The Psychological Impact of Branding on Consumer Behavior
Overview
This video delves into the profound influence brands have on consumer behavior and identity. It presents research findings that illustrate how brands can shape our decisions and emotional responses, often beyond our conscious awareness.
Key Points
- Brand Recognition and Preference: Consumers often choose specific brands like Coke, Tylenol, and Levi's, even when alternatives are available. This raises questions about rational consumer behavior, which is further explored in Understanding the Psychological Effects of Money on Spending Decisions.
- Subliminal Influence: A study from Duke University showed that exposure to the Apple logo improved participants' performance on creative tasks, suggesting that brands can influence behavior subliminally.
- Identity Formation: Americus Reed from the University of Pennsylvania explains that brand choices reflect personal identity. For instance, choosing Nike over Under Armour signifies different affiliations with sports culture. This concept ties into the broader theme of personal branding discussed in Mastering Personal Branding: Stand Out in a Crowded Market.
- Emotional Attachment: Once consumers identify with a brand, they may defend it fiercely, as criticism of the brand feels like a personal attack. This emotional connection is similar to the principles outlined in Mastering Emotional Resilience: The Art of Cognitive Reframing.
- Neuroscience Insights: Research by Michael Platt revealed that Apple users exhibit strong emotional responses to news about the brand, akin to familial bonds, while Samsung users showed indifference or even negative responses towards Apple.
- Subconscious Choices: Many consumers are unaware that their brand preferences are often driven by self-expressive values rather than rational thought.
- Ethical Considerations: The power of branding raises ethical questions about consumer manipulation and the societal implications of brand loyalty, which can be further examined in the context of marketing strategies like those in Effective Note-Taking Strategies for Marketing Case Studies.
Making Informed Choices
- Awareness: Consumers should be conscious of the influence brands have on their decisions. Taking a moment to reflect on the reasons behind a purchase can lead to more informed choices.
- Brand Affiliation: Even those who claim to reject brands are still engaging in brand identity, as anti-brand sentiments can also reflect personal values.
Conclusion
Brands play a significant role in shaping our identities and choices. Understanding this influence can empower consumers to make more conscious decisions in their purchasing behavior.
- Coke is just soda. Tylenol is just acetaminophen. And Levi's are just jeans.
Yet consumers go out of their way to select these specific brands over others. - An economist would say,
"How is this possible, that a rational consumer would be willing to pay more for exactly the same thing?"
We love to think about ourselves as rational. That's not how it works. A very famous study done by colleagues at Duke University
flashed either the Apple logo or the IBM logo to two randomized groups of participants. - The study found that
after being subliminally exposed to the Apple logo, compared to when you'd been exposed to the IBM logo,
participants performed better on creative tasks. - And the argument is that Apple has been telling you this story over and over again,
that Apple is the brand for hip, cool, fun, creative people. - This is the true power of brands. They can influence our behavior in ways
that extend way beyond the point of sale. So to what degree can the influence of brands wreak havoc on our ability
to make rational spending decisions? This is your brain on money. This is Americus Reed.
He studies identity and marketing at the University of Pennsylvania. When I make choices about different brands,
I'm choosing to create an identity. When I put that shirt on, when I put those shoes on, those jeans, that hat,
someone is going to form an impression about what I'm about. So if I'm choosing Nike over Under Armour, I'm choosing a kind of different way to express
affiliation with sport. The Nike thing is about performance. The Under Armour thing is about the underdog.
I have to choose which of these different conceptual pathways is most consistent with where I am in my life.
- And once a consumer makes that choice, their relationship with a brand can deepen to the point where they identify with that brand like family.
And once you identify with a brand, it can shape the way you behave. - And it's really interesting because they will also,
if someone talks bad about that product, brand, or service, they will be the first to go out and defend. Why?
Because an attack on the brand is an attack on themselves. - Michael Platt is a professor of neuroscience, marketing, and psychology
whose research demonstrates how our perception of brands influences our decisions. - There's an idea in marketing, which is that
we relate to brands in the same way we relate to people. It's like, "I love this brand," or, "I hate this brand." Of course, what people say, right, can often be
different from what's really going on in their heads. So we thought, "Well, why don't we just ask the brain directly?"
- Michael and his team observed the brains of iPhone users and Samsung Galaxy users with an MRI machine while they heard good, bad, and neutral news
about Apple and Samsung. - Apple customers showed a brain empathy response toward Apple
that was exactly what you'd see in the way you would respond to somebody in your own family. - Strangely, Samsung users
didn't have any positive or negative responses when good or bad news was released about their brand. The only evidence that Samsung users showed
was reverse empathy for Apple news. Meaning if the Apple headline was negative, their brain reflected a positive response.
- You know, it really shows us that Apple has completely defined the market here. Samsung customers, it seems, from their brain data,
are only buying Samsung 'cause they hate Apple. - The kicker? The Samsung users didn't report feeling
the results their MRIs showed. What was happening in their brains and what they reported feeling towards Apple and Samsung,
were totally different. - Most people just don't realize that they are subconsciously choosing brands
because those brands have some kind of self-expressive value. - You can see there's a lot of power here
in terms of shaping consumers' decisions. As we learn more and more about that, we have to think much more deeply about
the ethical, legal, and societal implications of doing that. - So, as consumers, what can we do to make informed choices?
Well, the best thing we can do is to be aware of the influence that brands hold. - I think it's important to always pause
and think a little bit about, "Okay, why am I buying this product?" - And like it or not,
brands aren't going anywhere. - I've heard lots of people push back and say that, "I'm not into brands."
I take a very different view. They're not doing anything any different than what someone who affiliates with a brand is doing.
They have a brand, it's just an anti-brand brand. And I think about, what is it that I've learned about identity over time?
I think a lot of it has to do with the fundamental need that we as humans have to have support systems.
Perhaps it was the church, it was the community, it was these other institutions that existed. Now, brands have stepped in as pillars of our identity.
So I'm very much motivated to see that in that positive light.
Heads up!
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