Insurance - Is it worth it?

As some of you may know, I bought a perfectly brand new, shiny iPhone 4S the day it came out of Apple's doors on October 14th (I actually pre-ordered it, but that's another story). So you may know where this is going. Exactly one month to the day, while casually getting out of my car, my phone decided to betray me - i.e. it jumped out of my pocket and landed harshly on the asphalt. Needless to say, it now looks like this...

Talk about shattered dreams. And to make matters even worse, I had just finished downloading the new updates that quelled the notorious "battery life" problem the phones were having! Ironnnyyy.

I did have a saving grace though...or so I thought. Luckily, I was coaxed in to purchasing phone insurance by the sleazy AT&T salesman. So I'll be getting a new iPhone really soon, right?

Wrong. I had been duped. Upon realizing my misfortune, I immediately called AT&T (with the shattered, yet fully functional phone if you were wondering). Not only did it take about 20 minutes just to get to talk to a real person, but once he got on, I was told some pretty discouraging news. Yes, I had bought the insurance, the $5.99/month charge was showing up here in my records. However, due to the fact that you caused the damage to your phone, as I was told, and because it was not an inherent problem with the phone itself, my insurance was essentially void.

Say WHAT?
However, if I wanted to I could buy a brand new phone for just the initial selling price of $199. Ha, um, sure let me get my card out while you rob me blind please. NO thanks. I even tried finagling my way through the much nicer Apple customer service. Best they could do was offer me a replacement screen for $150. Basically, despite the insurance I paid for my phone, I was S.O.L.

So it got me thinking...Why do people even buy insurance in the first place? Is it ever really even worth it? My research yielded some interesting results. At least in the realm of health insurance, people tend to equate health insurance with actual health care. That is, they purchase it due to their fear of not being treated if they become sick, rather than buying it to avoid really high medical bills. Also, people tend to buy health insurance because they think it will prevent them from becoming sick in the first place. That's extremely irrational you might say, who actually does that?

A little digging into the phenomenon of negativism can answer that question. Research by Jane Risen and Thomas Gilovich has shown that generally, people are reluctant to tempt what some may call 'fate'. That is, people believe that negative outcomes are especially likely following behaviors that 'tempt fate'. As an example, a study was given that asked people to read a passage about others who did or did not tempt fate, then choose the outcome to that story. The story was either of a person who decided to bring an umbrella to work or one who did not. Surprisingly, the majority of people who got the story about the person not bringing an umbrella (the one who tempted fate), chose the outcome of 'it began raining while walking to work'. This proved that the participants judged the likelihood of a negative outcome (raining) to be much higher when people tempted fate, so to say.

Back to my poor iPhone story, this idea of negativism makes perfect sense with my purchase of phone insurance. I can remember the exact moment when the AT&T salesman asked me the question: do you want to buy insurance for your phone today? A little hesitant, he insisted that it'd be a shame if I were to break my brand new phone. I began thinking: well, knowing my luck, if I didn't get the insurance, I'd surely break the phone somehow. And so, because of my propensity to think in terms of negativism, I bought the phone insurance. But was it worth it? Is insurance really worth it? For me, at least for the phone insurance I bought, it was really not worth it at all. Even without the insurance, I was informed that Apple would replace cracked screens for a flat $150 no matter what (of course that tiny bit of valuable information was coincidentally kept quiet by the AT&T salesman. Still bitter). So no, it wasn't really worth it. However, as for health insurance, I think I would sure want an umbrella to protect me from the showers of hefty medical bills.

Giving customers what they what

With almost every new piece of technology or software released to the public, there will always be someone to hack it. While most of these hacks can be detrimental to a company’s business, there are also others that can provide the company with new ways to put value into their products.  A friend of mine hacked his IPhone. However, the hack is not so that he can pirate apps that require money for free. Rather, he hacked his IPhone so that he can download “tweaks” to his phone. These tweaks can range from changing the look of each icon on the phone to completely changing the look of the IPhone. Some of the trickier tweaks even require people to pay for them. The reason that such a market would even exist is because there are demand for these tweaks on the IPhone and Apple has been unwilling to provide them. However, should they decide to also release tweaks like these on their App Store, the company would be able to find a new market to raise revenues in. This would most likely help decrease consumers hacking their IPhones, which will decrease the risk of the ever present temptation of using their hacked phones to pirate legitimate Apps that requires a fee to download.

An example of a company taking advantage of the hacking community to improve their product would be Microsoft. The release of their motion sensing device for the Xbox 360 game console, Kinect, created a frenzy for the hacking community. The moment a hacker showed the way to hack Kinect, the whole hacking community started to create unique ways of utilizing the device’s potential. One creative hacker was able to turn any pole-like object (a broom for example) into a light saber from Star Wars.

 Another person was able to create the illusion that you are walking on water through the use of Kinect.

Microsoft never meant for these applications to be possible. However, instead of condemning the hacking community for violating the product’s terms of services, Microsoft embraced the infinite possibilities their customers can create from their product. The company has created a competition for these hackers to develop creative ways to use Kinect and the top 10 will be chosen and invested in for further development and, eventually, commercial use. By doing this competition, Microsoft may be able to see how they can apply their product and ways they have never thought of. Also, the can get a glimpse into what the consumers want on their product that they can provide. Other companies should probably take a leaf out of Microsoft’s book and try listening to a different part of customers that they most likely would never even try to acknowledge in the past. 

--Hang Lin

Black Friday-Why Not Just Wait Until Cyber Monday?

I’ll join in on the recent posts about Black Friday.

