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The Marketing Hits’ Formula

Violeta-Loredana Pascal22 August, 200526 May, 20190 Comments949 Mins Read

Succes has its rules

The formula postulates that each marketing hit comprises of the following four elements:

1. Marketing hits are usually not large innovative leaps. The new product or service should be based in as much as 80% on a format that has been successful numerous times in the same category. The format assures familiarity, promises consumer satisfaction and minimizes adaptation efforts on the part of the consumer.

2. The product or service should be innovative by approximately 20%. This 20% provides the new experience, the uniqueness, the additional benefit or any other reason to switch from the current product, or to at least try it. At the very least the innovative part will offer the consumer a feeling of novelty, freshness, or "up-to-datedness". This novelty should uphold the following two rules (3 and 4).

3. The product’s novelty should address one of the "unsatisfiable" or "regenerating" needs (explanation to follow).

4. The product should include an element of "Cool", "WOW", and/or a "Twist" that creates a "viral motive", or in other words, will supply buyers with a good reason to tell other potential buyers about the product. Such a viral element motivates spreading the word / buzz because the spreader has a social benefit to gain by doing so: attention from others, interest, appreciation and an image of being "In", up-to-date or even a trend setter.

· COOL means ‘right’, fashionable and utterly current, perhaps even a bit edgy.

· WOW means arousing awe and excitement through an amazing design or by an outstanding and an unexpected level pf performance.

· A TWIST means something unusual in a surprising, intriguing and often amusing manner.

Hits are planned and managed short-lived successes (the duration of ‘short’ varies among categories) that are replaced by new hits. It is of utmost importance to realize that hits satisfy two types of human needs not catered for by long-term established brands:

"Unsatisfiable needs" – these are wishes that cannot be realized (not to a full extent), however, human beings will relentlessly attempt to fulfill them, while deceiving themselves that it is possible to do so. These attempts, fueled by fantasies, enable consumers to remain optimistic and hopeful. Amongst the unsatisfiable are the needs for eternal youth, irresistible sex appeal, grandness, omnipotence, domination, an ever-exciting life, and adventure (without investing the effort, taking the risk or paying the price). It is understandable that brands supporting such fantasies are bound to disappoint eventually and must be replaced by new solutions.

"Regenerating needs" – needs that require ceaselessly new fulfillments. Some of them are regenerating psychological needs, such as the need for attention from the environment, the need to renew oneself, to remain up-to-date, to discover, and to be tempted or seduced. There are also regenerating social needs including the need to signal involvement, belonging and openness. Finally, there are experiential regenerating needs, such needs that please the senses and the emotions. As is well known, our system becomes accustomed to stimuli and in order to keep up the freshness of experience we are in constant need of new scents, tastes, tones, and textures to allow for arousal of our senses.