🎓 Far is prestigious, near is mainstream

If your brand is prestigious, place products far from the customer or model in an ad. If your brand is mainstream, position them close.                                                                                                                                                                                                        [🎓 Far is prestigious, near is mainstream]( If your brand is prestigious, place products far from the customer or model in an ad. If your brand is mainstream, position them close. [Thomas McKinlay]( Nov 23 [Comment]( [Share]( New to [Ariyh](? Join 7,344 evidence-based marketers for 3min insights 💡 based on research 🎓 to grow your business 📈 If you find these insights useful please share them with your colleagues and friends, Ariyh grows thanks to you! [Subscribe now]( Today’s insight is brought to you by… [Shoto]( Staying well-informed is more difficult than ever. [Shoto]( is a newsletter that does the work so you don’t have to. Find emerging technology trends, business insights, and the latest advances in science. Explore the world beyond your bubble and discover trends before they go viral. [Be a part of the future]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 📝 Intro We’ve seen before that it matters where you position products in ads or stores. For example, modern products are [more appealing if they’re placed on the right rather than left](. It even makes a difference where you place your message. Rational messages work better if they’re [placed high up, and emotional ones if they’re placed lower](. Today, we look at how close or far away you should place your products depending on whether they are premium or mainstream. P.S.: Looking to hire top-notch marketers? I’d like to help you (for $0, this time only). Answer this email telling me which roles you’re looking for if you want to know more. Something new is coming soon, get excited ;) --------------------------------------------------------------- Want to sponsor Ariyh? [Here’s all you need to know](. Previous insight: [Say “Thank you” not “Sorry”]( (100+ more insights [here]() Place items near or far depending on your brand positioning Impacted metrics: Brand attitudes | Customer acquisition Channels: Ads | Retail store | Website | Marketing communications For: B2C. Can be tested for B2B Research date: October 2021 📈 Recommendation Position your product close or far away from a customer (e.g. in a store) or a model (e.g. in an ad) depending on your brand’s positioning: - If your brand is premium, show the product far away - If your brand is mainstream, show it close People will like your brand and product more, and pay more for it. 🎓 Effects - People value brands and products better or worse depending on how far the product is from the viewer (e.g. in a show window) or a model in an image (e.g. on a website, in an ad). - For premium or prestigious brands (e.g. a luxury handbag), the effect is positive when the product is far away - For mainstream brands (e.g. a common coffee machine), the effect is positive when the product is close - For example, in experiments: - People were shown a backpack on a screen to simulate viewing it from 3 or 5 feet away (90cm or 150cm) - A premium leather backpack was rated 15.8% better when viewed from far (vs close) - A mainstream canvas backpack was rated 15.6% better when viewed close (vs far) - When 2,800 people received an ad on WeChat for a home fragrance diffuser showing the product and a model, they were - 90% more likely to visit the website when the brand was framed as luxurious and the diffuser was far from the model (vs close) - 121% more likely to visit the website when the brand was framed as popular and the diffuser was next to the model (vs far) (Website visit rates of people who received different versions of a home fragrance diffuser - Click to zoom in) --------------------------------------------------------------- New here? Subscribe for the latest marketing research 💡 from top business schools 🎓 in 3min practical insights 📈 [Subscribe now]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 🧠 Why it works - We use distance to easily communicate and understand concepts. For example, we say a “long time ago” or “a close friend”. - Prestigious, luxury, and premium brands are usually associated with the idea of exclusivity and scarcity. - Something far away is not easy to obtain, or scarce - so it’s perceived as more prestigious. - Mainstream brands tend to build associations with warmth, sincerity, and closeness (e.g. Coca-Cola’s [“Share a Coke” campaign](). - So we feel more connected and intimate with products that are closer. ✋ Limitations - We don’t know if and how this effect works in ads without models. For example, would a zoomed-out view vs a close-up of a luxury handbag in a banner ad trigger this effect? - The researchers tested images and simulated in-person viewing of products. They did not test the effect in other formats like video, but the principle should hold. - It’s unclear whether seeing ads that match the effect (e.g. mainstream - close) changes brand perceptions in the long term. The experiments only measured the immediate effect. 🏢 Companies using this - Companies do not seem to be aware of this effect. For example, luxury brands like D&G and Chanel often show perfumes close to their models in ads - while they should be far away. ⚡ Steps to implement - In a store setting: - Place premium items in at a greater distance from the window, or in shelves that are more distant from where a viewer would normally stand. - Place mainstream items closer and make them feel easy and accessible to pick up. - In a website or ad setting (including print ads): - Place premium products and models away from each other. The more space from each other, the better - Place mainstream products and models close to each other. The model can even be holding or touching the product. - Luxurious products are usually hedonic, so your models should also probably [look away from the viewer](. --------------------------------------------------------------- 🔍 Study type Lab and online experiments and a field experiment (on an ad of an ecommerce retailer sent on WeChat). Taiwan and China 📖 Research Chu, X. Y., Chang, C. T., & Lee, A. Y. (October 2021). Values Created from Far and Near: Influence of Spatial Distance on Brand Evaluation. Journal of Marketing. [[Link to paper](] 🏫 Affiliations School of Business, Nanjing University; National Sun Yat-sen University; and Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. China, Taiwan, and United States Remember: This is a scientific discovery. In the future it will probably be better understood and could even be proven wrong (that’s [how science works](). It may also not be generalizable to your situation. If it’s a risky change, always test it on a small scale before rolling it out widely. --------------------------------------------------------------- Rate today’s insight to help me make Ariyh's next insights 🎓 even more useful 📈 How was today’s insight? [Loved it]( | [Great]( | [Good]( | [Meh]( | [Bad]( Want to sponsor Ariyh or ask a question? -> Reach out at thomas@ariyh.com Don’t have time to study all the latest marketing science in depth? -> You can ask me for [Personalized Recommendations](. I will analyze your business and tell you exactly what research you should apply and how. New to Ariyh? -> Subscribe below or read other 3min marketing insights [here]( [Subscribe now]( [Comment]( [Share]( If you liked this post from [Ariyh](, why not share it? [Share]( © 2021 Thomas McKinlay [Unsubscribe]( 08007, Barcelona, Spain [Publish on Substack](