I made a mistake. I somehow winded up at Wal-Mart on Black Friday. I wanted to pick up some golf tees that night, so I wouldn’t have to deal with the foot traffic in the morning. Looking back,  I would have been significantly better off going to a small sporting goods store the next morning. But I had no idea what to expect. I ‘knew’ Black Friday was packed, but I never understood the magnitude of the phenomenon. This was my first experience with Black Friday, and it will also be my last. What I saw absolutely shocked and amazed me. Each of the 25 check-out lines had 20 or more people in it. Each of those 20 or more people in line had a shopping cart full of discounts and offers. Certain shoppers even got to the store at 10 p.m. to be able to put special items into their shopping carts, even though they could not check out until midnight when the specials officially started. People were literally killing time in Wal-Mart for an hour and a half before getting in the 20 person line.

It's really that easy

The concept of Black Friday seems contradictory to the world we currently live in. Today, we see retailers being replaced by ecommerce sites such as Amazon or iTunes, or supplemented by their own sites such as BestBuy.com. We go to these sites for very simple reasons. They are available 24 hours a day, and we can access them from the comfort of our own home. Ecommerce rates continue to rise. They increased 9.8% from 2009 to 2010, and double digit growth rates are anticipated to grow from 2010 to 2011. Given this fundamental truth of our society valuing convenience and technology, why do we as a society participate in Black Friday when we have Cyber Monday? We live in a world where Blockbuster has gone bankrupt and Netflix has thrived because we would rather have DVD’s/digital options come straight to our home, rather than having to drive 3 miles down the road. Another example of this occurring can be seen in the book store industry. Borders is no longer existence thanks to the dominance of Amazon.

The reality is that the deals on Cyber Monday are very similar to those on Black Friday. Research has shown that people who shop on Black Friday also shop on Cyber Monday. That doesn’t surprise me, but it still is shocking that people will go through such lengths as waking up at 3 am to go to the mall to wait in line. Do people just not realize that the deals are similar? Do they want the instant gratification as opposed to having to wait for their items to be shipped? Consumers don’t desire instant gratification throughout the rest of the year, so I don’t understand why they would mandate it now. Clearly I appear to be in the minority on this issue given how many people go shopping on Black Friday, but I would just love someone to explain to me why they don’t just participate in Cyber Monday. 

Robert Reinhard

Black Friday--What Nightmares are Made of

Let me preface this post by saying that I am a shopaholic.  It’s no secret that I love fashion, and my idea of therapy is retail.  I love to go shopping, and can't resist a good sale.  That being said, there is one day of the year that I fear more than anything—Black Friday.  Most people would think I would partake in the shameless shopping madness that begins at midnight, but in reality I stay as far away as I physically can.  This year, as I tuned into the news to see how many shoppers were quite literally trampled to death in pursuit of a $10 toaster oven, I found myself wondering what kind of culture we have created.

If someone told me that I should drive to Target at midnight and wait in a crowded line for 3 hours with crazed housewives and eager shoppers, all for the privilege of spending my own money, I would tell them they’re crazy.  But year after year, never fail, the day after Thanksgiving continues to be the country’s biggest shopping day of the year.  The word “sale” has become gold to Black Friday shoppers.  It entices them to set their alarms for 1 am, actually risk their lives as they fight their way through the mobs of shoppers, and spend more money than they have.  If this isn’t the craziest consumer behavior our country has created, then I don’t know what is.

Looking past the danger of literally losing your life while shopping (because obviously a sale is worth endangering yourself), I find myself most confused by the reasoning that these customers seem to hold on to.  With sales of up to 80%, and deals on every item in almost any store countrywide, consumers focus on how much money they save.  However, they fail to recognize that these Black Friday sales really just entice customers to purchase things they do not need and were never planning on buying in the first place.  Maybe the force of the almighty sale is just too powerful, or maybe consumers have yet to figure it out, but I am going to lay it out for you all right now—buying something, even if it is on sale, still costs money. 

Just let that sink in for a minute.

I get it, and you get it, and maybe even the quintessential Black Friday shopper gets it, but once November 25 rolls around, all logic seems to go out the window. 

So even if this behavior is crazy (and I believe it is) it is clearly not going to change.  What does this mean for retailers and stores around the country?  Consumers have come to expect ridiculously low prices on Black Friday.  If it’s not at least 25% off, they’re probably not going to buy it, and if your store doesn’t have some kind of sale, you can forget about selling any merchandise on the country’s biggest shopping day.  So as a store, it is your responsibility to give in to this madness if you want to see your products fly off the shelves.  My only worry is that consumers are going to start to demand these low prices more than one day a year—and when that happens, the losing battle of a price war starts.  But so far retailers have done a good job of limiting their sales to November 25—which allows those hardcore shoppers to search for the best deals at 2 am, and lets me shop without the fear of being trampled on the other 364 days of the year.

-Raquel Scharyj

Sampling marketing

About two weeks ago, I went to the ABC store to purchase some drinks for my party. While I was passing through the Vodka aisle, I saw an unusual discount for Grey Goose; which is one of the best Vodka brands. Not only was it was on sale, but it also came with a free shaker in a box. As a consumer, I was really tempted to purchase Grey Goose Vodka instead of buying Smirnoff Vodka, of which I usually buy for parties. What has motivated me in switching brands?

In my Marketing Communication class, we talked about sales promotion tools of which businesses use as marketing strategies in order to stimulate consumers in their decisions. Examples of tools that businesses use frequently include contests, coupons, and sampling. Personally, I have never heard of Grey Goose until I tried the free sample that the cashier gave away last year.

Today, more and more businesses use free samples as promotional marketing strategies. Even though free samples may be expensive, they are one of the cheapest marketing tools available. In my opinion, sampling is the most effective marketing strategy to get consumers involved and give consumers a chance to try the company’s products. Free samples also help buyers in building trust and increasing consumer awareness.

