Since feelings of lost control and so on have been a recurring theme here on Murketing.com lately, I thought I’d pass this along. I read yesterday an article in the Journal of Consumer Research (from the April 2008 issue) that’s summarized on Science Daily as follows: “Feeling powerless can trigger strong desires to purchase products that convey high status, according to new research.”
In three experiments, the authors asked participants to either describe a situation where they had power over another person, or one in which someone had power over them. Then the researchers showed them items and asked how much they would be willing to pay.
After recalling situations where they were powerless, participants were willing to pay more for items that signal status, like silk ties and fur coats, but not products like minivans and dryers. They also agreed to pay more for a framed picture of their university if it was portrayed as rare and exclusive.
The authors describe the implications:
“It suggests that in contemporary America, people use consumer purchases to compensate for psychological states of insecurity. Spending beyond one’s means in obtaining status-related items is a costly coping strategy for dealing with psychological threats such as feeling powerless.”
Well, what do you make of this? Does it ring true?
If nothing else, it offers a counterpoint, or at least an interesting asterisk to, for instance, the assertion from Business Week that a “New Frugality” is upon us: “In the past, consumers have gone shopping the moment the sun came out. But this time? Market researchers trying to divine the consumer psyche are picking up signs that attitudes are changing.” The magazine cites a survey in which consumers say they intend to continue frugal habits currently being forced upon them, even when the economy recovers.
Then again, if you asked consumers whether they’d pay more for a status-object if they felt “powerless,” obviously they’d say no. That doesn’t mean the research cited above necessarily holds water; my point is that asking consumers questions generally leads to consumers giving what they figure is the “right” answer — it doesn’t mean a lot. There’s often a gap between what we say and how we behave.
But you knew that.
Anyway, more on this in the days ahead, I am sure.
One of the new embroidery patterns from Sublime Stitching is a tie-in to the forthcoming documentary Handmade Nation. Sublime Stitching is of course the company of Jenny Hart, of the Austin Craft Mafia; Handmade Nation is the film coming out next year, made by Fayth Levine.
Hart is also going to be at Maker Faire in Austin this weekend, along with fellow ACM founder Jennifer Perkins. Details here. Hart, Perkins, and Levine are all in the chapter of Buying In that looks at DIYism etc. Follow-up interviews with Hart and Perkins on this site are here and here. (And one with Tina Sparkles, also an ACM founder who’s in the book, is here.)
I think a promotional tie-in embroidery pattern is a really great idea. Please continue…
I can’t believe I’d never heard of this guy until today, but Michael Salter is an artist who makes huge “Styrobots” (like 20-feet-plus tall), out of the hunks of styrofoam (I guess it’s different than Styrofoam?) that pack computers and the like.
Right now he’s taking donations in Houston (my home town!). I don’t know if Murketing actually has any readers in Houston or not, but maybe you know people there. If so, you should tell them about this. (Details about where to bring your packing foam, or arrange a pickup, here.) (At least, I’m pretty sure they’re still taking donations.)
If nothing else, they can check out whatever he ends up creating at the Rice Gallery, November 6. His show is called Too Much, and he’s also giving a talk on November 7; here’s the gallery’s calendar.
Find pix of Salter’s past creations on his site.
[Big thanks: Paola!]
Surely by now you’ve heard about the “integration” of GM vehicles into the new show “My Own Worst Enemy.” But just in case:
The show’s central character, played by actor Christian Slater, has two different personalities. There’s Henry, a suburban dad who drives GM’s recently launched family-oriented Traverse crossover. Then there’s Edward, a secret agent who speeds around in the new version of GM’s Camaro sports car set to go on sale early next year.
More in this story, too.
In other car-murketing news, the LA Times had this story about people hearing mysterious music in Lancaster, CA:
They all soon learned that the tune was coming from a musical road installed by Honda Motor Co. designed to play the overture when Honda Civics and other cars drove over it, as part of a marketing campaign targeting younger folks. The first musical road in the U.S. is featured in Honda commercials that began Sunday….
In Lancaster, the road attracted tourists from across the country and inspired dozens of YouTube videos, some filmed in the dark. People drove on it repeatedly to hear the noise, which sounded like the distant warbling of horns. Some even drove in reverse to see whether the song would play backward. (It did not.)…
For Honda, the possibilities of making a commercial that could also become part of the cultural moment — spreading through YouTube videos and cellphone recordings — was irresistible….
Over the weekend the NYT reminded us what a poor job the school system does in educating young people about personal-finance basics.
Today the NYT tells us that someone is stepping up to teach Americans how to be thrifty: Retailers.
