The Cost of Familiarity
Businesses put a lot of time, effort, and money into building brand recognition, and it seems that their efforts are paying off. Time magazine reported on a study in which people were asked to taste peanut butter from three different jars. The jars contained the same peanut butter but had different labels. By far, people preferred the peanut butter in the jar with a recognized brand's label. In another experiment children ages 3 to 5 were asked to taste French fries in different packaging. Even though each package contained the same French fries, the kids overwhelmingly preferred those in a popular fast-food chain's wrapper.
Matt's View
What often scares people away from discount stores such as Aldi and their less expensive products is that they don't recognize the brands, which are mostly private label brands. If you're in the habit of buying only certain brands, give some unfamiliar brands a try. You're likely to find that many are just as good as the recognized brands--without the marketing surcharge.
This article filed in: Marketing
Managing Money by The Book
- "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." - Romans 12:12
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