Many different types of businesses also use samplings. By distributing free samples, companies will not only improve their brands, but also give them new opportunities for people to talk about. In my opinion, sampling is a great marketing strategy for building a strong brand especially if the company is new. If new companies do not give free samples to their customers, new companies will instead need to compete with low prices and compelling offers. Moreover, if companies use sampling methods, they may build significant trust for their customers. Consequently, this will lower their marketing costs, increase their prices, and expand the margins.

-Fraser Song

Is that why they call it "Black Friday?"

Every year for as long as I can remember, I have woken up at an ungodly hour of the morning on Black Friday (usually between 2-3 AM) to go shopping. Me and my dad used to go every year to get some stocking stuffers and various good deals (and of course, I was always in it for the free giveaways). I was such a dedicated Black Friday shopper that two years ago I woke up at 4:00 AM and walked 6 miles to the Hanes Mall with a group of friends so that we could get our slice of the sales. Last year I didn't really see any great sales, so I decided not to go- and then this year, I was given the choice of whether we wanted to flock out with the crazy shoppers to try and buy anything special.

We walked to Harris Teeter to buy the Thursday paper with the huge packet of ads, and brought it back to the house. I then looked through all the ads to see what would catch my eye. And once again I was somewhat disappointed- where were all the offers for free giftcards and ornaments and free rebate items? My friends, I regret to inform you, Black Friday has changed...it has taken a turn- a very dark and mind-boggling turn...

We had to drive my grandparents back to the hotel, and we got there right about 10 PM. My dad and I laughed because right across the street was a walmart, and earlier we had said the only good deal out there was the $2 dvds- so we decided to stop (we figured that since it was still Thanksgiving- it might not be too crowded). Entering Walmart at 10 PM was like entering a different world...There were lines wrapping through the entire store- people with carts filled with vacuums, blenders, and wiis- people shouting and rushing- squeezing through lines. What I thought would be a shopping experience, was more of an obstacle course race. I literally laughed at one point, because as I watched a group run to the back of the store (or attempt to), I just couldn't help but think just how crazy people were. Little did I know...

Yesterday and today I started hearing that Walmart had some violent breakouts. In fact, in California, a shooting is said to have broken out to fend of competing customers: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/11/black-friday-walmart-violence.html

Black Friday was always supposed to be the first day of Christmas festivities (and other wintertime holidays). It's the day that it becomes socially acceptable to play holiday music and movies- the time to put up decorations, and the time to start holiday shopping. As a previous blogger points out, Black Friday is making strides online as well- however, after seeing what I saw in Walmart (which I consider a less popular Black Friday target store) I am confident in saying that in-store Black Friday shopping is not going anywhere. But I hope there is a change in what Black Friday is- I thought it used to be fun to wake up at a horrible hour to shop- but at what lengths? Why is it that people will get up and become horrible towards each other, all at the price of getting a deal? People are rude, and resort to violence in an effort to get their hands on the $20 blender. What part of that is the holiday cheer? Black Friday was called Black Friday because it was the day when all businesses were profitable- however I think these days it might better refer to the  horrid shopping habits and the scary lengths people are willing to go to in order to "get in the spirit"


Rachel Goldberg

The Black Friday Dilemma

After a day of food, family, and giving thanks, millions of people hoping to score great deals will crawl out of bed in the middle of the night to stand in the cold while waiting for stores to open. Then the shoppers will race through crowded stores where they may be pushed and shoved by people all trying to grab the same items, before they stand in long lines to complete their purchase. Many consumers will get to the store only to find the demand for the product they wanted was so high the product is out of stock.

This coming Friday is Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year in the U.S. and the day that marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season. Although dealing with sold out products and mobs of people at 4AM isn’t most people’s idea of fun, and I personally hear complaints about the shopping experience on Black Friday from friends and family each year, people are still eagerly awaiting the day. In fact, according to research from the National Retail Federation, 77 million U.S. consumers say they are definitely planning to shop in stores on Black Friday and an additional 74 million consumers might go shopping, depending on the sales offered. 

The choice seems to be not if we shop on Black Friday, but how we shop. Online shopping has become increasingly popular in the U.S. and is growing rapidly with forecasted growth of 16% in 2011, according to Forrester. Online shopping offers the comfort and convenience of shopping from your home but many customers still prefer in-store shopping for personal service, expert opinions from employees, and the store atmosphere, not to mention instant gratification and no shipping fees.

While I agree with the benefits of in-store shopping in general and enjoy shopping in-stores more than online, I do not see the in-store benefits applying to Black Friday where the shopping atmosphere is competitive and chaotic and there is little chance to ask the frazzled employees for advice or opinions. I have never been a big Black Friday shopper but in my opinion online Black Friday shopping seems like a much more attractive option than traditional in-store shopping. Many retailers offer the same or similar Black Friday deals online. The sales online often extend from before Black Friday through Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, and frequently include free shipping. Shopping for Black Friday deals online would allow people to avoid the chaos in the stores and to spend more time celebrating Thanksgiving weekend with friends and family. This year many stores are extending their Black Friday hours and opening at midnight Thursday, which may be an attempt to be more convenient for customers and compete with longer running online Black Friday sales.

With the option to shop online for Black Friday deals looming, why are millions of Americans still planning to brave the crowds and chaos for Black Friday shopping? Although people complain about how packed the stores are and about the lack of products available, do they secretly enjoy the experience? I believe many people enjoy the tradition of Black Friday shopping and feel it is an integral part of Thanksgiving and is as traditional as turkey, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce. Online shopping might be easier but doesn’t allow for bonding with the people you shop with or for humorous stories to tell later.

Are you or your families planning a Black Friday in-store shopping trip? Do you prefer in-store or online deals? Do you think in-store Black Friday shopping will end in the near future as online shopping becomes more popular or do you think the tradition is here to stay? 

