The following article provides a fascinating insight into the ‘placebo affect’ of counterfeit goods as a ‘taster’ for the ‘real thing’.It would be interesting to find out whether this affect is evident in the purchase & use of counterfeit packaged goods. I should imagine that it probably is true with counterfeit cosmetics but unlikley with pharmaceuticals. What do you think? Chris
From OUT-LAW News, 10/12/2009 and brought to our attention via @fmpickering - thanks Francine!
Nearly half the people who buy counterfeit handbags buy the real thing within two years, according to an academic study. The research shows that fakes can create brand loyalty in the counterfeited brands.
A researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) who used to be a brand manager at luxury goods firm Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH) asked hundreds of fake bag buyers about their habits in an unpublished study ‘The Real Value Of Fakes’.
Renee Richardson Gosline interviewed the consumers who knew when they bought them that the bags were fakes and found that 46% of them bought authentic branded bags within two years.
“For some status-seeking people, at least, the social power of luxury goods means that consumption must not just be conspicuous, but real,” said a statement from MIT describing the research.
“The counterfeit actually served as a placebo for brand attachment,†Gosline told news service Bloomberg . “People were becoming increasingly attached to the real brand even though they never possessed it at all.â€
You can read the full article here: OUT-LAW New
You can find further information on counterfeiting and evolving technologies, via Design Cognition’s sister site ‘The Pharma Gateway‘. Also, if you are interested in our forthcoming counterfeiting workshops – let us know.
george says:
Nicholas says: