Sales Promotion headlines arouse as much excitement as Pornography!

Facile, out of context and sensationalist we know, but a recent IPM study found that consumers get the same level of emotional excitement from seeing a promotional offer during their grocery shopping, as they do from sexual arousal. This delightful premise was based on the emotional response of 50 people who were shown packs that featured promotions and packs that didn't. Their reaction was measured by iMotions technology which uses sophisticated metrics (Eye Tracking, Reading and Emotion) to determine the response to visual stimulus from the sub-conscious through to attention and engagement.

Get your basket love, you've scored

Emotional responses are measured on a scale of 0 to 10 (in the absence of a name we'll call it the eMote scale) where 10 is associated with extreme trauma and 0 is linked to complete indifference (e.g. England footballers during the World Cup). Three promotions in particular registered a score in the range achieved through viewing pornography (5 to 7 eMotes). Marmite was highest with it's Free Horrid Henry audio book offer at 5.8 eMotes. Other campaigns which caused similar arousal were Kingsmill's Wallace and Gromit collectibles and Cravendale's coupon campaign. Before you rush out to your local supermarket, all these promotions are long since expired. However, we can show you one of these hugely erotic promotions here. So, for those of a highly charged disposition, look away now.

Peeling back the layers

Well this is all very titillating for us marketeers, but we find ourselves wondering how many eMotes do other mundane activities register? Crossing a busy road, going down a fast lift, unwrapping a chocolate bar, answering the door to a takeaway delivery, winning a bet, making it onto a departing train - we could go on. Knowing the eMote score for routine chores would help contextualise the findings.

What controls were used in the promotion? People may have been hungry and absolutely love Marmite. Were there non-promotional packs of Marmite used in the study to measure the benchmark eMote score? We just don't know. Surely the increase in eMotes caused by the promotion would be more relevant?

What can we learn?

1. The right promotional headline can be as stimulating as watching porn.
2. Promotions can keep people engaged for longer than the 2 seconds it typically takes consumers to make a buying decision - think of it as a form of promotional viagra!
3. Could further study lead to a definitive formula for which promotions do 'turns people on'?
4. They really need a name for the eMote scale.
5. Look out for anoraked individuals in the supermarket aisles - they maybe enjoying their shopping a little too much.