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I rocket for books. Big time. I buy more than I can possibly read, but that’s OK by me. I like the way a new book feels and smells. I like anticipating when I’ll first crack it open, which is often as I sit in my car before I drive out of the parking lot. I visit a bookstore several times a week, often with my oldest, Maggie, 12, in tow. She’s book crazy, too. Currently, she’s immersed in Stephenie Meyer’s vampire love trilogy (Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse). I have no issues with buying Maggie any and every book she wants. What parent doesn’t hope their kids enjoy reading? But it’s more than that for me. It’s a chance to share a passion: the joy of books that only those who have been so bitten and smitten can understand. I get it. Maggie gets it. That’s cool.This experience has had me thinking about how some brands could help encourage this sort of parent/child bonding via interest in the same trade up categories. I suppose we could call this “parent/child branding.” While not appropriate for, say, a beer brand, parent/child branding could be fertile ground for an outdoor gear brand or a technology brand. My love for books has only deepened because of Maggie. Plus, I spend even more than I used to as I underwrite her addiction in addition to my own.Perhaps my passion for books will inspire Maggie to buy them like crazy when she’s my age. And, if so, Doubleday, Simon & Schuster, et al will owe me a big thank you. I’ll gladly settle for some free samples.

There’s a solid article on rocketing worth reading in the current issue of Fast Company. It’s called “The Inevitability of $300 Socks.” The authors, Chip and Dan Heath, who also so happen to have a book on the market now called Made to Stick, make this fundamental point: “Products make the leap from pedestrian to premium when their creators think of them as ideas.” People buy into and fall in love with ideas, not products, per se. It’s the idea of craftmanship or beauty or intelligence that people want to be associated with. As the authors say: “Luxury has become more about personal pleasure and self-expression than status.” It’s the “idea” that a product represents that reflects who we are. “You are, it seems,” the authors write, “what you blow a lot of money on.” There’s more than a little truth in that. For sure.

Pamela Danziger of Unity Marketing has just published an article summarizing a new study on the luxury consumer which underscores the power of Barefoot’s positioning and the premise of the whole area of “Trading Up.”  The article is called “Luxury Marketers:  What if Shoppers Just Aren’t That Into You?” Here’s an excerpt:

The second quarter Luxury Tracking Report, based on a survey of some 1,000 luxury consumers (average income $155,500 and who spent an average of $15,283 on luxury in the second quarter of 2007), reports fully one-third of the affluent consumers surveyed said that while they have been fortunate to enjoy luxuries in their life, that “luxury is not a part of my lifestyle.”Another 27 percent admitted to scaling back on some purchases in order to afford luxuries in areas that really matter to them, but for these occasionally indulgent affluents, high-end luxury living is not a part of their every day life either. This means that three out of every five potential luxury consumers is able easily to walk past the high-end stores and brands calling their name.  

This excerpt highlights a couple of points that I want to elaborate on. The first is that even when someone can afford to be a luxury consumer they don’t choose to be a luxury consumer in every category. The second is that even affluent consumers will cut back in some areas to indulge in others. That “rocketing” behavior is no surprise to us at Barefoot, and understanding that dynamic is key in how you talk to these consumers about your brand.The last part of the article draws the following conclusion:

“Instead, marketers need to convey to the reluctant luxury customer why their product or service is a smart choice as that occasional treat. They need to emphasize the superior quality, workmanship, materials, or service that they provide and work hard to make customers see why it is worth “trading up” to their brand of luxury item,’ Danziger concludes.  

Those familiar with how we approach these consumers will recognize that as perfectly describing what we call Reasons To Rationalize®. You can’t just expect a high-end or luxury brand name to create the desire and the purchase, you have to help the consumer understand and rationalize why your product or service is worth the extra investment.It’s great to see a study validating the path we’ve chosen to pursue as an area of growth for our agency. Thanks Pam!

