BUY.OLOGYMartin Lindstrom.

Presented By

Hardik Patel {PG-11-097}Sumaiya Patel {PG-11-099}

Martin Lindstrom

MARTIN LINDSTROM is one of the world's most respected market ing

gurus.

With a global audience of over a million people, Lindstrom spends

three hundred days on the road every year, sharing his pioneering

methodologies through speaking engagements and consultancies.

The CEO and chairman of the LINDSTROM Company, and chairman of

the BRAND sense agency and BUYOLOGY INC.,

Lindstrom advises the top executives of companies including the

McDonald's Corporation, Procter & Gamble, Yellow Pages, Nestle,

American Express, Microsoft, the Walt Disney Company, and

GlaxoSmithKline.

Buyology – Truth and Lies About Why We Buy (2008) is a bestselling book by Martin

Lindstrom, in which he analyses what makes people buy.

The author attempts to identify the factors that influence buyers' decisions in a world

cluttered with messages such advertisements, slogans, jingle and celebrity

endorsements.

Lindstrom, through a study of the human psyche, explains the subconscious mind and

its role in deciding what the buyer will buy. Lindstrom debunks some myths about

advertising and promotion. 

TIME magazine named Lindstrom as one of the world's 100 most influential people

because of his book.

Buyology describes the result of marketing guru Martin Lindstrom’s pioneering three year,

$7 million dollar study.

Why buyology:-

1. Half of advertising budget is wasted. Trouble is don’t know which half? — John

Wanamaker

2. What drives consumers to make the choices they do?

3. What causes us to choose one brand over other?

4. What are shoppers really thinking?

5. Why in US every 8 out of 10 products fail and 9.7 out of 10 fails in Japan?

6. Does advertising really influence our behavior?

Based on the largest neuromarketing study ever conducted, Buyology reveals how

marketers and advertisers truly capture our attention, our loyalty, and our money.

1: A Rush Of Blood To The Head

The first and the biggest study in history, was conducted to 32 volunteers of different countries to test how effective the warning labels are. The results revealed that cigarettes warning labels do not have any suppressive effects on smokers. Even worse, the results show that it encourages the smokers to continue their habits.

Analysing the brains response to advertisement is appropriate to understand what customers really like. The objective is to reduce the percentage of failure in new products.

2. This must be the place

Product placement does really work?

Author have mentions concrete examples such as American Idol.In this TV program sponsors like Coca-Cola and Ford spends millions.

Obviously they have professionals working to produce successful results. However, it provides a glance of successful and a non-successful campaign.

Both the companies had invested the same amount of money, but Coca-Cola’s strategy was more appealing to the public, since the judges were sitting on Coca-Cola bottles and was drinking soda during the program while the Ford commercial were not related to the thematic of the program and the people was not really engage with their commercials.

Product placement highly depend on the way it is promoted and related with the program or movie.

3. I’LL HAVE WHAT SHE’S HAVING

This chapter explains how the mirror neurons work and how they influence the way we buy.

Mirror neurons are the neurons in our brains that fire when we move a certain way and also fire when we see other people move in that same way

Briefly, this particular kind of neurons is responsible for imitating others people conducts

For e.g. Apple’s white earphones

4 –I can’t see clearly now

Subliminal messages are messages that only your subconscious mind notices (you don't think you notice them, but you do.

Many other companies try to capture our attentions one way or another without us knowing it.

Advertisers find it as one of the easiest technique to lure consumers indirectly into buying their product

Famous songs would include “Hotel California” and “Stairway to Heaven”. The purposes of these satanic verses are still kept in the shadows. Though, it was speculated that Led Zeppelin used this method in Stairway to Heaven to increase his record sales.

5 – Do you Believe in Magic

Imagine you are in some dimly lit Irish joint with a name like Donnelly’s or McClanahan’s. You take seats at the bar and order two Guinnesses. First the bartender pours the glass three-quarters full. Then you wait (and wait) until the foamy head settles. Finally, once just the right amount of time has elapsed, the bartender tops it off. This all takes a couple of minutes, but neither of us minds the wait—fact is, the ritual of the slow pour is part of the pleasure of drinking a Guinness in the first place.

This ritual didn’t come about by accident. In the time-choked culture of the early 1990s, Guinness was facing big losses in pubs across the British Isles. Why? Customers didn’t want to wait ten minutes for the head of their beer to settle. So the company decided to turn this annoyance into a virtue. They rolled out advertising campaigns like, “Good things come to those who wait,” and “It takes 119.53 seconds to pour the perfect pint,” and even aired commercials showing the “right” way to pour a Guinness. Soon, a ritual was born. And thanks to the company’s clever advertising, the artful pour became part of the drinking experience. “We just don’t want anyone putting liquid in a glass,” Guinness brewmeister Fergal Murray was once quoted as saying.

5 – Do you Believe in Magic

RITUALS AND SUPERSTITIONS are defined as not entirely rational actions and the belief that one can somehow manipulate the future by engaging in certain behaviors, in spite of the fact there’s no discernible causal relationship between that behavior and its outcome.

When people can’t find explanations tend to endorse magical beliefs because it is a human need for control in a turbulent world.

As humans, we also credit special attributions to coins, wedding rings, etc. Not to mention that every day there are dozens of rituals like eating or all the things people do before going to bed. Associations like raining on the wedding day or Friday thirteen are some common examples.

