Professor Dan of Faculty of Science and Engineering Evaluates Emotional Influence on Consumers the Package Design gives

    Professor Ippeita Dan, the Department of Integrated Science and Engineering for Sustainable Societies, the Faculty of Science and Engineering, conducted a joint study with Morinaga & Co., Ltd. to evaluate how consumers are emotionally affected by the package design of chewy candy “HI-CHEW”. The study found that using the “teaser”*¹ marketing method on the new package successfully elicited positive emotions from consumers.

    The study used the psychometrics*² technique to evaluate the package. Specifically, the study elucidated the consumer’s decision-making process when purchasing a product using the SOR model (Stimulus-Organism-Response), which describes how external factors stimulate an individual’s internal processes, ultimately leading to a final response. SOR model analyzes by breaking down consumer behavior into three elements, Stimulus, Organism, and Response. It is commonly used in marketing strategy development.
    In this study, we examined around 100 consumers and estimated how consumers were stimulated by the current and the new package designs, and what kind of behaviors being triggered at last.

    Study 1: Create SOR model for HI-CHEW package using the current package (exploratory model).
    Study 2: Verify the probability of an exploratory model created in Study 1 using the current package (confirmatory model).
    Study 3: Based on the confirmatory model of Study 2, verify the Teaser effect on the new package.

    The study found that both the current and new packages identified five key elements that elicit positive responses from consumers: “Perceived Quality,” “Package Appearance,” “Sensory Appeal,” “Mood,” and “Reward.” Additionally, the new package incorporated “Teaser” effect which significantly and little bit improved “Familiarity” without blemishing the product’s value. Furthermore, the study revealed that the “Novelty” of the product tends to be enhanced as well.

-Glossary-
*¹ Teaser: Those who play a trick on someone. Here, it means “playing a trick” on the design.
*² Psychometrics: A field of study focused on the theory and technique for measuring and evaluating psychological traits. Specifically, it involves assessing an individual’s psychological features by collecting data through questionnaires or tests, which is then analyzed statistically. This method is applied in areas such as education, clinical psychology, organizational psychology, etc.

A comment by Professor Dan, Chuo University
    This study applied psychometrics, a technique that quantitates an individual’s thought by having an individual answer a series of carefully crafted questions, in short, a “ruler to measure one’s heart.” In this experiment, we successfully modeled people’s cognitive structure regarding the HI-CHEW brand and their buying motivations using advanced statistical methods such as multivariate analysis to analyze answers on thoroughly designed questions. Thanks to this modeling, we have gained deeper insights into how to communicate with our customers on not only the taste but also the information conveyed from the package and the impressions. In particular, it is significant that a bit of “teaser” element to the new packages slightly enhanced familiarity without diminishing the product’s value. While maintaining the stable value of this longtime popular product, we have taken a small but meaningful step forward in visualizing the effect of a solid marketing strategy. This study has provided us with new perspectives for further promoting HI-CHEW and paving the way for innovative products in the future.

For more details of Professor Dan's research, please visit "Dan's Lab at Chuo University," and "+C Plus Chuo Univ."