Back when I was teaching Public Relations Writing and Message Design at a local college, I used to start off with an exercise that would teach the students how the adoption process can be used to persuade individuals to purchase a new product.
I would hand one student a magazine with an ad for Pop’ables, which was then a new brand by the Mars candy company – bite-sized Three Musketeers, Milky Ways, and Snickers candies.
“You’re in a dentist’s office, waiting for your turn in the chair, and you come across this ad,” I’d instruct the student. This, I told the class, was Awareness – when you learn that the product exists.
We then brainstormed on what someone might think of this new, bite-sized candy. We talked about calories, kid-appeal, the fact that it might be a good movie snack.
“So now you’re interested,” I told the class. “What do you do next?”
We talked about Interest, how someone might gather more information through repeated ads, talking it over with friends – the water cooler approach – or even going to the product Web site to learn more.
I would then pull out a previously well-hidden little cup, containing a sample of the Pop’ables, handing them over to one of the students. At this point, everyone was paying close attention.
“So now you’re in BJs, or Costco, and someone’s handing out samples,” I told the lucky student. “This is the Trial stage.”
The student, tasting the candy, would Evaluate it, making a yes or no decision on whether to buy the candy. (It was always yes!)
So finally, I’d pull a full bag of Pop’ables out, making everyone in the class cheer. “Now that we’ve Adopted the product, let’s pass it around and share it,” I’d conclude. No one ever forgot the adoption process after this!
I was reminded of this exercise lately, when we were discussing how the techniques of social media, search marketing, and email marketing play into a similar model. We’ll talk about that in our next post.
(And by the way, don’t go looking for Pop’ables. They may have been adopted by my class, but not by the public at large – and have been discontinued.)
