Consumers Choose "New" - It's More Than Just a Word

Last week I wrote about how sometimes it pays to be second to the market with a new idea. Those of us involved in innovation try to look at all angles.

But what is it about developing new products that makes it worthwhile? Why do companies large and small put massive efforts into creating new products? The answer is that new products make money. Sure, the vast majority of new products fail, but those that make it, often make it big, bringing millions of dollars of profit to successful innovators.

A recent post, The Power of New, at Marketing And Strategy Innovation Blog delves a little deeper into the why of new products. Why do consumers like new products? Why do we keep changing the products we buy? Of course, technological advancement drives new product efforts in techie fields, but why do we feel the need to keep changing cereals?

Because it gets us high; that's why! Choosing something new releases dopamine, the same pleasurable sensation associated with a "runners high".

The UK Telegraph, reports that:

Scientists in London have found that we all possess the key brain region which acts on the same pleasure pathways that make drugs addictive. They discovered that people are programmed to try out something new, such as a familiar product in an unfamiliar package or one that boasts a new formula.

Consumers are drawn to the word "new, as well as a change in packaging or product design that convinces the brain that it is looking at an unknown.

"Seeking new and unfamiliar experiences is a fundamental behavioral tendency in humans and animals," says Dr Wittmann. "It makes sense to try new options as they may prove advantageous in the long run. For example, a monkey who chooses to deviate from its diet of bananas, even if this involves moving to an unfamiliar part of the forest and eating a new type of food, may find its diet enriched and more nutritious."

The neuromarketing message, then, seems simple - making a product "new" in some way may give it a boost when compared with competing products.

As professionals involved in innovation, keeping in mind the power of "new" certainly makes sense. However, we do not believe this necessarily should impel companies to step up their new product efforts or slap "new and improved" on existing products that boast incremental changes. Yes, consumers are preprogrammed to seek out the new, but mindless product development and poor execution can still hamstring the most well financed new product effort.