Consumer Behavior

1. CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Using Maslow‟s Hierarchy of Needs to promote
Gold‟s Gym
Vineet Abraham,01
Trinolda Colaco,11
Bhavya Sharma,43

2. Maslow‟s Hierarchy of Needs
It was in 1943 a Psychologist Mr. Abraham Harold Maslow suggested his Theory of
Human Motivation. His theory is one popular and extensively cited theory of motivation.
Maslow's theory is based on the Hierarchy of Human Needs. According to Maslow,
human behavior is related to his needs. It is adjusted as per the nature of needs to be
satisfied. In hierarchy of needs theory, Maslow identified five types / sets of human need
arranged in a hierarchy of their importance and priority. He concluded that when one set
of needs is satisfied, it ceases to be a motivating factor. Thereafter, the next set of needs in
the hierarchy order takes its place. These needs in hierarchy can be compared to a
pyramid. At the lowest level, there will be first set of needs which can be described as
basic needs and are universal in character. This will be followed by other sets of needs.
The Maslow's Pyramid of Human Needs is explained below :
Physiological Needs : Physiological needs are the basic needs for sustaining human life.
These needs include food, shelter, clothing, rest, air, water, sleep and sexual satisfaction.
These basic human needs (also called biological needs) lie at the lowest level in the
hierarchy of needs as they have priority over all other needs. Unless and until these basic
physiological needs are satisfied to the required extent, other needs do not motivate an
employee. A hungry person, for example, is just not in a position to think of anything else
except his hunger or food
Security / Safety Needs : These are the needs connected with the protection from physical
danger, security of job, pension for old age, insurance cover for life, etc. The safety needs
come after meeting the physiological needs. Such physiological needs lose their
motivational potential when they are satisfied. As a result, safety needs replace them.
Social Needs: A human being is rightly treated as a social animal. He desires to stay in
group. He feels that he should belong to one or the other group and the member of the
group should accept him with love and affection. Every person desires to be affiliated to
such groups. This is treated as basic social need of an individual. He also feels that he
should be loved by the other members. He needs friends and interaction with his friends
and superiors of the group such as fellow employees or superiors. Social needs occupy
third position in the hierarchy of needs.
Esteem Needs: This category of needs include the need to be respected by others, need to
be appreciated by others, need to have power and finally prestigious position. Once the
previous needs are satisfied, a person feels to be held in esteem both by himself and also
by others. Thus, esteem needs are two fold in nature. Self esteem needs include those for
self confidence, self-respect, competence, etc. The second groups of esteem needs are
those related to one's status, reputation, recognition and appreciation by others. This is a
type of personal ego which needs to be satisfied.
Self-actualisation Needs : This is the highest among the needs in the hierarchy of needs
advocated by Maslow. Self actualisation is the desire to become what one is capable of
becoming. It is a 'growth' need. A worker must work efficiently if he is to be ultimately
happy. Here, a person feels that he should accomplish something in his life. He wants to
utilize his potentials to the maximum extent and desires to become what one is capable of
becoming. A person desires to have challenges and achieves something special in his life

3. or in the area of his specialization. Though every one is capable of self-actualization,
many do not reach this stage. This need is fully satisfied rarely.
Gold‟s Gym
Gold‟s Gym first started in Venice, California in 1965. It was always perceived as a place
for serious workout. Muscle Beach bodybuilders named it “The Mecca of Bodybuilding”. It
has since then been the hotbed for the development of training techniques, equipment and
nutritional concepts that form the foundation for the modern fitness revolution. The gym
received international attention when it was feature in the major motion picture, Pumping
Iron
Gold‟s Gym targets the upper middle class and the business class. It‟s pricing reflects the
same. It has till date maintained its status in the fitness industry and has been true to its
reputation. It currently has 680 facilities.
Physiological Needs: Consumer Profile
The Physiological needs of food, shelter, sex, sleep, health cut across all age groups. They
are basic needs that consumers strive for everyday. If these needs are not fulfilled, the
individual cannot move on to the next levels of needs.
Taking these needs into consideration, the kind of age group one could target to advertise
Gold‟s Gym is quite wide. Therefore, the consumers we are targeting are students and
working professionals between the age group of 18 to 40 years. They live in the urban
and semi-urban areas in Mumbai. They live a fast paced life and juggle various activities
at the same time. These people may be experiencers, strivers or even achievers. They are
well educated and ambitious. These people live busy lives, eat fast food, don‟t sleep that
well and are stressed very often. All of this is to achieve a set of personal and professional
goals that they set for themselves. However, they neglect their health in pursuit of these
goals. They are aware of the fact that their health is deteriorating, but they ignore the
implications of it. They live very mechanic and stressful lives which in many cases takes a
toll on their mental and physical health. This set of people forms a large chunk of
Mumbai‟s population.

4. Core Communication:
The core communication of the media campaign for this age group is „Health is wealth.‟
Through the advertising campaign we want to communicate to the audience that
although you are investing everyday of your life to pursue your goals, you shouldn‟t put
your health on the line. It is important to stay healthy, strong and fit if you want achieve
your dreams. We are simply telling them that you need to be healthy to enjoy the benefits
of your efforts and that Gold‟s Gym is going to help you do the same. It has flexible
timings, affordable fees, various outlets, qualified fitness instructors and a whole set of
fitness regimens from aerobics to yoga.
Media Strategy:
A host of media can be used to promote Gold‟s Gym amongst this age group.
Newspapers: English Dailies like TOI, HT and Economic Times can be used to run print ads
for this campaign. Working professionals tend to go through newspapers daily.
Magazines: Common magazines like India Today, Outlook, Femina, Filmfare,
Social Media: Using Facebook and Twitter to promote the brand, its offers, various facts
about health and fitness, recipes for healthy foods etc.
Celebrity Blogs: Getting celebrities like Salman Khan who use Gold‟s Gym to blog about it.
Celebrities serve as opinion leaders and can help change public opinion.
Outdoor Print Ads: These could be placed along railway and bus stations, in suburbs like
Lower Parel and Bandra where a large number of corporate offices are located.
To target the younger lot of the group, ads could be placed near Marine Drive, near
movie theatres and places like Colaba and Bandra that attract the younger crowd.
TVCs: Considering the fact that we are targeting students and working professionals who
are more focused on their goals and are tech savvy, there should ideally be limited
investment in TV slots. We could advertise on youth channels like MTV or the Star
Network primarily in the evening slots between 7 pm to 11 pm.

