Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/201447
research Marketers: Best to Focus on the Familiar ALTHOUGH YOUNG MUSIC lovers may say they prefer to listen to the newest songs from up-and-coming bands, they're more likely to respond to familiar tunes that radio stations play over and over again. That's according to a paper by Morgan Ward, marketing professor at the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas; Joseph Goodman, assistant professor of marketing at the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri; and Julie Irwin, marketing professor at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas, Austin. The researchers asked 386 music listeners in the U.S. to rate their agreement or disagreement with statements such as "Radio is too repetitive" and "Radio should play more new music." As the researchers expected, the majority expressed a strong desire to hear new music on the radio. However, a series of subsequent studies contradicted those results. In one study, the researchers asked 244 undergraduates to listen to a pair of current songs—one played on the radio more often, one less often. When asked to state a preference, participants more often chose songs with which they were most familiar. Another study showed that this preference for familiar music increases when participants have to perform a mental task. Morgan Ward The researchers assigned 276 students either to memorize 20 words (high load), four words (low load), or no words. Then, all were asked to choose one of five radio stations to listen to as they completed the task. The stations were described with statements such as "We play the hottest top-ten songs!" or "We play the songs of tomorrow that you've never heard!" Joseph Although students in all three groups often Goodman chose stations playing familiar music, those in the "high load" group were even more likely to do so. These findings show that music outlets should focus on broadcasting familiar songs "even if consumers say they want more novelty," the researchers write in their conclusion. They note that their findings could also apply to the food, enterJulie Irwin tainment, and film industries. They conclude that, in a world where consumers are beset by choices and information overload on a daily basis, the familiar can offer a much-needed reprieve. "The Same Old Song: The Power of Familiarity in Music Choice" is under review. The Powerful See Themselves in Others RESEARCHERS FROM THE Uni- versity of Utah's Eccles School of Business in Salt Lake City and the University of Southern California's department of psychology in Los Angeles find that those in power often mistakenly assume that those they lead share their own 56 November/December 2013 BizEd traits, attitudes, and emotions. The researchers call this social projection "self-anchoring." The researchers found the powerful not only project themselves on others, but assume their groups share only their negative traits, attitudes, and feelings—not the posi-