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In marketing it doesn’t only matter if you see the glass is half full or half empty, it also matters the shape of the recipient and the perception that people have about it.
When the last Superbowl was approaching a study research was carried in order to understand beer consumption more deeply, mainly due to the increase in beer consumption during that time span. Thanks to that study we found out very interesting facts that can be applied to different fields, but the most important one is that the shape of the glass is determinant for the consumption speed, apart from the glass size.
This study was carried out without the subjects knowing its real purpose, observing then when they were enjoying a glass of beer while watching some documentary films. Several subjects were offered the beer in a curve glass while the other drank it in straight-shaped glasses in order to find if there is any difference in the consumption behavior between those two, and the results were remarkable.
In the curved glasses, the drinking was a 60% faster, with a total average of 7 minutes, in comparison with the straight glass that counted 12 minutes, being served both groups the same beer amount.
The researchers found out that it is more complicated to find the middle point of a curved glass, therefore calculating that point led to a false illusion that there was more beer in the glass that the real quantity. And also it is very important to highlight that this effect only was produced with beer and not with soft drinks such as cola drinks.
But size also matters. In another research carried with orange juice by the Journal Consumer Research, they found that there is a difference in orange juice consumption when using short and wide glasses and tall and narrow glasses, because people tend to drink more in the first that in the second one. That is, people serve themselves several times in short glasses, because we fail in the excercise of adding the total quantity of different glasses, giving us the impression that is better to drink two small glasses than one larger. This differences are more outstanding in children (74%) than in full-grown adults (19%), but it’s still a representative figure.
What use can we make out of this information? If you own a bar and you don’t want your clients to end up dizzy, don’t serve them a curved glass. If, on the other hand, you want to promote the beer consumption, that’s a good tip!
Source: Neurosciencemarketing
Lea la versión en español aquí/read the Spanish version here
