Urgency, Scarcity & Exclusivity Marketing (Limited Edition Marketing)

“Special” and “Limited” editions promise new and previously unseen variations in the regular edition (or regular product line). They are characterized by being available for a short time and/or in limited numbers and featuring the highest quality production that demand a premium price. 

Limited edition marketing refers to the practice of creating an air of uniqueness and prestige around goods or services. When done well, it is aligned with key marketing strategies that include brand awareness.

Key interrelated characteristics of any limited edition marketing initiative are scarcity, exclusivity and urgency (along with triggering the fear of missing out / FOMO). These characteristics can be applied in different ways within the marketing mix whether; product, pricing, distribution or promotion. 

Scarcity marketing is a psychological technique based on motivating consumers to buy things that are difficult to obtain. Scarcity triggers anxiety that prompts consumers to act more quickly than otherwise. Exclusivity marketing is another psychological technique based on motivating consumers to buy things that others do not or can not easily have. The product should be able to signal to the world that they (the buying consumers) are one of a select few. Urgency marketing motivates consumers to act quickly. It is often done in conjunction with scarcity marketing to engender the fear of missing out if others get the product before they can. Ultimately, these techniques add perceived value to the product, increase demand and encourage consumers to make purchase decisions based on instinct rather than logic. Various research studies show that these techniques all increase sales to a significant extent.

Example: Scarcity and exclusivity through high prices for membership of a group with special privileges. The management of people with highly priced first class airline tickets is a routine form of scarcity and exclusivity marketing. It is not by accident that persons with boarding passes labelled 'class 1' are called to board first and settle in before other economy passengers are directed to walk through the fancy first class lounge. Sometimes, the first class passengers are already served pre-flight some finger snacks in luxury dishes (a privilege other passengers never receive). This has become common practice even though aircraft can be boarded more efficiently by simultaneously directing economy passengers through the rear door. Economy passengers are reminded again when they must wait for first class passengers to leave the aircraft after which they must walk through the empty, still untidy seats. It is noteworthy that these practices are designed with human psychology in mind. They engender a sense of exclusivity and being special among the first class passengers but more importantly, they engender jealousy and aspiration among the economy passengers. This practice has clearly proven useful for airlines who have done their analysis teams because they continue these practices at the high cost risk associated with overstaying their allotted parking time at boarding gates. Needless to say, the ostentatious opulence of the entrance to members-only first class lounges in otherwise drab airports also stresses the principle of exclusivity and special membership.   

Example: Coca Cola's 'Share a Coke' multinational marketing campaign applied scarcity and exclusivity in the product. The campaign removed the traditional Coke logo, replacing "Coca-Cola" from one side of a bottle with the phrase "Share a Coke with" followed by a person's name or relationship like 'Mom', 'Friend', 'better half' and so on. This campaign was hugely successful for several reasons. It was highly personalized. It encouraged customers to ess  entially self recruit themselves as brand evangelists or influencers for the brand. Rather than promoting the drink, they used emotional marketing, ie selling the idea of sharing happiness and therefore created a positive emotional association with the brand. See the details of Australia's 'Share a Coke' campaign below.

After entering a name in the dialog box, customers can preview the bottle. A bottle costs apx USD 5.50. An optional gift box costs USD 2.75. Free shipping is available for 4+ bottles and USD 4.15 for 1-3 bottles. Customers must await an approval period for testing social and legal compliance of the name before the order is completed.

Example. Scarcity in supply chain along with high demand. When visiting restaurant strips, tourists rarely know which restaurant is good. Consequently, they often rely on longer waiting lines as an indicator of the better restaurants. They do not mind sacrificing their limited time in their choice destination for the promise of a superior culinary experience. The same principle applies to waiting and pre-order lists for new product launches, especially if coupled with positive consumer reviews. 

Example: Kylie Cosmetics case study regarding the skillful use of tentpole and scarcity marketing. Tentpole marketing of products that trend with seasons (Christmas, etc) is commonly enhanced by also using scarcity marketing.

