Beyond Beauty - Case Study #03

Neuroscience is helping global brands within the industry maximize their influence on what people like and buy.

To keep you updated, we’ll regularly share fascinating insights on the topic.

Why buy expensive sunscreen?

I’m a trail runner. Sun blasted Alpine peaks, that’s my Nirvana. So I need a good sunscreen. The remarkable thing is: although I know that private labels and mass brands offer a comparable product quality, I always buy premium or luxury brands. Sometimes with a price that is 10 times higher than the entry level offerings. That is strange. I see myself as a pretty price-conscious guy. When I’m splashing money, it’s on running shoes, not on skin care products. That makes me wonder, why am I willing to pay this high price, while cheaper brands have identical material qualities?

Our implicit neuro-research for a wold-class sunscreen brand revealed WHY people like and buy premium and luxury suncream brands. It revealed that although consumers do not verbalise it,?

1. Implicitly, premium and luxury brands fulfil a range of purchase motivations which aren’t related to the product itself, these are called?immaterial goals.
2. These immaterial psychological goals are far more important than the material product intrinsics and qualities. They have a much higher influence on consumer preference and choice & generate stronger emotions.

When people buy Premium and luxury suncreams, they?aren’t simply buying a suncream product, they are willing to pay a lot more for something a lot less tangible.? The Beyond Reason neuro-research enabled the client to identify & quantify those immaterial goals with unprecedented precision, helping ?the brand to boost sales by:

1. Adjusting its marketing initiatives?: the immaterial consumer goals now take centre stage in everything the brand does.
2. Increasing the value perception:?the brand started to talk less about the product (every brand says the same) & more about the immaterial goals, that make their brand unique and play a more valuable role in people's lives.

If you wish to know why your consumer’s immaterial goals are the secret code to influence what people like and buy, ?please contact Nathan?Axford on LinkedIn.

Have a great day,

Team Beyond Reason

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