Claire Dunn

Supermarket or Nature – Packaging Matters

In my Ecology class last week, we spent a couple class periods discussing animal behavior in nature.  As we delved into topics regarding animals and the interactions they have in their environments, one thing was clear: consumer behavior does not just exist in supermarkets.  In fact, many animals in nature make the same routine decisions we humans do when making everyday “shopping decisions.” 

When we head out to the supermarket to pick up groceries, a lot of our decisions are influenced by the purchases we have made in the past.  This can relate back to the “loyalty loop” in the McKinsey Decision Making Model.  From experience, I know to reach for that distinguishable red bottle of Coca-Cola and avoid the dark blue bottle of Pepsi.  I don’t consciously think, “I don’t really enjoy drinking Pepsi.  I prefer Coca-Cola.”  As consumers, our past experiences lead us to make decisions every day without consciously recognizing every single action we take. 

Animals do the same thing in nature.  When selecting what to eat for dinner, animals act in ways very similar to us.  They know from past experience what they like, and this learned knowledge leads them to make these unconscious decisions.  Take, for example, a snake searching for a frog dinner.  A frog can have many distinct color patterns that warn potential predators – in nature, this is called aposematic coloration.  Snakes will associate these colors with unpleasant experiences, and they will avoid eating those frogs.  When doing his evening “grocery shopping,” a snake will learn what prey to select, just based on the color patterns.  In a similar way, these same snakes will learn to choose the army green frogs just based on past experience. 

In many ways, this relates to classical conditioning and Pavlov’s dogs.  Pavlov showed this very clearly in his experiment with classical conditioning and dogs.  When the dogs learned to associate a bell with dinner time, their mouths began to salivate.  This experiment can relate in many ways to humans and their shopping behavior.  Whenever we have a good experience with a product, we subconsciously begin to recognize its packaging, and we find ourselves reaching out to those products on the shelves.  Take a look around Dollar Tree, and you’ll find lots of generic products that may seem like the “real thing.”  The fact is, the manufacturers of these knockoff products know the tricks – package that bottle of detergent using the same colors and font as Dawn, and people will be duped. 

To sum it all up – regardless of whether we are in a supermarket or nature, packaging matters to both animals and humans alike.  The next time you’re in a supermarket, know that the snake out by your pond is subconsciously making the same purchasing decisions that you are. 

- Tom Looney 

Post-World Series Sickness

As the St. Louis Cardinals are celebrating their 11^th World Series victory, a dark cloud hovers over their success: Albert Pujols, their star first-baseman, has just become a free agent.  A free agent in baseball means that any baseball team can bid on the player and the player, along with his agent, can decide who they would like to sign with. 

As we enter this bidding war, the St. Louis Cardinals become a consumer who is in need of a first-baseman.  Just like any consumer who wants a product, the Cardinals can be influenced by touchpoints, loyalty loops, advertising, product experiences, and news reports.  Thus, I am going to take you through a hypothetical St. Louis Cardinals' consumer decision-making process through the traditional funnel and the consumer decision journey. 

Traditional Funnel

Awareness (Problem Recognition)

The St. Louis Cardinals realize that Albert Pujols’ contract just ended and now need to find a first-baseman to replace him.

Familiarity (Info Search)

The Cardinals look around the free agent market and determine who is available.

Free Agents

Consideration (Evaluation of Alternatives)

The Cardinals narrow it down to 4 choices and compare their options

2011 Season Totals

Purchase (Product Choice)

The Cardinals choose Albert Pujols because he has the best stats and features that fit its ball club

Loyalty (Outcomes)

The Cardinals really like Albert Pujols and build their ball club around him.  They enjoy his presence and are determined to make it back to the World Series. 

Consumer Decision Journey

Since Albert Pujols has played for the Cardinals before, I am going to begin the journey with the Cardinals’ ongoing experience with Pujols.

In 2004, Albert Pujols signed a 7-year, $100 million dollar contract.  They have had a great experience with him as he consistently has been one of the top players in Major League Baseball.

Albert Pujols' Career to Date

Trigger: Based on the Cardinals’ experience with Pujols, they find him to be the perfect fit for the ball club.  The Cardinals decide to skip most of the decision making process and take the loyalty loop to stick with Albert Pujols.  He has been everything that the Cardinals dreamed of for a first-baseman and all the experiences have been extremely positive. 

Moment of Purchase

The Cardinals select to offer Albert Pujols in a multi-year contract.  Since he has a 9-time All Star and the only player to have 30 home runs and 100 RBI’s in his first 10 seasons, his offer will be the highest for any baseball player.

Post Purchase Experience

The money that the Cardinals will spend will be well worth it, for Albert Pujols is considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time.  His presence will boost attendance, team chemistry, and the Cardinals’ chances of repeating as World Champions.  

Austin Stadler, BEM Major

Did I CAPTCHA your attention?

Solve Media from Solve Media on Vimeo.

Suppose you have learned countless insights from your BEM 325 class this semester and you, unable to contain the overflowing of ideas, want to create your own blog full of breathtakingly perceptive blurbs for the entire web to see. You click on the “Sign up” button on Blogger.com and fill in all of your necessary personal information, and then you see it, right above the “Finish” button: That blurry, funky-looking picture box containing a word, phrase, or random combination of letters that is usually skewed or crossed out with a line. Nearly illegible, this word is the only thing standing between you and your web destination. You squint and tilt your head to the left to make out the characters and carefully enter them into the box. Satisfied, you click “Finish” and come face to face with a new blog all to yourself.


What you just experienced is what everyone who has ever registered for a product or service on the internet has encountered. The picture box containing text characters or words is called a CAPTCHA, short for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart. If the name is not telling enough, CATCHAs serve as a way to prevent computers from mass-registering on members-only websites. To do this, they present an image that only a human could logically interpret. On average, a person spends 14 seconds trying to solve a CAPTCHA.

