The Three Brains
Think of the last item that you impulsively purchased while going grocery shopping with a list that you promised not to stray from. What made you choose that item? Was it the design of the packing? Did you see an advertisement that stuck in your brain? Chances are whatever the reasoning behind your impulse buy, neuromarketers knew you, their target audience, would make that purchase based on your brain.
When considering how to market a product or service, marketing teams can take into account psychological considerations. As humans the three dominant portions of our brain that contribute to our decision-making are primal, thinking, and feeling brains.
The feeling brain is based on emotions and evoking an emotional response, this can be achieved through avenues like storytelling or the use of specific colors or nostalgic imagery. Relevancy also plays a huge role in the feeling brain, if you don't feel connected to something on a personal level chances are you aren't going to spend your money on it. This is why you will often see personalized language like "you, your, us, we" used in marketing campaigns.
The thinking brain is based on logic and problem-solving. So, how does a marketing team appeal to the logical, left-brained population that is stimulated by being challenged to think and learn? By creating media that makes you think. This is sometimes achieved by providing facts and statistics, and other times by providing visual puzzles or word problems that make your brain think about what you're looking at.
If you've ever stopped scrolling through your social media feed to look at a plate of delicious waffles from your friend's brunch date, and then stopped scrolling a few moments later to like a photo of someone you find attractive, you have already experienced the power of your primal brain. This is part of the brain that is geared towards keeping us alive and allowing our species to continue by way of reproduction. According to an article by Corporate Visions because your primal brain is in control of assessing situations quickly to ensure that you are not in danger and forces you to react quickly if you are, your primal brain is in control of what gets your attention and is noticed. Therefore most marketing is geared towards targeting your primal instincts by way of sexual innuendo, sustenance, perceived danger, and unusual or unexpected imagery. We see examples of this tactic everywhere in media and will explore some today.
So, with this knowledge, are you controlling your purchases? Or are they?
In this trailer, there are multiple neuromarketing techniques at play here. According to Seth Viebrock "The primal brain reacts to 'me'." Meaning that as humans our brain is very self-centered in that its main focus is our own survival. Things that are personalized to us are going to have an impact on this portion of our brain. The Hogwarts Legacy trailer immediately uses this tactic by bringing you into the story using language like "In light of your unique situation" and "we've designed something to ensure your success" which brings you into the Wizarding World and makes the story about you. You are the wizard, and you control the narrative. This trailer also triggers the feeling brain in those who have grown up with the Wizarding World by giving them stunning images of nostalgic memories from the series of books and movies. Those who have followed the franchise for a long time can expect to be immediately hooked by the magic. The storytelling throughout this short trailer keeps your attention and the unusual and unexpected happenings around Hogwarts, like students being lifted into the air by magic, are again making your primal brain go crazy.
While the beginning of the trailer was lighthearted and magical with bright colors and scenes from the classrooms, the second was meant to appeal to your sense of danger by using darker colors and language like "The path we're on is incredibly dangerous, but I do not know where it leads." accompanied by images of the main character (you) fighting trolls, casting spells to protect yourself, and running into and away from various dangerous situations. This difference from the beginning to end was surely intentionally playing on our primal brain's sensitivity to contrasts and beginnings/endings. Overall this video game trailer effectively hooks you from beginning to end using psych based strategies.
| Make It Better - Avocados From Mecixo |
This Super Bowl 2023 commercial for Mexican Avocados uses similar techniques to the previous example such as storytelling, and the use of a contrast in the form of showing eve what the world would be like if she had chosen an avocado instead of the famous and forbidden apple. This commercial is incredibly visually stimulating with bright greens used throughout and unusual things such as talking animals and avocado statues and phones. Images of a world where everyone lives in the nude stimulate your primal instinct to reproduce and when paired with images of ripe avocados being used in every way imaginable only increase the impact on your primal brain. This advertisement is psychologically stimulating in all of the best ways and easily keeps you around until the end. Are you craving avocados now? I am, and that was the intention of the neuromarketing team.
As we previously discussed, our primal brain reacts strongly to photos of food and sustenance, it oftentimes stops us in our tracks. This campaign has nothing to do with food, a fact that you will notice once your eyes adjust to what is happening in the photo and realize that the burger is actually comprised of cigarette butts and matches. This then triggers our primal brain because we find this unusual and we are trying to figure it out. This is a campaign you are unlikely to scroll past without receiving its true message, that secondhand smoke is harmful.