Triggers. Its hard to tell what will trigger people to think a certain thing. People associate certain images, ideas, or things with other images, ideas, or things. Trying to cultivate these triggers and use them in a productive ways is one of the tricks and challenges of marketing.
I've always wondered why some tv and magazine advertising often has crazy and unrelated themes and ideas intertwined into the advertisement. If it isn't related to the product or service, why would it ever be helpful for selling the product or service? It is starting to make sense to me. Seeing such an odd advertisement will be tucked away into my brain. It will act as a trigger so that the next time I see something remotely close to the odd advertisement, I might recall the advertisement and feel the need to share it. Understanding these "triggers" that set people off is one of the most crucial and difficult parts of marketing and advertising a product.
Placement is also a key part of understanding triggers. Does voting in a church vs. a school effect the way that people vote? Research shows that yes, the location of a voting booth may effect the outcomes of the votes. But why? Why would a location of a political voting precinct determine the way someone is going to vote? Shouldn't the people already know how they are going to vote before they enter the poll? This is a question that I am still pondering even after reading the chapter.
Now, taking all of this information, and putting into a cohesive idea is key. The most important part of marketing according to Berger is making people talk. Triggered products get people talking more both in the short-term, and the long-term. How to triggers make people talk? Creating a strong slogan or theme around a product will get people to naturally bring it up in conversation. Companies that are able to relate their products to important themes in pop culture, are the one's that succeed in having "triggered product." Mars Chocolate's sales of the Mars bar shot up dramatically during the NASA's Pathfinder Mission in 1997. They didn't change anything about the advertising campaign of the chocolate bar, they were just fortunate enough to have a name brand that coincided with an on-going theme in pop culture.
I am really enjoying reading this book. It is bringing up important lessons about marketing and the spreading of the awareness of products that I had never even thought about. After reading this book, I am starting to appreciate all the hard work that goes into creating what may appear to be the simplest marketing campaigns.
The more I read about marketing, the more fascinating I find it, too. Remind me in class to tell you about a trigger that BHS figured out regarding the MCAS exam. It's pretty amazing.
ReplyDeleteHow are you feeling about all of this manipulation? When does it become unethical? Is it OK that companies are doing this to us? Kind of amazing that it's now a multi-billion dollar business.