This is where marketers come in. An agency called Solve Media considered the potential of these 14 seconds of our active attention and how it could be used for companies’ advantage. Brands can pay to have Solve Media create and place CATCHAs containing their brand name or slogan onto various website registration pages. To verify that you are human, you would then be prompted to type the brand or slogan depicted. I like to call these CAPTCHAds. The picture below (courtesy of Bob Gilbreath of MarketingwithMeaning.com) shows what a CAPTCHAd might look like.

No doubt, this new trend has spurred some controversy, specifically the CAPTCHAd that requires a registrant to watch an embedded commercial for Toyota Care and accurately answer a question about it to “pass” the CAPTCHAd. In response to a blog article entitled explaining CAPTCHAds (see it http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/captcha-ads-awesome-brands-awkward-users-132052), there is a controversy brewing. Negative comments included “What's different in such Ads from SPAM? In usual spam, one can ignore or block it, but in captchas the user has no choice” to positive comments like “If it makes it easy to understand the access message, bring it on!” After all, according to the video at the top of this article, having CAPTCHAds saves registrants 7 seconds to complete their signup. However, at the same time, it prevents the ability to opt-out from targeted commercial advertisements, which flirts with some legal issues.
So what does all of this say about consumer behavior? It is two-pronged. On one side, marketers at Solve Media were brilliant in that they were able to spur engagement with a brand through kinetic action. People had to type in the name of a company or its slogan which in turn stimulates memory in the brain, a helpful tool when the same person tries to recall the names or positions of brands in a certain category (think top-of-mind). The other side is that consumers are increasingly becoming more empowered, and the idea of being forced to engage with a blatant advertisement could be viewed as propaganda. In fact, I am a staunch believer in that effective advertising in this day and age should be innovative and interesting so that potential consumers seek it out on their own terms. In this case, the concept of CAPTCHAds is actually a lapse in the consumer-focused progress that marketing has made in the past few years. As clever (and frankly, sneaky) as CAPTCHA advertising is, there must be a better way for marketers to find focused time with potential consumers than a forced confrontation.
One thing that comes to mind is to give registrants the option to replace a CAPTCHA with a short, one-answer questionnaire about a product or brand. Consumers today feel empowered and like to have influence over their environment. If registration included a component where people could either solve out a CAPTCHA or comment on a current event or a brand image, more insight could be taken away. Consider it mini market research. Of course, the response time would have to be significantly comparable to 14 seconds, or the amount of time it would take them if they chose the CAPTCHA option. I can imagine many participatory Generation Y-ers electing to voice their opinions instead of squinting to decipher an impossibly fuzzy box of letters.
Time will tell if CAPTCHA advertising takes off in the coming years, or months. As long as consumers continue to be empowered, the 14 seconds of undivided potential consumer attention can be utilized effectively.

Erin Devine

The Boobie Trap

You have probably heard the recent buzz from the bra industry (sorry, maybe not you men) in the news and in discussion.  It has become evident that women wear the wrong size bra and bra manufacturers/retailers are looking to capitalize on this fact.  The statistic says that 85% of women wear the wrong size bra.  While I know little about the survey methods used in this study, I want to point out that fabric stretches and shrinks and women’s bodies change constantly.  I like this famous quote from Times magazine: "'Eighty percent of American women are wearing the wrong bra' is the 'more likely to be killed by a terrorist than get married' statistic of the new millennium." I am also unsure about the survey methods used in the latter statistic. 

So maybe the statistic is accurate but does not take into account all the women who bought a bra that fit a month ago.  Honestly, the bra industry hit a jackpot when they discovered this 85% figure.   What about the other clothing articles of a woman’s ensemble?  Walking around the grocery store, I would venture a guess that 80% of the women do not wear the correct size pants.   I see muffin tops, too-short hemlines, too-long hemlines, but the pants seem to still serve their functional purpose.  Are bras different?  I think that there must be a different relationship between women with their pants and women with their bras for such a dramatic conversation to have sparked from this statistic.  Bras are much more intimate in nature.  They are distinctively woman.   If we look at the way companies have promoted bras, they almost unanimously leverage these sentiments.  The thought of blemishing the appearance or even damaging the well-being of her breasts is a very scary thought to a woman. 

What brought this topic to the forefront of my mind yet again was the campaign that came out a few days ago advertising the Canadian lingerie company “The Boobie Trap.”  Instead of relying on sex appeal or product features these ads look like horror movie posters with captions that read bad bra-fit archetypes like “The Quadraboob” or “The Shelf.”  I thought the campaign was very creative and I see how women would react and pursue a better fitting undergarment.  But I also think this sort of reaction is highly illogical.  In asserting that the issue is fit, the bra manufacturer or retailer needs to provide the woman with the fitting service.  It’s a service needed, not a product.  It is amusing that the advertisers would even try to promote a product based on a demand in service.  But hey, crazier things have worked!  While it is way too early in this campaign to analyze the results, I will be interested to see the ROI.    If the campaign instigates emotions of fear- fear that their current bra renders them a “quadraboob”- women will buy a “Boobie Trap” bra.  The consumer will grasp at any solution presented to them if they perceive a problem, even if a bra tailor or   fitting specialist would better serve their interests.  

-Emily McGraw

Ads on YouTube, Hulu, etc...

In an increasingly more viral world, where people are constantly on YouTube, Hulu, and other video sites, corporations are trying to find new ways to reach their consumer through more and more creative ways.  They are all over YouTube and sponsor network TV sites that have their prime-time and high demand shows for broadcast online for free due to these sponsorships.  These YouTube videos are huge money makers on their own as 2 billion videos are monetized every week and YouTube users that are deemed as popular enough to be partners, are making six figures every year for just making some videos where they either discuss the merits of a movie, or even just make a complete fool of themselves.

