I'm walking around the grocery store. As I turn the corner of Aisle 5, I'm greeted by a store employee handing out food samples. I'm not feeling particularly hungry but it looks really good...some kind of trail mix...with chocolate in it. Yum. I decide to indulge. It's pretty tasty. A few minutes later I'm craving something sweet and crunchy. I'd love some more of that trail mix and perhaps a vanilla latte to wash it down with. Suddenly I'm browsing the snack aisle and looking for tasty treats to fill my basket.
To a bunch of Stanford Graduate School researchers, this makes perfect sense. A recent consumer sampling study they conducted debunks a popular theory that sampling staves off hunger. Conversely, it actually sparks cravings and desires for highly pleasurable items. In fact, these clever researchers would not be surprised if I suddenly began fantasizing about decadent, unrelated things like sunning myself on the Italian Rivera or sinking my tired toes into a white chocolate pedicure at Bliss spa.
The study involved two groups of people. One group received a sweet drink sample and the other, nothing. Then they were invited to watch a movie in a room filled with drinks and snacks. Those who had the pre-movie sample ate and drank more than the non-sampler group. In addition, further tests (after the movie) revealed that the samplers had a much greater desire than the non-samplers for various consumer goods and services.
This is great news for retailers... but probably not for "free snack" lovers watching their waistlines or trying to save money.
The Dozen is an eclectic take on innovation, branding, media, strategy and research, brought to you by the creative minds at Egg Strategy.
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