Author Archives: Johanna Volpert

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”

Context Conditional promotions are a widespread practice among firms. They consist in granting consumers who buy several products together a discount. Conditional promotions may be formulated in several manners. For instance, in the case of a promotion that is conditional on the purchase of two items, two framings exist:– “buy two items, get 20% offContinue reading “How to formulate conditional promotion propositions”

Context In the 1990s, curvaceous women were stigmatized by comparison with thin supermodels, whereas curves were considered a sign of fertility in Ancient Greece. The very same attribute can be either viewed positively or negatively depending on the context. When the attribute is viewed negatively in a given context because it deviates from what othersContinue reading “How stigmas shape consumption”

Context Pay-what-you-want has developed in several sectors such as the music industry, restaurants or museums. As its name suggests, this practice consists in letting buyers fix the price of their purchase. Even though pay-what-you-want may come out as an opportunity for consumers to pay nothing and freeride, it seems to be quite successful in the contextsContinue reading “Are women more generous than men?”

Context Today, consumers show more and more concern for a healthy way of eating, which encompasses a myriad of meanings: from fat/gluten/sugar-free to organic/sustainable food. The food industry tries to adapt to this trend by proposing healthy alternatives to existing products, which explains why diet sodas or fat-free cheese seem to flourish everywhere. The ideaContinue reading “Compare and contrast”