Pi-Consulting

The Bible continues to be a best-seller. In 2005, Americans bought 25 million bibles, putting annual expenditure on The Word of The Lord at around half a billion US dollars. 91% of Americans own at least one bible, with the average household owning four. More than sixty percent of all bibles in America are purchased as gifts. The industry is doing well by doing good. (Source: The New Yorker, Pi)

Time was when an advertising claim seemed inadequate if it did not contain a comparative, or better yet a superlative. “Persil washes whiter” was a typical offering from the detergent sector, much imitated and eventually much parodied. In France for instance Bic disposable razors used to claim that “Bic rase plus blanc”, i.e. their product “shaved whiter”. The point was that successful products were the ones that found ways of establishing, or at least claiming, superiority over their competitors, thus giving their consumers “permission to believe” (ah, the 1970s!) that they were doing the right thing by adopting the brand in question. (more…)

Everyone thinks that supermarket items are priced at $4.99 to kid people into thinking they are spending less than $5. Well, folks, there’s another reason. Canny supermarket owners long ago figured out that it’s better to charge $4.99 so that the five dollar bill most shoppers hand to the checkout attendant will actually go into the till machine, rather than into the shop assistant’s holiday fund. Cynical world, huh? (Source: The Economist, Pi)