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What a difference a single dollar makes. A very big difference indeed. As a matter of fact, almost like a mind-altering-shock wave, a global hysteria, a cry of the consumer to be heard around the deepest corners of the globe, in addition to being 'breaking news'
to the hearts content for the glitzy-TV-media-machine. The current oil prices have been coasting around, give or take a few dollars less than $100 for a little while; it is only a matter of time before, sooner or later, when that one dollar addition becomes the anticipated reality.

So what does this mean? The global population has parked its emotional weight and awaits that magic number and the rise of that single dollar hitting its anticipated target, like any final goal of the World Cup, the real global shock wave begins.

Consumers all over the world have always found comfort in things that are often priced at the 99 cent range, regardless of whether it's a small item at $9.99 or $99,000 for a big ticket item. No wonder it's so common to see luxury penthouses are priced to sell at 19 million and mega planes being sold for 99 million. The change from a 9 to a 0 seems to be where the secret lies. The fear of zeros has many a sociologist and psychologist puzzled for a long time. Studies have shown that people will take a slightly lesser product for $99 than an identical product with more features for $100. Perhaps the 1% of the additional cost isn't the issue, but rather the switch of the number from 9 to 0 is the real psychological fear factor. The mind simply freezes, as it has to cross that upper threshold, it simply feels uncomfortable and rejects the notion. All over the world the consumer is happy, day after day, filling shopping bags for things priced an amount at 99 then a 100 and feels a real winner. Is this what happened when we made the transition from 1999 into the year 2000? Wasn't the overly-blown hysteria over Y2K anything but a manifestation of this global zerophobia?

All over the globe and particularly for the media-enlightened-west, the $100 barrel price is not only a much of a bigger fear but also offers itself as a great punching bag, as the west routinely bundles most of its current economical and other wild problems and dumps them on the Middle East. A common reaction at the overly crowded gas stations is to simply place the blame on the Middle East.

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Naseem Javed, recognized as a world authority on corporate image and global name identities, is a harsh critic of casual and accidental naming. He is a dynamic speaker on corporate image and branding issues, and is also the author of Naming for Power. He founded ABC Namebank International, an image and branding consultancy over 25 years ago. Website: www.abcnamebank.com