Blog Entries for Neuro Branding

How retailers can stay relevant in the new world of retailing and channel mash-ups

kkuehn@smartcompany.com.au — Tue, 28 May 2013 22:44:17 +0100

Coming back from this week's IBM Smarter Consumer Study 2013 Media & Influencer Launch, where I was invited to speak on the expert panel alongside Ian Wong of IBM and Margy Osmond of ANRA, we discussed the topic of the state of the nation in terms of consumer behavior across different channels and their implications for re [...]

There's truth in wine (and the retail experience)

kkuehn@smartcompany.com.au — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 23:10:16 +0100

This week a client asked an interesting question, which made me stop and think:

"How could we articulate and provide proof that great services/experiential/ambience elements of a shopping centre have a direct positive correlation to driving traffic, sales, rental and valuation? We know it does from a gut feel perspective, [...]

Challenger brands, persuasive forces and the colour orange

kkuehn@smartcompany.com.au — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 22:25:24 +0100

This week, I would like to explore the psychology behind the colour cue orange, its use in the retail environment and why it is a good colour to challenge the status quo.

And whether it makes people predominantly think of Garfield or something else?

From last fortnight's blog there were a number of excellent comments, questions, discussions and particularly one recurring theme. When analysing the impact of a certain colour for branding and marketing it is essential to conte [...]

Does red really go faster? Colour, branding and the subconscious

kkuehn@smartcompany.com.au — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 21:59:15 +0100

While red may not physically go faster, it certainly is perceived to, with a global study on colour associations finding that an overwhelming 76% found red the colour most associated with speed.

This week, I would like to explain the psychology and emotionality behind the colour red, its use in the retail environment and, of course, why it is associated with speed.

Origins and cultural associations

The psychology of the colour red originates with the subconscious su [...]

The limbic system, the cognitive mind and the user illusion that misleads

kkuehn@smartcompany.com.au — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 22:15:10 +0100

The one single biggest irrationality in business decision-making comes back to the one underlying paradigm that is as common as it is incorrect – that the cognitive mind or the conscious mind determines what consumers do.

"The consciousness of a consumer is like a government spokesperson who has to announce decisions they a) did not participate in and b) whose true decision-making reasons are not accessible to them."

So what this freely adapted quote from the American neuro [...]

The power of intuition and the likelihood of getting married

kkuehn@smartcompany.com.au — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 22:18:05 +0100

Here's a little advice on decision-making from one of America's founding fathers and most esteemed thinkers:

"If you doubt, set down all the Reasons, pro and con, in opposite Columns on a Sheet of Paper, and when you have considered them two or three Days, perform an Operation similar to that in some questions of Algebra; observe what Reasons or Motives in each Column are equal in weight, one to one, one to two, two to three, or the like, and when you have struck out from both Si [...]

Sweet seduction: How chocolate advertising taps into the consumers' emotional operating system

kkuehn@smartcompany.com.au — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 21:05:06 +0100

Connecting with consumers in a human and emotional way is one of the biggest challenges marketers face today.

According to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s 2011 insolvency statistics, 20% of advertising campaigns produce no lift in brand value and, even worse, 20% actually produce a negative brand impact, whilst consuming millions of dollars!

So how do you know whether your campaign will connect with the hearts and minds of your target market and help [...]

Survival in the boardroom

kkuehn@smartcompany.com.au — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 21:24:48 +0100

If you are a consultant or service provider – have you ever wondered why the more a client needs your help the less you can actually help them?

Or the other way round, if you are a retailer or manufacturer, facing serious difficulties in the market, it felt that it was really difficult to get to the heart of what was required to turn things around in the long term?

The bad news is: You're not alone. The good news is: It's not your fault (if that helps). It is perfectly huma [...]

No emotions = no dollars: Why Tinkerbell doesn't like tap water

kkuehn@smartcompany.com.au — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 21:37:13 +0100

Just returning from a conference in Hong Kong, in which I heard a senior executive speak about the challenges ahead for tobacco companies facing the introduction of plain packaging. To answer the questions as to how this will impact on consumer behaviour, e.g. whether customers will down-trade for cheaper alternatives, how loyalty will develop, how new smokers will make their brand decisions, etc, he presented the audience with a consumer survey they had conducted.

Comforted by the [...]

Subconscious mechanisms at play on the supermarket shelf

eschmidl@hotmail.com — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 22:37:00 +0100

Nowadays, as you stand at the supermarket shelf deciding which product to buy, you are more often than not confronted with a 'sea of sameness'. Products are blending into one another in colour, shape, size and offer.

In the world of neuroscience this is known as repetition blindness, a phenomenon that kicks in when hundreds of similar products are presented on-shelf, resulting in the brain taking a 'short holiday'.

So what subconscious mechanisms contribute to your decision [...]

What Prince Charles and Ozzy Osbourne can tell us about where people shop

eschmidl@hotmail.com — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 22:18:23 +0100

For years, we have satisfied ourselves with the "how" consumers interact with our brands. The missing link has always been the "why" consumers choose our brands and products over our competitors – or why not.

Is this purely by chance? Are these random and unpredictable acts? Now we learn and understand that it is actually our subconscious that determines up to 95% of our purchase decisions. It is the subconscious that answers the question as to "why".

Let me provide this exa [...]

Brain ticks and finger clicks: Five basic dynamics of human behaviour used to persuade shoppers

eschmidl@hotmail.com — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 23:12:00 +0100

This week I'd like to help you increase the persuasive power of your website, simply by understanding five basic dynamics of human behaviour.

Let's start with the use of language.

1. Emotionalising the language

The human language is fairly young, from an evolutionary point of view. Experts say it developed about 200,000 years ago. Then, it was integrated in existing structures of the human brain, but it didn't fundamentally change them. To ensure survival, it is stil [...]

Sex on the brain: Why women buy differently to men

eschmidl@hotmail.com — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 00:05:36 +0100

Researching and talking about biological gender differences in regards to marketing has often been labelled as politically incorrect in the past. The fact is, however, that although a lot of things can't be explained purely by gender, there are many significant differences that simply can't be ignored.

Over the last couple of years, brain research has found more than 200 differences between the male and the female brain in terms of structure and neurotransmitter mix. Women think, fe [...]

Subconscious mechanisms at the point of sale

eschmidl@hotmail.com — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 23:29:08 +0100

Do you sometimes find yourself heading to the shops for one item and leaving with a boot full of shopping bags? Do you spot a store and get somehow magically drawn in and end up buying 10 things you never thought you would need?

Or, the other way round, do you set out for some serious retail therapy but get turned away, because it just doesn't feel right, doesn't feel inspiring, and doesn't feel motivating?

A recent shopping trip with a friend reminded me of the underlying s [...]

The impact of mimicry

eschmidl@hotmail.com — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 23:41:52 +0100

Strolling along busy Manly beach promenade on a Sunday, indulging in one of my favourite hobbies - eating icecream and observing people - I got to thinking again about a phenomenon that I always found fascinating: dog owners who look like their dogs.

Once you focus on this, they are everywhere! Despite all the research I have done on this topic, I th [...]

The power of the subconscious

eschmidl@hotmail.com — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 23:00:41 +0100

At the recent German Neuromarketing Congress 2012, researchers demonstrated the impact of physiological reactions on what we think we experience versus what we actually experience in a neuro-scientific experiment involving a researcher on a rope bridge.

The results have made me very wary about whom I cross rickety rope bridges with in the future (unless it is George Clooney).

Allow me to explain this.

In this experiment, a female researcher stood in the centre of the [...]