Close to 25 years ago, the academic and research community began to really understand the role of neuroscience in successful advertising. It was a new theory that since has been verified by winning entries of creative and marketing awards, neuroscience diagnostics and more. When you understand how advertising really works, your advertising can achieve a new level of consumer engagement. Why do I bring this up? Well, after reviewing much of today’s advertising, it is clear that many still do not understand the art and the science behind great work.
Let’s take another look at the three myths that every marketing and advertising manager need to understand to see how advertising really works.
Myth: Consumers think, feel and then act. Reality: Consumers feel, act and think. The psychologist Antonio Damasio developed this new theory of how people make decisions, after his study of a tragic accident involving a railroad worker, Phineas Gage. His book Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain, provided detailed evidence that consumers feel, act, and then think.1 Or in other words, we purchase to satisfy our emotional needs and rationalize why after the fact. Other researchers have since estimated 95% of all purchase decisions are based on emotional needs.2
Myth: Consumer behavior is rational. Reality: Consumers have a logical personal story that makes sense to them. Each one of us has a personal story that summarizes how we see our past, present and future. Our stories are shaped by the brands we purchase. In this context, brands address emotional, unconscious needs, but can be very rationally explained within a personal story. Advertising researchers explain this phenomenon as story completion.3 That is, a brand’s advertising provides important story components that are used by consumers to make their personal story more ideal.
Myth: Advertising gives your target audience a reason to buy. Reality: Advertising is just the raw material for their personal story. Great advertising is founded on insight into what consumers emotionally need. A skillful writer and art director can hint at emotional benefits of brand ownership, but this raw material is only relevant if it can be used to complete a buyer’s personal story. In fact, advertising based on rational reasons to buy is some of the most ineffective.
At The Bloodhound Group, our team is skilled at gaining insight into the powerful personal stories of consumers. Using this insight, we carefully write a briefing document that creative teams can use to develop relevant, emotionally engaging advertising that works in reality. If you are challenged by ineffective advertising that continually wastes your valuable marketing budget, reach out to me at jcobb@bloodhoundbranding.com. If nothing else, maybe we can help you better understand your customer’s personal story, if not create a more effective, emotionally engaging campaign.
1 Damasio, Antonio. Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain. New York. Grosset/Putnam, 1994.
2 Zaltman, Gerald Zaltman. How Customers Think: Essential Insights into the Mind of the Market. Harvard Business School Press, 2003.
3 Micu, Anca Christina and Joseph T Plummer. On the Road to a New Effectiveness Model: Measuring Emotional Responses to Advertising. AAA/ARF Task Force Study Findings, March 2007.