By Aaron Reid PhD
On 08/25/2008
Bleeding Needs: When Consumption Begets Consumption
At Sentient, we talk of a human behavioral driver we call “bleeding needs”. This represents an extension of a motivational phenomenon recently dubbed “reverse allesthesia” in the academic literature. Reverse allesthesia suggests that a sample of a good will increase the motivational drive to consume more of that good. In other words, a taste of Pepsi enhances the drive to drink more Pepsi. Sampling is a very common tactic used in the marketing of consumption goods (think of the last time you were in Sam’s Club or BJ’s and you were intercepted by some friendly folks offering free samples of their chicken cordon bleu bites or their new super fruity energy drink).
