Why shoppers are caught up in the viral toy hype

What BBN said about it

1. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorCBS News reports shoppers are caught up in a viral toy craze, with people lining up and hunting online for the hot item.

2. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorWith us is Leopold Marsh, senior partner at Marsh Delacroix Strategy Group. Thanks for being here.

3. LM

   Leopold MarshHappy to be here, Hank. The core driver is simple: people want what other people want. That's billable.

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   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorSo shoppers want the toy because other shoppers want the toy.

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   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorLet me ask you what a client pays four thousand dollars an hour for there.

6. LM

   Leopold MarshClarity. Before me, a toy company thought children liked toys randomly.

7. LM

   Leopold MarshI showed them a pattern, and a pattern is billable, and so is this pause.

8. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorYou billed for the pause.

9. LM

   Leopold MarshScarcity is the engine. When a toy is hard to find, parents feel urgency, and urgency is billable.

10. LM

    Leopold MarshSo is my breathing, Hank, at a discount.

11. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorBut you didn't answer the question. What did the client actually get for those hours?

12. LM

    Leopold MarshA forty-page deck that says kids talk to other kids. Page nineteen is just the word friends, in a very nice font. Billable.

13. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorForty pages. And the plush creature on your desk, is that part of the deck too?

14. LM

    Leopold MarshThat's a research sample. I am studying the hype from the inside, so the time I spent holding it is billable.

15. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorInside. So you're one of the shoppers. Did you wait in line for it?

16. LM

    Leopold MarshFour hours, in the rain, with a stranger named Doreen. It's not billable. I checked. Twice.

17. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorRosa has Crime Watch next, and I hope she's booked someone who bills less than you.