When we think about brands and consume content, something happens in our brains — there’s electrical activity and a measurable response. It’s our unconscious mind – not our conscious mind – that drives how we respond to ads, brands and products and ultimately all our buying decisions.
1. The power of surprise
When we are surprised by something, it can be because our assumptions are challenged. According to Dr Jack, this then gives us the opportunity to revisit our internal view of the world. What makes surprises so powerful isn't necessarily their grandiosity. The unexpected aspect, the surprise, is more important than the thing itself.
2. Create a ‘feel good factor’
People respond more favourably to intrinsic rewards, such as social responsibility – than extrinsic rewards, such as discounts. Leading the movement are brands, such as Ben & Jerry’s, which provide the feel good factor by promoting softer benefits of buying their products. Could you add more feel good benefits?
3. Integrate the senses as well as your channels
It’s not just your marketing channels that need to be integrated, but your senses too. “If you want to have a durable memory of a brand, it needs to be multisensory to be more easily recalled.” The key lesson here is the more senses you trigger and associate with your brand, the more you will appeal to your customers’ emotions and influence their buying behaviour.
4. Think about your customers’ state of mind
By focusing on state of mind you are evaluating the customer experience from the point of view of the customer, which allows you to deliver content in a more relevant way.
5. Provide customers with a status boost!
When people feel that they are the first to share a piece of news that is interesting, they receive a status boost. You could provide this boost by letting customers be the first to share some juicy and exclusive news about your brand.
6. Context is king
You need to consider where your customers are when they’re being exposed to your communications. The human memory systems ‘geotags’ memories with information about where and when they were formed. What memory and what context does your brand want to own, and when will customers be more receptive to that content?
7. Entrain new habits with your brand front of mind
Our ability to develop habits can work to a marketer’s advantage. You can entrain peoples’ brains to develop a new habit and keep your brand front of mind. For example, introduce a new product with a discount until your customers develop a habit to purchase your brand, then remove the discount once the habit is developed.
Joining the dots
Creativity coupled with data will give you an enormous edge once you get the mix right. After all, it’s not just about using data to build better relationships, but also about fuelling creativity, based on insight. The key is to find a partner who does more than just create standout adverts and analyse basic data – they need to be able to provide detailed analysis at a strategic level, consulting on the best ways to maximise ROI and solve business problems creatively. It’s the ultimate marriage of left and right brain that can offer huge rewards for brands.