Most agree that advertising is part science, part art. (How much of each is–and always will be–open to debate.) As I guy who focuses more on the art than the science, I still find it interesting when science provides some interesting insights into our biz. Here’s a case in point (and my last entry dealing with Daniel Gilbert’s book Stumbling on Happiness):In scientific studies, when people are asked to predict how happy they’ll be about something in the future, be that eating a candy bar or owning a new car, they consistently under- or over-estimate it. When, however, people are given the chance to hear other people talk about just how happy they were (or weren’t) with the experience, the test subjects are much more accurate in predicting just how happy (or not) they’ll be. We all want to believe that we and our circumstance are unique, but the truth is: we’re far more alike than different, and other people’s experience is actually more accurate in predicting our happiness than our own “guesses” about it.This is solid evidence for the power of testimonials in advertising, particularly with “trade-up” items where there’s considerable emotional investment. It suggests that we should expose our prospects to those people who have bought into our brand promise and our pleased with it. Be those video testimonials on websites or actually in-person “meet-and-greets” exposure to happy customers may be the best way to convert uncertain prospects. (Of course, this science also speaks to the power of negative publicity or online chat about your brand.)Better to have those who believe your brand will make them happy and indeed be happy with it, then to have those who think they will be, but turn out to be disappointed, and who share that disappointment with others. Less can be more. Maybe science will prove that someday.

I can’t claim like my business partner, Sean Brown, for instance, to rocket for technology. I’ve never been tech adverse, mind you, but I can’t claim to be an early adopter, either. But perhaps that’s changing. Maybe I’m adding technology to my other purchasing “soft spots”: art, books and fly fishing. What makes me say this? Well, two days ago I bought an iPhone. Not only did it cost me about $700 (with some extras), but I also had to pay T-Mobile a few hundred bucks to get out of my contract with them. Despite those costs, I would do it all over again. The iPhone is simply amazing: so smart, so helpful, so easy to use. If you’re thinking about buying one, do it! And look for me to be at the front of the line when Apple first starts selling the iCar.

I have been savoring Daniel Gilbert’s book Stumbling on Happiness for the past several months. (I trade-up for books, and when I come across one I really like, I’ll deliberately read it slowly, forcing myself to put it down, all as a means of extending the pleasure.) Anyway, in Gilbert’s chapter on rationalization, he talks about our “psychological immune systems.” We all cook the facts and interpret reality in way that allows us to reach the conclusions we want to.In one example, people were told that they scored either very well or very poorly on an IQ or job performance test. They were then given the opportunity to peruse articles on the accuracy and integrity of such tests. Interestingly, those that were told they performed well spent most of their time reading articles that touted the importance and validity of such tests. Those who were told they they performed poorly spent most of their time reading articles that disputed the importance and validity of such tests.What does this mean for marketers? Simply put: We must think of how we can help people rationalize their decisions to invest in a trade-up purchase. At Barefoot, we call this “Reasons to Rationalize” (RTR) something every bit as important as the well-known and established marketing term “Reasons to Believe” (RTB). What information and insights via traditional print vehichles, such as detailed and enticing brochures, and non-traditional vehichles, such as insightful, fact-filled e-newsletters, might be provided to help a buyer rationalize her decision to trade-up–before, during and after the actual purchase?Many trade-up purchases happen with a tinge of guilt or uncertainty, after all, there are more affordable options available. Yet we hunger for these things that make us happy. The good news is that our brains are designed to help us feel good about our purchases; we just need a the smallest of pushes to convince us of what we already want to be convinced of.

I’m about 1/4th of the way through Daniel Gilbert’s interesting read, “Stumbling on Happiness.” I just read about people who are diagnosed with alexithymia. These unfortunate folk are unable to know or express how they are feeling (even though their brains respond to certain emotional stimuli they same way yours or mine does). Ask an alexithymic what they are feeling and you’re likely to hear something like, “Not a thing.” Ask how they are feeling and you will hear something like, “Beats me.” I had no idea such a condition even existed. The thought of someone being happy yet not really knowing it is both mind-boggling and heart-breaking. I’m feeling pretty happy now — life is very good here at Barefoot, it’s Friday and the sun is shining. And I’m oh so glad that I can tell you about it.

