Monday, March 9, 2009

Blog 5: Kenna's Dilemma

My first experience with Kenna began when MTV2 was still in its’ early stages of formation and had a featured artist each week. This one particular week however, there seemed to be a lot of buzz surrounding this “Kenna” character for his world premiere video of “Hell Bent.” It was definitely a unique kind of sound and was seemingly a big hit because it was played constantly on MTV2, but after that song, I never heard anything from him. However, flash forward to 2009 and Kenna is brought up once again in Customer Insights. I now see that through low ratings in test markets, his type of music had apparently no one true fan base according to the research, so his airplay was ultimately limited. The dilemmas presented in the article definitely relate to those we face as consumers, most notably the Pepsi ‘Sip’ Challenge as well as the power that packaging has on consumers.

The Pepsi Challenge was an interesting way to challenge their primary competitor Coca-Cola in a battle of what tastes better. Pepsi seemingly had the advantage in taste (obviously with the title “The Pepsi Challenge”), but as a consumer I never thought about a sip tasting any different from drinking an entire can. Pepsi’s sip of cola in this Central Location test was victorious and seemed to convert Coke drinkers, but in Coke’s defense their cola seemed to fare better when the entire can was consumed. Pepsi might’ve realized this and utilized the Pepsi ‘Sip’ Challenge to alter customer perspectives.

This test immediately reminded me of the movie trailer experience. It is perceived that you can judge an entire movie based on simply the ‘sip’ of the actual movie, and by exciting customers with the trailer, they are more likely to go see it. Personally, one of my favorite parts about going to watch a film at a theatre is actually the preview section. Great movie trailers that are innovative and captivating can leave you in itching in anticipation to go learn more and watch the film. Films like The Dark Knight, Knocked Up, and the Star Wars trilogies have all delivered to live up to their intriguing trailers. At the same time however, a bad movie trailer can make you care less about the film and make you wish you had gone to get popcorn instead. Movies such as Lions for Lambs, Gigli, and “From Justin to Kelly (The post-American Idol movie) leave the audience confused, bored, and may not deliver the necessary point to draw customers to watch the film. Although these ended up being horrible movies anyway, the buzz around the films did not help their numbers in the box office.

Conversely just because a ‘sip’ of a movie is good/bad doesn’t mean that the movie will follow the trailer of course. The latest example that comes to mind is probably Slumdog Millionaire. If I were to see THIS trailer prior to all the buzz and awards, I would probably brush it off and continue enjoying my popcorn. I would’ve never guessed this trailer would be the Oscar winning film of 2008. On the contrary good trailers with renowned directors and actors can cause quite an opening buzz, but leaves audiences with a sense of disappointment. Examples would be Will Smith movies (I still have love for Big Willie Style) such as Wild, Wild West, Hancock, and Seven Pounds as well as a couple of M. Night Shyamalans more recent films The Village, Lady in the Water, The Happening. A ‘sip’ of a movie may not reveal the overall outcome of the movie, but good trailers can cause buzz and at least give movies momentum in box office sales. Movie companies should continue to deliver quality and unique movie trailers to lure audiences, and by doing this they can hopefully persuade them psychologically enough to have a positive pre-conceived notion of the film when they actually go watch it. Causing this initial buzz (as in Kenna’s case) helps draws audiences, but if many people criticize the actual movie, they still have the chance to resonate as a future cult classic following.

Another major issue that was brought up in the article was based on the importance of packaging. Whenever I look at products, the color scheme, font, and even the pictures it plays a major role in my purchase decision. For instance, when I search for toilet paper, I always have trusted the name brands because of their colorful designs and ‘soft’ aesthetics. The generic brands claim to have the same features such as softness and durability, but the look appearance of the packaging gives me the impression that the paper is rough and weak. Toilet paper might essentially have similar feels and consistency, but I need to feel assured mentally that I’m making the right choice. When it comes to the restroom, toilet paper for me needs to be the highest quality in my mind; I will not buy secondary brands.
Which tissue would you prefer?


Another issue with packaging arises when companies decide to alter the look of product to shape a new image in consumers’ minds. I’m a fairly avid fan to Mountain Dew, so when they decided to alter the style and change ‘Mountain Dew’ to ‘Mtn Dew’ I was somewhat confused. When I first was handed a Mountain Dew from my friend, I wasn’t sure if I was drinking a generic brand that was attempting to replicate the product so at first I took it as a secondary brand. When I first took a sip I thought it tasted strange and perceived it for a generic brand, but my friend reassured me that it was in fact Mountain Dew with a new design. So when companies decide to change an image of a product, it might also alter the customer’s image of the actual product (as shown in the E&J/Christian Brothers and Mountain Dew example). The slight change in name and look altered my perception of the product which then made me taste the drink differently. I’m not sure if this was just a coincidental example or if it has happened often, but I’m just saying that companies need to be strategic on how much they actually change their product packaging. Sometimes the alteration of a package can catch consumers off and guard and actually alter tastes and how we perceive the product.

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