Beer is finally getting the attention it deserves. It doesn’t matter if it is a craft, domestic or import, beer is talked about on TV and written about in nearly every magazine and newspaper. I have heard a few commentators say that beer is where wine was in the 1970s when consumers began to discover wine’s heritage and diversity. Naturally, anytime I see something about wine, I take note since it may be helpful in selling beer.

According this latest wine study, the old adage that you get what you pay for really is true when it comes to the enjoyment of better wines. According to researchers at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the California Institute of Technology, if a person is told he is tasting two different wines—and that one costs $5 and the other $45 when they are, in fact, the same wine—the part of the brain that experiences pleasure becomes more active on an MRI brain scan when the drinker thinks he is enjoying the more expensive vintage. People in retail have suspected all along that price and brand influence the customer’s perception of quality, but this study demonstrated that price affected the actual pleasure that the brain experiences when the wine consumed was thought to be more expensive.

But what about the thrill people experience when they buy something on sale? The researchers found that consumers do get an emotional boost. “It was such a deal!” But there is a downside when the product is actually used. Somehow, the sale item just doesn’t feel as effective. In this second study the researchers gave a group of students a can of Red Bull before asking them to solve some puzzles. Half of the participants were told that the Red Bull was bought on sale. The kids who thought that their drinks were the sale items solved fewer puzzles than the group that consumed the “full price” Red Bull. Once again, price had an impact on the outcome of the experiment. Money really does talk.

So what does this have to do with beer? Price matters on an even deeper level than anyone guessed. It signals quality. Even the perceived effectiveness of a well-respected product like Red Bull suffered if it was thought to have been bought on sale. The researchers documented that price is not just about inferences of quality, it can actually affect real quality in the mind of the consumer. That is really something to think about when tinkering with price.

Sincerely,

Dominic Origlio