Rumor has it…
We’ve all been there before. Entranced by the compelling urge to buy a product we’ve never heard of, just because everybody else is.
Have I been hiding under a rock? How did I miss the memo? Everyone but you seems to be in on the secret…the holy grail of beauty products that’s going to magically transform your skin to all it’s former glory. Hallelujah.
Although I am well aware of the boobytraps of marketing, I still found myself standing in a huge queue of people who’d run to the store to hoard entire shelves of the latest Cien Q10.
The lady in front of me chats away, enthusiastically explaining that the product contains the same ingredients as the way more expensive equivalents, but for a fraction of the price! I couldn’t help it, part of my brain danced for joy, momentarily consumed by the belief that the years of buying expensive brands were finally over, I’d found the miracle cure. How had I been tricked and seduced by their marketing and storytelling for so long? But while I eagerly filled my basket with the glossy packages, I slowly regained consciousness and wondered; why is it so easy for me and all these other ladies to believe that this product IS actually the same quality as the one with the price tag at least 20 times higher? Why do I so easily dismiss the fact that quality ingredients would have a higher price tag…
Walking back home I was still fascinated. Am I finding myself in a new era as result of a decline in the unconditional trust, that high price and high value go hand-in-hand?
Over the past few years, private labels have matured in their approach. Generally speaking, they tend to focus more on product quality and consumer experience than traditional A brands. And in some cases, the packaging design alone has ruled out that of the A brand’s by creating overwhelming shelf impact.
A recent Nielsen study showed that private labels are seeing a positive increase in how they are perceived for quality. 88 percent of Millennials are not impressed by brands on shelf, happily picking up the non-brand equivalent. So it’s no wonder that out of the top 100 brands in the FMCG segment, 90 percent are in decline. The Nielsen study isn’t alone, multiple statistics show that people are having less trust in the big A brands and prefer more transparent (often local) private labels.
After some online research, I discovered that the Cien anti-wrinkle range has indeed been chosen as the best priced, value product for a few years in a row by consumers, which of course could legitimately support some of it’s prestige. However, directly comparing it to a luxury brand is actually quite unfair. It is true that Cien does have a few ingredients in common, but that doesn’t necessarily qualify it as a direct equivalent. After all, the product is only as good as the bouquet of ingredients.
It’s safe to say that the majority of people don’t go out of their way to research or directly compare ingredients, they will happily, blindly trust their blogger or neighbour’s word.
To me, the power of ‘word of mouth’ combined with effective packaging design is unquestionable. Not only do they impress, they legitimately enable consumers to fulfil their ever increasing desire, to believe in a product.
