Have you noticed how frequently the word "wow" is being used in advertisements these days? It's on billboards, in print ads, in 15-second TV spots and more. For years, business consultant Tom Peters has encouraged companies to deliver wow projects and products as a way to differentiate themselves from competitors. Best-selling author and consultant Seth Godin coined the term "purple cows" for attention-getting products, and also urged brands to up their wow factor.
Certainly one of the many jobs that keep merchants on their toes is just that — continually upping the ante on the wow factor of their products. And that's no small task in the challenging arena of competitive product knockoffs, miniscule product improvements and category saturation.
So three cheers for the innovators at Quaker Oats, who have worked hard to reinvent one of the world’s oldest breakfast traditions: oatmeal. In some cases, this 130-year-old company added “real fruit, nuts and 4 whole grains” and in others it subtracted "25% less sugar and made the oats larger for a heartier texture." With these new launches, Quaker Oats is prompting consumers to ask themselves if "their mornings are amazing?" Its latest wow campaign includes a minute-long video that invites "dreamers and trailblazers and champions and builders to wake up and be amazing."
What grabbed my attention with this product launch was that while Quaker Oats packed plenty of wow into its new creations, it shifted the focus on how full of wow its customers would feel upon starting their day with this breakfast option. It nailed the very necessary "What’s in it for me?" hook, satisfying their customers’ need to start their mornings in a healthy way that would maintain their energy throughout the day.
What does your product wow factor look like these days? How is it evolving to keep up with what's top of mind for your customers? Why not learn from Quaker Oats and be sure your wow factor is truly relevant for your customers.
- People:
- Seth Godin
- Tom Peters