Brainfluence Case Study

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Branding messages are powerful; people sometimes make purchases that are outside of a rational logic. This goes along with classical conditioning and Pavlov’s experiment. An interesting example is Caltech that just by showing a symbol that is associated with a taste experience can actually have people’s brain to light up. Consistent experience and branding messages are extremely important, if customers have pleasurable experiences they will then associate that when just looking at the brand (Logos, jingles, and anything related).

The next part is about attention, this starts with the idea that effective advertising goes beyond the cognitive process of paying attention. An example of this is TV advertising where the book compares people that are high-attention processors vs low and ultra-low attention processors and the results were that even the last ones showed brand shift after unconsciously being exposed. The key takeaway from this part is that brands should look for exposure even if it is an unconscious exposure. A clear example is Samsung electrical charging stations in airports.

Passion brand is all about the feelings and emotions consumers have attached to a brand. How can we take a brand to this level? The book says: “hire pasionistas”. Hire people that will have fun when doing their job. This is for me the most interesting concept because I have experience it before with companies like Apple. Their customer service people talk in such a way that make me believe in their product, I suddenly feel enthusiastic and happy.

The last part of this section starts with the concept of social identity, which explains the tendency people have to categorize themselves into groups and become loyal to their group. Companies should provide cues to customers to make them understand that by choosing their brand they are better perceived and distinguish from other groups.

Comments and Questions.

- When reading the attention part I remembered an article I read about an ad for the new Volkswagen convertible where it was a “slowmercial” so even when fast-forwarded on TV, people will see it as if it were a print ad. http://www.psfk.com/2013/03/vw-fast-forward-ad.html

- Reading the Coke vs Pepsi experiment, I remember a study doctors did to my grandpa by giving him a placebo pill and telling him it was the best pain-killer pill for his knee. Brain scans showed outstanding results where the pain area of his brain appeared to be significantly better after the pill. This example reinforces the power of association that this section discusses about brands.

- Wayfair was my last coop and 3 months after I was hired I asked my manager why was I hired? And she said: “You sound very passionate about the company and we want to hire people full of energy and enthusiastic”. This illustrates the concept of passion brand.

Section 4: Brainfluence in Print.

This section starts with the comparison between print ads and digital media. The last one clearly has different benefits that print ads can’t provide. Even though digital media has become very popular, we still think we will have print ads for many years. One reason is that paper ads cause more emotional impact on people’s brain.

The creation of a false memory is just an example of how powerful images can be in people’s brain. Paper ads beside its limitations can create experiences and positive feelings with well-designed vivid images. I remember the flyers my cousin in Venezuela made about his food, it was such a well-design flyer that just by looking at the picture made me feel hungry. High resolution is key in this situation.

Another aspect where paper is better than digital advertising is in the serious impression that each reveals. Studies show that weight is associated with “ being serious” and that is why we see printed documents on heavier papers. A screen gives a weightless experience so here paper ads have won the battle again.

The concept of cognitive fluency is for me the most interesting one. How easy you present information in term of the font determines how likely people are to commit to the response sought. I remember I was helping the marketing guy of my small business to make a flyer and I got fancy with the font because it looked nicer. He then told me that the font I pick took actually longer to process and read, he was in fact right because I then saw 2 different flyers and the one with my fancy font took me 5 more seconds to read it.

Exceptions exist, and actually using fancy fonts and big words can work in certain situations. Examples are: selling costly products or trying to imply complexity in the skills needed to provide the service or product. A clear example is restaurants were fancy font is perceived as that the dish requires difficult skills from chefs which makes the case to justify high prices.

Memorable complexity, this last chapters says that complex font enhance recalling. The reason is that complex fonts require more effort and deeper processing in the brain, which leads to better recall. However, this technique should be used for specifics pieces of information you want people to recall like a phone number, you should never write the whole ad with complex font because people will simple not read it at all.

Comments and Questions:

- In my family business, not everyone has access to the Internet so we are highly dependent on paper ads. One of the things we have changed overtime is based on a concept from this chapter and that is that we now print flyers on heavier/thicker paper. We did this because we said it seems more professional but now I have a new reason for doing this.

- I would like to know more about the backgrounds used in print ads, how are these chosen and how these influence people’s perception?

- The use of complex fonts was a very interesting approach. I can now think of how fancy restaurants in Venezuela use fancy fonts very hard to read to a point where I had to read it very slowly. The process of reading it slowly gives that perception of complexity and fanciness attach to their dishes.

Summary Section 5: Picture Brainfluence.

Our brains like baby faces in fact the emotion area of the brain experiences high level of activity when exposed to a baby’s face. The business implication here is that to grab people’s attention companies can use baby pictures but of course they have to be align with the product or message. It is important to consider what the baby is looking at. Studies show that people unconsciously watch