Marketing to the Mind ‐ Right Brain Strategies for Advertising and Marketing

Citation

Smart, D.T. (1998), "Marketing to the Mind ‐ Right Brain Strategies for Advertising and Marketing", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 15 No. 3, pp. 297-299. https://doi.org/10.1108/jcm.1998.15.3.297.1

In a very fundamental way psychologists and marketers are interested in the answer to the same question: what motivates people to behave in a certain manner? For the psychologist it is behavior in the world in general. For the marketer it is behavior as it relates to the consumption of goods and services.

Trying to uncover what motivates people has been the focus of research efforts in both fields through the years. In marketing, motivation research techniques have run the gamut from in‐depth interviews and focus groups to the more controversial physiological tests such as the galvanic skin response and the electroencephalographic response. The limitations inherent in most current approaches inspire continued research to find a way to overcome a subject’s inability or unwillingness to explain his or her behavior.

A recent Wall Street Journal article entitled, “Marketers seek the ‘naked’ truth in consumer psyches” talks about the challenges of trying to uncover what were called “unguarded reactions” from consumers (May 30, 1997, B1, p. 13). It was suggested that they often have to do with emotions that necessitate examining the unconscious.

Marketing to the Mind speaks to this critical area. It presents an in‐depth examination of concepts, theories and research about the right side of the brain, the unconscious mind. Authors, Maddock, a practicing psychologist, and Fulton, a corporate president and management consultant, together provide a unique perspective drawing on research from medicine and clinical psychology, as well as from their own experiences with marketing research and practice.

Based on this analysis of the literature, coupled with their own observations from interviews with over 5,000 consumers involving over 200 product categories, they have developed a diagnostic technique which they believe will provide advertisers with an approach for creating successful creative strategies and marketing plans.

Marketing to the Mind is based on an integrated three‐dimensional approach to advertising and marketing which includes rational or logical reasons for buying a product, the memory aspects of the advertising message and the emotional or motivational reasons for the purchase. From this framework the authors go on to develop a new hierarchy of motivational groups and subgroups that they suggest apply to all consumer and human behavior. These groups are based on the belief that the unconscious is relatively simple and consists of a limited number of motivators. Those groups identified are:

(1) Orientation Motives, and subgroups Orientation to Person, Place, Time and Circumstances.

(2) Survival Motives, and subgroups Spiritual, Physical, Territorial and Sexual Survival.

(3) Adaptation Motive.

(4) Expectation Motive.

(5) Play.

Orientation motives are important, but the spiritual survival motive, containing the basic elements of right and wrong, is thought to be in a marketing and advertising context probably the most powerful and motivating of all. Spiritual survival is psychologically rather than religiously based and is manifested in attempts to achieve perfection in certain areas such as sports, in being dedicated to an issue, in the need to be right, to gain knowledge, and to attain love.

Throughout the book the authors provide many examples of products and messages that speak to the spiritual nature of consumers’ needs. For example, McDonald’s success is attributed to their having changed the reason for eating out from physical survival to a spiritual level. That is, it has to do with family values and what “good” parents do for their kids.

After the initial explanation of the right brain approach and consumer motivation hierarchy, the authors describe the research technique that can be used to uncover consumer motivations. To tap the unconscious side of the mind, a two‐phase approach is suggested.

Phase one involves an in‐depth “visualization” interview that probes areas related to product motives, emotions, features and benefits. Interviewees are asked to use their photographic memory, which involves picturing something that has happened previously as opposed to “remembering” it. This technique aids in helping recall details and in bringing emotions associated with products to the surface. Because there are a small number of motivations that are involved, a small sample is thought adequate for this initial phase.

Once the operative motives are isolated, the second phase using large samples and more traditional quantitative marketing research studies is undertaken. The purpose of this phase is to determine the degree to which the various motives identified in phase one are relevant in the target market. Through a pre‐quantitative step, a set of beliefs and implied motive statements are developed which are used in the final phase along with measures of attitudes and behavior.

The last part of the book describes how the marketing to the mind approach to the unconscious can be applied to various consumer products. Chapters are devoted to examining such diverse areas as casino gambling and wagering, fashion marketing and merchandising, and marketing professional and non‐profit services.

One of the most interesting chapters is entitled, “Why people still visit Elvis and Graceland”. Based on research utilizing their visualization technique, the authors conclude that, “The Elvis Presley phenomenon demonstrates the overwhelming importance of spiritual survival in human behavior, specifically in the areas of advertising and marketing and in its overall contribution to the economy...The point is that he elevated a curse (sex) to the level of a blessing (spirituality) and in so doing he took something that he believed to be wrong and made it right. This is marketing to the unconscious mind” (p. 237).

Certainly this book offers a variety of information and an interesting perspective. Whether readers necessarily agree with every conclusion is not imperative to get benefit from reading the book. It is thought‐provoking and does provide many intriguing examples (e.g. why defense attorney Johnny Cochran was successful in defending O.J. Simpson). It also fills in some historical details that may not have been remembered (e.g. psychologist Ernst Dichter suggested to home builders that they use large dish‐style doorknobs so that consumers could “hug” their homes).

Readers who would get the most from the book are those involved in marketing research, especially advertising professionals. Having experience reading articles written for academic journals and audiences would also be helpful, as the book contains a fair amount of detailed documentation. And, because so much information is contained in its 23 chapters and some of it is quite complex, occasionally it is somewhat difficult to follow. Some of this has to do with the variety of terms used, many with the same or similar meanings; some because so many topics are covered and it is not always clear how one follows from another, and some because the authors have a tendency often to insert “will be discussed later in chapter x” which can be a cause for confusion.

The search to undercover the unconscious mind and what motivates consumers continues. Marketing to the Mind brings together a mix of psychology and marketing perspectives into an approach that merits consideration.