Blog 2
The primary lesson in the chapter is that we are all biased. Whenever we have knowledge of something before we experience it, it will completely alter that experience. The author goes through various examples in the book, but the one I would like to relate to is beer. Every college student who drinks occasionally has a favorite beer, and for most people that usually consists of Budlight, Miller light, Coors light, or Keystone light. If you go to a party, you will always hear some drunks swearing up and down by their beer and that they will never drink the competitor’s, ever. But bring out an unmarked keg and everyone is standing around and drinking as if it was their favorite, and they don’t even know what’s inside. This is what the author refers to as a “blind” condition. Whenever a consumer cannot relate the product they are about to try, to a previous brand/image knowledge, they will give you, for the most part, an unbiased opinion.
This realization provides valuable insight to marketers, because they can see what the consumer really thinks. For instance, after the experiment done with Coke and Pepsi, Pepsi should realize that it is not their product that needs enhancing, it’s their image. “How do we improve our image to better compete with Coke?” If your product is still losing in total sales, and the majority of consumers think your product tastes better, you have a serious problem. This kind of information enables Pepsi marketers to better position their product.
The main example that Ariely uses in this chapter is the experiment involving Budweiser vs. MIT brew, the difference? Just 2 drops of balsamic vinegar per ounce of beer. The example he uses is somewhat similar to mine, but in his example, they are using the same beer and finding out if they still the think product is tastey after they tell them. Which the consumers do. I think an interesting experiment would be to get 20 sorority girls, and let them try out the new pair of Prada sunglasses for 2 weeks to see how they like them, and keep a journal; then after 2 weeks report back. Except, the glasses are fake. Separate the groups so that you tell them before and after you hand them out to the girls. Would be interesting to see the differences in journal entries from the girls who knew they were fake from the ones who didn’t!
Ariely wrote a very good chapter, something that every marketer should read. Every one is biased and has preconceived notions, and they affect almost, if not every buying decision we make! Knowing how consumers view your product versus the competitor’s can give the company valuable insight.
Jeremy - I like your example and I think you're right - it's awfully close to the book's example, as you mention, and I would have loved to see you be a bit more creative and reach for an example that was not quite so similar. Maybe expanding on the Prada sunglasses idea might have been interesting. Overall, the blog is woefully short - not near the minimum length requirement, really. Part of this exercise is to get you to expand your writing ability, so quantity matters a bit here. Also, I'd like for you to work on writing in way that is informal (as a blog probably should be) but is a bit better in writing quality. There really is a way to achieve both - writing quality and informal tone. Let me know if you want to chat about any of this - I want to be sure you have good information to improve the next one.
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