Lessons from Kenna

One of the first things that occurred to me after reading Kenna’s Dilemma was the iTunes store’s model of allowing customers to listen to about a 30 second blurb of whatever song before deciding whether or not to purchase it. I wondered how this affects the chances of a consumer buying the song; for instance, the initial reaction is to assume that “That’s great!” attitude, or now you know exactly what you are buying because you’ve listened to 30 seconds of what could be a 2 minute, 5 minute, or 10 minute track. But then I thought of all the times I have purchased music on iTunes, based off the blurb, only to realize I hated the full track, or was bored by it, or that it was, in its majority, completely different from the blurb.

And also when you are sitting in front of your computer, evaluating this 30 second blurb, you might like it, or not, or feel somewhat apathetic, but you see that it is only 99 cents. And you think well I probably have that much clanking around in my washing machine from jean pockets. And so you buy that song, and then you buy the next 15 songs, based off of 30 second blurbs, that maybe or maybe not made an impression. But as you listen to more songs, you buy fewer and fewer, because suddenly you realize that the 99 cent songs have accumulated to a 99 dollar dinner at a premier steak house. And for the most part you cannot even remember what songs you purchased.

This had me wondering if the 30 second blurbs and 99 cent songs prompt you to buy more, or merely unevenly distribute your purchases with the majority in the beginning. And also it had me wondering if consumers enjoy their purchases more because of the blurbs, and value the song more, or not. I think I am somewhat jaded now about the blurbs, and I do not listen to them anymore because if I really like the blurb but feel lukewarm about the song as a whole, I end up hating the song.

This little blurb rebellion of mine illustrated to me the lunacy of sip test, song blurbs, and pilot/movie clip tests, because rarely will a fragment of the picture give you a complete view. If someone were to take a 4-by-4 inch section of one of Frans Hals’ paintings for critique, the majority of viewers would probably say that is was crude, elementary, and without talent or promise. However, in their entirety his work is beyond compelling and inspired. I think that is a major point that Kenna’s Dilemma argues, that many of the tests and surveys that we as marketers cling to and rely on, do not offer a view of the whole painting. And that why some products, who might have a few seconds of compelling product aspects, soar in tests but dismally fail in stores.

But since costs increase with the more comprehensive testing and surveys that marketers do, it becomes vital for marketers to take a step back periodically from their product and view it from all angles, real and imaginary. Because they are the product experts, like the food critics, and they have the knowledge to really examine all the different aspects. But when the excitement and group think of how great your product is, over shadows a marketer’s analytical abilities, then products fail and huge investments are lost.

Another really important issue I found in Kenna’s Dilemma was the aspect of packaging. For instance, Kenna, himself, had poor packaging. He was not what people expected of a “rock star”, and that sometimes distracted them from the experience of his music. But at the same time, had he conformed to the rock star standard packaging, it might have devalued his service, or at least made him a talented sell out.

I think there is a very fine line between selling packaging and selling a product, and marketers are supposed to do both, in a completely cohesive and complementary way. The problem is, I think, that when someone is not selling, marketers resort to typically traditional selling techniques…sex, celebrities, excitement and hurrah, adding more features, or copying what everyone else does. And sometimes, when they rely on those tactics too much, or blatantly abuse them, they backfire in their face, resulting in an even worse catastrophe.