- Tom Callow
- Axel E. Catton
- Marco Ferrari
- Martin Hayes
- Cas Heuvelmans
- Amy Miller
- Caroline Holmes
- Belle Moss
- Sarah Morris
- Liam O'Neill
- Andrew Marriott
- Nick Garton
- Katharine Earley
- Professor Emeritus Garel Rhys
- David Rowlands
- Matt Sanger
- Winston Moore
- Dan Sayles
- Ash Sutcliffe
- Judy (Qian) Wang
- Brian Weatherley
- Guest Blogger
- Lizzie Smith
Blog > Nothing Special
Author: Matt Sanger
Be it chocolate bars, shampoo or even hamburgers, it seems that every product can be enhanced with the application of the label ‘special edition’.
There's obviously some deep psychology at work here because, in general, humans are creatures of habit. We buy the same things week after week, without too much thought, but special editions allow companies to tempt us into trying something new, without buying a rival brand. When we tire of this new edition, we simply go back to buying 'old faithful'. In some cases it's the ultimate expression of consumer excess: 'I'm bored with my regular dishwasher tablets - let's try these mango and cinnamon flavoured ones.' Rather than worrying about the more important things in life, we fret over the trivial.
Special editions are also a way of elevating your product’s importance and adding value – even if that’s just fancy packaging and a sticker. Comforted with similar sets of headphones, computer games or even trainers, most buyers would probably opt for the special edition if they believed they were gaining something of real value.
The motor trade has been using special editions for years and, by offering a few extras at a slightly discounted rate and slapping on a badge, you can make a new car feel extra special. Of course, these special editions are rarely worth much more the standard model when it’s time to trade them in, and in some cases represent poor value for money overall. However, it helps buyers justify the purchase to themselves and makes them feel a cut above all those poor people who could only afford the standard edition.
If you want a cautionary tale on the power of special editions, read on. Once upon a time a well-known car manufacturer found themselves with a stock pile of four-door saloons that was about to be retired. There was nothing wrong with these unregistered cars, but they'd been stuck in storage for a couple of years and were about to pass their sell by date. The problem was how to shift them, and them the marketing department had an idea. Each car was fitted with a special edition badge, and the company contacted customers who’d bought the same model 12 months previously. Each was promised a great deal if they traded in their old car and bought one of these new special editions.
The deal looked competitive and many owners jumped at the chance to upgrade their year-old motor to a car wearing the latest plate. However, rather than buying a superior product they ended up with something inferior. You see, despite the fact that they picked up the ‘new’ car from a friendly dealership, they didn’t realise that the vehicles had been sitting in a field for two years or more. In fact, they car they’d just part exchanged was probably manufactured more recently. Not so special after all.
1st Aug 12
Leave a Comment
Your comments will be moderated before being displayed above. Please note that we will not display your email address, but we might use it to email you back. Links may be included in your comments but HTML is not permitted. Fields marked * are required.