing so. Additionally, this group tends to earn higher average incomes, making them well-positioned to afford the product line. Third, African American consumers are expected to respond strongly to the product line, as grooming and personal care are important aspects of their cultural values and lifestyle. A survey examining the frequency of personal hygiene product use among men in the United States found that 98 percent of African American respondents reported using personal care products daily or several times per week (Statista, 2017).

Microcultures and Additional Demographics

Microculture refers to a sub-culture that exists within a broader culture. While culture reflects the majority of a population, subcultures reflect smaller groups of individuals. Microcultures take into account the smallest distinct groups, differentiated from broader subcultures defined by race or social class, or from wide-ranging national and international cultures.

One recommended microculture to target is the age-based microculture. This is grounded in the idea that individuals of the same age share similar beliefs and consumer preferences. Specifically, young people between the ages of 18 and 24 — often categorized as millennials — are more likely to make purchasing decisions based on celebrity opinions and tend toward more impulsive buying behavior. A second recommended microculture is sex-role microculture, which takes into account societal expectations for males and females within a cultural group. This microculture is relevant because, particularly in Western cultures, there is a growing social expectation that men should be well-groomed and attentive to personal care (Solomon et al., 2014).