Marketing to Today's Expectant Brain
by Robert Reiher, Ph.D. and Janene Whitney
The customer population of today has been raised in an entertainment driven atmosphere that has continually increased its technological use of pacing, special effects, and emotional "grabbers." This article discusses the resulting adaptation the human brain has made to the saturation of entertainment dimensions. The implications for the modern marketer suggest a very different approach for the entertainment value of advertising to "The Expectant Brain."The "grabber," the attention-getter, the special effect that refocuses the customer’s pupils on your product. They shock, excite, or tug at primitive emotions, and they lock attention where you most want it to go. Yet, as new research foreshadows an "entertained brain" that adapts to concepts at ever-increasing speeds, marketers scramble by constantly reaching for the "new" point-of-difference, often with poor results. Future marketers will educate themselves about the differences that truly make a difference through fully engaging the adaptive "Expectant Brain."
Not too long ago, scientists believed that the human brain was essentially hardwired in its capacity to learn by the time a person reached age sixteen. They thought that by this age, all the synaptic connections that could form had already done so. Within the past few years, however, the use of MRI’s (magnetic resonance imaging) and PET scans (positron emission tomography) have heralded breakthrough research in how the brain works. Through revolutionary studies, we now know that with focused attention, the brain adapts to new input over the length of a lifetime.
Gaining that attention is the primary goal of a marketer’s work, but the dark side of this new research is that in the recent decades of media saturation, the human brain has also become the Expectant Brain. Driven by ever escalating "attention grabbers," the modern brain no longer responds to traditional marketing techniques, especially in the entertainment driven world of advertising. It is no longer possible for marketers and producers to operate through any set formula. The Expectant Brain of today may not be easily excited or surprised yet it anticipates a Pace that may now be counterproductive to the message of the product. In the field of psychophysics, Weber’s Law (also known as the Weber-Fechner Law), states that the stronger the stimuli, the greater the change needs to be in other stimuli for input information to be noticed.
Herein lies the problem.
In recent years, the increase of special effects, startling images, and pace of editing in films and television is mirrored in commercial ads. With extended exposure, the brain adapts by continually craving higher levels of excitement. What better strategy, then, than to top the previous excitement level? Unfortunately, because of the brain’s ability to adapt to higher and higher levels of excitement, excitement itself has become formulaic. A marketer’s only choices now are to either layer his product communication effectively, matching today’s consumer need hierarchy, or continue the "can-you-top-this" plan and eventually end up both answering to the FTC and naively losing connection with the new consumer’s "rewired" brain. One way that this formulaic marketing fails to reach the Expectant Brain is when, through exposure to high stimulation imagery, a kind of downshifting into the emotional "fight or flight" areas occurs, away from the areas of the brain responsible for critical thinking and making meaning. If, as through media saturation, that downshifting is repeated over time, then a customer may appear to pay attention to a particularly stimulating effect, but the meaning or value of the product might never become clear.
One example of this failure is when the special effects in an advertisement overshadow the message or product recognition. The proliferation of car commercials which rely on fast-cut images of a speeding car splashing through water or racing down a country road fail to convey excitement for today’s customer because we expect these effects. When this formula also lacks features or careful isolation of brand, we cannot identify one model from the next. Additionally, when the pace of these types of attention grabbers is further increased, the time needed for the brain to process the message all but disappears. Even though the brain eventually adapts to a faster pace of imagery, due to downshifting, the value of the product might never be received. The Expectant Brain can be caused by the formulaic use of special effects and startling images, hence we have reached a plateau where excitement alone is an obstacle to the delivery of meaning. In a past Nike commercial where basketball star Vince Carter experiences the court transforming into an arena where he faces the wrath of a primitive beast, the brain’s attention can be so transfixed by the special effects that the product can easily become lost. The repercussions of this effect are vast. In an enrichment economy where customers have access to a myriad of choices, a virtual flatland of points of difference has resulted. Consequently, marketers often reach for Process variables (the attention grabbers mentioned above), but now even these have become formulaic and predictable. If every strategy is to shock or overwhelm, then there is nothing unique about shock or overwhelm. Couple this predictable excitement with the Expectant Brain’s adaptation and downshifting away from meaning, and the result can become a desert of lost values.
