Buyology

by Martin Lindstrom
- boring read
- did not learn much
- expected a lot more insight

ch 2 - product placement
- brand needs to play a fundamental part of the storyline of a commercial or TV show for it to be effective. or else we won't remember the item.
- think about american idol's coke (effective) which is drunk by the judges and on the set all the time. same with cingular (effective) which is used to vote for the contestants
- and Ford which does not play a role on the set and only shows traditional ads on tv...(not effective)

ch 3 - mirror neurons
- what we observe triggers emotions in us as strong as if we did it ourselves
- example: abercrombie mannequins wearing nice clothes, famous actors smoking in movies, and virtual shopping on Sims.
- have ads that show someone else doing it and your mind will automatically feel the sensation of doing it yourself.
- think of mcdonalds adds where person on tv eats burgers or coke commericals where they sip the drink

ch 4 - subliminal messages
- subliminal messages work and associations drawn from products + activities work well
- think about marlboro and its presence in nascar...it is automatically associated with being cool and the power of the race cars
- logos alone are not effective

Least effective to most effective:
1. ads without warnings / danger - logos
2. ads w/ warnings - tobacco ads saying it can kill you
3. Merchandise - hats and shirts worn by
4. subliminal images - advertisements in nascar and formula 1

ch 6 - faith religion and brands
- emotions we experience when we are exposed to ipods, guinness and ferrari sports cars are almost identical to the motions generated by religious symbols such as crosses, rosary beads, mother teresa, the virgin mary, and the bible.
- 50% of all purchasing decisions by shoppers are made spontaneously - and therefore unconsciously- at the point of sale

Somatic marker examples in advertisement:
- tissue + cute dogs (tv ads associating them both so u think the tissue brand is soft)
- pink bank + piggy bank (color bank interior pink makes u feel like a childhood piggy bank)
- blendtec + "will it blend" videos (blenders and its strength in the youtube videos)
- colgate + no brushing = gum disease
- michelin tires + michelin guide of best restaurants (associate tires with excellence)

Chapter 8 - selling to our senses
- consumers are equally seduced by the sight of a product as by its scent (including perfume)
- combo of the image + smell of the perfume is stronger appeal than just the smell or sight of the product
- when a pleasant fragrance matches up with an equally appealing congruous visual image, we not only perceive it as more pleasant, we're also more likely to remember it but if the 2 are incongruous, it will be forgotten easily
- odor activates many of the exact same brain regions as the sign of a product or logo
- ex: smell a donut andu are likely to picture the krispy kreme logo or smell the abercrombie fragrance and you see the logo of the company in your head
- when people make a subconscious judgment about a person, environment, or product within 90 seconds, between 62 and 90% of that assessment is based on color alone.
- power of sound: classical music has been found to deter vandalism, loitering, and even violent crime in canadian parks, 7-eleven parking lots, and subways.

idea: buy a mango scent and spray it in WUD to draw up sales of lassi

chapter 10 - sex in advertising
- we respond more favorably to "real" or "ordinary" people in print and tv ads more than models.
- real people suggest an authentic backstory
- because they don't look like models, we feel like they really believe in what they are selling
- despite supermodels being glamourous and seductive to the human eye, we feel that whatever they claim about the product is phony. they are not telling a story, they're acting in one.
- mirror neurons allow us to imagine ourselves as being equally cool, attractive, and desirable and that works especially well with sex appeal
- observing a victoria's secret model wearing sexy lingerie helps women imagine the feel and touch of the underwear against their own skin and equally feel sexy and seductive as the woman in the ad
- sexy ads are effective more because they have shock value and causes controversy more so than because it shows sexual images.