Why We Buy: Brain Waves Don't Lie

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

The article discussed a lab in England, where a neuroscientist teamed with a market researcher to scan the brainwaves of subjects watching commercials. Lindstrom was thrilled that unbiased access to the consumer brain was finally available.

False Results

A difficulty of standard marketing research, Lindstrom says, is that people will not -- or cannot -- provide accurate information about their mental states.

When asked why they prefer a brand of soft drink, or how a warning label affects them, most people cannot give a straight answer. This, Lindstrom says, is the great advantage of brain waves.

"They don't waver, hold back, equivocate, cave in to peer pressure, conceal their vanity, or say what they think the person across the table wants to hear. ... Neuroimaging could uncover truths that a half-century of market research, focus groups and opinion polling couldn't come close to accomplishing."

Brain Waves

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 one 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 affect 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. "Roughly 21,000 new brands are introduced worldwide per year, yet history tells us that more than 90 percent of them are gone from the shelf a year later."

It's likely that the information in this book will be used in future marketing campaigns, so even if you aren't in the marketing business, it's a worthwhile read as a measure of self-awareness and self-defense.