By Jennifer Mueller
When consumers believe that a product is creative, they’re more likely to buy it. But not everyone agrees on what “creativity” looks like.
Jeffrey Loewenstein and I recently published a study examining why a product is seen as creative in the world’s two largest economies, the United States and China. American and Chinese consumers had quite different views, we found.
For example, one of the most striking differences hinged on whether a product was for a mass market. To Chinese people, a mass-market designation was a sign of creativity. To Americans, the reverse was true.
Consider the Apple Watch, which hasn’t lived up to Apple’s sales expectations. The watch was advertised as the first mass-market wearable. Americans, however, associate Apple with creativity and thinking differently—not the mass market. Ironically, that same mass-market strategy might work well in China.
Another important cue is whether the product is described as a brand. In China talking about a brand is compatible with creativity. But for most Americans, too much brand talk can undermine their view of a product’s creativity. If your goal is to sell a creative product (as opposed to one with a proven track record), emphasizing the brand will place your product in the “not creative” box in Americans’ minds.
If an idea has high levels of social approval (e.g., Facebook “Likes,” Kickstarter investors, downloads) Chinese people tend to believe that the idea is creative, but Americans don’t. Likewise, Americans don’t necessarily associate creativity with cues related to being fashionable, credible (with celebrity backing), widely used and easy to use. By contrast, Chinese people see those cues as key for creativity.
Our findings indicate that when Americans say a product is creative, what they mean is that it’s distinctive. So features that communicate wide acceptance suggest that the product is common, not unique. Chinese consumers, on the other hand, think new ideas that aren’t widely endorsed must lack creativity—so why pay attention to them?
When marketers communicate ideas (and when decision-makers choose ideas to pursue), they should focus on the features that suit their target consumers’ creativity cues.
Jennifer Mueller is an associate professor at the University of San Diego.