This chapter from Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely explores the paradox of anticipating people’s erratic responses as a result of different expectations. As the chapter title suggests, people’s expectations shape how their minds experience feelings, events, products, tastes, etc. The primary lesson is that providing certain specific information to form people’s expectations can influence their experience entirely. Developing and managing a brand or product partly depends on conveying knowledge that will amplify a customer’s “anticipated and real pleasure.”
Humans are emotional creatures that do not come to conclusions based on just facts. Favoritism, especially in brands and products, stems from beliefs and associations. It is no accident that Coke sells better than Pepsi despite the Pepsi Challenge blind taste test. There is power behind the red trademark and swirling script that cannot be trumped by Pepsi’s sweeter taste. These kinds of biases are useful to marketers because experiments again and again prove that predispositions blur a person’s viewpoint. Marketers can either counter the biases people have for other products or use the biases to their advantage by honing in on what attributes consumers are inclined toward.
Stereotypes are inevitable expectations, but they aren’t necessarily a bad thing. People use prior knowledge to help make decisions because the brain cannot approach every situation with a clean slate. It builds on past lessons and experiences to reason through complicated new settings. This lends to the power of presentation. Enjoyment from use is certainly reinforced by judgments based on appearance. An example from Blink is one margarine company’s initiative to turn its margarine yellow to mimic butter, wrap the margarine in foil to convey class, and name the product Imperial Margarine to convey prestige. Instantly, people’s dislike toward margarine changed because Imperial Margarine gained insight about what consumers desired from butter and packaging, and they molded a presentation that fit likeable stereotypes about butter. Kate Canales spoke of mental models, such as how candles or lights are needed for birthday desserts. Mental models is why people needed butter substitutes to be yellow and why all margarines followed suit. Marketers should keep in mind what presentation styles consumers perceive to be of the most value. Without being able to use the actual product in a store, first impressions and appearances are the sources for decision-making.
Ariely’s example of the vinegar-laced beer experiments at a pub near MIT illustrates a clear component of the human condition- that people’s expectations influence their views of subsequent events. Patrons went through taste tests of a commercial beer and an MIT Brew of commercial beer with a few drops of balsamic vinegar. In the first experiment, people liked the beer with vinegar in a blind taste test. In the second experiment, people hated the MIT Brew when told upfront that the beer had vinegar. The difference in knowledge shows that expectations about a bad taste will transfer to experience. In the third experiment, people did the blind taste test but were told afterward that the MIT Brew had vinegar, and they still liked it. People liked the MIT Brew more than those told about the vinegar upfront and just as much as those who weren’t aware of the vinegar. Further, knowledge of the vinegar after the experiment doubled the amount of people who wanted to add vinegar themselves after experiencing the reality of the drink and found it honestly tasty. Knowledge placement is a key insight for markets to investigate and take advantage of because the beer experiments indicate that knowledge does reshape sensory perception to align with other knowledge. It will help determine what products will market best with pre-knowledge, post-knowledge or no knowledge.
On several occasions I have let my expectations due to visual cues negatively shape my experience. My friend introduced me to a drink called Thai basil seed drink but mistakenly forewarned me that she didn’t like it growing up. That pre-knowledge set in my mind something was unusual about the drink. She showed me a picture on the Internet, and I could not believe what I was seeing really weren’t tadpoles! The swirling mixture of water and honey would surely make the “tadpoles” look alive. (http://www.importfood.com/recipes/basil_seed_drink.html). For the past few years, my attitude has been to have an open mind about food, so I let her make me the drink. To my relief, she also added colorful Asian jelly cubes, lychee and longan- ingredients I was familiar with. The drink turned out to be fruity and dessert-like, but the seeds had the consistency of grains of sand, an assessment which really was an attempt to convince myself I was not gnawing at baby frogs. It was a good first experience, but I will probably not ask for seconds. In this case, ignorance would have been bliss. Knowledge shaped my sensory perception, and it’s best to catch me unawares.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Characteristics of my persona - Blog #1
If marketers searching the web happen to find our class blog, it’s going to be a good day at work. People are amazingly truthful in blogs even though millions of people can potentially see the posts. These 10 descriptions only begin to build my persona and will be valuable to marketers interested in understanding or targeting people like me.
1) I get all my information from the Internet. I learn about news, reviews, driving directions, entertainment, how-to guidelines, celebrity news, etc. from the Internet. It is not a stretch to say I would trust a Google search or Wikipedia entry before a friend’s word. When gmail was down last week, I performed a Google search to see what the matter was and logged onto Facebook to see if others’ status updates indicated the gmail problem was widespread. I’m sure our human skills (social interaction, problem solving skills, etc.) are at risk because we are so dependent on the Internet. Would I want to go back to 10 years ago? No.