94 of AdAge’s top 100 advertisers are on or have run campaigns on YouTube to try and generate more sales and more hits to their respective sites.  These ads haven’t really even been shown to significantly increase web or store traffic as there is still a debate between companies as to if they even work.  I was very interested in these concerns, and to see if they actually did work as well as some people thought they would.

It turns out that they do work surprisingly well.

·         Purchase intent increases 14% than when viewers see a TV spot for the same product

·         15% increase in people recommending a brand that advertises on YouTube.

o   Example

§  1 in 5 users recommended the YouTube page while it was “taken over” by the ‘X-men Origins : Wolverine’ movie.

§  Eventually, 10% more people saw the movie after seeing the ad on YouTube

These results for the X-men movie could either be a tribute to how well these techniques work, or it could be biased just be another way to drive more ad revenue for Google since the research was done by 20^th Century Fox and Google, but I do believe there is some relevance to these findings due to the viral nature of YouTube videos.  Even if the consumer did not have a clue about what the advertising on a page was for, they are still going to recommend a funny or amazing video to a friend, who might, in turn, view that product and lead to a purchase.

There are some quite obnoxious ways for companies to access these consumers on YouTube though.  For example, by using pop-up ads or ads prior to the video itself, it leads to the consumer being annoying and turned off the brand because they have infiltrated personal space too much.  Even with the pop-up blockers that make the effect of these ad types, companies still throw money away on them, when if they are ever seen, the consumer hates it.  They are driven to check their pop-up blocker to see if it malfunctioned or what they can do to avoid the same ads in the future.  This detracts from brand value and defeats the purpose of online marketing in the first place.

Roddey Player

Sites:

Argaez, Enrique.http://www.internetworldstats.com/articles/art100.htm

Fisher, Lauren. http://www.simplyzesty.com/video/youtube-advertising-case-studies/

Scott, Jeremy. http://www.reelseo.com/youtube-statistics/

There is nothing like experiencing

Following the Tunisian Revolution which ended Ben Ali’s dictatorship, the first Tunisian democratic elections were held on October 23th 2011. In order to encourage people to vote, the organization Engagement Citoyen (“Civic Commitment”) found a creative and smart idea; they put a giant poster of Ben Ali on a wall in La Goulette, Tunis, and waited for people’s reactions. They didn’t wait long; outraged citizens rapidly tore down the poster, unveiling the written message hidden under it; "Beware. The dictatorship can return. On October 23, VOTE!". (watch the video) 

By doing so, Engagement Citoyen put the Tunisians walking by this wall (and those watching this video) in the situation they could be faced with again if the dictatorship suddenly returned. They made them truly experience the feeling they would have in such situation and in effect, the emotion created is clearly seeable in people’s reactions! This is to me a very strong and effective call to vote because it tackles in a relevant way the main barrier to vote in democracies; the fact that voting often appears like a boring duty that we feel we personally can afford to avoid.

Though we are attached to democracy and we understand the necessity to vote in order to maintain it, we sometimes fail doing so, whether our reason is “my single vote won’t change anything anyway, so who cares if I personally don’t vote?” or “all those politicians are corrupted, they are basically the same, so what’s the point?” or simply “actually, I have something else planned this week-end so I won’t be able to vote”. Rationally, we already understand the necessity to vote, but we sometimes do not vote. How is that?

The answer provided by the Heath brothers in their book SWITCH is the following; sometimes, understanding is simply not enough to change. To make people change, one great solution is to make them feel the necessity or the opportunity to change. And to do so, there is nothing like experiencing; How do you feel when you are put in such or such situation?

Thus, this “Ben Ali is back” experience allowed the Tunisians to experience the feeling that democracy is not granted, and that if they want to preserve it, they have to vote. And hopefully they will remember this feeling and eventually vote next time they will have the duty to do so.

The South African organization POWA (People Opposing Women Abuse) also created an interesting campaign relying on this same idea. The video is an experiment carried out in a townhouse complex in Johannesburg. During the first night, a man plays drums in his house; several neighbors come to complain. Another night, the same man in the same house plays very loud a track that simulates verbal abuse and wife beating; nobody comes to complain.

I think that watching this video makes most people feel uncomfortable, because the whole point with experiments is that they allow extrapolations; this one suggests that if faced with this situation, most of us would not dare interfering and would even pretend not hearing what happens. (Though one may think such experiment is questionable because it has not been repeated enough times to prove anything, it shows that such situations do exist.) Such experiment enables us to find ourselves in the neighbors’ situation; what would/should we do? Call the security, call the police, send a group complaint, call the POWA helpline, do nothing? This video makes us experience the sad truth; sometimes there is no complaint. And with this surely comes for us the experience of feelings, such as indignation or even guilt.

As far as I am concerned, this has been a memorable and convincing experience; I watched this video several years ago and I still remember it. In effect, experiencing demonstrates things and enables us to make them ours. This is probably more memorable than “simply” understanding because experience is first of all about emotions and feelings, thus more likely to deeply affect us and stick in our memory. Therefore, these two examples make me think that many other purposes can be effectively served by the power of this “experience approach”.

Alicia Lafage, exchange student at Wake Forest University

Convenience Comes in a Costly Bottle

Jokes.com
Jim Gaffigan - Bottled Water
comedians.comedycentral.com
Jim Gaffigan Coemdians Stand-Up

“Every time I go into a store, I’m always like, ‘Hey, how you doin’!? Yeah, I know I can get water free from any faucet, but, uh, I wanna pay for it.  I’m just curious, do you have any air back there?’ ” –Jim Gaffigan

Bottled water has always struck me as a rather silly product.  Jim Gaffigan, one of my favorite comedians, articulates the silliness of the concept of bottled water.  But the thing is, while I like to joke about bottled water, I still buy it!  And I don’t just buy it on occasion; I buy it regularly. 

