The new Emirates commercial featuring Jennifer Aniston
Oct 15, 2015, 7:41 pm
#138
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2014
Programs: Top Tier with all 3 alliances
Posts: 11,666
That $20k shower is so tempting and JA is so pretty you guys, in the meantime AA/BA have a firesale on the other thread where they sell $300 TATL J on flat beds, so, I have to go with that hot towel and bag of peanuts for a while...
Oct 15, 2015, 8:27 pm
#139
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: SYD (perenially), GVA (not in a long time)
Programs: QF PS, EK-Gold, Security Theatre Critic
Posts: 6,785
There's a name for that in marketing but I'm an engineer and don't remember just now what it is.
The example I read (some years ago) is that someone goes to the store to buy a gas barbecue, expecting to just get a basic one for $200-$300. At the entrance of the BBQ store, there's a deluxe unit priced at $15,000 with rotisserie, built-in fridge, wine cooler, microwave oven, marble countertops, gold-plated blah blah, etc etc. Just inside the store is one that doesn't have quite as many features and is "only" $4000. As you go further into the store, there's the $1000 bbq with marble counters and the rotisserie. The $200-300 ones are at the back, poorly marked and under a layer of dust.
Here's the thing. No one ever buys the $15k BBQ. Ever. It's just there to (re-) set your price expectations and tempt you with the level of luxury available. A number of people will buy the $4000 one because "it's almost as good as the $15000 one and less than a third the price." A lot of people will pay at least $1000, because the feeling of "bling" rubs off from the ultra-deluxe version. (RadioGirl, a cold hard rationalist who just wants to grill some steaks, buys the $200 one. Marketing people don't like her.
)Comparison to airline strategy is left as an exercise to the student.
(I do fly EK (in Y) because the schedule/product suits me and the price suits my employer. The odd op-up to J is very welcome. The JA ad made me laugh but I'm under no illusions about experiencing the showers or suites.)
Oct 17, 2015, 4:10 am
#140
Moderator, Trip Reports
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Denver, CO
Programs: UA GS-2MM, Marriott Ambassador
Posts: 3,715
Ding ding, we have a winner!. This is exactly what it's meant to do - project an image which, while you consciously know you're not getting the shower, flat bed or JA (sorry) - makes you feel "good" about the airline overall, and even willing to pay more for economy to be "closer" to the glamour product.
There's a name for that in marketing but I'm an engineer and don't remember just now what it is. (aspirational marketing)
The example I read (some years ago) is that someone goes to the store to buy a gas barbecue, expecting to just get a basic one for $200-$300. At the entrance of the BBQ store, there's a deluxe unit priced at $15,000 with rotisserie, built-in fridge, wine cooler, microwave oven, marble countertops, gold-plated blah blah, etc etc. Just inside the store is one that doesn't have quite as many features and is "only" $4000. As you go further into the store, there's the $1000 bbq with marble counters and the rotisserie. The $200-300 ones are at the back, poorly marked and under a layer of dust.
Here's the thing. No one ever buys the $15k BBQ. Ever. It's just there to (re-) set your price expectations and tempt you with the level of luxury available. A number of people will buy the $4000 one because "it's almost as good as the $15000 one and less than a third the price." A lot of people will pay at least $1000, because the feeling of "bling" rubs off from the ultra-deluxe version.
There's a name for that in marketing but I'm an engineer and don't remember just now what it is. (aspirational marketing)
The example I read (some years ago) is that someone goes to the store to buy a gas barbecue, expecting to just get a basic one for $200-$300. At the entrance of the BBQ store, there's a deluxe unit priced at $15,000 with rotisserie, built-in fridge, wine cooler, microwave oven, marble countertops, gold-plated blah blah, etc etc. Just inside the store is one that doesn't have quite as many features and is "only" $4000. As you go further into the store, there's the $1000 bbq with marble counters and the rotisserie. The $200-300 ones are at the back, poorly marked and under a layer of dust.
