I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the psychology of the typical American citizen in this poor economy and trying times. Why? Because I’m a marketing and sales person and it’s my job to understand why people buy things. Plus, it fascinates me.
Why “Shock Jocks” Aren’t Selling Anymore…
You remember Howard Stern right? He quickly became irrelevant when he moved to Sirius satellite radio. Out of sight, out of mind, right? It makes sense. Less listeners = less relevance to the mainstream of which read newspapers, watch television, etc…
But if Howard were to come back today on “free” radio or podcasts… would he be as popular? I argue the answer to that is no. The days of the “shock jock” are gone. For one, there’s too much noise out there in smaller silo’s for him to compete in. And two, it’s clear to me that American’s (all I can speak for) have moved beyond “being shocked” and entered into a different state of media awareness. In other words… I think the Internet made us smart enough to know that shock jocks (or similar types of people) are boring anymore.
When I said The A-list was dead, I believe that applied to people like Howard Stern too.
Look at what Gary Vaynerchuk did to Howard Stern. Gary is dead-on right. Howard Stern is frightened to death about the state of things nowadays. We don’t need him anymore. Watch video below.
Why Snuggies Are Selling?…
You’ve seen the Snuggie right? It’s that half blanker/half backwards robe you put on and lay on your couch in? It’s becoming a huge seller and spurring many creative spoofs and marketing/community campaigns.
But why is it selling? Why are American’s dishing out $19.95 for this product?
I think of a Snuggie as a cocoon. A kind of warm, safe, item that gives me comfort. I can put it on and sit on my couch and watch television and forget about the problems of the world. In today’s economic crisis, that makes sense, no?
What’s the Point Jim?
The point of all this is to understand why people buy, and why they don’t. And more importantly, for you to understand how to position your product/service into the current times as the emotional level of buyers changes over time.
That’s really what selling is all about. Emotion. That’s why we buy at the core level. That’s what excellent marketing invokes in you to make a purchase.
I got the Snuggie as sort of a goof, but ended up really liking it – not as a distraction from bad stuff, but because it’s just really comfortable.
And I think the arms are actually a nice feature. So much more than a backwards robe, as the detractors would have you believe.
My robe is terry cloth – my Snuggie is “super soft, luxurious fleece.”
And don’t forget the free book light. The people putting out the Snuggie are a positive force in the world in their efforts to promote literacy.
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Though Snuggie is one of the “hot” products on the market right now, I would disagree with you that people metaphorically look at it as a safe house or shelter as to the current state of the economy. The product is a fad; it has gotten so much publicity from “Snuggie bar crawls” to being featured on SNL. The item gets so much free advertising, people want to buy it to see what the big deal is.
Erica, you could be right!
Shawn, yes, we can’t forget the book light!
Jim,
Marketing fad’s are a rich component of American History.
My memorable products:
1. Hula Hoop
2. Whamo Frisbee
3. Wheel-O
4. Pogo Stick
5. PEZ Candy dispensers
6. Skateboards
7. Slip-and-Slide
8. the hose attachment that sprayed randomly (name?)
9. Easy Bake Oven
10. Anything by Ron Popeil – (Amazing variety of viral products introduced through infomercials).
11. Anything introduced by Billy Mays goes viral in hours.
I’m looking for a PPC software suite that automates everything, website building, landing page creation and administration, campaign selection and keyword creation, trend optimization of keyword list’s to maintain performance of campaign’s as trending indicates, and automatic stop on campaigns going negative.
Some smart developer with a pocket full of API’s should be able to create this package and have a huge viral release in minutes… I would be willing to pay $10,000.00 for this software….
I will continue the slow uphill climb to wear all the hats…in my online efforts. Now where is that ‘inventor’s beanie’ I used to put on?
Respectfully,
Nicholas Chase
http://www.twitter.com/nachase
Nicholas Chases last blog post..Guy Kawasaki’s New Book – ‘Reality Check’
Hi Jim, I just wanna say how much I love your blog! I'm just wondering what's the next big thing after shock jocks? On another note, I agree that emotion is really the selling point of any merchandize. Otherwise… we're all just buying junk :)
The video you have posted here is really cool and i love it thank you