We Consume To Stand Out While Fitting In
There was a Lee ad that ran in Australia about 5 years ago. It had the tag line ‘Stand Out. Fit In.’ I really liked it. This is a perennial internal debate people play in their minds when consuming brands. Whatever the category people are playing a balancing act of wanting to fit in, conform and ultimately gain peer acceptance. Whilst also, wanting to stand out, express themselves, and be recognised as an independent being.
This principle is easy to understand in fashion – and leads to tribes of people all looking different from everyone else, but very similar to one another. Goths, Skaters, and Fashionistas are all standing out, yet fitting in. However, the principle can be generalised to other categories and perhaps even applies when we choose meals in a restaurant. For some reason someone felt compelled to study this. At the Journal of Consumer Behaviour a study has found that when we order food in a restaurant in groups we do the following:
1. Tend to seek variety when making initial orders – that is we consider ordering things other people are not.
2. Then we gravitate toward similar choices as others – that is we begin to conform with everyone else.
2. Then we gravitate toward similar choices as others – that is we begin to conform with everyone else.
3. And then, as the group consensus grows, we move away from popular choices and get our own thing anyway.
I love this study, and although sad to say reflects the way I go about choosing meals in a restaurant. The study goes into more detail about what % of people need to consider ordering the same thing before the need to stand out kicks in. However, to read more and ensure I have not misrepresented the original please visit it when published in full as these findings were taken from the press release.
Next time your ordering a meal, or putting on your favourite jeans be sure to ask yourself ‘Is this choice going to help me conform, whilst expressing my individuality’…. or perhaps don’t!
Lee photo
Fritz Bachen is a Consumer Psychologist and Founding Partner at Naked Communications. Fritz can be seen, read or heard at; The Gruen Transfer, ABC Radio (Sunday nights), Adnews columnist, as well as The Australian, Cleo, Mumbrella, Shop Till You Drop and so on. He speaks at numerous conferences on marketing, ideas, contemporary culture, and consumer behaviour. Fritz has degress in clinical psychology and commerce (marketing). A registered psychologist and has worked in private practice, forensic settings, advertising (Saatchi & Saatchi) and marketing consultancy (Added Value). He was also state under 12 chess champion on WA, and has a board game called The Analyst selling well in the Benelux countries.
Comments
Anonymous
Sep 26th, 2009Not sure I agree. When I go to a restaurant. I normally just stare at the menue then get a dozen oysters and a steak.
Fritz Bachen
Sep 26th, 2009Hmmm enjoy the steak.
the brown man
Sep 26th, 2009Interesting study. If we apply the same pattern to clothing, as you suggested Fritz, I find the prevalence of such practice among subcultural groups particularly intriguing.
For example, with "emo" groups, the majority of them replete with skinny black jeans and Vans checkerboard sneakers, at what point do particular emos decide that they want to individualise their style by doing something differently, yet not so different as to ostracise them from their peers/community.
@Anon – Naturally, there are exceptions — those who love steak above all else being one — but, I think for the most part, the balancing act is a practice crossing age and class demographics in most (I'm hesitant to say all) consumption-based activities. People want a sense of belonging attached to a commodity sometimes.
Laura
Sep 26th, 2009I agree this principle is easy to relate to fashion and perhaps the youth market in particular. Having individuality is the ultimate, and authenticity is something to strive for. Young people are encouraged to be individual, but at the same time originality appears to be a thing of the past. In an age where individuality is a quality strived for as the youth market decipher who it is they are and what place and purpose they have in a world of apparent endless opportunities, it is interesting to note however, the impact and role ‘trends’ play and how easily one can and does conform.
In the case of ordering a meal at a restaurant however, I’m wondering if it is a matter of conforming to the masses or to our own non-conscious psyche?
Thinking about the 3 points identified in the study…perhaps going to a restaurant we would initially like to explore outside our considered set of everyday preferences, but are swayed due to the strong level of importance we place on the opinions of our peers, only to then lock into our own gut feeling… Whether we have ‘food envy’ when meals arrive is another story, but with food I think it boils down to a very personal preference of knowing ultimately what you like and therefore the level of risk associated with ordering the wrong thing is perceived to be minimalised.
Gabriel
Sep 29th, 2009I usually just go for the safest option myself.
Daniel Oyston
Oct 5th, 2009This made me smile. Reminded me of when my wife and I are out for dinner. I usually pick something fairly quickly where she will take ages. Then she’ll say to me “What are you having?’ and I respond with “Why does it matter for what you pick?”
Then the waiter turns up and she is still deciding. In the meantime I have chosen 2 dishes that I am pretty confident she would have boiled the choices down to anyway (but I don’t tell her what they are).
I assign one dish to ‘odd’ and one dish to ‘even’ then I say to her “what’s the first number that comes into your head?”. She gives me a number and I say “you’ll have the chicken pasta”.
No word of a lie, 50% of the time she says “Yes, I’ll have that”. The other 50% she says, without hesitation, “no, I’ll have the steak” as if that is what she wanted all along.
Bizarre but entertaining nonetheless.
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Fritz Bachen
Oct 15th, 2009Daniel thanks for the insight – I think you are just a little insane.
Jay marsh surely this is pure spam. Im getting the impression you couldnt give a fuck about ths blog.
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Dec 14th, 2011Young people are encouraged to be individual, but at the same time originality appears to be a thing of the past.
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