Analysis of Package Labels
A 12-page paper by Walter S. Heller in University of California Publications in Psychology, January 1919.
What it is
A 12-page paper by Walter S. Heller in University of California Publications in Psychology, January 1919. An earlier soap test had shown that familiarity and pack size drove choice, so Heller held size constant: twelve brands of yellow cling peaches in identical two-and-a-half-pound cans, all from the California Fruit Canners Association, spread over five quality grades. Fifty men and fifty women ranked the cans by label, then ranked the fruit itself in saucers, untasted. They judged the fruit well and the labels poorly, and Del Monte, the brand most knew, came first. In a second part, women ranked the labels by color, simplicity, richness, appropriateness and pleasingness, and the order barely moved. In a third part the cans carried prices: with an imaginary $1.20, buyers chose more often at 20 and 30 cents than at 10 or 15, and picked Del Monte over the better Griffon at higher prices.
Why read it now
The core finding has been repeated many times since: at the shelf, a known brand beats a better unknown one, even at a higher price. Del Monte won on familiarity alone, which is what Ehrenberg-Bass work on mental availability predicts. The price results preview the price-quality inference found in later meta-analyses and in experiments where the same product is rated better when it carries a higher price. The finding that people could not rate color, richness or simplicity apart from their overall liking is the halo effect, which Thorndike named a year later. Treat the numbers with care: mostly college students, small groups, imaginary money, no tasting, and a scenario of serving guests, which pushes buyers toward the dearer option. No significance tests are reported. Use: before cutting a price or redesigning a pack, run a small version of Heller's test. Put your pack on a shelf beside rivals at two or three prices, ask buyers to choose for a real occasion such as hosting guests in Ramadan, and record which pack wins at which price.
Passages worth keeping
The object of this investigation was to ascertain what influence the label on a package has on a purchaser, and if possible to determine whether there is any logical relation between the quality of the contents and the wrapper.
هدف البحث معرفة أثر الملصق في قرار المشتري، وهل يدل الغلاف فعلًا على جودة ما بداخله.
the subjects were far less correct in their judgment of the labels than in their judgment of the fruit itself.
حين رأى المشاركون الفاكهة حكموا على جودتها بدقة، وحين رأوا الملصقات فقط أخطؤوا كثيرًا، فالغلاف مؤشر ضعيف على الجودة.
raising the price tends to increase the demand for a very poor brand as well as for other brands.
رفع السعر زاد الإقبال حتى على أسوأ علامة، لأن المشتري يقرأ السعر المرتفع علامة على الجودة.
All factors are so closely related that it is impossible to separate them.
اللون والبساطة والفخامة والملاءمة تذوب كلها في انطباع واحد عام، فلا يمكن قياس أثر كل عنصر وحده.
The familiar brand has more sales at higher prices than an unknown brand that is in fact a superior quality.
العلامة المألوفة تبيع أكثر وبسعر أعلى من علامة مجهولة أجود منها، فالمعرفة بالعلامة تغلب الجودة الفعلية على الرف.
What it teaches best
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