Buyology: How Everything We Believe About Why We Buy is Wrong

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It's a bit unsettling to think how various advertising techniques unconsciously impact our behavior, but it's kind of cool, too, the way our brains work.

Reading this book has given me an awareness of things I never thought of before and I think I will start looking at advertising in a new light and actually try to think more critically about it for fun ok, tv ad, exactly how are YOU cozy-ing up to my subconscious?! I usually have a plan when shopping and am not easily deterred by product placing and store scents Point is, there's something about the ritual-like act of collecting that makes us feel safe and secure.

When we are stressed out, or when life feels random and out-of-control, we often seek our comfort in familiar products or objects. We want to have solid, consistent patterns in our lives, and in our brands. So, even though our rational brains tell us that it's completely irrational and illogical to own Hello Kitty fridge magnets, we buy them anyway, because the collecting ritual makes us feel somehow more in control of our lives.

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, Curious Customs: Interesting book in the area of neuromarketing. He conducted a series of studies done on the mind concerning how advertising really affects us or doesn't. While there were a number of fascinating studies done he seemed overly excited about them, and while there were a number of eye opening moments you have to seemingly sift through a whole bunch of stuff to finally get there.

I understand where he is coming from in his book however. It is about the whole new field of neuromarketing. The intera Interesting book in the area of neuromarketing. The interaction between advertising and our minds. Using state of the art fmri he was able to entertainingly show us how our minds light up in various places in responses to certain stimuli. While it comes as no surprise that what people say and how they feel are not the same.

But, using state of the art brain-imaging they can now prove it. And this is part of his overall point These are the issues that make a number of things in this book important. I too, like other reviewers on other sites, was not impressed with his ego. He was very fond of what he has done, how many products we have in our home that he has had a hand in helping various companies sell.

Which does bring up the issue: Not a bad book but not has good as I had hoped. Very few, "a-ha" moments, but enough to be read from cover to cover and be interested in what he was saying. The studies done to support this book are quite incredible, so going in, you know you can pretty much trust what you read. The book is presented as more of a large scale warning to consumers, "tipping us off" on how companies try to manipulate us into buying.

As an aspiring entrepreneur, I expecting more from the other side, tips on marketing. I feel the cover and summary were a bit misleading. I didn't see much mention of that many "myths" or "lies" either.

2 editions of this work

I shouldn't write it off so negatively The studies done to support this book are quite incredible, so going in, you know you can pretty much trust what you read. I shouldn't write it off so negatively though, as a lot of work went into this book, and it contains some very interesting findings. The main take away is that emotions will almost always beat our rationale when it comes to buying.

If a company can create an emotional response in us, it often does not matter if we know we can't afford the thing, we will buy it. Companies also seek to leave memorable impressions, sometimes using humor or shock. An ad that throws a consumer for a loop or creates an experience will beat an ad the simply states "hey this is us and we do this! Our senses also play a large role in our buying habits. A pleasant image is much less impactful than a pleasant image accompanied by a pleasant sound.

Selling products in stores?

See a Problem?

Match a scent to your store or product. Get people to touch the product. Or if you're a consumer and you do not want to be swayed, avoid touching the product, avoid exploring the memories that come flooding back, and get out if you don't have the money! It was also found that playing music related to big spending and money, inside a store, leads to an increase in sales. We are quickly losing control over our spending habits as companies learn how to manipulate neuromarketing. For sales professionals it really comes down to a moral choice.

Use these powers for good or not? Wasn't what I expected. There were some interesting things, so it was worth reading--and it's short and written on the level of the average joe so it doesn't take long to read. I had a hard time getting past Lindstrom's self-promotion. He's important and he made that point better than most of his other points.

I'm not sure this "emerging technology" merits an actual book about it. His "evidence" was all based on a few tests, quotations from some very unofficial sources I think he actually quote Wasn't what I expected. His "evidence" was all based on a few tests, quotations from some very unofficial sources I think he actually quotes some opinion writer from a newspaper and his own conclusions. This title promises so much more than Lindstrom delivers.

I can see that this "New Science" that he talks about smacks of Orwellian-type invasiveness, and might perhaps be alarming to some. But it seems to me that all research into what we "really" want would just lead to better products, stuff that would suit our needs much better.

I'm not concerned about being forced or tricked into buying. Ultimately, we are all individually responsible for pulling out that card or that wad of cash--no one forces us into it. I'm willing to take the responsibility for my own purchases. I think too many Americans have given up their sense of personal power and have embraced the culture of powerlessness. Everyone is "entitled" to health care, housing, education, safely, etc.

What happened to just going out and working for these things yourself? We're no longer a nation of trailblazers, now we stand on the high ground and whimper if our feet get wet. Have you ever thought: I enjoy marketing but I wish someone would talk about it like their giving a neuroscience lecture? I have a PhD in neuro-anatomy but want to start a career in sales where should I start? The basic overview is that the author used a fMRI and other brain scanning technology to see what is actually going on in subjects brains when you are presenting with ads of all types.

While he throws out a lot of anatomical and technical terms but the Have you ever thought: While he throws out a lot of anatomical and technical terms but the science is not a concrete as the author tries to make it appear. Some basic take aways or Spoilers from the book: The more sense you engage touch, smell, sound, visual the better people can recall a product or memory. For an advertisement to be memorable it should integrate with show or surroundings i.

Branding really isn't that important and most companies are doing it wrong.

Buyology: How Everything We Believe About Why We Buy is Wrong

Sex sell but even the author hates to admit it 5. You can stimulate some of the same areas of the brain with integrated marketing that are the same areas stimulated with religion so you can either sell stuff or start a cult 6. While the book was interesting, I grew to dislike the writing style over time.