2) I love free things. Who doesn’t? In class, we discussed people’s natural draw to anything that’s free when talking about the music industry’s decline/shift. There are songs people would not have downloaded otherwise if they weren’t free. Free things are low commitment. I don’t have to spend money, and I don’t have to weigh the pros and cons of what product I should get. If I don’t like it in the end, it’s not a loss. Even further, free things for selective people make me feel special and smart. I’ve gotten coupons by being fans of certain products on Facebook and pre-screenings of movies by signing up on websites.
3) I don’t watch TV on TV. It is much more practical to catch shows online when it is convenient for me. In high school, I had to choose which of the three shows airing at the same time I would watch. In college, there is no guarantee I will be home to watch T.V. at 7 p.m. Now I wait for shows to be uploaded on the network websites or free streaming websites like hulu.com or fancast.com. I love how I waste less time waiting for advertisements to pass because there are only 15-30 second commercials a few times an episode. The whole time, I watch the clock counting down how many seconds until my show comes back. Even though the same commercial repeats itself each break, the product never sticks with me. Not once have I bought a product because of a commercial played during a TV show streaming online.
4) Experience matters. Getting treated badly one time is all it takes for me to have a permanent negative perception about a store, restaurant, group of people, etc. On the other hand, a good impression and exceptional treatment are lasting to me. When the Chick-fil-A opened near my neighborhood in high school, I noticed every worker responded to “thank you” by saying “my pleasure.” I can’t think of any restaurant or store I have been to where workers respond that way. It caught my attention and made me think more highly of Chick-fil-A. They were unique and always pleasant. It could very well have been that specific restaurant manager’s request. Even so, my good feeling toward that Chick-fil-A passed onto all Chick-fil-A’s.
5) The moments I spend with my family now are more valuable than they were when I lived at home. While in college for the last four years, I found out more about my family members and realized how much each person means to me. I relate to my parents about life experiences like how the work atmosphere at my internship was, and I recount “do you remember when” stories with my sister and brother. Although I spent less time with my family, the time I do spend with them matters more and I get more out of our bonding time. To me, this feeling is a sign that I am “growing up.”
6) I buy private labels if they look unique and not like knockoffs of name brands. I buy private labels now for multiple reasons. As a college student without a steady income, I need to save where I can, and store brands work as well as name brands for the most part. I root for private labels to succeed as long as they create a brand and/or product that look like they invested research and development. That way, I can become a fan of a unique brand and not settle for an imitation of a name brand. Target’s store brand, Archer Farms, is one example of a food product that exudes quality in design, packaging, and taste. The design colors are simple and bold, the packaging is thick and durable plastic, the flavors are unique, and the contents image is professional and mouth-watering. Most importantly, Archer Farms tastes amazing.
7) Too many choices stress me out. Making decisions is hard enough without having to choose between multiple products. Mentally keeping track of the benefits of each product is such a difficult process, I sometimes put all the items back and rationalize I didn’t need them in the first place or I’ll get them next time. The ideal scenario for me is to choose between one to three items.
8) I judge how good an unfamiliar product is by how much space was allocated to it on the shelf and how much is missing (already purchased). This was a behavior my dad recommended to me when I was younger. This suggestion often helps me make final decisions. If other people deem that the product is worthy, I should give it a chance.
9) I remember products well if they are infused into the dialogue of a TV show or movie. It can be witty or blatant and ridiculous, but my recall is high. In one episode of Chuck, there was obvious product placement with Subway’s Five Dollar Footlong subs. An employee handed over the sub while presenting the logo clearly to the camera. Then another person took a bite and described the experience in his mouth. Although this blatant advertising is on the annoying side, it gets people talking. A Youtube search for “Chuck subway” immediately pulled up titles such as “blatant advertising.”
10) Girls will follow a trend if it is simple and cheap. Actresses and models I see on current TV shows and movies try too hard to make several trends occur in one look. The actress wearing the headband, turtleneck, vest, three necklaces, watch over the sleeve, knee-length skirt, turquoise stockings and flats is trying to enforce too many trends. When I, a regular girl, put a look together like that, it never looks quite right. I think that is how Lauren Conrad of The Hills easily inspired the side-bangs braid look. It was successful because it was one idea that was simple and anyone could do it. That, and because it costs you nothing to braid some hair.
