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A numbers game



If you search for the meaning for 'a numbers game' on google, this is what "The free dictionary by Farlex" (http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/a+numbers+game) suggests, 

 "the use of numbers to represent facts in an argument, especially when it makes people believe things that are not true 
It's just a numbers game and everyone does it. You manipulate the statistics till they suit your argument."

 "You manipulate the statistics till they suit your argument." What argument am I referring to? The marketing argument. Manpuketing (manipulative marketing), to suit your pitch. 

 With a zillion plus products and services around us, it is a black hole for marketers to come out with innovative designs and slogans to attract customers to the product. Few genuinely dig deep into their hearts to understand the meaning behind what they are offering to a customer, while others scratch the surface for a innovative marketing pitch to meet a sales target.

 I recently came across one such innovative marketing technique by a large food processing company. They also happen to produce biscuits. A rather 'I hardly care what marketing is used' kind of a product. But, this still got me intrigued. I don't know why, but the bold letters on that packet declaring 13% free with this pack caught my attention.

 Percentage? Really? I was expecting more of so many grams free kind of statement as grams is the default measurement used for biscuit packets.

 This got me calculating. So I opened the packet to see 8 biscuits. When I checked the net weight, it stated 66 gms + 8.5 gms extra. Ok...so it makes sense to print 13% extra, as it is a bigger number than 8.5 grams. It could look so odd to say we are giving 8.5 grams extra! Right....

 However when you do the math, you will be amazed at how much this 13% extra actually translates to? It left me amazed and before I could even realize this, I had gulped all the biscuits down and had to open one more packet as my hunger demanded 30% more biscuits!!!

 All said and done, they were just delicious and I love that brand. So 13% or 0.9 biscuit free; free is free :)

 But I hoped they could have come out with a better marketing pitch than just putting across "13% free", when the consumer's now are more intelligent to understand what that 13% translates to. I guess something in the lines of 'Just so that you don't fall short on sharing that one with someone, we packed it in here and it's on us.', could have made me buy it with a smile. 
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