Unconscious Branding

Have you ever been baffled by the array of choices on a supermarket shelf? How did you come to a decision? You might think you just grabbed the product with the most attractive label. But what you were actually doing was making a decision using heuristics.

We use heuristics, simplified methodologies for finding a sufficient solution, when finding the perfect solution is either impossible or impractical.

One of these methodologies is social proof. This means when you’re in doubt of what to do, you check what other people are doing and then do the same.  

Buying the brand of a market leader is one way to use heuristics. Another example is the idea that “expensive equals good,” which reflects our readiness to believe that the more expensive a product is, the better the quality. This is based on the adage, “you get what you pay for.”

But heuristics isn’t the only thing that influences how people make decisions. Thus a marketer shouldn’t only employ such methodologies when constructing a campaign.

There are also certain evolutionary tics that a marketer can tap into to influence a potential customer. One is our innate need for the safety that a group provides.

Think about the lives of our Stone Age ancestors. If an individual was banished from a group, it was essentially a death sentence. The threat of predators, not to mention the challenge of finding sufficient food, meant a single person wouldn’t survive long.

In today’s modern world, we’re not terribly worried about a sabertooth tiger attack when walking home alone. Yet people still exhibit a group mentality, seeking like-minded individuals attracted by a certain brand.

Imagine a group of Harley Davidson motorcycle owners, out for a Sunday ride en masse, all wearing the same leather outfits – a perfect example of group mentality.

To create a good campaign, however, you need to see prospects not just as consumers but as humans. And don’t forget that humans have brains that control their thoughts and actions. So let’s learn more about how that brain actually works!