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[mitmclean]

Advertising on Insecurities: Fair & Lovely vs. Dark is Beautiful

The pervasive thought that fairer or whiter skin is more appealing or beautiful stem back to the Aryan invasion of India, which happen in the first and second centuries BC. This incredibly long history of desire to be fairer and prejudice against darker skin has been maintained for centuries due to the caste system and British control of India. Creating a product to change one’s natural appearance is an incredibly difficult and complex issue. On one hand, if this is something that an individual feels like they want to do in order to make themselves feel better, they should do it. On the other (and more important) hand, marketing products that change user’s appearance in a way that makes the individual feel bad about their natural features is shameful and should not be so prevalent in the global society today. The skin whitening industry in India is massive. Of the entire skin care industry that was a billion dollars in 2014, about half of the industry was focused on skin whitening and lighteners ($454 million). That is an incredibly high portion of the industry that is focused on changing one’s skin color. Advertising on other insecurities that are propagating the root issue of appearance is prevalent in every country in the world, not just India.

Targeting Insecurities Examples in America

Skims and Spanx - the Kardashian/Jenner family represent the obsession in the U.S. with having impossible human measurements (small waist but larger other areas) and flawless features (attained with plastic surgery and fillers). Not to mention pervasive photo shopping and presence on social media. The skims and spanx product depends on women wanting to appear skinnier or slimmer in their clothes. While this is a more tame example of wanting to change physical features, this product is still marketed in a way that plays on insecurities and seems to provide a “solution” for acquiring a flat tummy or desirable curves. While I have purchased a pair of spanx, I can honestly say that it is a temporarily fix on a ever present body image issue. 

FitTea - this brand of tea is advertised mainly through social media influencers and is often posted by women in men with their chiseled abs showing alongside some (probably false) claim by the influencer that they drink the tea multiple times a day and it was really the thing that sparked their weight loss or figure maintaining. In reality, it has been shown that these influencers do not actually drink fit tea and that those who do drink fit tea suffer from a lot of really harmful side effects. The biggest voice against Fit Tea was actress Jameela Jamil who called out the fit tea industry and brought to light the scandal of marketing a product toward insecurities of the consumer.

A Good Example of Body Positivity Advertising

To close this post about the dangers of advertising on insecurities and the ethically shameful consequences of pushing a certain standard of beauty, I want to introduce a brand that I believe is doing the right thing. Megababe is a beauty brand that offers products from deodorant to their renowned product “thigh rescue” that is an anti-chafe balm that is catered to women and men whose thighs rub together when they run or walk. The founder of Megababe, Katie Sturino, has made strides as a founder but also as an advocate for inclusive sizing and speaking out about negative self talk. Katie has a large following on social media and uses her influence to call out companies who are using predatory body-insecurity advertising tactics alongside clothing companies who do not provide inclusive sizing with her hashtag #makemysize. While not every company has to cater to a cause, advertising should not be predatory. 

[mitmclean]

A Product Launch in Four Examples

When launching a new product there are myriad factors that can affect the level of diffusion that a product will experience. Wildly successful products like the iPhone have years of experience of previous launches to go off of, but when it was initially introduced to the market, Apple relied on elegant marketing campaigns and resting on the laurels of their truly innovative and cutting-edge product. Comparably, fidget spinners were the most sought-after toy in 2017 even though they had been on the market for nearly 25 years. The fidget spinner was popular due to overwhelming dissemination of the fad. In order to predict the success of a new product to the market, some of the most important pieces of information to analyze are past product rollout, similar products in the marketplace, or test markets. Among the four products in the Predicting Diffusion HBS case, there are products with high potential to perform really well in their respective markets. 

Sliced Peanut Butter

An innovative product like slices of peanut butter have the potential to change the way people make sandwiches, especially in situations of families making lunches for children. Busy parents have a hard time spreading peanut butter on every sandwich they have to make every single day, so this product could be a solution for parents to save time. However, some of the obstacles that this product faces are that peanut butter is used for more than just sandwiches and scooping is a big portion of why people like peanut butter, a lot of schools have outlawed peanut butter from lunch rooms because of allergies, and the more natural-conscious consumers may be skeptical of how the product is modified to be in order to be slices. One of the biggest challenges that this product faces is that the founder does not seem enthusiastic at all about the product. He does not show a passion for peanut butter and seems kind of frustrated for how many iterations it required. Enthusiasm for the product is required to entice consumers.

Collapsible Bike Wheel

The collapsible wheel has the potential to be the most wanted product for commuters. To have a mode of transportation which is easy to transport itself is key for commuting and bikes are a really efficient eco-friendly method of transportation. While this product probably will not be introduced to the children’s bikes market, it will dominate the city living market, which has a ton of market share. The city living market is often a high income earning market in which the $2,000-$6,000 price point will be maintainable. All of these points alongside the great background of the inventor will entice people to purchase this product. 

