Magical marketing

Here is a MediaPost Q&A with George Newman, Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior at Yale School of Management.

Newman’s research suggests that where a product was produced has an impact on how people perceive it. In other words, a Godiva chocolate made in the original Godiva plant in Brussels is perceived as being more authentic than one made in a factory in Pennsylvania.

Factories are unconsciously perceived to have auras, and that aura can magically attach itself to the products originating from that plant.

As Newman explains, if you are a company with an old factory you might think about highlighting that factory in your communications. (As long as your brand has a good reputation, that is. Otherwise, no one cares where your products are made.)

Our managing partner, Jerry Olson, also wrote about magic and contagion in marketing in a 2011 issue of our newsletter, Deep Dives.  You can read it here.