The principle of missing bottle by Paul Getter

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This is the thing that happens that you identify features with the product even if other features are missing and or minimize the logo type or logo.   Its the story that wraps the product that counts.  

You can only do with product that have long story and strong brand

THE “MISSING BOTTLE PRINCIPLE”

How Pepsi Outsold Coca-Cola in 1975 Without Beating the Taste… Just the Expectations

In 1975, Pepsi did something wild.

They held a public challenge in malls, fairs, and grocery stores across America.

Two white cups.

Two unmarked samples.

No labels.

No branding.

People took a sip of each.

And to the shock of the crowd…

more people picked Pepsi.

This became the legendary Pepsi Challenge, one of the most successful marketing events of the 20th century.

But here’s the part most people don’t know:

When researchers removed the branding, Pepsi won.

When they added the bottle back, Coca-Cola dominated again.

Why?

Because the human brain doesn’t taste with the tongue.

It tastes with expectation.

Coca-Cola’s bottle shape.

Coca-Cola’s colors.

Coca-Cola’s history.

Coca-Cola’s emotional association.

All of that created a stronger story than the flavor.

And that story changed the experience.

Pepsi had the sweeter first sip.

Coke had the stronger identity.

The real lesson was never about taste.

It was about brand psychology.

This became known in marketing circles as The Missing Bottle Principle:

If people don’t know who made the product, they judge with their senses.

Once they know the brand, they judge with their beliefs.

THE MARKETING LESSON

People don’t buy the product first.

They buy the story wrapped around it.

This is why:

• Apple can release phones with fewer features and still win

• Nike can outsell cheaper shoes

• Starbucks can sell the same coffee for triple the price

• Louis Vuitton can charge more simply through perception

• Mercedes doesn’t sell engines…they sell identity

• Coca-Cola can lose taste tests and still dominate the market

Your brand determines how your product feels before the customer even tries it.

THE NERDY TAKEAWAY

The Missing Bottle Principle teaches this:

If your branding is strong, your product gets judged through loyalty.

If your branding is weak, your product gets judged through logic.

People are not logical buyers.

They are emotional buyers.

And emotions are shaped by:

• familiarity

• nostalgia

• identity

Economics of Attention - Paul Getter

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Sometimes we are distracted by very insignificant things.  We focus on the trivial and petty and we are distracted on things that really matter.   So clear your head and find out on which you should focus.

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THE ECONOMICS OF ATTENTION

Aesop told a story that perfectly explains modern social media.

A bald man tried to swat a fly that bit his head.

He missed the fly… and hit himself instead.

When the fly came back, he realized:

“You only hurt yourself when you pay attention to the insignificant.”

See … it was never about the fly.

It was about the man’s focus.

The fly represents every troll in your comments,

every hater in your DMs,

every jealous whisper trying to pull you down into the mud.

And the bald man?

That’s the modern creator.

Armed with influence… but distracted by nonsense.

In power dynamics, this is called reactive weakness:

the habit of wasting energy on things beneath your purpose.

You don’t lose to the fly because it’s strong.

You lose because you stopped building and started swatting.

Here’s the nerdy truth:

Every reaction is a transaction.

Attention is the currency.

And the broke ones spend it fastest.

The modern strategist understands…

Some enemies exist only to distract you.

They don’t deserve your outrage. They deserve your silence.

In an age of noise, restraint is the ultimate flex.

Because you can’t lose a battle you never agreed to fight.

Never trade your composure for validation.

Never fight flies — build wind instead.

First Customer Cam effect by Paul Getter

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You can move customers by having pictures or cam on ads for certain specific products:

      1.  Open house for  visitors

      2.  Celeb on coffee shops

      3.  Visitors at a resort.

Thats why you tube and  tiktok have been very useful in driving sales.  FB too which is pics oriented

THE “FIRST CUSTOMER CAM EFFECT”

How One Tourist With a Camera Saved a Dead Restaurant

In 2011, a tiny seaside restaurant in Cebu was dying.

No foot traffic.

No reputation.

No online presence.

Nothing but salty air and empty tables.

The owner tried flyers, local ads, even begging bloggers to come… no results.

Then one afternoon, a tourist stood outside the restaurant, pulled out a DSLR camera, and snapped a photo of the entrance.

Ten seconds.

One click.

Then he walked away.

But something strange happened.

People nearby stopped.

They stared at the tourist.

They looked at the restaurant door… and suddenly a small line began to form.

Within an hour, the place was full.

Sales tripled that night.

The owner was confused and asked customers why they came in.

Their answer was simple.

“We saw someone taking photos. We thought this place must be good.”

The tourist was not a food critic.

Not an influencer.

Not a paid promoter.

Just a guy with a camera.

But his presence created a perception.

A camera signals importance.

Importance signals value.

Value brings curiosity.

Curiosity brings customers.

That day became known as The First Customer Cam Effect.

The Marketing Lesson

People trust what they think other people are paying attention to.

This is why:

• Street vendors hire “fake first customers”

• Real estate agents stage open houses with actors

• Cafes pay for someone to sit at window tables

• Brands hire photographers to shoot storefronts

• Markets grow when they look active

• Influencers record everything because cameras create legitimacy

Attention creates belief.

