The expert called the main tricks of marketers: how not to get caught

Someone barely has enough money for salt and matches, and he desperately catches discounts in discount stores, and someone lines up for an expensive, like a car, leather handbag. What properties should a product have so that the consumer is ready to be on the waiting list for several years, constantly running to the boutique to find out when his coveted accessory will arrive? About how luxury images and prestigious brands are created, as well as about the tricks of marketers that buy people with a fat wallet, MK was told by the CEO of the Brandkey agency Andrey Ionochkin.

– These bags costing $8,000 and more, what are they made of to cost so much?

– Can be made from crocodile or ostrich skin, but people don’t pay for the features of the bag. It is clear that functionally and even often externally, the bag differs little from cheaper counterparts. People pay for prestige.

– What is “prestige”? It seems like a clear word, but elusive in meaning.

The meanings of words are best understood from their etymology. The word is derived from the Latin praestigium, which means “illusion”, and in French prestige was originally understood as “charm”. Then the word began to have a broader meaning – “authority, respect.” But they need to be earned, and the “induced spells” can be bought. The difference is subtle, but significant.

– Buying a product, I change my personality, is this not an exaggeration? Well, I bought a fancy laptop or a trendy smartphone, will I change a lot from choosing a brand?

– If you buy “just a smartphone” for a utilitarian, practical purpose, it’s unlikely. But if suddenly you are presented with a model of a world-famous company, which is not accidentally called “cult”, then your sense of self will change. The product is closely associated with a certain philosophy and place in the social hierarchy. It is like a pass to a certain caste, a marker by which “they recognize their own”. Our society, of course, is not at the level of “color differentiation of pants”, as in the film “Kin-dza-dza!”, But with different goods we are involved in different life games. There are games of social similarity and difference among them.

– And what are the rules of the game with prestigious goods, how do they differ from games with goods, say, mass market?

– Cardinally. Often the brand communicates with the consumer exactly the opposite. The highest price segment is the highest because it is difficult to understand the psychology of its consumer for a person who is at the primary levels of needs and is chasing discounts. Rich people are offered not a price, but a value, not the properties of a product, but a deep emotional connection with it. For example, a tour with a visit to the production of luxury furniture, acquaintance with the masters, walks among centuries-old groves. It is these impressions, the spirit of the brand, that will fill the house, and not just tables, chairs, beds. The movement of goods to reflect the individuality of the consumer makes the goods rare, piece, turning a luxury brand into the status of a private club. Hence the lines from which we started the conversation.

– Good furniture is understandable, but there are goods that are contrary to common sense, but are fabulously expensive. For example, a burger with gold leaf. How do you convince people to buy it?

– There is no need to convince, the so-called Veblen effect, named after the economist and sociologist who studied the phenomenon of conspicuous consumption, is included. A golden burger is eaten with the desire to demonstrate or prove to oneself and others one’s exclusivity. I can afford it, but others can’t! Of course, an establishment offering such a food product must correspond to the caste of the visitor. If a burger like this is sold in a fast food chain, no one will buy it.

– How much do we overpay for prestige, how much does the brand “cheat” relative to the real cost of the goods?

– Here it is worth understanding the scale of the business owner’s investments in a luxury brand. The amount may exceed $1 million only at the development stage. The presentation of a luxury brand is often associated with a non-standard approach, the creation of complex advertising structures, installations, and the involvement of a wide range of high-class creative specialists. When we see a similar product, the main investment in it is far beyond the cost of production. Sometimes the consumer overpays indecently much. For example, a “miraculous” face mask from a respected cosmetic house costs over 20 thousand rubles, but the key ingredient in the name is less than 1% of the composition, and the composition itself is by and large synthetic. So the price and the luxury category are not an indicator of quality.

– And how do Russians buy “prestige” today, taking into account current events?

– Since the beginning of March last year, many premium brands have left the Russian market. In addition, the buying model in a period of economic and political turbulence is generally changing. Especially for those who look at prestigious goods a little from below. They have more important concerns than proving to themselves and others that they are socially worthy of more. The luxury market has just recovered from the pandemic; by the end of 2021, the Russian segment of premium clothing, footwear and accessories, for example, reached 320 billion rubles. And again, one might say, collapsed. For example, in 2022, sales of new luxury cars in Russia fell by 57.6%. However, let’s not forget that the higher the product class, the more serious the audience, the less turbulence in the segment. It’s like an ocean. An economic storm is raging and ships are sinking on the surface, but it is much calmer in the depths. The poor get poorer, the rich get richer – this is typical of the whole world.

– What advice can you give to a consumer looking towards luxury?

– Invest wisely, understanding what need you really want to satisfy. Let us recall the heroine Audrey Hepburn, who had breakfast at an expensive jewelry store in order to at least be a little bit in the aura of the brand, in the “place of Power”, where, as she said, “everything is so decorous, and nothing bad will definitely happen to you.” Sometimes we just need to understand ourselves and the world around us a little more in order to accept the changeability of life and believe in ourselves. I recommend conscious consumption.