1) I get all my information from the Internet. I learn about news, reviews, driving directions, entertainment, how-to guidelines, celebrity news, etc. from the Internet. It is not a stretch to say I would trust a Google search or Wikipedia entry before a friend’s word. When gmail was down last week, I performed a Google search to see what the matter was and logged onto Facebook to see if others’ status updates indicated the gmail problem was widespread. I’m sure our human skills (social interaction, problem solving skills, etc.) are at risk because we are so dependent on the Internet. Would I want to go back to 10 years ago? No.
2) I love free things. Who doesn’t? In class, we discussed people’s natural draw to anything that’s free when talking about the music industry’s decline/shift. There are songs people would not have downloaded otherwise if they weren’t free. Free things are low commitment. I don’t have to spend money, and I don’t have to weigh the pros and cons of what product I should get. If I don’t like it in the end, it’s not a loss. Even further, free things for selective people make me feel special and smart. I’ve gotten coupons by being fans of certain products on Facebook and pre-screenings of movies by signing up on websites.
3) I don’t watch TV on TV. It is much more practical to catch shows online when it is convenient for me. In high school, I had to choose which of the three shows airing at the same time I would watch. In college, there is no guarantee I will be home to watch T.V. at 7 p.m. Now I wait for shows to be uploaded on the network websites or free streaming websites like hulu.com or fancast.com. I love how I waste less time waiting for advertisements to pass because there are only 15-30 second commercials a few times an episode. The whole time, I watch the clock counting down how many seconds until my show comes back. Even though the same commercial repeats itself each break, the product never sticks with me. Not once have I bought a product because of a commercial played during a TV show streaming online.
4) Experience matters. Getting treated badly one time is all it takes for me to have a permanent negative perception about a store, restaurant, group of people, etc. On the other hand, a good impression and exceptional treatment are lasting to me. When the Chick-fil-A opened near my neighborhood in high school, I noticed every worker responded to “thank you” by saying “my pleasure.” I can’t think of any restaurant or store I have been to where workers respond that way. It caught my attention and made me think more highly of Chick-fil-A. They were unique and always pleasant. It could very well have been that specific restaurant manager’s request. Even so, my good feeling toward that Chick-fil-A passed onto all Chick-fil-A’s.
5) The moments I spend with my family now are more valuable than they were when I lived at home. While in college for the last four years, I found out more about my family members and realized how much each person means to me. I relate to my parents about life experiences like how the work atmosphere at my internship was, and I recount “do you remember when” stories with my sister and brother. Although I spent less time with my family, the time I do spend with them matters more and I get more out of our bonding time. To me, this feeling is a sign that I am “growing up.”
6) I buy private labels if they look unique and not like knockoffs of name brands. I buy private labels now for multiple reasons. As a college student without a steady income, I need to save where I can, and store brands work as well as name brands for the most part. I root for private labels to succeed as long as they create a brand and/or product that look like they invested research and development. That way, I can become a fan of a unique brand and not settle for an imitation of a name brand. Target’s store brand, Archer Farms, is one example of a food product that exudes quality in design, packaging, and taste. The design colors are simple and bold, the packaging is thick and durable plastic, the flavors are unique, and the contents image is professional and mouth-watering. Most importantly, Archer Farms tastes amazing.
7) Too many choices stress me out. Making decisions is hard enough without having to choose between multiple products. Mentally keeping track of the benefits of each product is such a difficult process, I sometimes put all the items back and rationalize I didn’t need them in the first place or I’ll get them next time. The ideal scenario for me is to choose between one to three items.
8) I judge how good an unfamiliar product is by how much space was allocated to it on the shelf and how much is missing (already purchased). This was a behavior my dad recommended to me when I was younger. This suggestion often helps me make final decisions. If other people deem that the product is worthy, I should give it a chance.
9) I remember products well if they are infused into the dialogue of a TV show or movie. It can be witty or blatant and ridiculous, but my recall is high. In one episode of Chuck, there was obvious product placement with Subway’s Five Dollar Footlong subs. An employee handed over the sub while presenting the logo clearly to the camera. Then another person took a bite and described the experience in his mouth. Although this blatant advertising is on the annoying side, it gets people talking. A Youtube search for “Chuck subway” immediately pulled up titles such as “blatant advertising.”
10) Girls will follow a trend if it is simple and cheap. Actresses and models I see on current TV shows and movies try too hard to make several trends occur in one look. The actress wearing the headband, turtleneck, vest, three necklaces, watch over the sleeve, knee-length skirt, turquoise stockings and flats is trying to enforce too many trends. When I, a regular girl, put a look together like that, it never looks quite right. I think that is how Lauren Conrad of The Hills easily inspired the side-bangs braid look. It was successful because it was one idea that was simple and anyone could do it. That, and because it costs you nothing to braid some hair.
Monday, September 7, 2009
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