Would you want a breakfast sandwich served on a donut?
They say dating is complicated and there are too many mixed messages. That might be true but if you really want to see mixed messages look at the world of marketing.
Companies and their marketing departments spend a huge amount of time and money trying to determine what consumers want and what will be the trends, products and services they will buy.
A perfect example of the mixed message is when it comes to food and health. All consumers say they want healthy alternatives when they eat. That might be true on paper but then how do you explain why Dunkin Donuts after a successful test run feels confident there is a market for their new breakfast sandwich. This is a bacon, egg and cheese that is served on a glazed donut.
In the test markets where it was offered the sales were strong enough for them to feel it will be popular as a regular item on all their menus. Apparently you can even ask each store if you can pick another donut besides glazed which makes it possible to even have your sandwich built on a more decadent flavor of donut.
Seeing this type of saying one thing but buying another is one reason I wasn’t surprised to read an article in Advertising Age talking about how even though consumer confidence is up according to reports, marketers are still cautious when it comes to additional spending. They are afraid that the confidence won’t last or that even though consumers say they feel prepared to spend, ultimately they won’t lay out the cash and the companies will be stuck with inventory.
It’s not just consumers who are still recovering from the economic downturn, companies and their marketing departments are also leery and hesitant to go back to the way things were in case the recent uptick goes away.
What do you think; do you feel the economy has turned a corner and do you feel confident enough to start spending more?
You can connect with me on Facebook, Twitter and mc.sandymiller@gmail.com
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