How To Build Brands And Influence People
The neuroscience behind brand success (from “The Million Dollar Brand” by Marc Posch)
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Neuro Branding is a new field of branding research that studies consumers’ sensorimotor, cognitive, and emotional response to marketing stimuli. Researchers use technologies such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure changes in activity in parts of the brain, electroencephalography (EEG) and steady-state topography (SST) to measure activity in specific region — all spectra of the brain response, and/or sensors to measure changes in one’s physiological state, also known as biometrics, including (heart rate and respiratory rate, galvanic skin response) to learn why consumers make the decisions they do, and which brain areas are responsible for that.
Neuro Branding, following Neuro Marketing research, is expanding rapidly in both, academic and business sectors. In fact, many companies, particularly those with large-scale ambitions to predict consumer behavior, have invested in their own laboratories, science personnel and/or partnerships with academia. Companies such as Google, CBS or Pepsico use Neuro Branding research services to measure consumer thoughts on their advertisements or products.
Anatomy of a “Three-Brains Approach”
Brands can and should use this technique to persuade, motivate, convince, or excite others to action. It’s a subtle but powerful approach that plays into our human evolution, in short: it “tickles the lizard”.
From fMRI brain research we know today that information is processed and categorized in various ways inside the human brain. This is what I call the “Three-Brains Approach” (I hope that neuroscientists can forgive me for this oversimplification). In a nutshell, effective design and marketing appeal to all three levels of cognitive awareness: The Limbic Brain, the Neocortex and the Reptilian or “Lizard” Brain (Basal Ganglia), our oldest and most primitive tool in the arsenal of information processing. The Neocortex, our rational brain, is responsible for handling intellectual tasks, while the Limbic Brain responds to emotional triggers. The third actor here, the Lizard Brain is in charge of survival instincts and lights up when we face danger — or the possibility of mating (Can I get you a drink?).
The Daisy Girl
A good example is a famous political commercial from 1964, the Daisy Girl ad. It was so successful it became the de facto blueprint for all political ads — to this day. The ad only ran once* but its impact helped Lyndon Johnson to win the presidential elections over his challenger Barry Goldwater in a landslide.
“On September 7, 1964, a 60-second TV ad changed American politics forever. A 3-year-old girl in a simple dress counted as she plucked daisy petals in a sun-dappled field. Her words were supplanted by a mission- control countdown followed by a massive nuclear blast in a classic mushroom shape. Without naming the candidate it implied that he (Barry Goldwater) was a genocidal maniac who threatened the world’s future. Two months later, President Lyndon Johnson won easily, and the emotional political attack ad — visceral, terrifying, and risky — was born.” (Smithsonian)
What’s interesting about the ad is that it didn’t mention anything about what Johnson’s agenda was, no plans for the country or promise to the voters. It was all about a primal fear. An impulse trigger for the Lizard.
According to leading neuroscientists, as much as 95% of our decisions are controlled by our subconscious mind. In particular, the oldest and most primitive part of our three-part brain, the “Lizard” brain. It manages much of how we humans behave. This brain only cares about our survival. It acts viscerally responding by fight or flight mechanisms and is ruled by triggers like hunger and fear. It is solely interested in “what’s in it for me?”
Brain scan studies show that the “Lizard” brain makes decisions in about two milliseconds — far faster than the 500 milliseconds that your rationale brain requires — and has the power to overrule input from the more evolved parts of our brain and override how we might otherwise rationally act and react.
It makes sense that if you want your audience to respond to your brand and act on your call to action, you have to appeal to their self-interest, not yours. You must present what’s in it for them, not just intellectually, but emotionally as well in order to trigger both the Limbic Brain (= emotions) and the “Lizard” Brain (= impulses). As much as we want to believe that we as intelligent and educated people are driven by logic, in fact in most cases we are not. Emotions and impulses are major forces in the decision-making processes and should not be overlooked.
How we really decide
Picture a typical car commercial. Nice shiny automobile at an angle, blurry background, sunlight. A Neocortex message underneath would be: So and so many cylinders, more horsepower, more trunk space. Most resale value (=reason).
The Limbic Brain, however, would offer something else: Hey it’s beautiful (=emotion) today. The sun is shining (= emotion). Hop in the car for a road trip to California (= emotion) with your family. (Soft music).
And the Lizard Brain, however, would tell us a quite different story: Your kids are in the back seat. They are sleeping (= vulnerable). Are you sure your car is safe? (Dramatic music).
Now which one has the strongest appeal on you? Brands need to be aware of what is happening here. Functions and features are not necessarily what’s driving the process. While they are needed, there are much stronger influences coming into the game today. Emotions and impulses are your secret weapons to win in the game for market share. Just ask the Daisy girl.
Neuromarketing study: Coke vs Pepsi
In a study from the Read Montague group published in 2004 in Neuron magazine, 67 people had their brains scanned while being given the “Pepsi Challenge”, a blind taste test of Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Half of the subjects chose Pepsi since Pepsi tended to produce a stronger response than Coke in their brain’s ventromedial prefrontal cortex, a region thought to process feelings of reward. But when the subjects were told they were drinking Coke, three-quarters said that Coke tasted better. Because? Their brain activity had also changed. The lateral prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain that scientists say governs high-level cognitive powers, and the hippocampus, an area related to memory, were now being used, indicating that the consumers were thinking about Coke in terms of memories and other impressions.
The results demonstrated that while Pepsi should have half the market share, based on taste, in reality, consumers bought Coke for reasons related less to their taste preferences and more to their memories of their experience with the Coke brand.
“As you might imagine, our brains are adept at filtering out irrelevant information. Emotion gets our attention through our senses — which then influences our decision-making processes. Brands that create an emotional connection are much stronger than those that don’t — it’s as simple (and complicated) as that.” — Martin Lindstrom, Brand Sense
This article is an excerpt from “The Million Dollar Brand—Building A Million Dollar Brand For The Information Economy. A Step-by-Step Manual.” By Marc Posch, Creative Director, and Brand Consultant. To order click here
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