When Students Rethink a Brand with the Lens of Psychology
The elective course of "Psychology of Marketing" held by Zachary Estes (Marketing Department) has recently ended. Its purpose was to provide students with a psychological foundation for understanding consumer behavior and marketing strategy, not only through regular lectures, but also through the development of "brand make-over" projects. "Students were divided into groups and worked on the brands Vitasnella, Pampers, Bertolli and CheBanca!, elaborating projects in which they analyzed the chosen brand and thought about suggestions to improve it," says Estes. Before the end of the course, the managers of the different brands were invited to Bocconi to listen to student presentations and give them feedback.
The different teams analyzed the history of the brand, its identity and targets in order to propose some changes in the marketing strategy, regarding, for example, the logo, the packaging, social networks or the strengthening of brand identity. "We suggested to standardize the Vitasnella Logo which is currently different for water, yoghurt and bakery products," says Claudia Russo, in her third year of International Economics and Management (BIEM). "We also designed a different packaging for yoghurt, rendering it transparent, so that the consumer can see the ingredients and then verify the quality of the product, and of elongated shape, to convey a sense of well-being."
The team of Fabrizio Sambuco, a student of Economic and Social Sciences (CLES), who worked on the Bertolli brand, also suggested a change in the product packaging: "We liked the idea of ​​adding tactile elements to the classic oil bottle. We thought of a bottle, which could be similar to a flagon of wine, with the base wrapped in straw, to convey an idea of ​​sincerity and nature, coherent with the brand identity". The students who worked on the CheBanca! brand, were instead given a specific task: "We were asked to find a way to attract upper-wealth individuals," says Victor Galuppo, a student of International Economics and Management (BIEM). "There were three CheBanca! managers during the class presentations and we were proud to listen to their positive feedback on our work".
"Presenting our projects to business managers who have been working in the field for years has been a precious learning opportunity and knowing that we would listen to their feedback has been a further motivational boost," says Claudia Alagia, who studies Economia aziendale e management (CLEAM) and who worked on the Pampers brand. "In addition, the course was structured so that we could also receive comments from our classmates, as well as from the professor, after the presentation, and this was very constructive."