The proverb “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” is well known to everyone, but our brain seems to “think” differently. Everything that is rare and hard to access immediately becomes more attractive in our eyes. This has its origins, among other things, in the laws of natural selection. Many males competed for a female with the best genetic material in a herd, and usually, only one could be the winner. This rule has been generalized by our brain to all other situations, so we apply it reflexively (similarly to other rules), which is cleverly exploited…
Scarcity Principle – definition
If something is rare or hard to obtain, it is probably good.
Examples of usage in marketing and advertising:
- ‘last-minute’ offers;
- limited edition;
- all collector’s items (the rarer, the more expensive). Often use in tradnig cards games (TCG) like Magic: the Gathering, where some cards have super-rare and expensive versions;
- initiations, “baptisms,” etc.
Bibliography:
- Cialdini, R. (2000) Influence: Science and Practice. (B. Wojciszke – translation.) Gdańsk: GWP (Original publication year 1993)
- Doliński, D. (2008) Techniques of Social Influence. Warsaw: SCHOLAR