Belief creates buyers.

The Nerdy Takeaway

You do not need a crowd.

You need the appearance that someone cares.

The first visible customer is not just a customer.

They are a catalyst.

If you want more buyers, show people paying attention.

Record. Photograph. Highlight. Display.

Make your business look like the place where things are happening.

Because in marketing, the camera moves customers before the product does

The first 5 seconds count, really matters- Paul Getter

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Really the book is judged by its cover.  Your landing pages, your video ads, your presentations are judged in the first 5 seconds.  Give your best efforts to have these stuff be noticed be exceptional otherwise, you lose the opportunity to catch the attention of the prospect in the opportunity presented in the click or the presentation

So how do you make your sales presentation, your fb posts, your DM noticeable to capture prospects.  How do you stand out?

first 5 seconds - PG, FB

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THE “FIRST FIVE SECONDS PRINCIPLE”

Why Most Sales Are Won or Lost Before You Even Say a Word

In 2013, a group of Stanford researchers studied how people decide whether to trust a business.

They discovered something wild:

Most customers make their judgment in the first five seconds.

Not after the pitch.

Not after the price.

Not after the benefits.

Not after the demo.

In the first five seconds.

Before logic.

Before analysis.

Before comparison.

Five seconds.

Empty shelf story at Amazon on post by Paul Getter.- the need to fix and have a system

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Sometimes we need enthusiasm and passion to sell But not all the time.   Jeff Bezos fojund it the hard way.  Sales were declining and upon inspection he found empty shelf in his store/warehouse.   What does it mean -  Out of stock.    Non fulfillment of customer needs.    

It means lost sales.    But to solve this gap, you have to inform your system.  If your system is faulty, you cant sell.  

Its important for businesses to to mind their system.   Businesses are sustained on good system.  Like having a good supply chain warehousing sysem.  Marketing can be exclusive of internal system.  Marketing need the support of internal system  

Therefore by fixing your system, you can improve your sales.  Its important to solve your internal problem to sell outside

Paul Getter inspiration for sellers - on being exceptional, on being outstanding

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Paul Getter the internet marketing nerd

These are some of his post at FB and we can learn a thing or two from him.  The theme is just being unusual, thinking out of the box, or a purple cow.

It is the focus of most strategist.   Do nothing exotic about your business model.  Just make an outstanding unique product or ad, to be the  most preferred and saleable 

product in the market place

And profiting from you mistakes

1.  THE BAD PEN  (a recurring theme in his writings)

      A bad pen in the batch can be your best teacher.   It teaches you to make a better product.    It can be your free consultant to improve your product and hence your company

2.  The MISSING KEY

     One day, Andrew Carnegie the steel business magnate found out that they could not start the factory because they could not find the KEY  to the warehouse Then Andrew c ordered the

     unthinkable -  destroy and stop having a lock from thereon.   What was the lock and key for -  to prevent the 1% possibility of theft.  What then was the solution:    better system, better

     process to stop the theft .   The key could not be a bottleneck for running a multimillion project.   There has to be a better way.  How many times do we find bottlenecks in the business

     that should not be there and stop the business.  Find and remove them

3.  The spotlight switch

     This is about the concert of Bayonce that experienced a brown out.  The team of Bayonce was prepared and anticipated this.    And the concert was a success.  And a PR was created:

     to highlight the  team of Bayonce -   " Bayonce concert proceeded despite brown out"   A great team, a great singer   Turn a misfortune a disadvantage into a uniqueness, a shining moment, a 

     stand out

4.   The empty table 

       The story is about Steve Jobs returning to Apple.   Apple was on verge of collapse and bankruptcy  after he was fired and other CEOs took over including Sculley, whom he recruited from

       Pepsi Cola but fired him   Steve looked at the list of the plethora of products  And initially Steve Jobs said nothing.  But he cleared the table -  removed the other non performing products and

       left just four.   More products line:    1.   Create confusion and chaos    2   Dissipate resources and management thinking and energy.  3.   Destroys focus.

      Application in marketing;    the first 5 seconds is important.  If it cant be explained in 5 seconds, then you cant sell it.      If the ad cant stop the eye of the scroller in 5 seconds it cant sell.  

      Empty table enables focus, focus, focus

     The successful billionaires are those who focus on one industry or product.   Or activity.   Conglomerates

       are long gone  So who are most successful:   Warren Buffett Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg for               staying focussed.   Most successful ads are 7 words, some say it is 15 words.  Too many tend to               confuse

     Again same thing:   from nothing to nothing.  (Pay Pal  -   Peter Thiel)

5.  Inside out

     This is reverse thinking, this is about stand out.    This is about clothing     Abercombie fitch  Other clothing focussed on things that are visible -  outside.   Fitch focussed on logos and

      graphics in the inside.   They built identity inside and out.    The bigger the logos sign the bigger the sales.   Sales fettered out when they changed the strategy.  

     So the product must be presented what it does inside -  the body, the label, not what it does outside   It is one approach.