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Today's Insights: The Power of Brand Destiny
Imagine you come across an exhibition flyer stating that the displayed items were discovered unexpectedly by a collector during home renovations. This seemingly destined story might increase your interest in attending the exhibition. Marketers, take note: incorporating elements of "destiny" in brand narratives can truly captivate consumers.
Consider this scenario: you are shopping for jewelry online. The brand's story on the website reveals that the founder, a geologist, accidentally discovered a gold mine during a hike, which now serves as the primary source of their products' materials. Would this story influence your interest in purchasing from that jewelry company? Previous research indicates that people value effort and are more inclined to buy from companies that deliberately seek resources. However, these studies focused on the effort in creating products, not on the effort in discovering existing resources.
Recent studies have found that telling a story of an accidental discovery can increase consumer preference. Why? Because it is perceived as "destiny."
The Impact of Discovery
To explore the influence of accidental discoveries, we first had consumers read about a fictional jewelry company similar to the one mentioned. We presented consumers with a webpage detailing how the company's founder, a geologist, discovered a gold mine from which all their materials are sourced. One group of consumers read a version stating the gold mine was found intentionally. Another group read that it was discovered accidentally. A third group read the brand story without any details about the discovery process.
We found that consumers who read about the accidental discovery were more interested in purchasing from the jewelry company compared to those who read about an intentional discovery or no discovery details. This preference remained even when tested with social media audiences. Using Facebook's A/B testing feature, we showed two different ads for a university museum exhibition featuring a 4,000-year-old Mesopotamian tablet. One ad stated the tablet was intentionally discovered by archaeologists; the other said it was discovered accidentally. Users who saw the ad mentioning accidental discovery were more likely to click on the exhibition's webpage.
In essence, accidental discoveries are unexpected events. Learning that a resource was discovered by chance makes consumers ponder what if it had never been found, enhancing the perception that the discovery was "meant to be." This ultimately increases consumer appreciation for the resource.
Implications for Marketers
Understanding this consumer preference opens new possibilities for marketers. On a basic level, our research suggests that if a product story involves an accidental discovery, marketers should highlight this to enhance consumer preference. Even if a product lacks an apparent accidental element, all consumer products utilize natural resources. Delving into the origins of these materials to find a discovery story could be valuable work.
Moreover, marketers for organizations like museums and auction houses, which promote historical resources, can benefit from these findings. Discovery is a key element in the biographies of artifacts. Incorporating this element into public narratives can increase exhibition attendance and boost auction sales.
In many ways, telling stories of accidental discoveries in biographies can create value for organizations without altering any tangible properties of the resource itself.
