Storyboard | Apple iPhone 13? How superstitions play out with consumers and brands

12 going on 14

In countries across the world, different numbers have different meanings and superstitions attached to them. In many western cultures, 13 is a dreaded figure. There is even a term for the fear of 13—triskaidekaphobia. If you think that’s a mouthful, try paraskevidekatriaphobia, the fear of Friday the 13th.

It keeps people from marrying, shopping, travelling and, in some extreme cases, even working. According to reports, triskaidekaphobia and crippling fear of “unlucky days” like Friday the 13th result in financial losses of over $800-900 million annually in the US.

(While we’re at it, go ahead and give hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia a shot, too. It’s the fear of 666— the sign of the devil in Christianity.)

It’s hard to say how many triskaidekaphobes are there in the world but it seems significant enough for businesses to pay attention to the phobia.

That’s why certain buildings—residential, hotels, etc— don’t have a 13th floor or room 13. Some restaurants don’t have table 13 and planes don’t have row 13. Carriers that avoid the number include Ryanair, Air France, Iberia and Lufthansa.

Thirteen is not the only number striking fear. In Japan, 9 is feared because it sounds like “suffering”, while in China, 4 is avoided because it sounds like the word for “death”. For this reason, reports suggest, camera-maker Fuji jumped directly from Series 3 to Series 5 and Canon skipped both G13 and G14 in its Powershot series.

Brazilians and Italians don’t look kindly on Friday the 17th. Rearranging the Roman numeral XVII creates a Latin word that means "my life is over" or “I have lived”. Using it is considered a temptation of death.

That’s why Lufthansa also skips 17. The airline tweeted this reply to a passenger, who, born on the thirteenth, asked why there was no row #13 on her flight. “Did you know there's also no row #17 as it's also considered unlucky in some countries? #bettersafethansorry Enjoy your flight!”

It later added that the airline is “Just trying to please as many supersticious (sic) passengers as possible”.

Famous self-confessed “triskie” Stephen King, who never stops on pages 94, 193, 382 and all when he’s reading, once said, “It's neurotic, sure. But it's also . . . safer.”

Knock on wood, twice

Variations in irrational beliefs can cause complications for brands, especially those with a global footprint.

“However, this is not a blanket behaviour,” says Ashok Lalla, an independent digital business adviser who has spent several years working with the Taj Group of hotels. “Brands usually have a wide-ranging audience that comes from multiple places, communities and usually holds varying beliefs. It is hard for any brand or marketer or seller to have a blanket policy that will endear itself to all people at all times," he says.

Beyond units of measurement, numbers become symbols. Like all symbols, they can have an association to other things in collective memory or a cultural consciousness, says Prakash Sharma, co-founder, 1001 Stories, a behavioural science and context architecture agency.

For instance, in India, odd numbers are often preferred over even. “This is telling and it goes beyond the utility of measurement. There is a finality in equally divisible even numbers, whereas there is a feeling of excess in odd ones,” says Sharma.

He explains with the example of shagun. A gift of money is never Rs500, it must be Rs 501. Even the Indianism "101 percent sure" is a form of the same cultural meme, he tells Storyboard. It means "whatever you need to believe that I am sure, I have 1 percent surety in excess."

We see this belief manifesting in retail strategies too, evident in the shagun-like pricing of cars, gold, sarees, etc. around festivals or periods of celebration like weddings. Prices like Rs 15,111, Rs 1,001, Rs 1,00,001... signal prosperity.

The world is a minefield of superstitions that bring good and bad luck. "Not just superstitions related to the number 13 but also certain shapes, colours, words can also trigger positivity or aversion in the mind of the audience," says Lalla. "It would be very difficult to please everyone all the time.”

Hide or flaunt? 

Superstitious beliefs are a relatively under-investigated and niche area of study in consumer behaviour. A particularly interesting area of research within the field is how peer pressure impacts decision-making based on superstitions. Often people, particularly the younger generation, keep their superstitions under wraps out of embarrassment or fear of ridicule.

Research by Australia’s Monash Business School shows how products that display a lucky charm such as luck-related logos or amulets are less preferred when someone is watching. The researchers conducted an experiment using a pen with a four-leaf clover logo and the words “good luck” inscribed on it and a similar pen without any inscription.

Two people were present when participants—university students from China and Australia—were asked to select a pen. At other times, no one was watching. When someone was watching, only 45 percent of students chose the lucky pen but zoomed to 66 percent when no one was watching.

“Because they are by definition irrational, we might think that these days, people would not be guided by superstitious beliefs. People don’t want to look foolish or uneducated in other people’s eyes. So even if one has these beliefs, they might not want to be known for acting on them,” Professor Harmen Oppewal says in a report about the study.

If Apple chooses not to call its next mobile phone iPhone 13, there is a good chance a fair number of people will heave a sigh of relief secretly. Or it could go the other way. Sharma believes that an iPhone 13 might actually work in Apple’s favour. As cultural memories change and evolve, superstitions are reduced from societal warnings to intriguing, attractive mysteries.

“iPhone is, beyond utility, a device and brand that has tremendous display value. It is a showcase of individuality. The romance in 13 might just hand the user a pat on the back for his badassery. In cultures where individuality triumphs, 13 will work fabulously,” says Sharma.