Re-posting the article that was up earlier this week for discussion. I can't remember what witty and intelligent ;) introduction I wrote, but the article should bring up a lot of thoughts/questions about how price can be part of marketing meaning and experience.
http://www.wired.com/
Please re-post your comments if you can.
Thanks!
I think this article is very interesting because it examines what we think we know about wine using price as a proxy for quality, and what brain scans tell us when we sample wine with prices attached – we think that more expensive wines are “better.” Thus, our brain is fooled by external cues an internal values regarding expectations of quality. If it costs more, it is better. If it has a high wine rating, it is better. If it is recommended by the sommelier or host at a wine tasting, it is better.
ReplyDeleteFor me, I am not sure that I can identify the difference between a $15 bottle of wine and a $100 bottle of wine. I’m interested in the experience of enjoying the wine, and I might like it better if I think it tastes great and isn’t really expensive – which I know contradicts the value that most people place on wine. The article is entitled “Should We Buy Expensive Wine?” and I’d have to say that the answer is unique to the imbiber. We all bring preconceptions of what tastes good, how much we are willing to pay for what we think tastes good, and how much of the experience is about satisfying ourselves vs. building stature in the eyes of others. When it comes to wine, my advice is to drink what you like and don’t worry about what others think or believe. It’s you who is enjoying the wine – salud!
I totally agree with the conclusion of the article. I worked at a winery and I was never able to develop a palate that could distinguish between the subleties of different grades of wine. But I knew that I always felt better about buying a local wine. It was even better if I knew the story behind the winery, or who the farmer was that grew the grapes. By enhancing my relationship with the wine, I am enhancing how good it tastes to me. I'm a bottom-shelf wine-shopper, but I always buy local.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that our brain will register different activity by the simple belief that we're enjoying a higher quality drink. I believe this same logic is reflected in many other consumer purchases. For example: purchasing generic versus brand labeled canned foods. Research shows that many of the generics come from the same farms and factories, yet everyday you can see a number of consumers select the brand labels because of the perception of a better quality.
ReplyDeleteMy takeaway: Develop a product that customers need. Then enrich the product experience (i.e. make it meaningful) by tapping into my customers' preferences, needs and/or beliefs. A product with a successful association of needs and a meaningful experience will sell.
I find the fMRI evidence to be quite supportive of the saying "it's about the experience". The same $5 bottle of wine could be served in a very high-end restaurant for $45 and no one would even question it's worth. I have seen Erath - Pinot Noir on sale for about $10 at the grocery store and served for $55 at a fine dining place.
ReplyDeleteThe article was indeed very interesting and pretty much reinforces the fact that consumer behavior is mostly subjective, at least in terms of wine consumption and choices. The fMRI test was particularly interesting as it showed how the brain reacted to the expensive wine. It gives me some level of comfort that the Newport Seafood and Wine Festival do not use an fMRI machine to perform their wine tasting. I did ask a few wine experts at work and some facebook friends that if they were selected to perform a wine tasting on 3-5 bottles of wine with different price tags ranging from cheap to real expensive, would they able to tell the difference. One person said that his wife likes doing this test to several of their guests just to see if they are able to pick the expensive wine. It turns out that the guests were not only able to pick the good wine but chose the cheaper wine in terms of taste over the expensive wine. One interesting thought that the author did present was that our experience is sometimes dictated by knowledge. If one did a little research on the wine, its origin, country, and so forth, one might appreciate the price tag on a bottle. I believe that consumers will pay the price for a product that they are willing and able to pay for. How they consume the product is completely subjective. I believe expensive wines have their own niche and are rare on purpose. The cheaper wines however have a larger distributorship and are readily available for consumption.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting article and an endorsement of the classic principle of snob appeal. While the more expensive wine does not necessarily taste better, people get more pleasure from drinking what they believe is the more expensive wine. Clearly, the costly wine is not being hired to taste good at a reasonable price. It is being hired to produce a meaningful experience.
ReplyDeletePeople are willing to pay more for expensive wine for the same reason they are willing to pay a premium to attend Harvard Law School even though they could get largely the same education at a lesser price at the Willamette University College of Law. People want to believe that they are special. They want to be above average, and they are willing to pay big bucks to prove it to themselves and others. This concept has important marketing implications which I am confident we will explore in class.
To answer the initial question, “Should we buy expensive Wine?”, If you would have asked me a few years back, I would have said yes. I have always considered myself a middle-of-the-road wine drinker; going to vineyards, doing their tasting and buying their bottles; joining wine clubs, etc., but not too long ago I had an interesting reality check that relates to this article. Over Christmas break, I was visiting a girlfriend who appreciates good wine. She offered me a glass of Pinot Gris and of course I said yes, anticipating the delightful flavors that would be dancing around on my taste buds soon. It was delicious, so I asked her what I was drinking, and to my surprise it was Bare Foot Pinot Gris 2008. Talk about feeling silly; I had assumed it was some incredibly expensive wine and came to find that you can get it at your local grocery store for under $6 bucks. But you know what, it really comes down the experience for me; who I’m with, where I’m at and what I am doing. Naturally, we all want good quality, but how will we know what we will like unless we give things a try? I think this article does a good job in conveying how cost plays a psychological role in our decision making - We drink EXPENSIVE wine, therefore it WILL taste better. So not true, but that is just my opinion:)
ReplyDelete