Lindstrom mentions some examples such as Air France, KLM, Iberia have eliminate row 13 in their airplanes. American Airlines and Delta eliminated Flight 191 after two accidents registered in flights with that number on the same day. Chinese hotels do not have 4 or 44 floor. “Rituals help us form emotional connections with brand and products,” said Lindstrom. “Rituals give us the illusion of comfort and belonging.” According to the author our beliefs (rituals) influence our decisions.

6 – I SAY A LITTLE PRAYER

The author mentions how faith is important in our decision process.

There is the connection between branding and religion, when people are willing to pay more for products because of their significance.

Not only that, Lindstrom also goes one by one throughout ten common pillars of religions and branding, those are according to Lindstrom: sense of belonging, clear vision, power over enemies, sensory appeal, storytelling, grandeur, evangelism, symbols, mystery, and rituals.

Using a brand produces a sense of belonging with other brand users. Lindstrom says “it is like being the member of a not-so-exclusive club.”

Companies like any religion have a clear vision; they know where they are going.

When we go to a worship place, the atmosphere is unique and evoked sensations in the people. Companies also create sensory connections with smells, colors, sounds, etc. to engage potential customers. Like the Harley-Davidson sound.

Every religion is looking for new people to convert into their faith.

Just as Google did when introducing Gmail, it started looking for new users and gave the welcome to a semi-exclusive community.

What about symbols? Every religion has at least one, like the cross.

Also successful companies have symbols, not just a logo, for example Mac and Microsoft have unique images that evoke their essence. Also bracelets, collars or others products are icons.

Mystery, religion has unknowns that can be believed only by faith, and they are as powerful as facts.

Companies also use mystery to engage people. Like the secret Coca-Cola formula.

Lindstrom mention Unilever’s shampoo that included the X9 factor, lots of people bought the shampoo even though nobody knew what X9 factor was. Since, there was no X9 factor, Unilever removed that label from the shampoo and the sales dropped and people start complaining. Finally, rituals, Lindstrom exemplifies how rituals are an important part of business; when Steve Jobs threw “Newton” saying that a new technology was about to replace the old stuff.

6 – I SAY A LITTLE PRAYER

7 – WHY DID I CHOOSE YOU?

The somatic markers are associations in our brains or emotional responses tied to specific perceptions. When we think on any products our brains immediately recall information that has been previously stored. These markers make decisions look more rational when they really are not. Why do you choose a product that is more expensive? Why do you choose a product that is in sale? The decision process is closely related with the somatic markers.

Andrex advertise “soft, strong and very long” toilet paper. They use a puppy in their commercials. There is not an evident connection between puppies and toilet paper. However, puppies are associated with toilet training in growing young families.

Lindstrom predicts for the next years that companies are going to take advantage of the somatic markers and use fear as a way to influence our decisions. They will want us to feel less safe or happy if we don’t buy certain products. Currently companies are using this trend of influence decision. Commercial such as the Toshiba wireless TV, the DirecTV “stop taking in stray animals” or insurance companies are appealing to the fears “if you don’t use this product then X will happen.”

8 – A SENSE OF WONDER

Lindstrom credits explain how appealing to the senses can help a brand to be more successful.Example - Johnson & Johnson powders; they are worldwide known, even if the people forget the logo, they will always remember the scent.

The author explains that smell is the sense that is deeply rooted in us. This principle is applied by restaurants to make us buy food and now famous scented candles.

The vision is also an important factor in the decision process. Ex. BOUCHERON JAIPUR BOTTLE, Lamborghini Cars.

Lindstrom explains when he was hired by an egg company to find the perfect yellow. Sounds are also important; Pringles have a unique sound. Ford also created a characteristic sound for the Taurus’s doors. In conclusion, brands to be successful need to use at least one of the human senses to appeal to its customers; sensations are powerful forces to influence decisions.

9 – A SENSE OF WONDER

During the first three months 80% of new products fail in the market. Coca Cola tried in 1985 a new formula which was unsuccessful, same result with Coca-Cola Black in 2006. So, marketing can fail to predict what products are going to be successful and which not.

Martin attempted an experiment to measure how successful will be to launch a new program similar to the European version of Quizmania. To obtain measurable results, they compared the results of 200 volunteers and also use other TV programs “American Idol” and “The Swan” to have a correct bench marks. Initially, the individuals answered a survey. According to the results they rated in order of preference: American Idol, The Swan and Quizmania. However, Lindstrom’s experiment analyzed the brain’s activity and surprisingly Quizmania moved to the second best option; proving that their subconscious will prefer Quizmania rather than The Swan but American Idol remain in the first place.

The conclusion is that the subconscious might reveal information that will be valuable and cannot be obtained otherwise.

Lindstrom came up with the idea of using science, to help us understanding the human mind, and apply it in business.

Marketing has always been about guessing the right strategy. However, neuromarketing collects measurable data intended to produce strategies to satisfy customers’ needs and wants.

Using neuromarketing can help to create a more successful campaign and avoid unnecessary risks.

He emphasizes that the prices must be based on the perception of quality. The author exemplifies that customers feel happier paying more for a wine bottle because the price make them think they choose a better wine.

Also, he mentions the example of giving a rock as a gift; the rock by itself is worthless, but if you say that the rock was part of the Berlin Wall or even better if it is from the moon, then that same rock has more value because of its meaning.

10 – BRAND NEW DAY