How Marketers Manipulate You Without Your Knowing | Psychology Today

June 3, 2013

For example, a leading beverage company created a sound when opening the can (My guess is Snapple) that was subtly different from other cans to trigger a unique craving for their brand’s drink. The manufacturer redesigned the can to create a differentiating snapping sound, a branded cue of delicious anticipation. They then recorded the sound in a studio and incorporated it into advertising. The manufacturer would play the sound at major concerts and sporting events, seeing an instant uptick in sales for their brand when they did so. Yet when consumers were asked why they suddenly choose that particular beverage over another they would say things like “I haven’t the faintest idea, I just fell for it.”

We all know that science has entered the age of the brain, and it's now a rush to understand how to read, predict and ultimately influence the brain's neurological systems - but I don't know how to react yet to the marketing tactic above. Perhaps this is also due to the argument that the sciences advance at way too quick of a pace for law or morality to catch up with them.

As the science of persuasion marches deep into the depths of the mind, I worry that marketers will really no longer appeal to our free will and our own natural, individual autonomous decision making processes (which is already a hard thing to argue in itself). No doubt subconscious tactics are used now a days in marketing to drive sales and brand awareness - but what will the future of this look like?

Regardless - this book looks like a very good read! It's on my booklist now.

Unconscious Branding: How Neuroscience Can Empower (and Inspire) Marketing

By Douglas Van Praet

Coke's Share Can - Half the size, Twice the happiness

May 31, 2013

**IF ANYTHING, Skip down and watch the TED video below in its entirety - it's amazing!

Have you seen Coke's ingenious new share can - I would argue its quite the marketing miracle. Think about it, customers get half the amount of coke they usually receive and in return they get this hard-to-measure thing called "2x the happiness". Customers are giving up something in return for what? Here's the video

For years, Coke has encouraged people to share happiness-and has given them lots of surprising ways to share a Coke. This time, they've taken the classic Coca-Cola 330ml can and designed it for two persons. Twist, turn and share-"yes", the Coca-Cola can itself.

This concept I think well demonstrates how marketing is uniquely equipped to deal with an ever growing world with increasingly strapped resources. The intangible value added into the Coke Share Can is something that costs no extra money or resources - and yet the customer in the end is much more content with the user experience. Mathematically, Coca Cola is cleverly giving you the same - if not more - satisfaction for half the amount of product (which in the end is better for the world, I would argue - making us appreciate more while consuming less).

What placebo effect? - a good marketer would argue (as you'll see in the TED video below). If the customer in the end is more satisfied with the product isn't that better? If not, what is the customer really looking for then? There is nothing inherently wrong with added value, although sometimes it can get a bad rap.

I think we need to remind ourselves that marketing is not and should not be in the business of deceiving customers (Mad Men style). Marketing is ultimately in the business of creating additional value in our lives - hopefully so we can all live just a little bit richer. Don't believe me? Watch the video below - it's one of my all time favorite TED videos - a must watch!

http://www.ted.com Advertising adds value to a product by changing our perception, rather than the product itself. Rory Sutherland makes the daring assertion that a change in perceived value can be just as satisfying as what we consider real value -- and his conclusion has interesting consequences for how we look at life.

I highly recommend you watch the above video

Mean Girls & Sociometry (The Study of Popularity in Social Media)

May 30, 2013

Sociometr y

This field is very interesting, you could call it - the study of social relationships, the study of social connections or even the study of popularity.

In my work, I've used these theories and practices to solve the question: How do you measure popularity (which is much more tricky than it seems) . In Sociology, there has been many attempts to quantify social popularity - but first, how do you define it?

Perceived Popularity

This type of popularity is made most famous by the movie Mean Girls. Famously in the movie, a click of mean popular girls control a high school as social dictators. Studies show, however, that this type of popularity is only perceived and does not always correlate to like-ability or with the ability to positively influence others. In the movie, the downfall of the "mean girls" demonstrates the true irony of their 'conventional high school popularity'.

Sociometric Popularity

On the other hand, sociometric popularity refers to individuals who are socially agreeable and well liked. Individuals who are sociometrically popular are usually outgoing and good at building trust amongst individuals. Importantly, these individuals may not always be identified as "popular" - in the sense of being "famous" (or in the Mean Girls sense of "infamous").

Which popular do social marketers want?

I would argue that social strategists should focus on the second type - sociometric popularity - true like ability. In digital marketing we have to be ok with shedding the mantel of "fame" or perceived popularity, for true popularity - which is not always initially as visible.

This means a Facebook page with 1,000 likes (sociometric popularity) should not always be jealous of Facebook pages with 10+ million likes (perceived popularity) - numbers don't always point to true popularity - as we have seen in the movie Mean Girls .

Instead, focus on building that small ardent fan base. If you have built trust and rapport with your social followers - your ability to truly engage, persuade and reach has exponentially grown.

Want to learn more about this subject - the book Networks, Crowds and Markets is a very thorough (although very technical and highly text-booky) overview of this entire subject. You should give it a look-see if you're interested.