Consumer Choices

Why did I buy that pair of red high heels?
I didn't really need them, and certainly had no place to wear them.
But I bought them because of how they made me feel: beautiful, powerful, fancy-free, expensive, and generally like a better version of myself.
How can a simple pair of shoes wield such power?
It's partly because how I was raised to think of high heels, and partly because I like to think those things about myself: like to think I'm beautiful, whimsical, fancy-free, and attention worthy.
SO I willingly forked over the price of the shoes so I could put them on and feel dangerous and wonderful.
Am I the only consumer who spends money to buy something intangible?
Hardly!
People are constantly buying things to give them intangible qualities or feelings. It's my opinion that this is the biggest reason that people buy anything beyond the basic neccessities of food and shelter.
And even those have become sellers of intangible things. Drink the right water and you're intelligent for choosing it,
eat the right snacks and you're healthy.
There are a host of other reason why consumers choose what to buy, such as reseach, information, word of mouth, curiousity, social pressure, and sometimes, need. But I do think that a large number of consumer choose what to buy based on who they want to be. I even believe that a person could figure out not only what they consider to be important, but could find out what they want from life, if they sat down and looked at everything they bought.

Market Research: What do people want?

What DO people want?
Money, time, sex, food, friends, probably more sex, entertainment, safety...the list goes on and on.
But what are people willing to pay for?
This is the ultimate question the marketers need to find out. To find the answer, they have to conduct what is called Market Research, and collect data about what people already buy, which people buy it, and conduct studies where they ask certain groups (usually their target market) what they think of their products and their competitors product.
Remember when people used to stop you in the mall to ask your opinion on seemingly random stuff? Market Research.
How about when people hand out free stuff along with your purchase?
Market research. They want to see if your demographic (the people who bought what you just bought) are interested in their product.

Now for some flair and piazz: Market Research can be entertaining to the consumer!
Have you been to a fair or expo and seen Pepsi vs. Coke booths? At these booths they let you taste test two unknown sodas, and find out which you like best and why. This is fun for the consumer, spreads awarenesss about the product, and gains valuable insights for the reaserch and development teams.
Knowing what people are interested in helps you predict what they will buy and when. A fun example is this video, looking at the joys and pains of producing a seasonal product.
If the executive had done his market rsearch (as his employees clearly had) he would have any reason to worry....and we wouldn't have any reason to laugh!

Planning: Market Magic

An important part of Marketing in stratedgy, having a plan of what you are going to market and how. Are you going to market to teenagers or adults without children? Once you've figured out who you are going to market too, (your target market) your need to figure out how to best reach them and encourage them to buy your product.
This job is done by the mid-level marketing managers. They get the broad plan from upper level management (SELL TWINKIES TO TEENS!) and have to figure out how to do it.
Right now a very popular way of promoting a product in by hosting a contest, or making an amusing video: See this video for the Kindle, made by the contest winners.
This video was so successful the markers made several more like it.
I think that the some of the best ads come from peaple inspired by a contest, or people working in the lower levels of a company. It's the job of the mid-level manager to find these people with good ideas and give them ways to express their vision. Video contests is the current way to do this, and has been wildly successful.
When repositioning their product to a new market focused on college-aged women and young professional women, Kotex held a contest and the winner made this popular video.
It has been very effective in setting the tone for the repositioning of the product.
Commercials that came after where simialr in tone, though lacking some of the magic of the first one.

Bottom line: videos are effective, and holding a contest may both help you gather market research and great marketing ideas.