why? the decade of the brain and its impact on marketing

Why?The Decade Of The Brain And

Its Impact On Marketing

Up Yours!

fMRI

Neurons

Brain…

Limbic System

Cortex

“These findings all suggest that the interpretive mechanism of the left hemisphere is always hard

at work seeking the meaning of events.

It is consistently looking for order and reason, even when there is none – which leads it

continually to make mistakes.”

Conscious vs.

Subconscious

Feelings

FearAnger

DisgustSadnessSurprise

Happiness

Memory

• A chain of neurons that are linked by sensing, processing and responding to an event

• Explicit vs. implicit

Short vs. Long-term Memory

Your Model of the World

Learning and Memory

• You have learned much more than you thought

Processing

• Limbic – OMG fast• Prefrontal – “let’s think about this”• What to do – Both looking for

analogous memories and the associated emotion

• Act

Predispositions

Quick Review

• Complex tangle of neurons• Organized into long-term memory

networks• Each memory tied to an emotion• Overall all neural network of memory

networks• All in the subconscious

Why?

Decisions

The Difficulty of Change

1-on-1 Interviews

• Goal – explore the mental map as it pertains to the “Why?”

• Challenges: respondent mode, subconscious rather than conscious

1-on-1 Process

• Respondent mode – Force a conversation– Informal and relaxed, enjoyable– Transition to your discussion priorities– Their expertise

• Expert Mode

Focus Groups

• Goal – explore the mental map as it pertains to “Why?”

• Challenges: parameters, respondent mode, “groupness”

Focus Group Parameters

• 10 people• 120 minutes• 4 related issues• 3 minutes per issue per person• Cost: $6,000 per group average

Groupness

• Predisposed to belong to groups– Sacrifice personal values to fit in

• Excellent tool if used correctly

In summary…

• fMRI has changed how we think of the brain

• It’s still little crude for testing alternatives

• We need to search for memories and their emotions analogous to what we market

• Always to understand “Why.”

Background Books

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Jack Trytten

(312) 944-1754jack@insightdirection.comwww.jacktrytten.com