This Wall Street Journal article definitely caught my eye. And it opens with a pretty provocative thought. “We may have life and liberty. But the pursuit of happiness isn’t going so well.”

The gist of the article is that while we may (as a country) be richer than ever, we are no happier than we were 30 years ago. The author says the key problem is that we aren’t very good at figuring out what makes us happier. I’ve highlighted in previous posts that I think happiness is a state of mind. You can be happier if you decide to be happier, but I also believe that part of being happy is “the pursuit,” not the arrival. That’s why the things that make Barefooters happy by and large are things that are either constantly changing (technology, fashion, etc.), or experiences that you can continue to collect as you move through life (travel, outsider art, etc.).

So perhaps it is true that once you have everything you’ve been pursuing, your happiness may plateau and even go into decline.

The lesson? Pick things that will always keep you growing and going.

Conversely, the author of the Wall Street Journal article, Jonathan Clements, shares that experts think we’re not happy due to two factors. First, we’re not “Built to be happy.” We’re designed to survive and reproduce. Second, “we’re bad at forecasting.” We don’t accurately project what will make us happier. I’m not sure I agree.

I’m happy. I would not attribute my happiness to being built different than anyone else (other than rounder perhaps), and I would not say I’m a better forecaster. Perhaps I’m just lucky, but I think it’s because I’ve discovered the things in life that bring me joy, and I pursue them. More importantly, I’ve decided to be happy, and I think that is the most important thing of all.

This will be quick. As you’ve read in my blog and others from Barefoot, we have positioned ourselves in a space that we call “Marketing The Pursuit of Happiness.” We talk about Rocketing and Trading Up and how that impacts the many different products and services available to you and me.
Well, I also know that I’ve confused a lot of people with my Golden Egg…the item I rocket for. But I think that Ben Stein, of all people, will help clarify it for you right now. I came across an article he wrote titled The Luxury of Financial Security. Let me know what you think.

It’s April 2nd, and again this year, I’m amazed at the sacrifice so many Cincinnati people make in order to participate in the ritual called Opening Day for America’s longest living Major League Baseball franchise…our own Cincinnnati Reds.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m a baseball fan (sort of). I attend a few games each year. I’ve been to Boston, Denver, New York and Pittsburgh to see games. But, I guess I just don’t rocket for baseball since some of what I see just surprises me.

In Cincinnati, today is a day of wearing red. You’re supposed to take the day off to go to the Opening Day parade, do some tailgaiting, watch batting practice and then spend the afternoon watching baseball for 4 hours. In the end, it’s at least 9 hours of living and breathing baseball. Since it’s Monday, it’s a vacation day for us working stiffs that want to experience a true Opening Day.

That’s the kind of power athletics can have over some of us. Sports can get woven throughout our lives and even become the things we trade up for. On Saturday, I attended a beautiful wedding with a magnificant and exlcusive reception location overlooking all of Cincinnati. It was breathtaking. But what made it truly special was that the family who hosted it was considerate enough to ensure there was a special flat screen television with satellite reception avaialbe so that we could watch the Final Four. What’s a wedding between a 6′ bride and 6′ 6″ groom without a little basketball?

And then for Opening Day in Cincinnati there are thousands of people buying new Cincinnati Reds’ gear, choosing to use one of those precious vacation days to spend the day at the park. And finally, a late night sacrifice tonight to watch the NCAA Men’s Basketball Finals until midnight. It may actually be the longest sports day of thousands of people’s lives in our area given The Ohio State is in the finals.

So, how does sports and Opening Day impact Barefoot? Well, it’s pretty quiet around here. Not just because a dozen or so people are at the game, but also, several of our clients are there too. And, you really can’t hold any meetings in downtown Cincinnati since all the parking spaces are filled with fans and workers alike as an additional 30,000-40,000 people enter downtown for the festivities.

I’ll pass on the baseball today. I guess sports just isn’t a passion for me. But, while I’m thinking about it, anybody know when Tiger tees up at the Masters on Thursday?