All jokes aside, bottled water has become a seriously profitable industry in the United States.  Americans drink around $15 billion worth of bottled water each year (http://www.droptheprop.info/bottled-water-statistics).  The burning question is:  Why do we pay for something that we could get virtually for free?

There are several reasons why many Americans prefer to pay for a bottle of water instead of drinking a cup filled with free tap water.  The biggest reason is convenience.  Many Americans are always on the go, and they need water that can keep up with their lifestyle.  Bottled water is portable and fast.  No waiting at the tap for your cup to fill up and for the ice cubes to chill it slowly (if ice cubes are even available, that is.)  No spilling over the rim of a cup while walking to class or driving to the office.  All you have to do is stick your hand in the refrigerator or pop some coins in a vending machine, and bam, you have cold, portable water in mere seconds.  Another convenient aspect of bottled water is that an empty plastic bottle requires no post-drinking effort.  All you have to do is simply discard it in a receptacle, whether that is a trashcan or a recycling bin.  On the other hand, cups and stainless steel canteens have to be washed before reuse. 

Another reason many Americans choose to drink bottled water is their belief that bottled water is healthier for them than tap water.  Many Americans believe that the municipal water that sputters out of their tap is dirty and contaminated, which poses considerable health risks; while this is true for some cities in the United States, many cities boast water that is as clean as the water bottled under any brand name.  Bottled water brands have convinced consumers that their product is healthier than tap water by promoting their brand as a symbol of  “purity;” they reinforce this association through emphasizing the pristine sources their water comes from, such as the Swiss Alps or an artesian aquifer in Fiji.  Many consumers prefer the taste of bottled water to tap water; some consumers even choose between bottled water brands by taste.  I can identify with this; while I enjoy the taste of the water in some bottled water brands, I think other bottled water has a faint taste of plastic.   

However, not all Americans have become smitten with bottled water.  Many simply refuse to pay so much for water.  They do have a point:  an average ounce of branded bottled water costs five cents, while an average ounce of gasoline currently only costs two cents!  Additionally, bottled water poses a serious threat to the environment.  Each year, empty bottles of water account for an average of 1.5 million tons of plastic waste (http://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/stories/5-reasons-not-to-drink-bottled-water).   

So, are you a fan of bottled water?  Do you value the convenience and health benefits of bottled water, or are you disenchanted by high prices and the environmental harm it causes?  As for me, I think I’ll keep shelling out the bucks for some on the go, refreshing H₂0.


-Erica DeBrock

Viva Las Vegas

 This past weekend, I was lucky enough to travel across the country and enjoy my very first trip to Las Vegas.  I went with my roommate and a few members of her family, as her dad promised her when she was 9 years old that he would take her to Vegas when she turned 21; needless to say, she never forgot it.  Since we were both “Vegas Virgins” (her uncle’s phrase, not mine), we were excited to see what this infamous city was all about.  As soon as we caught a glimpse of it from the plane, we were amazed.  Las Vegas Boulevard (affectionately known as “the Strip”) seems to pop out of the desert landscape that has little other than mountains and clustered housing developments.  As we walked through our hotel and the surrounding resorts, our Calloway-laden minds couldn’t help but reel; what kind of investment do companies need to make in order to be truly successful in this city?  How do they determine the capacity for these massive hotels?  How do you stand out in a city entrenched with major competition?  The questions kept flowing, and we spent a great deal of time just looking at everything in astonishment.  There was one activity that kept us occupied for the majority of our time in Las Vegas, though: gambling. 

I have never gambled before, and honestly have never thought that it was a particularly smart use of money, but I figured I’m in the city that is built on gamblers, so why not?  Throughout my time playing blackjack and video poker (on which I am now hooked), I learned many lessons of gambling that led to identifying numerous key consumer insights.  Within the hotel we were staying, there was no other way to get to the elevators, and consequently your hotel room, without passing through its massive casino.  This was one of the first things that struck me; even if a consumer is not coming to Vegas to gamble, the fact that they pass through this area multiple times a day increases their changes of “just trying once.”  Since that usually ends up not being the case, this layout is an extremely intelligent way in which hotels can lure guests into spending more money.  I was certainly one of those consumers that got swept up in the excitement of gambling, and often found myself passing by the casino’s numerous ATM machines, contemplating if I should take out more money.  The fees at these ATM’s are ridiculous, so I passed, but I did notice that on each machine, next to the cash dispenser is a big sticker emblazoned with “Gambling Problem?” with a hotline number underneath.  Both my roommate and I were amused by this strategic ad placement, but I felt that this approach is actually very effective as this organization is targeting the root of the problem: constantly taking more money from a banking account to fund an addiction.  This leads to another key consumer insight: when marketing is placed in the right place at the right time, consumers are more likely to respond.  By approaching the consumer right when they are taking their money out, just them and the machine, it could be more likely that they will respond rather than someone simply telling them “you have a gambling problem.”  Lastly, the trip taught me a basic principle of Vegas vacationing: complimentary services.  When you check in at the hotel, you have the opportunity to acquire a card that you either place in a machine or hand to the supervisor each time you play a game at a table.  If you play enough, the card collects points, and at the end of your trip you are given complimentary services based on how much you have played, such having your meal and room costs taken care of.  I feel that this is an ingenious system on the part of the hotels; whether a consumer wins or loses doesn’t matter as much if some of their trip costs are covered – even if they have a bad trip spending-wise, they are still willing to come back. 

Ultimately, we left Vegas with a bit more money in our pockets and amazing memories; the city is truly another world.  Not only did I have a ton of fun, I learned a lot about how this city remains one of the premiere tourist destinations in the world.  Its approach to consumer behavior, especially when it comes to gambling, reflects how the city’s industry works to keep people coming back again and again.  Like many others, I am now hooked, and cannot wait to return someday – Viva Las Vegas.  

