Beyond the sticker shock: How ultra-premium foods are reshaping shopper behavior
“Many companies forget that price is a major signaling factor of brand,” said Reilly Newman, founder of branding agency Motif Brands. “A $19.99 strawberry not only intrigues but makes one think that perhaps it does taste better or is farmed more properly. This also benefits other strawberry brands on the shelves by anchoring the price much higher than normal prices.”
Newman views these offerings as potential category catalysts – even if only a few of the ultra-premium items actually sell, their presence elevates the perceived value of everything around them. In some cases, this may be a calculated play by brands or retailers, Newman suggests.
“Some retailers may even place these types of products as decoys to attract foot traffic and anchor their pricing as a grocery brand and perception,” Newman added.
Food Navigator USA
Consumers are increasingly motivated by politics
Reilly Newman, brand strategist and founder of Motif Brands, sees Tesla’s current problems as rooted in a psychological contradiction. Many Tesla buyers identified with what they believed was Tesla’s progressive image and perhaps bought the car because of it. While the car hasn’t changed, the company’s CEO is now constantly attacked by progressives.
“This is irrational as many of us do not know the CEOs of the brands we buy regularly, yet they could have opposing views or beliefs,” Newman told us.
Consumer Affairs
5 Key Signs You’re Wasting Money on Brand Loyalty Instead of Finding Better Deals
Another psychological tactic brands use is the “sunk cost fallacy,” according to Reilly Newman, brand strategist, founder and author of the branding branding book “Brandy.” He said this “is rooted in our reluctance to abandon something after we have invested so much into it.”
Certainly, if you’ve ever felt yourself reluctant to switch products — say Apple products to cheaper competitors — you may be suffering from this.
“With brand loyalty, we have quite literally invested into a relationship with the brand with our time, trust and money. This is all a sunk cost that makes switching very difficult because we are very invested in our choice,” Newman said.
Go Banking Rates
Who Will Bring Back Our Iconic Roadside Landmarks?
“Brand mascot statues connected so well with consumers in the past because of their ability to put more than just a face to the brand,” noted Reilly Newman, the CEO of Motif Brands. “The psychology at play is that while mascots embody the brand through association; they are not the logo. This extension empowered the identity of the brand to do more than a logo can do on its own, giving, using of anthropomorphism to give a brand a personality that adds more depth to the brand.”
Robin Report
Don’t let AI take the pen
“Since AI is the aggregate of the average, it is able to source and create very average and cliché creative. However, a creative should deliver extraordinary concepts and extraordinary execution, anyone delivering ordinary deserves to be replaced,” Reilly Newman, Brand Strategist/Founder at Motif Brands shared with Cybernews.”
CyberNews
PSA: Restaurant Logos Are Designed To Trick You Into Feeling Hungry
“Color theory is tightly connected to psychology and how our brains associate color with emotions and triggers,” says Reilly Newman, brand strategist and specialist in buyer psychology. “Many popular fast-food brands use appetite-stimulating colors in their brand visual identities.”
“Newman adds that red and yellow are “energetic and attractive to us, especially when combined. One color you’re far less likely to find in food-related packaging is blue. While reds, yellows, and oranges are common hues in nature’s edible offerings—like fresh proteins and ripe fruits and vegetables—naturally blue food items are rare in the wild. The more common natural source of blue, as it relates to food, isn’t exactly appetizing. As a result, blue and other cooler tones often have the opposite effect on our appetites, says Newman. “Because these colors are associated with mold, rotting, etc., our appetites are typically suppressed.”
Delish
Retailers Leverage ‘Subscribe and Save’ To Compete in Challenging Market
“For retailers, it’s a great trade to sacrifice some margin to gain the retention of a subscription from a shopper,” said Reilly Newman, founder and brand strategist at Motif Brands, a brand transformation company in Paso Robles, Calif.
“This helps create recurring revenue and empowers the brand to look beyond just transactions, but the relationships they have with their consumers,” Newman told the E-Commerce Times.
“Successful subscription brands do this very nicely, as the transaction is simple and ongoing payment for the continued relationship where the retailer is able to add more value and focus on the lifetime value of the customer,” he added.”
“In the future, brands need to see beyond subscriptions as just a recurring purchase and as more of a membership, Newman advised. “That takes the brand back to not focusing on transactions but on the lifetime value of the shopper,” he said.
“The brand must continue to increase the value they provide to retain and grow the relationship,” he added. “All in all, it creates a very symbiotic relationship that benefits both the shopper and the brand.”
Ecommerce Times
Restaurant Marketing 101 — Building Your Brand: Creating a Unique Identity
“For a brand to successfully stand out, it must position itself in the market as distinct,” said Reilly Newman, brand strategist and founder at Motif Brands. “This distinction is rooted in the restaurant’s strengths and leads the way for the brand’s experience and presentation. This distinct brand will draw in certain audiences and say ‘no’ to others who do not align with the brand or appreciate it.”
“The unique identity is one aspect of the brand that is visual; the brand must also be portrayed in the themed experience, messaging and overall touchpoints along the journey of the audience,” said Newman. “This will draw them in and allow them to create meaning associated with your brand name and unique identity.”
“A lot of restaurants do what they think is right in their category because it is what other restaurants are doing,” said Newman. “They follow the herd, so by default, they will never stand out. They overemphasize the food and neglect the many other aspects of the experience, from atmosphere to plating and music to seating and more.”
“Yes, you are a restaurant, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be distinct in all that you do,” Newman said. “Like an unforgettable dish, it is distinct and stands apart not just on taste and quality but by the deliberately unique approach.”
Room 1903
Instacart, Mountain Dew Among Super Bowl 59 Ad Winners
“Humor has proven to not only be effective in grabbing attention, but also in creating a bond with the audience that helps develop their perception of the brand in a positive light,” said Reilly Newman, founder of Motif Brands.