Sentient Insight: the business blog for consumer psychology and consumer marketing

One of the first things you learn about the value of money as a child is to be careful not to squander it. One of the first things you learn from the behavioral science literature on judgment and decision making is that the value of everything can be arbitrarily established based on anchors. Let me illustrate with an example from the breakfast table. Norma’s on 56th and 6th in New York is one of my favorite places to have breakfast in the city. Typically, we will show up early and put our name in for a table and then we’ll drink our five dollar cups of coffee and tea in the nearby Knave, while we wait for the line to die down and our name to be called. People love this place! It is in high demand, even in this economy, and it’s not because the prices are so reasonable.

Let’s play a game: There are ten coins on the table. The rules of the game are simple. I propose a way we should split the coins; you can either accept or reject my proposal. If you accept my terms, we get the coins according to my proposed split. If you reject them, we both get nothing. That’s it, and no second chances for positive reciprocity. Sound easy? Well, it’s more complicated than you might think.  Let’s play anyway:

My mother has always told me that age is a state of mind, and if you wanted to be younger, you can simply “think younger”. Though I’m sure many aging folk would disagree with such maternal wisdom, behavioral researchers John A. Bargh, Mark Chen, and Laura Burrows have evidence that supports my Mom’s thesis! In their 1996 experiment, Automaticity of Social Behavior: Direct Effects of Trait Construct and Stereotype Activation on Action, these three NYU researches tested whether or not subconscious priming can directly affect behavior.

Fill in the blanks: Blizzard of ___? ‘78 Sprinkles or Jimmies ___? Jimmies 5 inches of snow ___? Dusting Manhattan chowder ___? Never heard of it If you know the answers to these questions, you’re a “true New Englander” according to McDonald’s in their new ad campaign for their Newman’s Own coffee. Newman’s Own New England Blend Ad #1 Newman’s Own New England Blend Ad #2

Take a moment and let your mind wander; inhale deeply, exhale, and find your neutral state. Now click play on the video below. You might want to turn down your speaker volume a little. Are you smiling? Did you laugh out loud? My guess is that, like me, some of this little boy’s infectious (even zealous) excitement rubbed off on you. Look at how wide his mouth gets. That thunderous enthusiasm flooding his body makes his arms tremble as he holds the box in front of him. His hungry hands claw across its surface, proving to himself that it is, in fact, Christmas morning and not a deceitful dream. The tidal volume of his voice never drops below a bestial shriek. Now watch the video again, but this time pay careful attention to the arguably more interesting character in this gripping melodrama:...

Black Friday sales were up .5% from last year and retailers have high hopes for Cyber Monday. But the really good news for retailers might be yet to come: Interbrand noted that 51% of consumers said they will shop later this year and our own research bears that out:  our shopper focus groups throughout November told us their frugality is wearing thin but they’ll be waiting longer to shop this year, banking on last-minute deals in the malls and online. The recession has caused them to fight their urge for instant gratification: an urge that ruled the first decade of the 2000s.

The new Idaho Potato commercials featuring Denise Austin, health and fitness expert, attempt to cram a lot of brand messages into one ad. I counted at least 5 in one: 1) the origins of Idaho Potatoes; 2) the health benefits of Idaho Potatoes; 3) the taste of Idaho Potatoes; 4) the value of Idaho Potatoes; and 5) the Idaho Potatoes brand name itself. For each theme, a variety of support points is given: 1) Origins – “rich, volcanic soil” “pure water” “from the best earth on earth” 2) Healthy – no cholesterol, no fat, 110 calories, rich in nutrients, part of a well-balanced diet, a complex carbohydrate, high in vitamin C, more potassium than a banana, “great source of energy” 3) Tasty – tasty, delicious, “kids love them”

At Sentient, we examine consumer associations with brands, including corporate and product brands as well as the brands of individual people. For example, Sentient used the Automatic Brand Association (ABA) methodology to reveal voters’ associations with presidential candidates before the 2008 election. The unconscious positive and negative associations with an individual’s brand has an impact on behaviors toward that individual. This impact of the unconscious mind on automatic associations with people was painfully evident in an episode of Top Chef: Las Vegas on Bravo TV last week. Charlie Palmer, celebrated chef and restaurateur, was the guest judge on this episode’s “quickfire challenge”

While brand name products in the healthcare realm seem to be losing ground to their generic counterparts, Pepto Bismol has added 0.7 market share points in its original formula and 2.5 market share points in stomach remedy tablets despite being priced approximately 60% more than private label products (source: Advertising Age). While Pepto Bismol brand manager Nathan Fox believes that the recession may have made consumers turn to Pepto Bismol as treatment for multiple symptoms – which is the focus of its advertising campaign “Coverage” (source: Advertising Age) – the brand’s success during the recession could also be due to an unconscious behavioral phenomenon. Research on the unconscious drivers of behavior has found that consumers will pay more for a brand name drug than a generic...

Television commercials. Product placement. Celebrity branding. Digital signage. Mobile advertising. Flash dances?? Yep. A flash dance is just that: marketing. A very effective and contagious form of marketing, to say the least. If you are not familiar with flash dances, then first go watch “The T-Mobile Dance” that took place in London’s Liverpool train station or The Sound of Music-inspired dance in Belgium’s Antwerp station. All of the dancers are professional and participated in several rehearsals before the public performance. At the time of the dance, though, the participants pretend to be surprised themselves at the sudden outbreak of dance and gradually join in as if they are inspired by the music. To unknowing onlookers, the result is extraordinary. In the bustling train stations,...