The author's lead ins to the next chapters were pointless, and he often seemed to be floating around the topic instead of just stating what needed to be stated. It seemed like an attempt to make the book longer. I also found myself disagreeing with some of the theories presented in the book. In one part the author discusses how we do certain things during the day as part of a ritual to make ourselves feel secure; howe While the book was interesting, I grew to dislike the writing style over time. In one part the author discusses how we do certain things during the day as part of a ritual to make ourselves feel secure; however, the majority of these were things people must do every day because they -have- to, and can't really be counted as rituals.

Buyology: How Everything We Believe About Why We Buy is Wrong - Martin Lindstrom - Google Книги

Perhaps it was merely the way the book was stating this information, but it came off as not only pointless, but incorrect and misleading. And when something in a non fiction books makes me stop and think "What the heck is this BS? I came away feeling that instead of running all these exceedingly expensive brain scans, the advertising agencies could, at least in some cases, merely asked consumers how they felt about things.

Anyone could have told them that no one pays attention to commercials, or that colors attract more attention then black and white advertisements. All in all, it's still an interesting read and if you're interested I'd recommend getting it from the library as you likely won't ever be reading it again.. I mostly picked it up because I was interested in the author's other book "Brandwashed: However, I'm not sure I'll bother with the next book if it's full of annoying lead in's and "Well, duh! Interesting book about advertising, and the new field of "neuro-marketing".

Using brain scans, they can determine which kinds of advertising are most effective, by seeing which parts of the brain become active. This is subliminal messaging to a whole new level, and much of it only registers subconsciously. For example, advertising becomes doubly effective when other senses are combined: And television mark Interesting book about advertising, and the new field of "neuro-marketing". And television marketing has gone way beyond commericals.

Every television program is littered with company symbols - colors, shapes, sounds, all designed to invoke a certain product take American Idol and Coke. One interesting finding was that sex in advertising is actually not very effective, unless it creates a controversy such as the Calvin Klein ads of the 80s and 90s. Sexual content is usually so distracting that it is successful in selling only itself.

Maybe advertisers can take note and lay off from the pornographic images that seem to have done nothing more than desensitize the public and led to a rise in sexual promiscuity. However, my complaint about this book is that the author makes it sound like all human beings are slaves to their subconscious. And he also implies that the only way to avoid all of this salacious advertising is to become a hermit, so we may as well get used to it.

I think we can avoid a lot of it, and that we should. I rarely watch television, and I certainly don't feel like a hermit.

And I think we can fill our homes with good media, books, and internet. So what do we buy? Why do we buy what we buy? Senses influence our purchases?

Refine your editions:

Do compaines create rituals? Below a snippet of what I found interesting. Sexual stimuli interfer with the Ads effects on the consumer.

Men often times spend time staring at women that they bypass brand names and logos. We walk faster then we did a decade ago. ML 90 Rituals go into what we buy as well. Think about ti for a second when we go shopping for shoes we see favorite brand an if we like that brand we'll more then likely buy the same year after year.

Their is a lot about collections as well. We tend to collect because we may feel socialy instable or seperated from our peers. Collections fulfill our life's if we dont engage in social activities in a lot of cases of young adults and adults. Mirror neurons help us imiate others. When I first looked at this book, I was genuinely intrigued by it. I wondered if this would unravel the secrets of advertising that effects us subconsciously. Now, I'm more inclined to say that one cannot take author's ideas at the face value.

By applying yourself to a social test and being aware of the test itself brings in a kind of bias which effects the result. I believe social tests mu When I first looked at this book, I was genuinely intrigued by it.

I believe social tests must remain uninhibited by this and that's possible when the motive is hidden until the result has arrived. The author talks about subliminal messaging and psychosomatic marking in a vague manner, which also seems like self advertising. But there are some interesting insights about major company branding that the author sheds the light on. These interesting bits of information in the book keep it alive so the reader is not buried alive by what may be borderline pseudoscience I claim this because there is no declaimer on the accuracy and result interpretation of FMRI scans.

As far as content goes, this is a pretty good read. Nearly eight years after the fact, the research doesn't sound as cutting edge as it may have been then, although that certainly doesn't discredit Lindstrom's thesis. I give the book a relatively low rating in part to his writing style. His copy reads more like speech writing than book and this is certainly targeted to mainstream audiences outside the academic fields like psychology and marketing.

What most irritates me are the post chapter tran As far as content goes, this is a pretty good read. What most irritates me are the post chapter transitions. They just don't flow well and come of amateurish a writer's bias. Still, it's a good read and a quick one.

His copy certainly keeps you turning pages and the over page count reads like a page novella. I still think that of this "genre", I liked Malcolm Gladwell's "Blink" the best, but that said, this was an engaging read! For those of you who prefer uber-clean reads, I honestly can't remember if this was or not. Sex does not necessarily sell, ads using sex distract from the brand. In other words, sex sells sex, not brands. Sex and controversy Calvin Klein does, however, sell.

Appeals to multiple senses work best. In an fMRI scan test, associations around the Marlboro and Camel cigarette brands cowboys, camels triggered a stronger brain response consistent with craving than did exposure to logos and cigarette packets themselves. The brain responds to brands the same way it does to religion — religious symbols and brand iconography light up the same areas of the brain. Advertising may work through mirror neurons, nerve cells that replicate observed emotion and behaviour. See a happy person in an ad, your brain is happy. Then buy the product, your brain is happy again.

Brands can crowd each other out of the brain, intensive product placement and commercials for Coke in American Idol weaken response to other brands advertised or placed in the show. The extent to which brains light up when exposed to TV pilots is predictive of ratings potential and perhaps in the future new product success. Next Post The New Experts: Write A Comment Cancel Reply. Submit Type above and press Enter to search.

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