Welcome back to In Pursuit of Quality. This is the sixth issue, and this one is all about pineapples.1
We eat a lot of pineapple at home. A lot. I mention this because, in New York City, people seem surprised that we eat it daily for breakfast. Fellow lover or not, you're likely aware that — as with all fruit — there's a thin line between ripe, delicious pineapples and the green or brown ones that taste strongly of regret.
Limited Release?
So you can imagine my surprise when I came across a Golden Selection, limited release pineapple (see the label below). Limited release! My first and immediate thought was, why the fuck is there such a thing as a limited release pineapple in the world? Then in the cart it went. And, yeah, it was pretty damn good.
Yet as we were munching through it, I couldn't help but to wonder: what's going on here?
As a brand builder, a marketer, an academic and a gullible consumer, I am fascinated by the psychology of scarcity. I've thought about driving demand with scarcity more than most. Just the other day in fact, a client reminded me that we're in the game of generating hype through exclusivity.
Short Supply.
I'm advising this client through the launch of a new consumer-facing app. Our goal is to inspire as many registrations as possible in advance of giving people a once-in-a-lifetime, interactive video experience with a big celebrity. There are a limited number of registrations available. Demand is high. Perceived supply is low. This is a recipe for clicks-to-buy.
And, psychologically speaking, it's not that different from playing the supermarket pineapple game.
In the land of marketing, everyone wants to drum up consumer demand by making things appear in short supply. Think of the epic waiting lists to buy new iPhones and Teslas. When we believe something is scarce, we think there's less of it. And because we perceive something as being in high demand, the automatic assumption is that it must be better. Quantity is low, but quality is high.
Work/Life Lessons.
Now, back to pineapples.
I still think the notion of a "limited release" pineapple is ridiculous. Who would buy a regular one when that's on offer? I mean, really.
But you know what? Since that juicy, golden, limited release pineapple, I've yet to see another one for sale! They're scarce. And I want one so badly that I'd be willing to pay extra for it. I perceive quantity as low, but my demand for quality pineapples is high. Dole's got me hooked. That's how driving scarcity works.
There's a lesson in here, somewhere. I think it's this: Scarcity, real or perceived, works because it diminishes quantity while elevating quality.
Things that are in short supply, real or perceived, become more meaningful and valuable to us. This is true for phones and pineapples; and it's true for things in our life like time, energy, and space for quiet contemplation.
For businesses, the lesson is that marketing products and services through perceived scarcity works. If we think there's a limited amount of something, we're more likely to line up to buy it. This is why even commodity items, like hand sanitizer, become coveted when they're tragically struck with consumer demand.
In our personal lives, the lesson is that we should treasure the things that are hard to come by. Quantity doesn't matter to us as much as quality — and quality is always elusive.
But, for me, one thing is crystal clear. A singular golden, limited release pineapple is worth more than 100 regular ones.
And real or not, the things we think are scarce capture our wallets, our minds, and our hearts.
It's up to you to find your own golden pineapple.
Sort of.