Made by Hand

In response to a world threatened by automation, we seem to be flocking to artisanal products. But how much human skill is actually involved in their making, and do we really care? Sit back and listen to our sustainable, homemade podcast on the topic. In this podcast we look at the rise in sales of artisanal products and explore the extent to which they are true to the meaning of the term. We also investigate the use of other buzzwords in marketing and attempt to understand what they indicate about consumer decision-making, generational divides and our perceptions of quality. A few things we mentioned in this podcast: - The artisanal tone of voice in marketing https://econsultancy.com/the-rise-of-the-artisanal-tone-of-voice-among-brand-marketers/ - Has ‘artisan’ become meaningless? https://ideas.time.com/2012/05/02/the-artisan-hoax-has-that-word-become-meaningless/ - ‘Premium mediocre’ https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2017/08/17/the-premium-mediocre-life-of-maya-millennial/ - Tesco’s fictional farms https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2016/mar/22/tescos-fictional-farms-a-marketing-strategy-past-its-sell-by-date - Crafty marketing https://theconversation.com/when-hand-crafted-is-really-just-crafty-marketing-47749 - The Harris Poll https://theharrispoll.com/there-are-a-lot-of-buzzwords-used-in-the-world-of-food-and-beverage-marketing-today-its-become-commonplace-to-see-advertisements-touting-products-that-are-craft-and/ - Artisan sales soar as consumers invest in quality https://www.rangeme.com/blog/artisan-sales-soar-as-consumers-invest-in-quality/ Find more Cognitive Engineering episodes here http://podcast.alephinsights.com and for more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com