You Had Me at "Brand."

This morning I listened to a story on NPR “Feelings Toward A Partner Affect Brand Buying Decisions, Study Says”.

Huh?

We all know there are lots of tangible and intangible things that affect buyer behavior, so this shouldn’t really be a surprise. But thumbs up to the curious researchers- Gavan Fitzsimmons (Duke University) and Danielle Brick (University of New Hampshire)– and NPR headline writers for making me turn my head.

The research asserts that when you are enjoying relationship health and positivity, you stick with your “normal” brands or even those preferred by your partner. In adverse times, you buy brands that your partner dislikes and even those that you may not like in this “act of defiance.” Listen to the story here:

https://www.npr.org/player/embed/502274818/502274819

Here’s an example: Last year, I was annoyed with my husband for leaving hockey gear askew around the house. I asked him to clean it up a few times, or at least get it into an under-control pile, but life got in the way (or probably a hockey game) and it wasn’t happening. On my next trip to the store, I found my huffy, pouting self in front of the hard cider section. I don’t love hard cider, but might enjoy one every year. Hockey Husband really makes a crazy, contorted face when he hears “hard cider.” Yep. I did it. I rebelled.

Host Steve Inskeep asks if marketers can use this to sell more product. To do that, there’s a lot of projection, inference and assumption that the marketer has to do- likely more than even big brands are comfortable with. And let’s talk about right time- right place. If you think getting a video to go viral took some luck, try to guess when couples are fighting.

Let’s just get crazy and say Potato Chip Brand A decided to capitalize on this concept. How does it even fit into their brand story? Will it alienate a major audience? Is it a one-off promotion? How can they build the message without injuring all the brand work they’ve done so far? To me, it doesn’t sound like a solid campaign concept, but it’s worth exploring. Here’s a link to the full study: http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/688755

I think people are “buying defiantly” because it makes them think they are having their own experience, not one shared with the person that ticked them off. They are also simply being normal passive aggressive humans that are trying to soothe themselves with retail therapy.

What other ways might your personal relationships affect what you buy or don’t buy? What about your customers and what’s happening behind their scenes? What did you think about the story? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter.

New Resource for Local Business Pros (OR WANNA-BES!)

Are you stuck on a business project? Have an idea, but don’t know where to start? Looking for feedback? Need accountability for work milestones?

Join The Biz Posse! We meet on the 3rd Tuesday of every month at the Driggs Library (79 N. Main St.). This group is open to business owners, entrepreneurs and everyone in between- even students looking to explore the world of business ownership and management.

This is an open, casual format with a fun, creative, motivating group. The next session is on November 15- see you there!

Handwriting. The Struggle is Real.

When I was in elementary school, I learned how to write using the D’Nealian method.There were cool workbooks with the line-dash-line paper and lots of things to trace. Cursive was fun until I realized my teachers were going to require all assignments be written in cursive for the next 6 years.

Then high school came. Freedom to print. OR WRITE IN ALL CAPS. oR mIx it Up, EveN iF iT Wuz on mY teal NoTeBooK. Maybe I could even use the typewriter for a couple papers (gasp!). Until I walked into Russian class. We would learn the Cyrillic alphabet and write in Cyrillic cursive. Curses!

In college, when I finally graduated from my hand-me-down Smith Corona word processing typewriter (thanks Big Sis), it was computer time. I barely picked up a pen again for years and I was relieved. Despite the lifetime-so-far of practice, my handwriting was fair, but often sloppy. Typing was faster and it was consistent.

Fast forward to 2013 when I took a position in the retail industry. We started a chalkboard signage program where I had to develop the standards. This was a blast, but the person in charge’s handwriting and general pen-holding skills (mine) had morphed into a mush of letters borrowed from 2 different alphabets. In a word: mess.

So I bought a sketch book and a pencil sharpener and practiced writing “Strawberries” “New Flavor!” “$7.99 / lb”. I saw my handwriting transform from mess to passable.  I enjoyed sketching out chalk boards beforehand and refining as they were drawn.  I found myself busting out the sketchbook for non-work drawings, quick diagrams or doodles. My regular meeting notes and quick stickies to my co-workers were legible to more than just me. My handwriting steadily improved and it triggered a pocket of my brain that a keyboard could not. Decent handwriting was an analog skill.

A 2014 article in the New York Times suggests handwriting is key to educational development and mental stimulation. For adults, handwriting may help information processing and focus.

A few months after starting The Brandstalk, I looked down at my day’s notes. Donald N. Thurber- the  creator of D’Nealian- was probably poking his eyes out with No. 2 pencils. I’d lost that attention to my handwriting that was so crucial to communicating the right product and price to the customer, the response rate my co-worker had asked for or completing an application for a special event permit.

More importantly, I’d forgotten how great it felt to activate that circuit that psychologist Dehaene mentions. So I am back at it with the sketchbook, the adult coloring book and writing my work notes as if my team of creative cronies needs them for the next project.

Do you have a handwriting story? Please share it in the comments or let me know on Twitter.