The Buying Brain: Secrets for Selling to the Subconscious Mind (42 page)

The brain is a massive parallel processor of signals. It is designed solely and explicitly for that purpose. It is further designed to process, analyze, and sort out what those signals mean, for our very basic survival all the way up to the most abstract theories we may contemplate.

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The brain is built to search for answers. Standing in front of the portrait of Mona Lisa, our brain attempts to calculate the message being conveyed. It strives to sort through the stimuli and find a familiar pattern, a recognizable path.

Failing to uncover that, the prefrontal cortex directs its servant neurological centers spread throughout the brain to redouble their efforts. If something
still
doesn’t turn up, the brain will actually form new connections to register and accommodate this new information.

One way or the other, the brain will find a way to wrap itself around this
phenomenon—and prevail.

Within all this searching lies yet another key benefit: As our brains recalculate and process, we’re spending more time with the stimulus overall. As focused as we are on Mona Lisa’s smile (or mysterious lack thereof), we’re also aware of her surroundings, her clothing, the other elements in that painting. If you apply the principle of ambiguity to some (not all) advertising, you engage the brain to that same basic extra degree. And by doing so, you increase the chances that the overall messaging you’re conveying will be better and more fully absorbed by the subconscious.

For more contemporary proof of the efficacy of ambiguity, I direct your attention to just about any runway in the fashion capitals of the world. Pay special attention to the expressions on the models as they traipse across the elevated platform. They are deliberately, uniformly ambiguous—neither smiling nor frowning.

Result? Fascination. Look at the faces of the observers seated and paying rapt attention. Is it the latest creation from the House of Dior that has them riveted? Or are their brains fixated on the models themselves, particularly their faces?

Go one step further—if you watch one of these shows on TV, take conscious notice of where you yourself are looking. I think you’ll be surprised to discover how much time you’re spending looking at the model’s faces. (This is a brief reminder that our brains are designed to pay special attention to human faces.) Another example in an allied field is cosmetics marketing. Some smart advertisers feature models with ambiguous expressions in their print advertising.

Skim through a beauty book and you may find a few of these ads—though not many, because most advertisers in this category are still featuring smiling women. If they learn about the brain’s real preference, that may change and they will benefit.

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We know that neurologically it is the ambiguity of the models’ expressions that helps attract and then hold our attention. Of course, we’re going to look at the haute couture or the cosmetics; they’re the stars of the show. But we are drawn to pay attention in part because our brains are presented with a little mystery along the (run)way.

And now you know that the brain just loves a good mystery—but
be
careful not to make it work too hard.

I encourage you to explore how you might factor that knowledge into your next brilliant ad campaign.

Eyedrops, Awareness, and Audiences

What can neurological testing tell us about the effectiveness of advertising? A great deal.

Here’s a real-world example: A major international pharmaceutical company wanted to evaluate how effective a TV commercial was for its brand of allergy-relief eyedrops.

The Problem: Tough Category

This is the kind of category where it can be difficult to get good, reliable answers through conventional market research techniques. Asking consumers what they thought or how they felt or what they remembered about using a product like eyedrops is a challenge itself. Attempting to distill those reactions to a TV spot for the product adds height to the bar. Respondents will make a good-faith effort—but as explained in these pages, accurate articulation is hindered by the brain’s basic structure and functions.

The Complication: New Message

This particular ad introduced a new product that was once-a-day eyedrops, compared to the previous version of the product that required two applications per day. From long experience, the company knew that asking people if they got the message about the new feature did not always yield a reliable response.

Just by asking the question, the response is compromised
, depending on which choice you list first, even if you put the choices at equal level on the screen like this:

Once a day

Twice a day

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Still, one has to come first. That confounds memory recall and thus your research.

The Solution: A Second-by-Second Deep Dive
A typical TV spot is only 30 seconds long, but can cost millions to produce and air. So those 30 seconds have to do some heavy lifting. Key questions the client wanted answered were:

r What is the overall Effectiveness of the TV spot?

r Is there a different response based on gender?

r Does the spot promote Purchase Intent?

r Is the “once-a-day” message received? Are other messages received?

r Which parts are particularly memorable and interesting?

r How quickly does the spot wear out?

We tested an even 50/50 split of female and male subjects, who each saw the ad three times. (Keep in mind the critically important point made in Chapter 10 about sample size. Because neurological testing measures at the deep subconscious level, at the early stage of the cognitive timeline, fully scientifically valid results are achieved using
sample sizes that are 1/10th
the size
required by surveys.)

We measured how strong the concepts and attributes of “once-a-day,”

“fast-acting,” and “relief” resonated, deep in the subconscious.

Because full-brain EEG-based neurological testing combined with eye-tracking and GSR measurements generate such an enormous volume of research data—
a typical ad study like this one produces approximately 5

billion data points, and we apply some 40 billion floating data points
of computational processing power to analyze them
—the results are extraordinarily rich in detail.

