What does a deluxe cheeseburger have to do with ad testing? Let me explain…
As I waited in line a few days ago to order a cheeseburger at a local burger stand, I noticed something interesting on the price board. At the top, in a large, colorful font, was the stand’s name-trademarked “Deluxe Cheeseburger.” Coming in at a price of $7.25, the larger font also mentioned a 6-ounce patty size, a kaiser roll, lettuce tomato and onion, and mayo. About 20 items down the list, in a smaller font, and without any mention of patty size or any extras was, simply:
Cheeseburger…………..$3
Who would buy THAT cheeseburger, I thought! Maybe it was a child-sized cheeseburger. The Deluxe one had a higher price, and all those advertised extras. It had to be better, right? Right? That is what we are conditioned (through marketing) to believe. High cost implies the best option. Low cost implies inferior quality.
An article in TIME magazine explains this concept as naïve theory. In short, this theory states that if a consumer is given options and does not know which option is best, they make assumptions based on any number of things. And that is where marketing comes in. It has a story to tell about how the most expensive option is best. Anything less, and you just aren't getting what you really need.
For example, back to the burger stand. The deluxe burger being at the top of the menu, in a larger, more colorful font. Just a coincidence, right? Of course not. Marketing is trying to convince you it is the best option, by not only highlighting the deluxe, but also minimizing the regular. Marketing tells you the more it costs the better it is, but that is just marketing, and we need to look at each scenario to see what is right for us. When we are being sold, we must weigh our options based on what we actually need or want, not what marketing wants us to perceive.
At Bruno and Ridgway, our ad testing tool, AdSelect, is quick, effective, and best of all easy on the budget. Many of the people we talk with recognize the importance of ad testing, but feel that it is not an option for them due to cost and timing. That is because they’ve only ever been offered the deluxe cheeseburger of ad testing.
AdSelect addresses both of these issues and puts the powerful tool of ad testing into the hands of any sized company. How do we do it? 47 years of experience, operational efficiency, and most importantly only giving our clients what they really need. If they need the basic cheeseburger of ad testing, we don’t sell them the one with all the fixings.
Now, back to the real cheeseburgers. You may be wondering which option I ended up with. After some careful consideration, I bought the deluxe cheeseburger. Though I admit my enjoyment was lessened by wondering if all those “extras” were really worth $4, or if I got over sold by some clever marketing. My wife, on the other hand, ordered the regular. “I don’t need any of that other stuff,” she said.
I think I may need to do some more cheeseburger research.
