Marketing Holistics

Several weeks ago, a text AD AGE news alert arrived in my inbox:

VIDEO: Brain Scanning Religious Minds for Branding Secrets Buyology’s Researchers Target Christianity NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — In an admittedly controversial undertaking, Martin Lindstrom’s consumer brain-scanning project has probed the “branding” secrets of Christianity.

The findings  Martin Lindstrom revealed were a major part of his recent Buyology Symposium in New York. Lindstrom presented data correlations between 12 cult-like brands, including Harley Davidson and Ferrari, and the emotional drivers of the world’s largest religion.

http://adage.com/video/article?article_id=135806

Who would not click on the link above? The email subject was provocative. I would be curious what other marketers think about Martin Lindstrom’s theory that probes the “branding” secrets of Christianity and draws a parallel between those techniques and other successful branding strategies.

After the ADAGE alert, I decided to read more about Lindstrom’s theory. Persuasive communication has always been around us. All effective communication is about encoding & sending messages, and receiving and decoding messages. The creative construction of a message contributes to the overall effect.

I did a Google search for “Buyology” and Martin’s book on the topic, a New York Time’s Bestseller, pulled up high in organic search. I bought the book. Philip Kotler, a well-known and respected marketing management educator and author, has a positive quote on the home page of  Martin Lindstrom’s website.

Really interesting reading. The key takeaways for me are:

• our brains constantly collect, filter, and store information
• neuromarketing is the fusion of marketing and science. This element completes a Venn diagram structure by joining the qualitative and quantitative aspects of traditional marketing
• fMRI measures the magnetic components of hemoglobin, the oxygen transport mechanism in red blood cells – brain activity
• SST – steady state typography which tracks bran waves in real time
• our brains typically encode things of value in terms of emotions not cognition
• advertising that is artfully integrated into programming becomes part of the storyline and is more effective
• mirror neurons fire when an action is performs and  also when the same action is observed
• subliminal messaging is sub-conscious, intrusive, not obvious, and cognitively non-defensive
• somatic markers, powerful buying tools, are cognitive shortcuts – bookmarks in our brain
• sensory stimulation is very powerful…we are talking about scent/fragrance
• marketing is a twentieth century invention – what do we have for the twenty-first?
• brain sectors – nucleus accumbens and anterior cingulate showing pleasure and conflict respectively
• brains have  specialized physical regions associated with cognitve functions
• rituals and branding have commonalities via emotional connections

The following ten elements are emotionally driven commonalities:

1. sense of belonging
2. clear vision
3. power over enemies
4. sensory appeal
5. story telling
6. grandeur
7. evangelism
8. symbols ( my favorite topic – Carl Jung – Man and His Symbols – a designer’s philosophical bible)
9. mystery
10. rituals

Animal, Vegetable, Mineral

Time Magazine recently named Martin as one of the world’s 100 most influential people. He gets my vote! What does this have to do with a Toad? Carl Jung would know the answer. So would Martin Lindstrom…