5. Safety Needs: Consumer Profile
Once the physiological needs have been satisfied, we move on to satisfy the next set of
needs, which are the safety needs. Gold‟s Gym could be advertised to female students and
working women in the age group of 16 to 26 years by using safety needs as a
motivational factor. These are women who live alone in the city, who commute alone to
work/college or work late. Mumbai is increasingly becoming unsafe for women and
hence the need to develop a strong system of defense skills, a sense of confidence and self
reliance. These women are located in urban and semi urban areas. They may or may not
be single. They live in hostels or as paying guests or have their own apartments.
Core Communication:
The core communication through the advertising message for this media campaign would
emphasize on the need to be able to defend oneself in the big city.The fact that a woman
has to live alone all by herself can be scary, but at the same time challenging. Gold‟s Gym
simply tries to help these women face this challenge. To be fit ,alert, healthy and strong
enough to live a fast paced life and protect oneself from any danger.
Media Strategy:
Magazines: Print ads could be run in women‟s magazines like Femina, Elle, Cosmopolitan
etc.
Radio: We could run a radio spot on Radio Mirchi ,Radio city or Fever 104.
Internet: It is widely used by set of people. Social media can be used to its full potential to
promote the brand amongst women. Ads on YouTube and blogging websites can be used
as well.Female role models like Saina Nehwal, Mary Kom etc can be used by way of
celebrity blogging, so that they emphasize on the need to develop defence skills.
TVCs: TVCs could be positioned in the weekday evening slots between 8pm to 11pm.
Gold‟s Gym could also tie up with hostels and colleges to organize workshops as a
promotional strategy for this campaign.

6. Social Needs: Consumer Profile
A person in this stage feels that he should belong to one or the other group and the
member of the group should accept him with love and affection. Every person desires to
be affiliated to such groups.
Once the basic needs of physical and safety needs have been satisfied, we go on to needs
which are more social. The people in this profile that we will be targeting will be
professionals age 30 above to 50 years. These people are mostly settled in life and have
built up a comfortable lifestyle which is born out of routine. As they settle, they realize that
they need association in the form of people of their own and also love and support in the
social structure.
Core Communication
The core communication for this consumer would be “Gym, a communal place”.
Through the media campaign we will depict the fact that Gold‟s Gym is a place where
numerous people with the same objectives come together and so you will feel part of a
group as well as support. We can offer a „Group Discount”, introduce Group activities like
Aerobics and so forth.
Media Strategy:
Print: Bussiness publications, Journals, Magazines like GQ. As these are read by the people who
are consolidating their professional lives as well as personal lives like the target group.
Outdoor: The best medium for this kind of core communication. Ads, would be placed in crowded
places, and mostly communal places.
TVC: Timeslots targeted would be weekend slots, sports, awards. Anything more likely to be
watched by people with other people.
Social Media: Blogs, Twitter and Facebook to get people to come together and feel like they
are part of the social group and get them together with other people with same motivations.

7. Esteem Needs: Consumer Profile
At this stage the person feels to be held in esteem both by himself and also by others. The
consumers at this stage are people who are above the age of 40. They are not strivers as
they have already achieved in terms of money, housing and even to an extent social
groups. But they are looking for recognition in terms of their works in life. They also need
to feel that they have good standing in the groups and the society that they are in. Their
egos need to satisfied now.
Core Communication
The core communication for this consumer would be “Body, a reflection of dicipline”.
Through the media campaign we will depict the fact that the body needs to be in tune and a
well kept body at a mature age means years of discipline and will reflect the hard work and
achievements of the person.
Media Strategy:
Print: Newspaper dailies, Magazines like The Week, India Today, Time Magazine.
TVC: Ads will be shown in Discovery, National Geographic, News Channels.
Celebrity Ads: Celebs who have maintained over time, Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan.

8. Self Actualization Needs: Consumer Profile
The final need that we seek to fulfill is self actualization. Gold‟s gym can target upper
middle class and above men and women of age 50 yrs and above. These are people who
have achieved each of the above needs and gave now reached a point of restlessness. They
seek higher goals of personal fulfillment and attempt to grow beyond what they currently
are. They want to achieve their highest potential, not only in terms of their career but
their health too- a reflection of the standard of their life. They also are now concerned
about old age and being fit is a priority. A lot of them may often believe it is too late for
them to bring any drastic changes. Gold‟s Gym, through its advertising campaign can
help rid their minds of this myth and encourage them to attain the health and the
physique they always desired.
Media Strategy
Magazines: Advertisements can be printed in health and fitness themed magazines like
Health, Prevention and also similar sections in other magazines.
Radio: Radio Spots targeting our target group on major channels
Internet: Business related sites and sites that talk about health issues related to this age
group.
TVCs: Aired on all major channels like Zee, Sony, News Channels, TLC
Publicity: Sponsor events like Gladrags, film awards where celebrities can promote the
Gym.
Direct Mailers: Since this age group may underestimate how much they are capable of
improving their fitness, it is important to inform them in detail. Using Direct mailers is a
good way of doing this