Futurity.org » marketing

Fast-food diners say, ‘Downsize me’

Keith Brannon-Tulane — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:55:27 +0000

TULANE (US) — Asking consumers if they would like a smaller portion may be a better approach to curb overeating than posting calorie counts.

The study from Tulane University found that when servers asked customers whether they’d like to “downsize” starchy side dishes at a Chinese fast-food restaurant as many as a third gladly cut back—saving an average 200 calories each meal.

“Our goal was to test whether the invitation to downsize a meal component would be embraced by consumers and, importantly, whether the approach would be more effective than a purely information-based approach—in this case calorie labeling,” says lead study author Janet Schwartz, assistant professor of marketing at Tulane University.

Top Super Bowl ads, like Young Vader, tell a story

Amy Wolf-Vanderbilt — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:03:12 +0000

VANDERBILT (US) — Although shock can create a splash, research shows Super Bowl ads with a storyline score big.

One of the most anticipated commercials of the 2012 Super Bowl is the follow up to last year’s Volkswagen “Young Darth Vader” ad. In the original VW ad, a boy dressed as Darth Vader tries to use ‘The Force’ to raise inanimate household items.

Kids got broccoli blues? Add more color

Susan Lang-Cornell — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:48:14 +0000

CORNELL (US) — Parents of picky eaters take note: Children are most attracted to plates that have a wide variety of foods and colors.

For a new study, published in the journal Acta Paediatrica, researchers presented 23 preteen children and 46 adults with full-size photos of 48 different combinations of food on plates that varied by number of items, placement of entrée, and organization of the food.

Consumers too wily for traditional ads?

Neil Schoenherr-WUSTL — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 16:10:08 +0000

WASHINGTON U.-ST. LOUIS (US) — Traditional product advertising—full-page magazine ads and 30-second television commercials—may be going the way of the rotary phone.

A marketing expert predicts that viral marketing and product placement will grow in 2012, as more traditional advertising methods continue to wane.

Package irony: Buy quickly, use slowly

Patrick Ercolano-JHU — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 14:34:50 +0000

JOHNS HOPKINS (US) — Persuasive packaging drives initial sales but can also entice consumers to use up a product more slowly once they bring it home.

The effect cuts long-term profit potential, a new study published online by the Journal of Marketing Research, shows.

Consumers will pay for ‘authentic’ chips

Sarah Jane Keller-Stanford — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 19:06:13 +0000

STANFORD (US) — Like politicians who adopt regional accents to appeal to local audiences, potato chip producers vary the wording on their bags to convey their products’ authenticity in different ways to different buyers.

Stanford University researchers analyzed the marketing language on bags of potato chips and found that whether you crunch an ordinary chip or the priciest exotic-root-vegetable chip, consumers of all social classes value the product that they think is most authentic.

Online communities encourage risky decisions

Amy Hodges-Rice — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 13:05:32 +0000

RICE (US) — People who participate in online communities are more likely to make risky financial decisions, new research shows.

The study, published in the Journal of Marketing Research, examined the behavior of people participating in message boards and chat rooms on the lending website Prosper.com and the auction website eBay.com.

Goofy TV ads sell chimps short

Karl Bates-Duke — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 13:56:32 +0000

DUKE (US) — Television ads featuring cute chimpanzees wearing human clothes are likely to distort the public’s perception of the endangered animals and hinder conservation efforts, experts say.

Researchers at Duke University showed 165 study participants three different collections of television ads for products like toothpaste and soft drinks and then surveyed them to see whether attitudes toward conservation changed.

Alcohol brand names pop up on Top 40

Jennifer Yates-Pittsburgh — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:49:55 +0000

U. PITTSBURGH (US) — The average U.S. adolescent is heavily exposed to alcohol brand references in popular music, new research shows.

References are most common in rap, R&B, and hip hop songs, and are often associated with a luxury lifestyle characterized by degrading sexual activity, wealth, partying, violence, and the use of drugs, according to the study published in the journal Addiction.

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Dartmouth University analyzed 793 of the most popular songs in the youth market between 2005 and 2007 and reported that a brand name was included in a song about 25 percent of the time alcohol was mentioned, representing about 3.4 alcohol brand references per song-hour.

Why pet owners love Purina’s ‘dog-noise’ ad

Neil Schoenherr-WUSTL — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 13:13:00 +0000

WASHINGTON U.-ST. LOUIS (US) — A dog food commercial for Nestlé Purina’s Beneful brand features high-frequency noises intended for dogs’ ears only, but one marketing expert says the ad speaks to pet owners, too.

Marketing expert Carol Johanek says the ad should serve to increase the bond owners feel with their pets.