Why the brain sells and what we don't know about it yet.

Neuromarketing is the buzz word in marketing circles and big brands have been spending copious amounts trying to find the 'buy button'.

Human-beings are complex creatures. Further more, we like to complicate matters even when they are simple enough. Hence the chances of probing the brain with neuro-scanners and landing up with a simplistic X+Y = Buy equation are slim.

Molly Crockett (a neuroscientist and a decision researcher) explains why a lot of what we read about neuroscience / neuromarketing in mainstream media - could be just unproven, exaggerated claims.

Here is a short but very convincing ted-talk by her in which she asks us to beware of neuro-bunk or near-flap-doodle whatever term you fancy.

The shape of a sound & the taste of a colour

Can you taste the colour blue? Or what does the flavour 'salty' feel like when you touch it? The ability to think of one sense using another or simply put marry two sensory experiences is synesthesia.  It is believed that people who can do that are 'gifted' with this ability. It is also believed such people are mostly right-brain dominant or 'creative' as we know it. 

A friend who plans to pursue her Phd on this subject, and I got talking about this. Our hunch is that synesthesia is a possibility for everyone of us...albeit in a subconscious frame of mind. 

Why do we make this assumption?

Bringing alive a monotonous experience

Monotonous experiences run on auto-pilot. One doesn't pay too much heed to brushing teeth or washing clothes. Hence when asked consciously one is not able to recall much detail. But in a subconscious state - the consumer can recall nuances around even such experiences. 

Recalling forgotten memories

There is only so much that a consumer can consciously recollect and tell. In a subconscious state however, recalling incidents from the past that the mind would have repressed becomes effortless. The consumer here is not performing for your benefit - but is really connecting with themselves. 

The subconscious interview - a natural and enjoyable experience for the consumer

An hour with a consumer where she is not distracted by her mobile phone or kids, or the neighbour's doorbell. An hour during which she doesn't look bored or disinterested and the tedium of constant questioning doesn't get to her. That is the benefit of a subconscious interview for a consumer. It feels like a restful ; meditative experience for most. In fact an doesn't even feel like an hour...sometimes it feels like ten mins ! Time-distortion is a characteristic of the subconscious state.

Reliving the moment ; not just recalling incidents.

At best what one hears in the regular consumer interview is a well-articulated ; well thought of response. What is par for the course in a subconscious interviews is that one gets to hear the emotions associated with the experience because one is really reliving it in a subconscious state. In the audio-clip below you will hear the consumer enacting a dialogue between a shop salesman and himself, unabridged and unedited. He even goes on to state how the shop salesman offers him a cup of tea to urge him to stay longer. (Ganpath...saab ke like ek chai lao).

Brand imprints - a middle-aged woman regressed to when she was six years.

The very first encounter with a brand makes an imprint on the consumer's mind. This usually pre-dates their first consumption experience of the brand. Years later, it continues to influence purchase or drive brand loyalty. Early imprints also bright-forth an important question - how early should brands start advertising to / communicating with customers? 

Lateral connections in a subconscious state

A subconscious state naturally lends itself well to making lateral connections. One doesn't have to go the extra mile to recruit articulate and creative consumers. Each consumer is articulate and creative in the subconscious state - since he / she is not inhibited ; since the mind suspends conscious judgement which very often clouds our thinking. This thinking was re-validated during another research we conducted where each and every consumer we spoke to displayed synesthetic tendencies. Read more about it here. 

Future-proofing brands through subconscious research

The video-presentation is an introductory talk on - subconscious consumer research, how it is conducted, its usefulness for the industry and how it could help future-proof brands.

This was part of a longer session on future-proofing brands (@SMW Mumbai - Sept 2014) where Kiran Khalap spoke about the three strategies that would help brands survive turbulent times

1. Defining what can be changing v/s unchanging so that brands can be revived  without a  compromise

2. Helping people belong where they want to be

3. Focusing on the human need

Reshma specifically talks about these strategies in the context of how subconscious consumer research can address these evolving needs of marketers. 

More details on this subject can be found in the award-winning research paper Trance-forming research'