"Windowness"

The class discussions on "doorness" and the usage of doors in marketing messages and advertising, prompted me to extend the concept a little to windows. What does windowness entail and how could marketers use it?

A window represents many things to many people, but one common interpretation is 'test'. As kids, we eagerly look out the window to see if the weather is good enough to play, or whether our friends are out playing already. We 'test' the external environment, by looking through the window, while remaining in the safe indoor environment. The intriguing thing about windows is that they offer only a narrow scope of vision. There is only so much you can see through a window; if you want to see more, you have to step outside (or inside depending on the perspective).

Examples of "windowness" can be readily observed in the form of movie trailers and teasers. The ritual of airing new ads during Super Bowl has become so popular that marketers issue teasers for the ad itself, like the following teaser for a Snickers ad, which was a huge fan favorite.



Windowness works both ways - from the inside out and from the outside in. Shopkeepers and retail outlets have teams of people managing their window decorations, signage, etc. to lure the consumers in. This is embedded in our daily language in the form of the phrase "window shopping", where people look at shop windows, without actually buying anything.

Note that a physical window is not always necessary to evoke the feelings of windowness. When the voice over in the commercial goes "limited time only", the consumer automatically hears a "window of opportunity" open up. Similarly, when a trial version of software or a video game demo is downloaded, the consumer gets the feeling of looking through a window. That experience will then lead the consumer to step out/in the door and actually try the full product, the complete experience.