We were able to present the client with precise information on the exact levels of Attention, Emotional Engagement, and Memory Retention that the spot stimulated, as well as an overall Effectiveness score. We broke those NeuroMetrics out further into male and female demographics. Eye-tracking pinpointed, at a pixel level, where visual focus was located at any specific second—data we also broke out into male/female metrics.

Neurological compression technology isolated and highlighted the individual frames of the commercial that scored the highest in terms of test subjects’

subconscious responses (once again, split into genders for even more knowledge of what was most effective). These results enable a TV spot to be edited P1: OTA/XYZ

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down into shorter lengths for application in alternative formats, such as the Internet and mobile advertising platforms, where shorter videos are the norm, while retaining the most neurologically effective scenes and elements. They also enable an advertiser to adapt individual frames for use in print and outdoor advertising and other mediums requiring still images.

Testing demonstrated that the Wear-Out factor for the spot was clearly superior to the norm (our proprietary research into advertising effectiveness shows that the typical commercial registers measurable habituation after three to five viewings).

Beyond the results, we provided the client with a set of six specific recommendations on how to improve the neurological effectiveness of the spot even further, how to alter the copy to achieve even higher scores with both men and women, a strategy for maximizing media buys in terms of reach versus frequency levels, and more.

When millions are at stake, and in this example a critical new product formulation is being introduced in a very competitive category, EEG-based full-brain neurological testing can deliver extremely detailed knowledge and insights about how well advertising will perform, and specific, actionable ways to improve that performance.

Neurological Neighborhoods

One of the issues that have been kicked around in advertising and marketing circles for more than a few years is the subject of priming. The debate has centered around whether it’s an actual phenomenon, and if so, how it actually works.

For those of you not in the advertising or television business,
priming
is defined as the degree to which viewers’ perception of and response to advertising within a certain program is affected by the nature and content of the program itself. Conversely, and to a lesser extent, it can be defined as the extent to which the
advertising
affects viewers’ outlook on and responses to the
program
material it sponsors.

In laypersons’ terms: For viewers, does a program impact ad effectiveness?

Do ads impact programs? If so, how much and under what circumstances?

The question has lingered in the industry because of the difficulty inherent in parsing out the variable effects of the ad/program. You can certainly measure viewership levels quantitatively, and that tells you how many viewers were tuned in at any given moment. But
were they “tuned in” in the other
sense of the phrase?
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Intent, perception of Novelty, and Awareness—the key NeuroMetrics—by the interaction of the advertising and programming?

The majority of clients who bring us advertising or television programming to test ask us this question. That’s how central an issue it continues to be.

And this is what we tell them:

Priming not only exists, but it is even more important than anyone thought.

Raising the importance of priming as a key factor in the media planning and buying process can result in commercials gaining more Attention, Emotional Engagement, and Memory Retention—and spurring Purchase Intent, Novelty, and Awareness as a result. Improved return on investment (ROI) for advertising budgets can be the outcome.

To shed some light on this subject, I’ll offer another real-world example. It’s one that, in light of the increasing popularity of so-called reality programming, has more relevance than ever.

Neurological Nitty-Gritty

The A&E Television Network brought us a very interesting study to conduct.

One of its top-rated shows is
Intervention.
It’s a program that has attracted both critical praise and viewer interest and loyalty, in no small part due to its gritty realism and powerful emotional content.

The series features families, friends, and coworkers intervening with individuals who are suffering from a variety of conditions, from alcoholism to drug addiction and other serious afflictions. These souls have reached, or are rapidly approaching, the nadir of their lives. It’s no exaggeration to say that, barring a turnaround, some of those lives are at real risk.

But for advertisers, the question that often arises with programming this intense is: How will viewers perceive my brand/product/service/message in this environment? Will I gain or lose Awareness, Impact, or Effectiveness? Will consumers be more, or less,
motivated to try or rebuy
my offering? Will my brand benefit, or not, by being present?

More than broadcast advertising dollars hang in the balance. Priming can also influence brand image, corporate reputation, and other critical company assets. So understanding priming and how it really works plays a central role in deciding which ads to air with which programs. We designed a testing P1: OTA/XYZ

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methodology that would tease out the answers where they’re actually formed: deep within the subconscious.

Carefully screened subjects were shown two programs. One was an episode of
Intervention
, and the other was a successful prime-time dramatic program from another network featuring powerful and highly personal story lines. Both shows demonstrated strong levels of viewer engagement and loyalty.

We inserted a set of six commercials, featuring a cross section of advertisers, in commercial pods (groupings of various commercials) within each program. Categories included automotive, food, insurance, personal care, retail, and telecommunications. Each set of spots was exactly the same, and their placement in commercial pods was also the same.

The findings were clear and compelling. Neurological testing revealed that, far from negatively impacting viewers’ perceptions, ad placement in the emotionally powerful program environment of
Intervention
actually enhanced
viewers’ engagement with the advertising
.