The Stop & Shop grocery chain is offering “affordable food summits” where consumers are taught how to lower their grocery bills. Home Depot offers classes on how to cut energy bills. And Wal-Mart Stores hired a “family financial expert” who has used online chats to teach several thousand shoppers how to save money for college, whittle away debt and sell a house.
Great. If this works out, maybe they can add geography and math classes. No Consumer Left Behind!
Since I pondered conspiracy-theory pscyhology here the other day, I should note this Illuminati/Bohemian Grove T-shirt evidently spotted on Macys.com by Alex Jones. Not to be paranoid, but it looks like the T is no longer available!
Coincidence??
[Thx: SW.]
Posted Under:
Products by Rob Walker on October 13, 2008
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Coolhunting notes some new products from Porter, “the famed Japanese bag maker,” that are “drawn from the William Gibson line, which is inspired by the science fiction writer of the same name.”
It wasn’t clear to me whether that means Gibson was involved, and on what level. Coolhunting says: “The shoulder bag costs $340 while the laptop bag goes for $530. The bags are exclusively available in limited numbers from Self Edge in San Francisco. The store is also planning on hosting a William Gibson party on 9 November with the man himself.”
Curious.
This led me to the Self Edge site, which has fresh news of more Gibson product.
William Gibson, always the fan of a faceless and logo-less product that exceeds all expectations; something timeless and classic that most across the world can relate to. Last week we brought you William Gibson’s Head Porter bags, and this week we’ve got his new line of Athletic Shoes.
William Gibson’s new line of athletic shoes?
Hunh.
In Self Edge’s online store, the high-tops are $168, the low-tops $158.
They do have a nice look.
I wonder if Blue Ant has a piece of this?
At Selfridges. Via The Dieline.
Posted Under:
Products,
World News by Rob Walker on October 13, 2008
Comments Off on Current-events product: “Credit Crunch” chocolates
MILK CARTOON:
Co-opting the kids’-entertainment-character marketing strategy for a lunchroom staple
Today, as part of a special food-themed issue of the New York Times Magazine, Consumed looks at an effort to get kids to drink more milk — by putting pop culture branded characters on the cartons.
As the Milk Media Web site puts it, “We introduced the concept of branded cartons to forge relationships between sponsors who had characters that kids really cared about as a more effective tactic to make milk ‘Cool for Kids.’ ” …
Milk has few enemies. Branding that reaches out to children inside the educational system, however, is a reliable source of outrage. …
Read the column in the October 12, 2008 issue of The New York Times Magazine, or here.
Consumed archive is here, and FAQ is here. The Times’ Consumed RSS feed is here. Consumed Facebook page is here.
To make a point about Consumed that you think readers of The Times Magazine would be interested in: “Letters should be addressed to Letters to the Editor, Magazine, The New York Times, 620 Eighth Avenue, 6th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10018. The e-mail address is magazine@nytimes.com. All letters should include the writer’s name, address and daytime telephone number. We are unable to acknowledge or return unpublished letters. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.”
Posted Under:
Consumed,
Murketing,
Sustenance by Rob Walker on October 12, 2008
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[Today: The return of guest Q&As to Murketing.com. This one comes from Nate Schulman, a master’s student at California Institute of the Arts. He brought to Murketing’s attention a recently completed graduate thesis project that you can read about below. More about Murketing.com Guest Q&A’s, and how you can submit ideas of your own, here. Take it away, Nate.]
We all know about things like customizable shoes or DIY silk-screening outfits, which charge and assist you in the co-creation of “your” product. But those examples of “collaboration” are more about an end product than an end system. A thesis project by Joseph Prichard of the MFA graphic design program at the California Institute of the Arts offers a look at a different form of collaboration: Working with cyclists on a mapping system for cyclists.
His 4th Street Bikeway effort created an informational graphics system for a Los Angeles bike route, and involved Angeleno bikers in the process. I had a class with Prichard, and what interested me about his project was that the end-user/consumer of the program he come up with had a role in its creation — but in a new way. And I had a few questions. Those questions, and Prichard’s answers, follow.
— Nate Schulman
Q: Tell me how this project came about. Those not in Los Angeles might be asking: “People bike in LA??”
A: It started out with the vague notion of wanting to design something that would address some of the transportation problems we have here in Los Angeles. I’m not an engineer or an urban planner, but I feel strongly that there is a role for graphic design in encouraging alternatives to car use in our city.
The initial idea was a speculative redesign of the signage for Los Angeles’ 4th Street bike route. The goal was to design a comprehensive system that would make the route more attractive to potential cyclists — something that would address the shortfalls of current signage and hopefully serve as a model for future route planning.
