Here is a great slide-show on the book, The Art of Ideas by John Hunt. Check it out.

Ciao,
Robert Scozzari

Buyology is a book about Neuromarketing. What's that? It's the study of marketing and its effects on the brain. Essentially, those things that marketers took for granted, are now put up to the test seeing as how we can now examine the effects of certain marketing techniques have on the brain.

Below I'll outline some of the important findings in the book (Spoiler Alert!).

No Smoking

Do the health warnings on the packages of cigarettes deter people from smoking? That was the question being asked. His method was quite interesting, by collecting numerous smokers, ensuring they went at least 2 hours without so much as a drag of a cigarette, and then exposing them to various cigarette packages, with and without warnings on them.

While I'm not going to get into the finite details of the fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scans in this blog, there was an astonishing discovery. Warnings on the cigarette packages did nothing at all to convince people to not smoke. In fact, it actually made people want to smoke more!!! What the…?

Reece's Pieces

With product placement. You know, the Reece's Pieces kind of product placement we found in ET. Products and brands that make the product placement a part of the story line, instead of just being in the background, have a far greater impact on brand recognition. Keep this in mind the next time you a re watching your favourite show. After the show,  what brands do  you remember if any? If you do remember a brand, was it a part of the story line or just in the background. Odds are that if you remember, it was a part of the story line.

I would take this a step further and apply it to my readers. While most of you won't be sponsoring American Idol anytime soon, you may be sponsoring an event or a conference. If doing so, try to make your brand a part of the event as opposed to just being in the background.

I'll have what she's having

Did you know that seeing someone do something pleasurable, actually activates pleasure in your brain and makes you want to mimic what they are doing? It's true. In the branding and marketing world, seeing someone on their iPhone will likely make you want to have an iPhone. Watching someone drink a Starbucks coffee will make you crave a Starbucks coffee.

Keep this in mind for your marketing. If you can show people using your product, and having a good time, it will go a long way towards building your brand.

Ciao,
Robert Scozzari

If you would like to read Buyology by Martin Lindstrom for yourself, here are links to purchase the book at your favourite online retailer. (Full disclosure, I participate in the affiliate programs at these web sites).

Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy (Canadian Store)

Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy (USA Store)

Today in my blog, I want to start a new series where I explore a great book I've been reading titled, Buyology or Buy•ology by Martin Lindstrom.

First, let me explain how I found this book and got into reading it. I was chatting with a new prospect who wanted some web-based branding work done. As it so happened, she had read the book Buyology and asked me if I had read it. Well, I begun to tell her that I have heard of it, but I have not read it.

As it turned out, she was so inspired by this book, that reading it was a prerequisite to working with her. I, on the other hand, was so inspired by her commitment to the book and the ideas contained within it, that I was very much intrigued to pick it up and give it a read. I immediately visited my favourite online retailer and purchased the book.

So as I've been working my way through it, I've been immensely intrigued and inspired just the same as my prospect. I have to tell you, the discoveries in this book are ground breaking and should you read it, guaranteed to change the way you do business, marketing and branding of your business. I will surely be applying the concepts, ideas and findings in this book to my own business and branding as well as the branding and marketing of my clients' businesses.

This book is very important for any business owner or anyone in charge of marketing a business, product or service. That's why I'm writing about it.

So what is Buyology about?

Well, since the advent of marketing and branding, there have been general rules of thumb that guided common practices. Things like paying $26 million to advertise on the top rated show in the USA will increase your brand awareness, subliminal messages are a sneaky way to turn browsers into buyers, deathly messages on cigarette packages discourage people from smoking and sex sells.

Well, in the book Buyology, Martin Lindstrom conducts the first ever neuro-marketing study. What this is, is that he uses the latest technologies such as fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and EEG scans and examines what is going on in viewers brains as they are exposed to marketing and advertising and draws conclusions based on what we know about the various regions of the brain and what their purposes are.

Why did Martin Lindstrom conduct this study and write this book? Essentially he wanted to know what is going on in our brains. Why we choose one brand over another. Why some information resonates in our brains and other information does not. Essentially the keys to building brands in the future.

I hope you find my series where I dissect this book useful and intriguing. I encourage you to purchase the book for yourself or find it at your local library. I would like to ask you that if you have read it or would like to read it, to follow along with me as I write about it and discuss it in my comments. Lets debate the ideas or discuss the findings.

In my next blog which I will write next week, I'll explore chapter 1 titled, "A rush of blood to the head". In this chapter, Martin Lindstrom finds out if smoking warnings on cigarette packages actually work.

I guarantee you will be surprised by the results.

If you would like to read the book for yourself, here are links to purchase the book at your favourite online retailer. (Full disclosure, I participate in the affiliate programs at these web sites)

Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy (Canadian Store)

Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy (USA Store)