Carolyn Toll

Why don't Americans eat healthy?

Last week, I went to the state fair in Raleigh for the fall break. In high school, I went to the state fair every year; however, I have not been to the fair since I started college. Since 2008, the fair has changed so much. They had new rides and also new food. This year, Krispy Kreme burger was introduced to the fair. Although I was not brave enough to try the burger, some of my friends tried the burger. I was really surprised that they finished the burger. During my visit to the fair, I began to think why many Americans are not conscious about their health.

According to AP, “Despite years of public service campaigns — and lectures from Mom — Americans still aren't eating even close to enough fruits and vegetables, according to a recent study.” This is becoming problematic, since America is ranked number one in the most obesity countries in the world (www.nationmaster.com) with 30.6% whereas South Korea has 3.2%. In these days, most people do not know how much they are supposed to eat per day. Only 12% people said they eat the suggested five or more servings of vegetables and fruits which are the federal recommended minimum servings per day.

Dr. George Blackburn, associate director of Harvard Medical School s nutrition division, insisted that it is urgent to raise the awareness of the importance of eating healthy. Then he said, "People over report, even though it's a pathetic number. We would be ecstatic if they (ate) what they say they did," he said. "It's amazing how many people go day in and day out with zero." According to the survey above, 3 percent even said they do not eat fruits or vegetables at all.

So, instead of having Krispy Kreme burgers, fried candy bars, and more unhealthy food, what would it take Americans to eat healthier?

-Fraser Song

An example of the decision making process - the iPhone 4S

I am a hugely loyal Apple brand consumer. I got the iPod Nano about a week after it came out, the iPhone 3G the day it came out, and now am a proud owner of the new iPhone 4S. Granted I don't have a Mac or an iPad, I still concede that all of Apple's products are technologically and aesthetically superior to all of its rivals (yes, even to the beloved Wake Forest edition ThinkPad). That being said, my buying journey for the iPhone 4S had some similarities and differences from the models we studied in class (traditional and McKinsey's). Let's explore my experience further.

The traditional consumer decision-making process begins with problem recognition. In my experience, I completely skipped this initial stage. Because I was following blogs and announcements about the release of the newest generation iPhone since mid summer this year like it was my job, I knew that the iPhone was going to be released on October 14^th – I also knew that you would be able to preorder it on October 7^th. And so at 12:01 am on October 6^th, I preordered the brand new iPhone 4S for $199 plus some tax, and thus commenced the anticipation until pick-up day on October 14^th began. So looking back at my purchase, I never really experienced a moment when I ‘realized’ that I had a problem which needed to be addressed or a ‘trigger’ that made me want the phone. I already had a phone (a functioning blackberry as a replacement for my dead iPhone 3G), I simply just decided that I wanted the newest and best technology out there – which the iPhone offered.

The next step in the traditional model is familiarity, which is similar to the first step in McKinsey’s consumer decision making journey, initial consideration. In this phase the consumer uses the knowledge they already have of brands or available word of mouth type info from friends and family members to narrow down the options for their consumer decision. I was persuaded mostly from my friend to consider the iPhone 4S as a realistic choice for a new phone. He was also an Apple junkie, and he hyped up all of the new features of the iPhone that really sealed the deal for me (such as Siri, the new voice-recognition technology that allows you to verbally tell the iPhone commands). Another variable working here was my longstanding familiarity with Apple. As I said before, I’ve had a number of Apple products in the past that I have been very content with, therefore my loyalty with the brand was extremely high. 

Next in the models are the information search/active evaluation stages, where the consumer goes out to search for information on the product category to help them with their decision. I didn’t really search for information on products outside of the iPhone, but I did definitely put in due research on the new iPhone 4S. I looked into blogs about the new features of the phone, read up on critics’ analyses of the phone, and also searched YouTube for videos about the phone. The YouTube video really won me over; it showed several characters using the new Siri technology to set reminders for plans, verbally text friends, and basically just act as a personal assistant. After seeing that video, there was really never any looking into any other alternatives (I skipped that traditional stage); I had made up my mind that the iPhone 4S was for me.

So I bought the iPhone. Like I mentioned earlier, I preordered the phone in the first minute of October 7^th online. That was pretty much my moment of purchase/product choice experience. More important is the outcome/post-purchase experience. When I finally went to the store to pick up my new phone, I was giddy with joy. I took the phone home with a smile on my face and immediately began playing with all of its new features. I was also immediately loyal to the new phone and Apple once again – I swore to the phone’s functionality of the voice recognition technology to all of my friends (although it didn’t always work), and I even convinced a couple of my friends that they needed the phone, so they too ended up buying one. The point is, I had now become a walking advocate for both the phone and Apple in general.

So, as you can see my experience buying the new iPhone was very similar to both the traditional and McKinsey versions of the consumer decision making process, with the only difference really being my skipping of the problem recognition stage and also not really considering any other brands except for Apple’s iPhone. But what I found most intriguing in my experience as a consumer insight was the overwhelming power that friends can have on your purchase decision. My Apple-junkie friend singlehandedly sold me to the idea that the iPhone was the only real competitor in the new phone market. It wasn’t the expert opinions, the blogs, or the professional critic reviews, but rather the information and steadfast confidence in Apple from a trusted friend that sold me. In turn, when I got the iPhone, my converted confidence and trust in Apple as a brand helped to persuade two of my friends to buy the phone as well. One can only assume, given the trend at hand, that those two friends will convince their friends, who’ll convince their friends, who’ll convince their friends, and so on and so forth into the foreseeable future – that is, of course, until Apple comes out with a newer, even better iPhone.
-Patrick Szawara