Looks Matter — Like it or Not!
The Kardashian-Jenners make up to a million dollars for each Instagram post (as of 2018), and here are the typical critical responses:
There’s so much hate about how a gaggle of very attractive & well-connected girls can leverage media (leaked sex tapes among them) to make so much money while others toil away. Yet, all the hate doesn’t mean anything in the face of reality. They are successful, and if you’re a business person, you should pay attention to how they did it.
All that matters is results in business, and for good results, you need to look great.
Visual Appeal is the Key in Business
“Don’t judge a book by its cover.”
“What’s on the inside matters.”
These are the words of wisdom we are raised with so we don’t become judgemental assholes. I have a few ugly friends, and they are lovely. In the world of marketing, however, the reality is the opposite. Looking good through noticeable branding, well-designed ads, and enough repetition lead to revenues and profit. Here are three more cases proving that vanity does yield results!
What’s the difference between Advil and Ibuprofen?
Answer: $32 Billion Dollars A Year
There’s ample evidence to show that generic painkillers such as ibuprofen and naproxen work just as well as their name brand versions (Advil and Aleve) at a fraction of the cost. Even doctors prefer the generic versions over the name brands. Yet, largely due to the great campaigns which tattoo the brand names into the consumers’ minds, Americans spend a whopping $32 billion dollars more per year on name-brand drugs over generic, according to a Slate.com article:
“One moral of the story (Slate advertisers should pay attention) is that advertising works. Nobody I know thinks advertising works on them or on anyone else. But it’s clear that even when marketers don’t have any meaningful information to convey about why you should buy their product, investments in branding nonetheless move purchasing decisions.”
This level of brand awareness is also referred to as “front-of-mind” awareness. It works by looking good, and gaining popularity, then repeating it.
