What can a salad teach us about marketing?
Several very pioneering – and possibly hungry – researchers tested the idea that an aesthetically pleasing salad would influence a diner’s expectation of the quality of the salad, the eventual enjoyment of the salad and, ultimately, the price someone would pay for that salad.
Imagine three salads: a simple tossed salad, a second arranged to look like a Kandinsky painting and a third arranged in an extremely neat manner, as if built by a chef with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
As the researchers confirmed for us, we do in fact eat with our eyes first.
As the researchers confirmed for us, we do in fact eat with our eyes first. The Kandinsky-esque salad apparently tasted better, was thought to be more complex and more liked, and would command a higher price.
What does your marketing salad look like?
Gone are the days of wordy brochures filled with product jargon.
The rise of infographics, digital and social marketing, and integrated microsites has helped show a customer your company’s value proposition or product details in a more thoughtful way.
Gone are the days of wordy brochures filled with product jargon.
Last year we stressed the importance of having your summer interns conduct an audit of your marketing materials – this year we urge you to do the same, but then take those old but impactful materials and give them the “fine art” treatment.
Do you have a company factsheet that touts sales or investment growth over time? Throw in the latest numbers and make it an infographic!
Is an old product gaining new traction in the market? It might be time to build a microsite so your wholesalers can spread the message easily – and follow up immediately.
And remember, if Kandinsky is too weird, then a Warhol is cool, too!