Buyology: Theory of a Neuromarketing

Why do people usually become an impulsive buyer when they got stress? Or, is there any reaction in consumer's brain when they loves new Nokia cell phone, hang out on Starbucks Coffee, or maybe hear the sound of Harley Davidson's machine? Let say the doctor are scanning consumer's brain using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), so we know the brain's reaction.

It turns out that there are very good reasons we all "buy" what we do: a subconscious emotional drivers of designs. Reasons that are tied into our biology, culture, and our individual manner of nurture.

I first became aware of this kind of thinking when accompanying my best friend to go shopping. More stress, more buying. Now, comes author Martin Lindstrom, a native Denmark, with an amazing new lense on the topic, using neuroscience to get an even tighter perspective.

Marketing expert Martin Lindstrom is that scientist, caught up in the excitement of research in his new book, Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy. Lindstrom first became aware of neurological marketing research through a Forbes magazine article, "In Search of the Buy Button."

What do Rosary Beads and Red Bull have in common? A lot, it seems. Marketing guru Lindstrom and his team hooked up 65 people to special MRI machines to find out what their brains revealed about the connection between religion and brand loyalty.

For days, the researchers ran images--like those of the Pope and a bottle of Coca-Cola--by the wired subjects. The resulting brain scans were arresting. It turns out that there is virtually no difference between the way the brain reacts to religious icons or figures and powerful brands. Nike is a goddess, after all.

The experiment is quintessential Lindstrom. The author, who spends 300 days a year on the road, teaching major companies how to market their brands, has an original, inquisitive mind. His new book is a fascinating look at how consumers perceive logos, ads, commercials, brands and products.

Lindstrom conducted a three-year, $7 million neuromarketing study (sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline and Bertelsmann, among others) that measured the brain activity of 2,000 volunteers from around the world. Well, I think if he did the research in my country, I will tell my best friend to be his first respondent hehehe...

Some of the results confirmed marketing-industry hunches; others flew in the face of conventional wisdom. A difficulty of standard marketing research, Lindstrom says, is that people will not — or cannot — provide accurate information about their mental states.

Two technologies were used in Lindstrom's studies: SST (Steady State Topography) and fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging). In a series of tests spanning three years and more than 2,000 subjects, he concluded:

• Warning labels on cigarettes don't work. They stimulate activity in the part of a smoker's brain linked to cravings.
• Traditional advertisements no longer create lasting impressions. By age 66, most people with a TV will have seen nearly 2 million commercials. That makes it hard for an ad to increase a viewer's memory of a brand, despite the millions spent.
• Product placement only works when fully integrated. It works when Coke-bottle-shaped furniture is part of the set design on American Idol, for example, or when Reese's Pieces candy was used for bait in the movie E.T. However, when a product is not integrated, such as FedEx packages appearing in the background of Casino Royale, there is no measurable effect with regard to viewer recollection of brand.
• Sex sells itself. Viewers of sexually suggestive ads did pay attention, but more to the sex than the ad. In one study, fewer than 1-in-10 men who saw a sexually suggestive ad could recall the product, while twice as many remembered the product in non-sexually suggestive ads.
• Successful branding functions like religion. Simple rituals, such as putting a lime wedge in a Corona or slowly pouring a Guinness, give the brand added cachet. Brands attract zealous followers — "I'm a Mac; I'm a PC." Scans using fMRI technology showed that some viewers had the same neurological response to strong brands that they did to religious iconography.
• Subliminal advertising can be highly effective. When watching an advertisement, viewers automatically raise their guard against its message. With subliminal advertisements, viewers' guards are down, so their responses are more direct.
• Marketing isn't restricted to the visual. Many companies use smells to sell products. Fast-food restaurants and supermarket bakeries use artificial fresh-cooked food smells. Sounds also effect buying. A study showed shoppers purchased French or German wine depending on which nationality's music was playing on store speakers.

Lindstrom's research should be of interest to any company launching a new product or brand. “Eight out of 10 products launched in the United States are destined to fail,” Lindstrom writes. He continued, “Roughly 21,000 new brands are introduced worldwide per year, yet history tells us that more than 90% of them are gone from the shelf a year later.” Oo-o..