To create a system that really spoke to the needs of the cyclists, it was important to me that I have members of the cycling community contribute to the design process. To that end, I held a series of participatory workshops where I worked with local cyclists to determine the form and content of the final system.
As the project progressed, a second component emerged that came to be as important as (or more important than) the first. In addition to the proposed “official” signage system, I designed a set of tools and templates that would allow cyclists to easily create their own DIY bike route signage. My aim was to involve cyclists not only in the design of the system but also in its eventual implementation and expansion. By providing a set of open tools, my intention was to give people the ability to design for their own needs.
What was the most exciting moment of the process? Likewise, were there moments of panic (a true testament of a thesis ;0)? If so, how did you work through them? Please continue…
Back in February I had a short post pondering what a bad economy meant for the “green” movement. (Funny, February seems like it was a giddy boom period compared to today, eh?) Two more recent views on that question:
A Marketplace report is largely pessimistic: “Financial Crisis Is Not Eco-Friendly.”
A piece on The Big Money, by Eric Pooley, offers a more optimistic view: “Save the Economy, Save the Planet.”
Of course I was sad that New York Magazine never reviewed or otherwise acknowledged Buying In, but even so I was pleased to see they are interested in the broad topic of the murky line between commercial persuasion and culture, as evidenced by a big story on a very murketing-y topic: product integration. The writer, Emily Nussbaum, found some great examples, and makes what I think is exactly the right big-picture point:
It’s happened so gradually you may not have noticed—or, perhaps, haven’t cared. American consumers take pride in their media savvy; they are too hip to be fooled, too jaded to be appalled….
… “Most Americans, like the proverbial frogs in the slowly boiling water, may not notice how prevalent it has become. Yet Nielsen Media Research tells us that product integration has occurred more than 4,000 times on network prime-time television in 2006.”
… that proportion has risen vertiginously, jumping 39 percent in the first three months of this year versus the same time period last year. Within the top-ten broadcast-TV shows, advertisers paid for 26,000 product placements in 2007….
… And television integration is merely one ripple in a larger trend that also extends to “highbrow” art forms. In the recent revival of the musical Sweet Charity, the line “I’ll have a double Scotch on the rocks” was changed (with Neil Simon’s permission) to an order for “Cuervo Gran Centenario.”…
This is the post-TiVo click-culture counter-revolution I talk about in the middle section of the book: There’s no way to “zap past” these commercial messages, or the many others that Nussbaum collects in the piece.
Anyway, the article is definitely worth reading (and maybe it’s been highlighted already on marketing/ad blogs, but I hadn’t seen it until my physical issue of New York arrived yesterday), if nothing else, just skim through and fine the bit about Soyjoy.
And of course if you, or your friends at New York, are interested in murky forms of marketing, plenty of links, updated all the time, here.
The band Of Montreal recently published something that reads like a short manifesto, or possibly a parody of a manifesto, with the title, “We Will Only Propogate Exceptional Objects.” The first paragraph riffs on identity:
To project our self identity into the outer and, to amplify the howl of our self expression, we have many tools at our disposal; our art, our clothing and hair style, the way we talk…, and, for a lot of us, the objects that populate our living spaces. There are myriad vendors, attempting to contribute to our identity campaigns, creating rather dull and uninspiring products. Making the production of any new objects, at this point, almost seem criminal.
This sounds like a complaint about consumer culture. Or, again, a parody of a complaint about consumer culture. “The howl of our self expression”?
Anyway, whatever the intent, it goes in a direction that seems a little odd after having just asserted that “making the production” of new identity-stuff seems “almost criminal.” Because the real point of the piece is to announce that the band’s next record will not simply be a record. It will be a “collection.”
Skeletal Lamping Collection 08 includes T-shirts, tote bags, buttons, wall decals, posteres and even a paper lantern. The idea is that with most of these objects, if you buy the thing, you get a code for a digital download of, you know, the band’s next batch of music. If you’d like this entire lifestyle suite so that you can immerse yourself fully in the Of Montreal-ness of your “identity campaign,” that’ll be $90.
I guess this is a creative way of promoting a new release — making it more “relevant,” as they say.
It also seems like kind of a reversal of the longstanding trend of trying to make products “cool” by associating them with certain music, whether it’s the background at a hip retailer, or the soundtrack to a TV ad. Maybe at this point music seems incomplete without products — and it’s the music that now needs to be made “cool” by being associated with on-trend merch.
On what I think is a very related note: Carrie Brownstein writes about the death of the “rock star” idea here. More about that later, but a line from closing paragraph: “Maybe the death of the rock star is due to the fact that brands are the new gods and musicians merely the preachers.”
Via PSFK and Marginal Utility.
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