Sunday, May 11, 2008

Reverse Psychology Marketing

The face of marketing is changing. Brands have to work harder and harder to ensure that they retain their customers. We have seen the dawn of hybrid shopping patterns where people purchase exclusive brands only to mix them with products of lesser everyday brands. There are now no fixed demographic or psychographic segments that a brand can target alone without losing potential of other segments. Customers are exhibiting the ‘good enough’ effect where they are willing to try out a new brand because they feel existing brands are charging premiums without enough differentiation. This in turn has lead to the rise of flourishing in-store brands.

Reverse psychology marketing is the new buzz on the street. Unlike traditional marketing models that primarily focus on a push strategy, reverse psychology marketing is all about pull marketing and customer discovery. Why people are talking about reverse psychology marketing is the fact that it is not only more cost efficient than traditional marketing but seen to be more effective in the long run as well.

Like traditional marketing reverse psychology marketing focuses on the product. However the emphasis here is the need for a more cost efficient product. Instead a focus is on creating better buyer networks and buyer chains ensue the product is distributed successfully.

Products no longer require large marketing budgets to be sold; instead the brand relies on a hub model where it seeds the brands amongst key influencers in society. These people or publics endorse the product which in turn has a massive trickle down effect chain reaction. These hubs are opinion leaders, often of iconic status in society constantly in the limelight such as Ophrah Winfrey.

A classic example of how reverse psychology marketing is energy drink Red Bull. Red Bull was promoted by having the product seeded amongst disc jockeys, bartenders, college students and formula one. The effectiveness of such a strategy lies in the fact that you don’t run after customers, you let them come to you – to discover what your brand has to offer. The strategy is potent because customers are growing weary of constant marketing spiel being thrown at them from every angle.

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