Packaging as a form of scarcity in the extended product. Special packaging has proven particularly successful in generating hype for limited editions, even though packaging is usually only an extrinsic part of the 'extended product'. The take away is that packaging can draw from buyer motivation factors that are unrelated to the product like pop culture, art and so on. Consequently, it provides opportunities for penetrating new markets and extending market share. 

Example. Pepsi cans sold out because of a special edition Michael Jackson can. The can featured an image of the celebrity dancing one of his signature moves. Not surprisingly, it attracted not only young people who typically consume fizzy drinks but even an older generation that had grown up listening to Jackson's music. Using a cultural icon even captured the attention of persons who are not regular fizzy drink consumers but who wanted the can as a collectible. The genius of this initiative would have been multiplied if Pepsi followed up with a variation of their drink that could keep the attention of the non-fizzy drink consumers. 

BEWARE: True vs false limited editions

Some consumers are weary of false limited editions because companies often offer the same products otherwise, thereby undermining the exclusivity that many consumers desire. For this reason, marketers ought to consider their tactics very closely. For instance, rather than calling a frequent tentpole-related release a 'limited edition', it may appear more truthful to call it a 'Christmas edition'.   

Example: Starbucks' yearly a special edition of Christmas packaging features bright red holiday cups, sometimes with snowflakes, snowmen and reindeer that evoke warm memories and signal the start of the Christmas season. The cups even result in the Starbucks brand trending on social media when latte lovers go online to post images of their special cups using the hashtag #starbucksredcup.

Be mindful of the cultural sensitivities of the consuming public. For instance, after much controversy over the non-Christian approach like the exclusion of the words 'Merry Christmas', Starbucks embraced this simple red cup in 2015. Below, is the 2019 edition.

Other general examples of these techniques.

• Provide discount codes that will expire within a given time period.
• Hold sales that will occur only on a particular date like Black Friday.
• Display countdown timers.
• Display the potential price increase.
• Create the illusion of low supply. 
• Show social proof by allowing shoppers to know that their peers are also viewing or already buying the same or similar items. This triggers FOMO (the fear of losing out).
• Use urgency trigger words that tap into the pyschological principle of loss aversion. Research shows that people are more powerfully motivated to avoid losses than to acquire gains. They include don't delay, don't miss out, offer expires, ends soon, save today, buy now, one day only, last chance.
• Display the expiration of carts to minimize or prevent cart abandonment (through distraction or forgetfulness). Have a system to follow up on abandoned carts.
• Flash sales, ie sales of goods or services at greatly reduced prices and lasting for very short time periods. This is often used to get rid of surplus stock or to quickly generate revenue.
• Display when products are stocked out. If done to a limited extent (that will not frustrate customers), this can encourage customers to find suitable alternatives. Ideally ensure that you never stock out of all products that relate to specific target markets.
• When selling services, including professional ones, scarcity is often communicated to clients with wording that sounds like this. "We qualify / vet our clients carefully because we accept a limited number of cases that we are certain we can delivery to extremely well." This sends the message that your services are in demand and that they should have a fear of missing out.

CONTENT RELATED TO LIMITED EDITION MARKETING

• How to build a new brand for modern consumers.
• Emotional advertising; deeply personal emotional triggers 
• Psychological pricing. Urgency, scarcity and exclusivity are one way of psychological pricing, especially prestige pricing. Read about other types of psychology pricing, some of which may be combined with prestige pricing. 
• Scarcity marketing is commonly used with tentpole marketing for trending products.
• Risk management communication uses scarcity and urgency in a slightly different way. Specifically, it establishes the thing of value that customers already have. However, it encourages customers to take action in order to avoid or mitigate the risk of losing that thing of value. 
• Other discussions on abovementioned case studies
• Airline industry
• Coca Cola
• Kylie Cosmetics 
• Pepsi
• Starbucks