Research: Consumers Value Fate In Marketing Narratives

Research shows that consumers prefer products that contain information about an accidental discovery of an item, such as a gold necklace from a previously unknown mine. Why? Upon learning of an inadvertent discovery of a resource, consumers think more that the resource will never be discovered, raising their appreciation of the resource by reinforcing the perception that the discovery is fatal.

Imagine you're shopping for jewelry online, and the brand's biographical website reveals that the material came from a gold mine accidentally discovered during a hike by the company's founder, a geologist. How might knowing about the accidental discovery of a gold mine affect your interest in shopping at a jewelry store?

Previous research has shown that people value effort and therefore may be more likely to shop at a jewelry store if a gold mine is discovered intentionally. However, this earlier work dealt with efforts to create a product rather than identifying pre-existing resources. Our new research (soon to be published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General ) shows that unintentional communication during disclosure increases consumer choice. Why? Luckily.

Introduction to discovery

To test the effect of unintentional detection, we first asked consumers to read about a fake jewelry company like the one pictured above. Consumers were browsing a page on the company's website about how the company's founder, a geologist, discovered the gold mine from which it derives all of its ingredients.

A consumer group read that the gold mine was discovered on purpose. Another group read that the gold mine was discovered by accident. And the third group read the same biographical note, but without the details of the discovery of the gold mine.

We found that consumers who read that a gold mine was discovered by accident were more likely to purchase from a jewelry company than consumers who read that a gold mine was discovered on purpose and without details about the gold mine discovery than consumers who read a brand biography. . . The last two groups were not interested in buying the company.

This preference persisted even when we researched social media audiences. Using Facebook's A/B testing feature, we showed Facebook users one of two versions of an advertisement for an exhibit in a university museum featuring a 4,000-year-old Mesopotamian tablet. Facebook users who read an ad that an archaeologist accidentally discovered a tablet are more likely to click on a museum web page with an exhibit than Facebook users who read an ad that the tablet was found on purpose.

Simply put, since unintentional discovery is an unexpected event, information about the unintentional discovery of an asset makes consumers think more about why the asset was never discovered, enhancing their perception of the asset by reinforcing the perception that the asset was never discovered. fatal.

What does this mean for sellers?

Understanding these consumer preferences opens up new opportunities for marketers. At the most basic level, our research shows that marketers can increase consumer preference for their products by informing consumers that an unintentional discovery is part of the product description. The product may not seem trivial at first glance, but virtually all consumer products use natural resources. Studying the ingredients of a product to trace the history of an invention can be an interesting adventure.

In addition, dealers from institutions that promote historical values, such as museums or auction houses, can clearly benefit from this research. Discovery is an element that exists in the biography of every work of art, and its integration into the public narrative can increase exhibition attendance and auction sales.

This and more: Unwanted reports in an asset's discovery history can create value for an organization without changing the physical characteristics of the asset.

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