Above: Facebook ad for The Hill Store
You gotta wonder why any sane marketer would discount a $1,200 product by 97%.
Maybe the lobster went bad.
Norma’s, a tony Manhattan brunch spot, is famous for its $2,000 omelette—the world's most expensive, according to Guinness World Records.
Norma's omlette commands that price because it's larded with fresh lobster, and because "playful extravagance is the whole theme of our menu," according to the restaurant's VP of marketing.
Were Norma's suddenly to cut the omlette's price by 97%, you'd likely suspect the lobster's gone bad.
Why some marketers are so stupid about pricing eludes me.
Rock-bottom pricing makes no sense for quality brands. Never ever ever.
Quality brands are about value and trust. Value comes not from price, but from the brand's ability to deliver on its promises; and trust comes from the brand's legacy.
When a brand trumpets a rock-bottom price, it confuses its customers—both prospective and past.
However, with the goal of driving easy sales, misguided marketers will discount, sometimes deeply.
But a 97% discount? Why not a 100% discount? In other words, a free sample. Now you're talking. Who can resist a free sample?
While not every quality brand's position is "playful extravagance," no quality brand's position is "rock bottom."
Rock bottom only says the lobster's gone bad.
