Before you update that pack…
The objective of many a pack redesign is to look more modern. But, does modernity actually drive purchase intent? The Ehrenberg-Bass Institute (who else?!) has been finding out.
Turns out, not directly. Modern packs tend to be better liked and, surprisingly, feel more familiar. And it’s those two things that make purchase intent go up, not modernity itself. So, before you hit blast-off on that sans serif and white space…
“Redesigns should occur only when measurable declines in likeability are observed. Ongoing tracking of likeability enables firms to detect declines early and avoid changes driven by preference rather than need. When redesigns are justified, two objectives should guide implementation: restoring likeability and preserving familiarity. Enhancing likeability without maintaining the familiarity consumers rely on can reduce brand recognition and weaken purchase intent.”
“One in, one out for worries”
The world has been, well, *gestures broadly with arms*, pretty full on lately. But, interestingly, the way Brits perceive it hasn't changed at all. Take it away, Tom Johnson:
“Unsurprisingly, in our surveys this year, around three-quarters of the UK public say that they agree with the statement: ‘the world is a more dangerous place than it used to be.’ [...] But what’s strange is that consumer sentiment, in the face of this madness, is actually unchanged [...] in every year we’ve asked this question, going back to 2011, the numbers have been virtually identical [...] One explanation for this is that we’re constantly resetting our priors. In 2020, the pandemic was a big scary event that came out of nowhere. But now we’re through the pandemic, so it doesn’t seem so scary in the rear view mirror, and for many people doesn’t contribute to our fear of the world today. In a sense, it’s one in, one out for worries.”
Why can’t you finish anything?
Joshua Rothman was in good form with his piece on why you can’t finish anything. In case you can’t get to the end...
“Instead of planning to clean out your basement—an unfinishable task if there ever was one—you decide to fill one trash bag per week. Rather than trying to write a book of poems, you commit to a daily haiku [...] In some cases, whether something is finished is all in your mind [...] Yes, the robots are half built—but my son’s interests have advanced. Now he’s working on more complicated robot kits. The old robots aren’t done, but the learning is [...] But is finishing by fiat actually finishing for real? Not always. Finishing things the hard way is often valuable precisely because it’s weird in ways you can’t anticipate."
The Gut Decision Matrix
Instinct and intuition are often lumped together as gut feelings. But, as Anne-Laure Le Cunff shows in her Gut Decision Matrix, they’re different mechanisms for different purposes:
“Instinct protects us from immediate threats. Intuition helps us recognize patterns we learned through experience [...] When we confuse them, we may trust reactions that deserve skepticism or ignore signals that deserve attention [...] When we know how to distinguish between the two, our automatic responses become more useful. So instead of asking whether to trust your gut, a better question is: what kind of gut feeling is this? Once you know that, deciding what to do next becomes much easier.”
And finally…
Tristan da Cunha is the world’s most remote inhabited island. For those who find the sound of that appealing, here’s what life would be like.
If that’s a tad extreme for some escapism, there’s always Official Stick Reviews. They… umm... review sticks... And their 3.3 million followers would suggest it's less niche than it sounds.
Or, failing that, have a poke around Taquitos.net, which has reviewed over 11,000 snacks during the last 25 years. With my apologies to anyone who was already feeling hungry 😁
Bon weekend,
Fran