Stave Jigsaw Puzzles

The market for $500 jigsaw puzzles is undoubtedly small. However, the market will most likely be filled with high net worth individuals, corporate gifting, or die-hard puzzle builders. In this way, the demand for these products are probably very constant considering the typical consumer. The consumer will be one who appreciates the hand-made nature of the product and the extensive training it takes to make these puzzles. It is important to ensure that the product is well-known throughout the market of potential customers, so Stave should spend time getting the word out about their high-quality puzzles in the high net worth community and corporate gifting catalogs. One thing that Stave should consider is a made to order method in which Stave would receive an order then make it so it does not see a build up of inventory. 

Polytrack Racetrack Turf 

Sometimes a product is so cutting-edge that consumers don’t believe the capabilities of the product. Polytrack experienced this phenomenon when it initially approached American racetracks. Martin Collins was turned away when he first demonstrated his product to U.S. racetracks. However, with the incredible savings that English racetracks experienced when they used his product, he eventually disrupted the market and was able to demonstrate that he had made a really great product that protects horses while preventing some of the wear and tear that racetracks were facing with the common racetrack material. While the product is expensive, it saves a large amount of money for the tracks and is worth it. This product requires a bit of “word of mouth” and demonstration to garner strength in the market, but once it did get its first customer, it was able to fly off the shelves (or onto tracks).

[mitmclean]

North Dakota Wine: Cheers!

Interestingly enough, I was born in North Dakota, but have never had the opportunity to enjoy a glass of wine from my home state. If presented the opportunity to taste it, I would absolutely drink the whole glass. While this may be the case for me because I have ties to the state, the other 99.8% of the country may not be as excited by the possibility because they lack ties to the region and probably don’t know much about the state at all. While I may take offense to the notion that North Dakota was chosen as the lowest expectation to produce a fine wine, I appreciate the idea that is being promoted: confirmation bias. No one assumes that North Dakota will produce a wine that is as good as one from Napa Valley or Bourdeaux, and it is interesting to note that this information can influence companion foods (or how much the person will indulge with the knowledge that they are enjoying a good or bad wine). 

Confirmation bias is defined as “ the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one's existing beliefs or theories.” In other words, we have pre-conceived notions of specific things (such as good comes from Napa and bad wine comes from North Dakota) and we seek out additional information that confirms what we believe and this influences how we view the world. Confirmation bias influences more than just how we perceive information: it influences other decisions that we make. From the Sensory Expectations and the Intake of Companion Foods article, confirmation bias influences how we enjoy food along with wine that we think is good. For example, if we are presented with a wine that is considered high quality, we make assumptions that the restaurant must be all-around high quality and will have high-quality food. In this way, we will be partial to have more of the food if we consider it to be high-quality than we would if we had apprehensions because we were presented with a low-quality wine. Additionally, enjoyment of a high quality wine can lead to a decrease in self-restraint and an increase in the perceived enjoyment one is having. Perhaps the consumer now thinks that they are treating themselves or celebrating because they have a great wine and will now make the entire experience great. In the research conducted by Wansink, Payne, and North, it can be concluded that confirmation does affect the consumption of companion food and, in their study, consumers who had the Napa Valley wine consumed 12% more food than the consumers who were given wine from North Dakota. 

While I am not sure how I would react to a California vs. North Dakota wine offering, I know that I am influenced by the presentation of the branding of wine. My favorite type of wine is Rose, and I believe that I do not have a refined palette. The main method I use to choose a bottle of Rose is the presentation of the bottle. I am particularly swayed by colorful wrapping and clever names. For example, my favorite type of Rose to have in the summer is either “Pool Boy” or “Summer Water,” which both have colorful wrapping that reminds me of relaxing by the pool. I am usually price conscious of the wine, preferring cheaper wine unless I am specifically planning to indulge. For the Concha y Toro case, I believe that the typical consumer that I identify with (young woman living in a city) will buy more bottles of cheaper wine and an expensive bottle rarely. If I plan to indulge in a glass of Rose, I typically choose the “Whispering Angel” brand which has a very elegant bottle shape and wrapping. The presentation of the bottle absolutely effects if I will enjoy the wine and how much I will drink. I want to have a fun experience with Rose, and if the wine bottle itself is fun, I am confident that I will enjoy and drink more of it. 

[mitmclean]

Online Consumer Behavior: Influenced

Consumer decision making has changed drastically with the introduction of online retailers, e-commerce, and social media marketing. Compared to consumer decisions in a brick-and-mortar environment, online decisions are based on highly informed decisions and easy comparisons to similar products. An important topic that is addressed in the book Nudge by Thaler and Sunstein, humans are not perfectly informed “Econs,” rather they use the sources they have to make easy decisions. Furthermore, with lower transaction costs, the online retail environment has lowered human procrastination and increased impulsive purchases due to various influences.

