Will you pay more for a product that makes you feel unique?

Are you a Gen Z?  New research shows that one in three Gen Z's say they'd rather be seen as unique than real.  Moreover they are willing to pay a little more for a brand consistent with their image.

Millennials on the other hand are more comfortable with store brands and will trade down in categories that are less important to them such as toilet paper, even while paying a premium for Starbucks coffee.

Does that ring true to you?  What implications does it have for marketers?

Mahoney, S. (2016, October 26)  Gen Z's Favorite Word?  Unique.  mediapost.com.  Retrieved October 28, 2016, from  http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/287683/gen-zs-favorite-word-unique.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline&utm_campaign=97623

Will Excedrin's debate tweets increase sales?

According to AdWeek, Excedrin won the final presidential debate with their #DebateHeadache sponsored Twitter tweets. 

The first one, which went live at 3 am, said: "The possibility of a #DebateHeadache is high.  Be prepared with Excedrin (R)."  The visual was a photo of the product with the line: "64% of Americans say avoiding headaches is impossible during a presidential election."  You can view all six tweets here...

http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/excedrin-won-debate-twitter-it-even-started-curing-your-debateheadache-174165

By the time Wednesday ended, Excedrin had 46,000 Twitter mentions, representing a 3,100% increase versus the previous day.  Mentions spiked by 602% during the debate compared to the hour prior.  (Heine, 2016)

Pretty impressive.  But apparently the promoted trend cost "hundreds of thousands of dollars" and costs were increased further by a scattered overlay of additional promoted tweets.

So the question is, was this a smart move?  Will it translate into increased sales?  Has a tweet ever convinced you to buy something?  If so, what?

Heine, C. (2016, October 20)  Excedrin Won the Debate on Twitter Before It Even Started by Curing Your #DebateHeadache.  adweek.com.  Retrieved October 21, 2016, from

http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/excedrin-won-debate-twitter-it-even-started-curing-your-debateheadache-174165

Will the new campaign for Taster's Choice stop sales erosion?

Amid reports that sales for instant coffee in the U.S. have been declining steadily since 2012, Nescafe has decided to redesign their Taster's Choice packaging and launch a campaign reaching out to budget-minded Millennials.  Since company research showed that 40% of consumers are drinking less coffee because it is too expensive to buy outside the home, they believe they have an opportunity to convince then to switch.  (Lukovitz, 2016)

Of course first they have to convince people that their product isn't inferior.  Here's the commercial they hope will do it...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bytLhKX8Sgg

Looking at it I couldn't help but think about a successful campaign (10% sales increase) the brand ran back in the early 90's which took an entirely different approach.  Here's an ad from that campaign...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXpQxnkf2l0

So, what do you think?  Will the new campaign be successful?  If so, why?  What do you think of the soap style campaign from 1992?  Do you think a similar approach might be more successful than the new campaign?  If so, why?

Lukovitz, K. (2016, October 13)  New Campaign Aims To Reinvigorate Nescafe Taster's Choice.  mediapost.com.  Retrieved October 13, 2016, from

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/286690/new-campaign-aims-to-reinvigorate-nescafe-tasters.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline&utm_campaign=97243

DeWolf, R. (1992, December 2)  Taster's Choice: A Never-ending Saga Sexy Commercials Put Spice In Coffee Sales.  philly.com.  Retrieved October 13, 2016, from

http://articles.philly.com/1992-12-02/business/25994312_1_instant-coffee-coffee-category-sophisticated-coffee