I have a special spoon and cozy I use only when I eat Ben & Jerry's ice cream.*
The colourful, cow-themed cozy keeps the ice cream from melting quickly, causing me to eat it more slowly and enjoy it longer. This is helpful since you would almost certainly be horrified by the speed at which I could otherwise finish a pint of Ben & Jerry's.
And I'm convinced the rounded bowl of the promotional Netflix & Chill'd spoon delivers the perfect amount of ice cream per scoop and somehow makes the ice cream taste better.
I suppose I could enjoy another brand of ice cream using my Ben & Jerry's spoon and cozy, but I don't: now that my ritual has been established, I have no reason to deviate from it.
I know people who start every workday by visiting their local Starbucks and ordering a specific morning beverage; same cafe, same beverage, every single workday.
A workday coffee ritual.
I know people who end every work week by pouring themselves a drink. Some like a particular wine, some have a favourite spirit, but most choose the same drink every Friday evening to officially mark the start of their weekend; it's their end-of-week ritual.
We all have our rituals.
Some of us have them for birthdays, holidays, and anniversaries; others for before bed, after exercise, Saturday evenings, or Sunday afternoons.
It doesn't matter what they are or when they happen.
What matters is that rituals can be powerful.
Now think about what happens when you help your consumers create rituals that include your brand.
Some habits are hard to break.
Marketers should use that fact to their advantage.
(It's easier said than done, I know. But it's absolutely possible.)
* Sorry, readers, these items aren't available for purchase; they were given to me as a gift by a former student now employed by the ice cream company. But an official Ben & Jerry's merchandise store isn't a bad idea and I'm rather surprised a selection of fun items related to the brand's uniquely-named flavours isn't already available for sale at benjerry.com...
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