Downshifting not only occurs when Process is overused but when emotionality overshadows brand recognition and value. Sociologist Eric Goffman has identified a phenomenon that he calls "flooding" where the areas of the brain responsible for processing emotion (amygdala-cortical connections for example) create a sense of confusion, leading to diminished retention and blurred thinking. Therefore, over-stimulated emotions can drown out the brain’s ability to assimilate important information presented at the same time. This may be especially true when specific negative emotions are emphasized. A major clothing company discovered this when their "groundbreaking" print ad interviews of death row inmates held readers’ minds in a state of shock while the value of their clothing was lost. When specific negative emotions do produce brand recognition, it is often in the repetition of the ads, but not necessarily with positive meaning associated--an expensive trade-off.
Balancing emotionality with messaging is the key to helping the Expectant Brain retain the values intended. Coca-Cola mastered this balance in their famous polar bear commercial where an adorable graphic polar bear mother and her cubs help each other push a Christmas tree up a hill. Positive emotions, novel processes, and the clear isolation of brand create a commercial the brain can connect with emotionally, and then, with properly timed pacing, correlate with brand.
If what matters most is supporting brand, then we have to realize that a dependence on formulaic Process variables creates Content without value, and every marketer knows that there is no longevity without value. You can stream video on web sites or continue to escalate the sex and violence level in commercial ads, but if the meaning or value of the product never connects within the modern consumer’s mind, then value has dropped away. Building brand recognition, therefore, becomes next to impossible.
The successful marketer of the next decade will need to become educated about the inner foundations of the consumer’s preferences, and the communication layering of a product’s dimensions. Although this is inherently a much more complex and careful plan, it offers a multitude of benefits in supporting both brand and the consumer at the same time. The initial steps in communication layering are:
- Recognize that responsible marketing should be entertaining. When the balance of Process and Content swing too far in any one direction, then value can be sacrificed. Carefully identifying which dimensions may be overshadowing others is vital.
- Define the standard of expectation. Know what the Expectant Brain might be expecting. Is the consumer anticipating a fast-frame presentation? What about a stereotypical character portrayal? If you know what is expected, you can alter the expectation for more effective attention and comprehension.
- Use this information to identify product leverage. Be clear and concise about the power and impact of your product. This needs to be done carefully while considering all of a product’s multi-dimensional impacts on a consumer. Within that matrix of product dimensions are powerful leverage points that need to be balanced against others.
- Create a hierarchy of leverage. Once balance is understood, a refined hierarchy of leverage points can be created that specifically matches your consumer.
- Design creative strategies that alter expectation. This point is based on the brain’s adaptation to current expectations. If we shift or alter what the modern consumer expects, while at the same time balancing the Process dimensions, then we not only grasp attention, but we can create value. By carrying the consumer through a scenario that is unique and generates meaning, we can build visibility and long term value.
An excellent example of this kind of careful altering of expectations is the Budweiser frog and lizard commercials. Who expects anything different in a beer commercial than a bar or beach packed with too-tight t-shirts and party animals? The frogs themselves are attention-grabbing, yet the slowing of the pace so that the viewer becomes involved in deducing what the frogs are saying is equally compelling. The computer graphics (process) do not overshadow the dialogue that contains the Content, however simple, and the value of the product is enfolded in humor. In recent studies by Robert Probine, brain imaging research shows that one form of humor is based on something presented as the opposite of what we expect and this is why the brain responds to it. In the Bud commercial, altered expectations combined with a hierarchy of leveraged dimensions delivered value, and therefore, recognition longevity.
Every layering strategy is highly individualized, but if we recognize that each experience changes the human brain, then we can begin to create marketing plans that may not be as heavy with special effects or sex and violence, but translate value in more effective ways than ever. In an age that has been driven by technological experiences and media, the successful marketer is the one who is knowledgeable about how the newly shaped mind of the consumer demands a multiple layered marketing plan. The pre-technology consumer mind of yesterday bears little resemblance to the entertainment-shaped mind of customers today.
Author's Key Points
In today’s Enrichment Economy, there are few if any formulas that apply to broad segments of the population.
The power of entertainment has "raised the bar" on what consumers expect and want in order to "grab" their attention.
The Expectant Brain is far more discriminating about incoming stimuli and demands creative strategies that go beyond formula special effects and high stimulus pacing.
Building successful brands today requires attention to the creation of meaning, not just entertainment.
Marketing Implications
- Identify your product leverage accurately using some of the steps outlined in this article.
- Focus on layering information rather than a formulaic increase of Pace and Special Effects.
- Altering expectations is the way to translate brand recognition. The successful marketer of the future will see beyond the plateau of formulaic attention grabbers and become masterful at integrating the dimensions that involve the customer.
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