Here's the thing. No one ever buys the $15k BBQ. Ever. It's just there to (re-) set your price expectations and tempt you with the level of luxury available. A number of people will buy the $4000 one because "it's almost as good as the $15000 one and less than a third the price." A lot of people will pay at least $1000, because the feeling of "bling" rubs off from the ultra-deluxe version.
People buy EK F every day of the week. True, some are savvier than others about where they ticket from, but the product exists because there is a real, quantifiable demand for it.
I did 50+ revenue F sectors in a year once (SIN-MEL-SIN). I'm not rich, but the cost of the EK F product was cheaper than SQ/QF J product at the time and all my travel was being funded by a client.
Oct 17, 2015, 6:05 am
#141
Join Date: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,941
Maybe this is an indication that there is only little demand for the $15000 grill in many locations. Only when you discount it heavily, as EK obviously does in your case ...
Oct 17, 2015, 7:29 am
#142
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA Exec Club, SIA KrisFlyer, Qantas FF, Emirates Skywards
Posts: 1,850
I disagree here because if there was no one ever buying it, it wouldn't exist. There are people buying that $15k bbq, that $1million dollar car and those $20k first class seats. Or else they wouldn't be selling them.
Oct 18, 2015, 6:55 pm
#143
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: SYD (perenially), GVA (not in a long time)
Programs: QF PS, EK-Gold, Security Theatre Critic
Posts: 6,785
Not sure if I quite agree. Your dogmatic statement that no one ever buys a $15K bbq is like saying no one buys a Bugatti Veyron, or no one would buy the Porsche 918 (all 918 made were sold) at an average cost of $1M.
People buy EK F every day of the week. True, some are savvier than others about where they ticket from, but the product exists because there is a real, quantifiable demand for it.
I did 50+ revenue F sectors in a year once (SIN-MEL-SIN). I'm not rich, but the cost of the EK F product was cheaper than SQ/QF J product at the time and all my travel was being funded by a client.
People buy EK F every day of the week. True, some are savvier than others about where they ticket from, but the product exists because there is a real, quantifiable demand for it.
I did 50+ revenue F sectors in a year once (SIN-MEL-SIN). I'm not rich, but the cost of the EK F product was cheaper than SQ/QF J product at the time and all my travel was being funded by a client.
1) The same $15k BBQ can sit at the front of the store for a year, acting as a magnet for people to buy the $4k or $1k BBQ. That is, the BBQ store only has to have one $15k BBQ. OTOH EK has F seats in lots of aircraft with tickets being sold daily.
2) People can't buy a bunch of $4k or $1k BBQ over the years, accumulate BBQ points, and then upgrade to the $15k BBQ.
3) BBQs aren't (in general) funded by a client or employer.
EK seats - yeah, I know people buy those. My mistake for extending the analogy too far.
Oct 18, 2015, 10:51 pm
#144
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA Exec Club, SIA KrisFlyer, Qantas FF, Emirates Skywards
Posts: 1,850
Okay, I admit that the BBQ example does not match exactly to airline tickets, as obviously a significant number of people buy EK F tickets. I think it's still possible that no one (or only a very very few) people buy the $15k BBQ, as the situations are different in a few ways:
1) The same $15k BBQ can sit at the front of the store for a year, acting as a magnet for people to buy the $4k or $1k BBQ. That is, the BBQ store only has to have one $15k BBQ. OTOH EK has F seats in lots of aircraft with tickets being sold daily.
2) People can't buy a bunch of $4k or $1k BBQ over the years, accumulate BBQ points, and then upgrade to the $15k BBQ.
3) BBQs aren't (in general) funded by a client or employer.
1) The same $15k BBQ can sit at the front of the store for a year, acting as a magnet for people to buy the $4k or $1k BBQ. That is, the BBQ store only has to have one $15k BBQ. OTOH EK has F seats in lots of aircraft with tickets being sold daily.
2) People can't buy a bunch of $4k or $1k BBQ over the years, accumulate BBQ points, and then upgrade to the $15k BBQ.
3) BBQs aren't (in general) funded by a client or employer.
I love a good BBQ