Reader response to branding is a placebo
Here's a badass reader response to Branding is a Placebo from Dennis L at Next Boatworks.
Dennis and I went back and forth on a few analog examples that show perceived quality is quality (cars, houses, gaming, boats).
Here's the gist of the conversation (editing/summarizing is mine):
DL:
I think there is a tactile analog to that “visual quality” case.
Rvw:
You're absolutely right. Some gaming products have literal deadweight added to them to make them heavier because a PCB inside a plastic shell weighs nothing. The weight gives the perception of something valuable rather than something that feels empty.
DL:
Another example, the feel of opening or closing a hollow-core door with Home Depot hardware, versus a solid wood door with expensive hardware. The latter FEELS more expensive/higher quality, on a level that may not even register consciously. But the subconscious impression does its work nevertheless.
In our case we (Next Boatworks) always, after all of the structural engineering is done, wind up making subjective judgments about “panel stiffness,” regardless of the application requirements, due to the “value” that customers assign to it (again, often unconsciously). Every design is a blend of toughness, strength, and stiffness, but you can’t deliver all three, and beyond the structural requirements lies the “perceived quality.”
Dennis, you're a badass. You get final word on this one:
Focus some spend on the stuff [customers] touch multiple times per day, every day.
✌️Rvw
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