The Decision Making Process - Aldi Christmas Advert 2015

For any consumer, the decision making process plays a key role in what products or services they decide to choose. This process is just as important to businesses in all competitive sectors, in order to gain the most market share and produce the highest amount of profit.

The decision making process consists of four different stages:
1) Problem recognition
2) Information Search
3) Evaluation of Alternatives
4) Product and Brand choice

As explained in a previous blog post John Lewis' 'Man on The Moon' Christmas advert was very popular among consumers of all ages, as it included a story line that was easy to follow and become a part of.

This is where the clever marketing comes in, as Aldi decided to replicate the well-known Christmas advert by also having a man on the moon who happens to have a telescope too. This means they have manged to skip the first part of the decision making process, as John Lewis has already met the needs of consumers in the problem recognition stage.
During problem recognition, there is an ideal state, which is what individuals want, and an actual state, which consists of what is actually available. Aldi manages to show individuals that what they want from what they have seen in John Lewis' advertisement can also be bought from their stores too. This means that the needs the individuals have in both ideal and actual states can be met.

Aldi's man on the moon with the cheaper telescope

Aldi were able to move straight on to the information search and evaluation of alternatives stage, by providing details about their brand and then showing they they are the alternative of John Lewis. This therefore suggests that instead of consumers searching for alternatives. Aldi have managed to provide them with the necessary details by showing consumers and potential buyers that they are the cheaper alternative. Aldi's advertisement also declares that you cannot tell the difference in quality between the two products, even though one is clearly more expensive and known to be higher in quality. This is where they reflect the final stage of the decision making process- product and brand choice, as consumers can then decide on which brand they would like to purchase from. However, as Aldi are trying to promote their own product, it is more likely that the individual watching would then choose their brand, due to the fact that it is established that they can offer similar products at a lower price. This is value for money, which is what consumers like to see.