Some product categories are high-interest categories; others are low-interest. Interest in the product category tends to be high if the product category is put on the body, if it is put into the body, or if it is a reflection of the customer.
(Note for followers of this blog: Sorry that there was no blog post last week. I was on an Alaska cruise-tour vacation, and the ship's satellite internet link was too slow to upload anything.)
Many package goods (fast moving consumer goods) marketers have an easier marketing job than durable and semi-durable goods marketers. Think of the various package goods categories: health and beauty aids go onto or into the body; all food categories go into the body; etc. Many, if not most, package goods categories are either put on the body or into the body. Thus, they tend to be high-interest product categories. Consumers are interested in the product category, and they tend to be more open to hearing about the category. Some durable goods make the list of high-interest product categories. Automobiles are a good example as one’s vehicle is a reflection of one’s self for many people.
Do you remember the selective processes from your marketing courses: selective attention, selective perception, and selective retention?
selective attention: the ability of individuals to notice only the information in which they have interest.
selective perception: the ability of individuals to block or modify messages that conflict with previously learned attitudes and beliefs.
selective retention: the ability of individuals to remember only what they want to remember.
These processes come into play when one is talking about high-interest versus low-interest product categories. Since people are interested in high-interest product categories, they are actually open to and see the messaging for brands in high-interest product categories. In messaging for low-interest product category brands, they block out the messaging at a subliminal level. It’s not only that they don’t recall seeing the messaging. Although they’ve looked straight at the messaging, they don’t see it. All of the above are examples of selective exposure.
If the consumer’s subliminal guard is down and an messaging message does slip past into their consciousness, then selective perception comes into play. In low-interest product categories, this generally works in favor of the brands that are the category leaders. Advertisements for the smaller brands in the category are often misidentified as being advertisements for the leading brands in the category. I’ve seen commercials that were misattributed to brands that were the leader in the category several times in my career. All of this is an example of selective perception.
Lastly, selective retention means that consumers generally delete any information that they have absorbed for brands in low-interest product relatively quickly.
The selective processes represent a challenge to marketers in low-interest product categories. Having worked in the low-interest tire category for many years, I feel that marketers in low-interest product category must resign themselves to the fact that the best advertisement for a brand in their product category won’t have the same level of attention as a mediocre advertisement for a brand in a high-interest product category.
Go back to your marketing strategy: segmentation, targeting, and positioning. If marketers in low-interest product categories do their targeting and positioning work correctly and if the unique brand benefit has been validated through research to motivate target customers to consider the brand, then the marketers in low-interest product categories should focus on communicating and/or supporting their unique brand benefit. Target customers will pay attention to their messages because the unique brand benefit is important to them; it’s something they want.
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