11 Amazing Triumphs of Demand Creation

A few years ago, the New York subway system was plastered with ads for a drug called Claritin.  Mostly, these were photos of lush, green landscapes and pretty models having some kind of ‘moment of clarity’. I had no idea what Claritin did, but I’d never seen a woman that full of clarity before.  Too bad Claritin was hardly more effective than a sugar pill at treating allergies. Users could have poured honey in their underwear and gotten the same results.  “Demand creation” isn’t new, but it’s the only game left for innovators and entrepreneurs. While billions of people still dream of toileting indoors, Americans flush with rage when Netflix sputters between Sunday naps. So businesses must tap into the complex psychology of the first world’s hunger for happiness.

In Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, there’s little ambiguity at the bottom.  Food, clothing, shelter.  Without these, we’d be cold, naked, and cranky.  Everything else is based on feeling and perception. Even safety is just a feeling that an invading Syrian army can’t take away America’s chemical weapons – Oreo’s and diet sodas.  When even the poor have iPods (in France, they also have chambermaids), the challenge is to make us want things not because we need them but because they exist and we can afford them.

Here is my list of the top ten triumphs of demand generation, the tactics they used, and the psychology of why they worked:

1. Drugs and vitamins

Restless leg syndrome?  A.D.D.? Surely, it’s nothing this fistful of Ritalin can’t cure.
You’d take in more usable nutrition eating wood chips than taking most vitamins, but don’t tell that to the He-Man at GNC.

Tactics Used:

• Constantly identifying (er, creating) new ailments.
• Describing conditions so generically that everyone thinks they have it.
• Funding studies with questionable methodologies that indicate correlation, but rarely causality.
• Releasing study results through clueless media outlets prone to taking them at face value.
• Direct to consumer advertising

Why it Worked:

• Drugs are easier than exercise.
• Offers the illusion of control
• Consumers and media do not apply critical thinking to things that look official or are recommended by doctors and other authority figures.

2. Bottled Water

Funny, no one had a water bottle during business meetings in the 80’s and hardly anyone died. Maybe water harvested by magical gnomes in the Swiss Alps is superior.  I’ll never know.

Tactics used:

• Scary health studies – ‘stay hydrated or you’ll die.’
• Big marketing spend on packaged municipal water
• “Springs” are cleaner than”sewers”, where all other water must be from
• Companies purchase of municipal water supplies

Why it Worked:

• Adult version of nursing
• Available everywhere
• Convenience
• No more public water fountains
• Affordable, even at 1000x markup

3. Diamonds

This is one of the most preposterous schemes ever concocted.  It’s the modern equivalent of making people believe chicken bones are precious by having Adele wear them on her head.

Tactics Used:

• The DeBeers cartel controls the supply
• Multi-decade marketing campaign to establish worthless crystals as precious
• Used movies and media to build a myth, like the one about the Monks on Nestlé’s Bavarian pretzel box.

Why it Worked:

• Women want to believe in fairy tales…and men want women.
• Forces of conformity are too powerful. Ever see a woman showing off her new engagement ring?  Never.
• Child soldiers rarely work the counter at jewelry stores.

4. Beauty Products

Youth inducing creams, cosmetics, toiletries, etc. They’re so powerful, you might just be transported back to kindergarten in the 1980’s.

Tactics Used:

• Pseudo-science (3 out of 4 Dermatologists say …you’re still wrinkled!)
• Premium pricing
• Aspirational ad campaigns

Why it Worked:

• Fear of aging
• Perception of control
• See drugs (above)

5. Luxury Brands

Both the Gucci and the generic bag will hold your wallet with equal aplomb.  Of course, the Gucci will feel lighter, $3,000 lighter.

Tactics Used:

• Premium pricing
• Visibility with rich and famous
• Upscale distribution channels

Why it Worked:

• You’ve got the money.
• That Rolex will fill that void.
• Human desire to stand out (narcissism)
• The Real Housewives of Orange County have it.
• Status and esteem
• What good is success if you can’t advertise it?

6. Organic Food (and its kooky cousin, Whole Grain)

Yes some organic makes sense, but many labels are misleading at best. When Lucky Charms are “full of whole grain goodness”, it’s time for a vengeful God to strike down that little Leprechaun.

Tactics Used:

• Certification stickers from the USDA or from Jeff’s Organic Hall of Fame.
• Guilt-inducing commercials
• Packaging – prideful label narratives
• Whole Foods
• Natural-sounding, unknown  brands

Why it Worked:

• You’ll pay a little extra – if you care enough to keep your family from dying.
• Superiority complex (I’m a Mac, you’re unworthy.)
• Vague anti-corporate sentiment

7. Infomercial Products

The Flowbee or anything straddled by Suzanne Somers.

Tactics Used:

• Late night infomercials
• Jessica Simpson
• Compelling demonstrations
• Installment payments
• “But wait, there’s more!”

Why it Worked:

• No one needs to shoot their salad, but it’s really late and your will is weak.
• We’re lonely and that phone operator is our friend.

8. Coffee Starbucks

Like bottled water, Starbucks created a premium industry from a cheap commodity. Before that, coffee was something we bought for $1 at the diner to stave off a hangover. Now your morning cup is big enough to transport a small shark.

Tactics used:

• Ubiquity. At one point you could see three Starbucks from a single corner in NYC – and the logo from space.
• That powerful smell. Like Pavlov’s dogs, the smell of burnt beans is like foreplay for caffeine.
• Premium pricing that says ‘this is a treat’.
• Created it’s own language. Cool enough to be in the Venti crowd?
• Smart expansion to related categories. Even music. I can’t wait to buy their chairs.

Why it worked:

• It’s easier than sleep
• People with small apartments needed places to meet.
• Caffeine is an  unregulated, addictive drug. (See drugs, above.)
• Daily shopping (and drug) habits are hard to break.

9. iPad

When the iPad came out, this beautiful piece of hardware dared us to figure out what it was for.  Perhaps it would bridge the gap between the laptop in the living room, the desktop in the den, or the iPhone in your pocket? One thing is for sure – there was no “tablet” market before it and for most competitors,there still isnt.

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