Peer Influence: Social Media

The surge of social media in which people can share pictures, videos, and commentary has ignited a wave of monetizing one’s status on apps such as Instagram and Tik Tok. Humans look toward peers and, even more so, influencers (role models or avatars) who represent an entity that a consumer wants to be like for inspiration on purchases. For example, Kylie Jenner is maintains an astounding presence on Instagram and currently has 225 million followers on her account. As a fashionable and successful businessperson, Jenner commands the attention of people who want to look like or dress like her. Because of the height of her followership, Kylie Jenner will receive upwards of $1 million of advertisement payment for a single post on her feed. Instagram has become a seriously powerful advertisement tool that can be utilized even for influencers who have significantly fewer followers than Jenner (as low as 2,000 followers). This structure of advertisement is as easy as a single picture but can be tricky because if an influencer is clearly promoting a product for payment, his or her followers may wonder if the influencer actually enjoys the product or is just trying to collect a paycheck. 

Targeted Ads

Customized recommendation engines is an effective way to personalize the advertisements that users see online. Based on search engine history and cookies/caches, advertisements can be targeted to users for products that they recently searched or perused online. In addition to this, advertisers can use search history algorithm to target the ads based on the type of things that person has googled previously. For example, if I am a business woman who looks at stock performance on the NYSE or DJI and also read the Wall Street Journal or the Financial Times daily, then my ads could be for women’s business suits or other websites that contain business information. While this can seem invasive of online privacy, the targeted ads allow consumers to focus in on items that they would probably buy rather than a complete list of many different products that perhaps the consumer is not interested in. Targeted ads lends to the influence of impulsivity because it can take advantage of a consumer’s desire for a purchase if they are emotionally scrolling and want a the dopamine hit of making a purchase or are reminded that they have been thinking of a certain product and finally want to buy it. 

Screens

When consumers view information through screens, they are experiencing a consumer environment that is very different than an in-person experience. Online consumers are able to easily compare products and make an informed decision - instead of having to walk to another store to see a similar product, the consumer can make the direct comparison of an alternate product. Additionally, companies can easily invest in a visually appealing interface that can establish the trustworthiness of the company. Consumers can be deferred from buying a product or using a service if the company website is messy and hard to use. A example of a great interface is Wayfair’s website. Wayfair has easily searchable products and will show complementary products or similar products on the page that can entice consumers to buy certain products or buy additional products. Finally, when using a screen, consumers lose any hesitation or embarrassment they might feel when buying the product in person. If a consumer does not need to divulge exactly how much or what he or she is purchasing, he will feel no shame about the purchase. 

[mitmclean]

Beer Ads: “People Don’t Drink Beer, they drink marketing”

Corona Advertising

Corona as part of the Modelo brands has had an awe-inspiring rise to preeminence as one of the most popular imported beers in the US. The brand is absolutely coming after the #1 imported beer, Heineken, and could take its spot at the top. The success of Corona is due to the excellent marketing strategies: top-notch sales fieldwork, point-of-sale promotions, a product that reminds consumers of vacation, and reliable pricing. The main component that stands out about Corona/Modelo is that they care about their customers in terms of price-point and brand image. Modelo executives have taken it upon themselves to directly address rumors and have worked hard to defend their brand and have taken price increases out of their own profits to prevent transferring costs to consumers. 

Competitor Downfall

These highly admirable business practices directly contradict some of the practices that its main competitor, Heineken, has undertaken. Heineken enjoyed its place at the top of imported beers in the US and became arrogant about their product. They identified their competitors (mainly Corona) as “fads” and not quality products. In this way, Heineken used marketing tactics that attacked their competitors instead of describing why their product is good or appealing to consumers. This has been their marketing downfall and is the root of why Heineken’s control of the imported beer market has steadily declined. 

Great business choices by Modelo

Consumers enjoy that Corona is 100% made and imported from Mexico, while a lot of other beers have moved manufacturing/production plants closer to the US, which makes them less “foreign.” The importing company, Barton Beers, had the ingenious idea to start the sale of corona along the US-Mexico border and in college towns. The “Corona and Lime” combination also allowed the brand to stand out as unique and a refreshing twist on usual bottled beers. Additionally, Corona, which was sold as a premium beer among the likes of Heineken, was marketed around the main idea that it reminds consumers of fun, sun, and the beach - the main image that many Americans have of Mexican tourist spots. This image brings consumers the feeling of being on vacation and relaxed, which is a feeling many consumers chase. On top of this, the Modelo companies chose local beer importers using data and culture in locations globally where there was a large beer drinking culture and interest in Mexican culture and/or exported products. 

-Meaghan McLean

#2021SloanBrandingA