Weekend Musings: Want vs. Need

"I need to get a pair of platform wedge sandals."
"You need them? Why?"
"Because they're gorgeous, so comfortable, and will make me taller...duh!"
"Those don't sound like needs to me...."

Here is a sample conversation between my impulsive self, and my rational self, that should really happen more often. You can swap 'platform wedge sandals' for almost anything, and the conversation would be the same. So much of my consumer behavior is impulsive, or spurred on by reasons completely unrelated to 'need'.

This is on my mind this week for a couple reasons. First, as some of you may remember from this post, I recently visited the library. Among the pink-hued covers and satisfyingly frivolous reads I took home was a book by consumer behavior consultant Philip Graves. In the very first chapter of Consumer.ology, Graves begins to describe the subconscious emotional desires that trigger spending, which often go undetected by consumers' conscious minds. He goes on to explain how adept our conscious brains are at finding totally reasonable explanations for our behavior, a practice that maintains our own sense of self as autonomous, well-intentioned, sensible humans. Our purchase may be driven by things as complex as social symbolism, or as simple as how a store smells. For many of us, our conscious brain will then identify reasons for the purchase, and justify it as a 'need'.

The topic of want and need is top of mind for another reason. Last week, I had the pleasure of attending a panel discussion organized by the American Marketing Association, titled the The Canadian Chief Marketer. At one point, the panel was discussing 'Want' vs. 'Need' in the context of the Nest Thermostat. One of the panelists was on the side of 'Want', citing that there is no way adjusting your thermostat from the comfort of your home is a 'Need'. Another panelist raised the example of driving to his cottage in the winter, setting the cottage thermostat as they left home so they could arrive to a comfortable cottage climate. In this case Nest was fulfilling a 'Need'.

Convincing consumers their 'Want' is, in fact, a 'Need' is what marketing is all about, but society's role can not be overstated. Perhaps that is why social advertising, brand advocates, and content generation will be so critical for marketing moving forward, though not to such an extent that credibility and transparency is lost.

Weekend Musings: Library Love

I'm not sure about you, but I have multiple wallets for multiple purposes. There is my Everyday wallet, containing a clean and edited* collection of my important cards for day to day stuff. Everything from credit cards to Bowler cards are kept within easy reach, lest I get into a pickle**. Then there is my VIC wallet, full of very important, government-issued cards, that will greatly inconvenience me if I lose any of them - I don't remember the last time this wallet was opened. Finally, there is the beloved, if somewhat irrelevant, Miscellaneous wallet.  Though small, this wallet carries the weight of past and present, infrequently used cards. I like this wallet, but rarely have a reason to engage with it. Until......

Actually, let's back up a moment, I've spent much time over the past few years with a creepy crawly concern for bed bugs. UGH, I hate even typing those two awful words! That topic had dominated many a conversations between random acquaintances at fun parties, between close friends at delicious brunches, and between roommates when all involved parties were (hopefully) out of bed, because such a discussion in the confines of sheets would never end well. In short, a strange sense of the sinister had lived in the back of my mind and, as a result, my library relationships had suffered.

Great news: My hysteria has died down! I've banned those two words from my (spoken) dialogue, and have chosen my love of books over any bug-related fear.

Casual conversations at work about the great new library at Fort York prompted me to dust off my Miscellaneous wallet, dig out my pretty blue and white Toronto Public Library card, and visit my old friend Library.

Here are some pics of the new location (so shiny! so new!).

It's basically inside a giant construction site, and the lines of Margaret Atwood's poetry that wraps around the building gives nod to its current surroundings.

A.

*Well, okay, more like busting at the seams
**Really great news, ramen lovers! Kinton will stamp your receipt and you may then bring said stamped receipt with you on the next visit to transfer stamp to your Bowler card.