'Buyology' offers a peek inside buyers' heads
— -- Picture a mad scientist in his laboratory, cackling with glee as he tries to unlock the secrets of the human mind. Now, consider the unsettling possibility that the scientist may be on to something.
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.
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."
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.
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