This isn't just any value... this is M&S value.
M&S are currently running a promotion in store (and promoted on TV) where you can buy a dinner for 2 for £10 this weekend; basically comprising of a bottle of wine and a starter, main course and dessert all for 2. Now compare this offer with the equivalant at Tesco's or Sainsbury's and this doesn't look that much of a bargain; but change the comparison to eating out at a restaurant as M&S have done and this looks amazing value.
A few observations this promotion: First is that when brands are communicating value it can pay to reframe the value beyond (i.e higher than) the category they are in. This avoids getting into direct price comparisons which can lead to a downward spiral that isn't worth fighting. In a way this is basically what many successful brands are trying to do with their brand communication - reframe beyond the category or their main competition- Lynx as an aphrodisiac rather than a deodorant, Apple makes creativity easier (or says "I'm creative") or even the Citroen C5 saying it's German. The second observation is that successful retailers these days (whether in troubled times or not) appear to be trying lots more new techniques to bring in footfall (and subsequent sales) beyond the typical sales periods, all of which makes our job much more interesting.
Stephen
The same thing works in reverse as well. Tata (which you've written about before) got the price of their car down to sub-£2,000 not because they were competing with other 'small cars' from Japan or the West, but because they were competing with the three-wheelers that you see all over India. They succeeded by re-framing the market down.
Posted by: Toby | May 30, 2008 at 04:10 PM