Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Counter-intuitive Marketing: Disney Strikes Again!


If anyone knows how to market products and build a brand, its Disney. Disney World has been making 'Dreams Come True' since 1971; when the park first opened. The key to Disney's success is to keep the customer coming back. 

For those of you that don't remember the blog post I wrote in April of 2012 on 'Discover Disney: Decoy Marketing?' I compared how Disney was using a NeuroMarketing tactic known as decoy marketing to help push the release of their Discover Disney ticket for Florida Residents. As I have come to learn, this ticket becomes available a few days after the New Year, every year, just in time for my annual family Disney trip.

I followed the 'Discover Disney' ticket prices for 2012 and 2013 and was anxious to see how 2014's release compared; and Disney threw in another NeuroMarketing technique! See if you can spot the trend:

2012 Discover Disney Prices:

3-Day Pass: $99
4-Day Pass: $129

2013 Discover Disney Prices:

3-Day Pass: $119
4-Day Pass: $129

2014 Discover Disney Prices:

3-Day Pass: $129
4-Day Pass: $149

Most of you will say that Disney raised the price by $10 & $20 a ticket... Any other takers? The $129 price point. When they ran this 'special' in 2012 we learned that more people would purchase the $99 tickets than the $129 tickets because of the way consumers interpret the price. $99 doesn't sound as much as $129, it cost an extra $30 for another day...hmm... No, we will only purchase the $99. So they learned from this in 2012 and tested the results in 2013. They moved the price of the 3-Day ticket up (to $119) but kept the price of the 4-Day ticket the same ($129). Now the difference to stay an extra day is only $10.. "Okay, let's stay one extra day", is the response they are getting from the consumers. So this year, they used the same $129 price point that sold better in 2013 and used that as the base price for this years tickets then raised the price on the 4-Day. So rather than just raising the prices across the board, they used the same price we paid last year, and slightly raised the price on the 4-Day option. 

This technique is all about relativity; how the consumer see the product vs. the price. You paid the same amount as last year, you just got one day less. So they reel you in 3 years earlier at $99 then they keep you coming back by small increases in price so it doesn't jump from $99 to $149 then the consumer says 'ouch, no thanks'... But when you do small increments over a long period of time, the pain associated with the increased price doesn't hurt so much. So aside from great marketing and being the most MAGICAL place in world, they have really made an attempt to keep the Florida Residents coming back with their different and "cheap" ticket options. Just be careful to read into things before you just purchase them, you maybe being baited in by psychological marketing... or pixie dust :) 

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

My Favorite Marketing of 2013 – Taxi Video Advertising in Las Vegas


In October 2013 I took my yearly trip to Las Vegas for Pubcon. Just like a visit to Time Square in New York, I pay close attention when driving to soak up all of the advertising. This year, the official hotel was The Hard Rock Hotel. The suites were great. The restaurants were great. The center bar and the unofficial Pubcon parties there were great! We even had the Hard Rock Hotel’s social media manager, Eric Petersen spending time with us.

So what did I see this time in Vegas that really blew me away? What was so impressive that it makes my number 1 rating for best marketing of 2013? Show Media’s TaxiTV

Every time I took a cab from the HRH, the taxis were equipped with a ceiling mounted tablet. I could tell the programming was updated at least weekly. I could tell that the production of the advertorials was world class. I have some experience with professional grade video production from my training videos with University of San Francisco’s Online Marketing Certificate Program. The TaxiTV videos could be featured on HBO, the quality was that good. But that is now why I was impressed. Well, it was a good part of it. During each ride vignettes were featured about the Hard Rock’s restaurants. It was not a coincidence. The content was being served based on geography.

Think about the quality of the audience. I just left the Hard Rock. Now I am watching commercials for their restaurants and facilities. I am entertained and marketed to while riding to the conference center. When I get back later in the day, I am more aware of where I should be eating in my hotel.

The message was customized, targeted, professional, and engaging. It was the right message at the right time for me.

TaxiTV, keep up the good work. I look forward to seeing what you are doing this year when I am back.