As the new year dawns, companies—and their products—are competing for consumer attention like never before. What will set you apart from the crowd in 2009? We hope it's the extra knowledge you gain here, of course. So let's get right to work: this time, we'll focus on getting noticed.

A group of researchers recently invited consumers to participate in a "visualization study." The study included two variables: one set of participants viewed a subtle array of one shape (say, seven boxes); the others viewed a "uniqueness array" (say, six boxes and one circle).

As they completed their task, each participant was casually offered a small bowl containing five Hershey's Kisses, and encouraged to take one. Four were wrapped in the same color (silver, for example), and one was wrapped in a different color (for instance, green).

No doubt your marketer's instinct can predict what happened: those people exposed to the uniqueness array—in which one shape differed from the rest—were more prone to choose the Kiss of a different color. Interestingly, this effect worked even when the participants were unaware of their previous exposure to the array.

The researchers then offered some interesting ideas for marketers who want to stand out: Incorporate a uniqueness array into your logo, push less popular products in a uniqueness array and decorate shopping carts with uniqueness arrays, then feature certain products on your shelves.

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