Monthly Archives: April 2021

Context Would you rather buy your carrots from a farmers’ market or a supermarket? While some consumers argue that there are pros and cons to buying from both businesses, they usually agree that fresher products are available at a farmers’ market and cheaper products are available at a supermarket. Although the argument about different foodContinue reading ““Small” does rhyme with “natural””

Context Following the fire of Notre-Dame in Paris, billionaires pledged important donations to help rebuild the mythic monument. When William Plummer announced on Twitter that the Pinault family pledged a 100 million euro donation for the reconstruction, he was either congratulated on the “incredible generous gesture” or accused of pursuing tax savings or criticized becauseContinue reading “Does luxury make you selfish?”

Context Today, many platforms allow private owners to rent their possessions to other consumers (peer-to-peer rental). Such platforms concern a wide variety of products: housing, cars, bikes, campervans, boats, music instruments… and even pets! On this highly competitive and thriving market, owners try to distinguish themselves, so that renters will pick them over competitors. OneContinue reading “Life for rent”

Context Sometimes, marketers fail to respond to consumer needs in a satisfactory manner. It may come from difficulties to step into the consumers’ shoes, for instance when Pepsi mistranslated its popular slogan “Come alive with the Pepsi generation” in Chinese, which came out as “Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead”, thereby failingContinue reading “Marketers VS the false consensus effect”

Context Today, reward programs have proven to be an efficient way to boost consumer loyalty. They allow firms to keep control of consumer relationship and retention… or so they think! In an article published in 2021 in the Journal of Business Research, Philip and Pyle argue that prior experiences unrelated to the purchase and wayContinue reading “When negative experiences increase loyalty”

Context Crowdfunding has become a widespread practice to finance innovative projects. For crowdfunding campaigns to be successful, the public must be convinced of the project’s validity and merits. Since crowdfunding is by definition associated with the concept of collectivity and interdependence between participants, it makes sense that crowdfunding platforms be used to finance more andContinue reading “From crowdfunding to prosocial consumption”

Context Today, social media empower consumers who can freely express they thoughts (whether they are positive or negative) about brands. However, do we really speak our minds when sharing about brands? As explained in this blog post, social media is about strengthening relationships with others and showing one’s best. In an article published in 2021Continue reading “When sharing means changing”

Context Kinder surprise eggs bring back happy memories for many of us. We all participated in the same ritual: seeing the familiar egg-shaped red, blue and white packaging, then shaking it beside our ear to check that the surprise is there, then smelling the chocolate before savoring it. Analyzing this routine from a marketer’s perspective,Continue reading “Sensory marketing in order”

Context The Covid Pandemic seems to have made people long for the good old days, which translates into nostalgic consumption, from listening to the music that reminds them of happy memories to indulging in snacks they enjoyed back in the 90s. Surfing on this nostalgia wave, Miller Lite even released a limited edition line ofContinue reading “When I find myself in times of trouble, communal nostalgia comes to me”