Marketing, Expectations, and the Case of the Mysterious Turquoise Jewelry

Marketing is really just the business of setting expectations. Whether it’s a billboard, a social media ad, or a label on a jar of jam that reads “artisan-crafted in small batches by moonlight,” what it’s really saying is: “Here’s what you should expect if you give me your time, your money, or your attention.”

Expectations, of course, are powerful. They shape our perception before we even experience the product or service itself. A $2 coffee served in a paper cup is a quick caffeine fix. A $7 coffee served in a cup with your name on it, topped with oat milk foam, and a name you can’t pronounce is a morning ritual. Same bean, different expectation.

And sometimes, marketing plays with those expectations in ways even the marketer didn’t see coming.

Take, for instance, a story shared in one of my favourite books called Hidden Solutions All Around You by Daniel Castro. A woman owned a jewelry store that sold high-quality jewelry pieces. Particular sets of turquoise jewelry just weren’t selling. Frustrated, she left a note for her staff before going away for a few days, instructing them to mark the price down—trying to clear them out. But there was a misunderstanding. The staff accidentally doubled the price instead of halving it.

Cost leads to increased expectation and sale.

When the store owner returned, she found the turquoise jewelry had completely sold out.

Why?

Because raising the price shifted the customers’ expectations. What was once seen as maybe too inexpensive to be real or valuable, suddenly looked rare, high-end, even exclusive. The perceived value increased simply because the price tag whispered a different story to the buyer’s brain. It said, “This is worth it.” And people believed it.

This isn’t just a story about price tags. It’s about the unseen magic marketing creates between a brand and its audience. A bakery doesn’t just sell bread—it sells the warmth of childhood memories or the feeling of indulgence without guilt. A gym doesn’t just offer treadmills—it offers the promise of self-confidence or finally fitting into those jeans from 2010. Marketing says, “Trust us. This is what your life could look like.” Whether that’s sipping cold-pressed juice on a sunlit patio or wearing turquoise earrings that probably come with a secret backstory. The magic—and the mischief—of marketing is that it plants a seed of expectation.

So the next time you’re about to hit “add to cart,” pause and ask: Is this what I want, or is this what I’m being told to expect? And if it’s turquoise jewelry... maybe check the price twice:)