class example
TRANSCRIPT
“BUYING IN” & HELLO KITTY
Why do symbols ma;er?
Why do symbols ma;er?
• Magic trade show • Without symbols, all choices would be raGonal to maximize uGlity – Price – Convenience – Quality – Pleasure – Ethics
The Pre;y Good Problem
• The Purple Cow • Good branding makes products stand for an idea
• AuthenGcity that is tangible
• Symbolic meaning can be invented • Symbolic meaning can be invented by consumers
How do meaningful symbols get created?
A Paradox: WanGng to Stand Out & WanGng to Fit In
&
Wanting to fit in
The Interpreter
• Nonconscious and impossible to control
• Processes memories in the background along with other informaGon that may have been acquired over Gme
• The problem: The Interpreter is subject to a variety of psychological misinterpretaGons – CogniGve dissonance – ConfirmaGon bias
Salience and Relevance
RaGonal Decisions vs. RaGonales
• Are brand managers convincing us, or are we convincing ourselves?
• Ge\ng new things feels good
• The SUV – Wanted 4WD – Wanted to sit high up
Status Seeking
• Catch-‐all for what seem to be irraGonal buying decisions
We are NOT immune to adverGsing. We are NOT rejecGng adverGsing.
We are reinvenGng what it means to
establish a brand that will resonate with people.
Already a strong focus on differences between individuals… What about the diversity of one individual?
GeneraGonal
The Same Individual
Different Ages Tastes Styles Desires … that Hello Ki;y meets
“I may not like it much, but I buy it.”
• Hello Ki;y is so popular & so pervasive that most feel a strong pressure to conform – Does not require full parGcipaGon
Utopia in Modern Consumer SocieGes
• Achievable on an individual level • Relies on physical goods • Producers and consumers exist in an ideal state of supply and demand
Consumutopia
Five Traits:
1. Unifying LeitmoGf 2. Accessibility 3. Ubiquity 4. Projectability 5. Contagious Desire
1) Unifying LeitmoGf
• A massive selecGon of different products – One common theme
• Subtle evoluGon
• 15,000 Hello Ki;y products • 3% in royalGes for every sale • 1/3 of Sanrio’s profits from licensing fees
• What is Hello Ki;y’s fundamental aestheGc?
• Not everyone in Japan likes Hello Ki;y – Super Hello Ki;y is more understated
• For adults, Hello Ki;y is campy – Shows youthfulness, innocence, kindness, sensiGvity
2) Ubiquity
• Near omnipresence of Hello Ki;y, especially in Japan
• Cute is a powerful adjecGve in Japan
• Retail first
• What is the connecGon between salience (Apple’s iPod) and ubiquity?
• Plans to target males – Possible?
3) Accessibility
• Ubiquity presupposes accessibility
• Visually evident • Convenient
• Ki;y Goods CollecGon: “the newest Ki;y catalogue”
4) Projectability
• Hello Ki;y is neutral. Each person can project their own feelings onto this “blank slate”
• “She funcGons as a mirror that reflects whatever image, desire or fantasy an individual brings to it”
• What are the benefits of projectability?
• REALLY? It doesn’t make sense from a raGonal standpoint. Is the Interpreter from “Buying In” playing a role here?
• How does Hello Ki;y allow young girls to feel both individuality and solidarity with a larger group at the same Gme?
5) Contagious Desire
• Sharing / Comparing • FixaGon • Excitement
• Keeping Hello Ki;y fresh while holding on to the core of the brand
• Do you own any Hello Ki;y products?
Fad or No?
• What did you like about the case?
• What didn’t you like?
ImplicaGons • ImplicaGons Of: – Tension between individuality and belonging – Consumers creaGng meaning – The (subconscious) Interpreter – Salience and relevance – RaGonal decisions and raGonales – Need for authenGcity
• ImplicaGons For: – Consumers – Managers
Keeping these implicaGons in mind, how long lasGng and profitable do you predict some of the Top 10 Global Consumer Trends For 2014 will be?