Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy by Martin Lindstrom
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Book Reviews of Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy
Book Review: A Look at the Future of Marketing
Summary: 5 Stars
John Wanamaker, considered the father of modern advertising and the founder of Wanamaker's the first department store in Philadelphia, is reported to have said, "Half my advertising budget is wasted. Trouble is, I don't know which half."
If Wanamaker were alive today, he might well have a different view about the percentage of his advertising budget being wasted. As Martin points out, so much of the current advertising is totally wasted. Consumers are overwhelmed with the amount of advertising they are subjected to. As a result, we cannot remember most of the ads we saw last night.
And Wanamaker would certainly be amazed at the tools available to understand why some of his ads were not working or worse yet, driving potential customers away. Martin Lindstrom has written a very interesting look at the future of marketing.
Buy ' ology is the scientific study of why we buy. Marketers have long known that buying decisions are not rational. That we make buying decisions based on emotion and then try to rationalize the decision with logic. But until now, we have not had any good methods of screening ads or even products to determine how they appeal to our emotions.
Martin Lindstrom undertook a massive three year study, involving studying volunteers using fMRI (Functional Magnetic resonance Imaging) and SST (steady state typography) both techniques to look at brain wave activity. He understood that people cannot tell you what they are feeling at the subconscious level. But using the brain scanning technology, the researchers were able to determine a person's reaction to ads at a subconscious level. They were able to determine which area of the brain was activated while viewing the ad and/or the product.
There are plenty of fascinating studies in the book. One involved Ford Motor's spending $26 million advertising on American Idol ... and according to Lindstrom's research, it was totally wasted.
There was the study of the warning labels on cigarette packages. What he found was that instead of curbing desire, the labels actually triggered the craving part of the brain - so instead of decreasing the desire for smoking, it actually stimulated the desire.
And there were plenty of other findings. That sex, while attracting attention, actually gets people to focus on the sex object and not the product. So sex does not sell.
The book is a fascinating look at the future of marketing. There are certainly lots of implications for large companies. - understanding and implementing the lessons in this book should save large companies millions and millions of dollars.
There are lots of lessons for smaller companies also. We need to understand what our prospects really want. We need to focus more on the emotional needs of our prospects and less on our desire to create ego based ads.
One very startling finding was that most money spent on developing and plastering logos all over the place is wasted. Logos have very little selling power.
This book will be very valuable to two groups - those who buy products and those who sell products or services. That covers most of the population that could benefit from reading this book.
It is easy to read and because it is filled with plenty of examples we can all relate to, it is extremely interesting. It will appeal to and benefit a very wide audience.
Book Review: Why We Engage in Behavior for Which We Have No Logical or Clear-Cut Explanation
Summary: 5 Stars
Contrary to some of my fellow reviewers who have reviewed "Buy-ology," I found it to be a worthwhile and interesting read. Yes, it is somewhat self-promoting but for those of who are not market research experts, the author provides valuable insights on how companies and politicians will be selling to us in the near future. It is both fascinating and frightening.
Author Martin Lindstrom focuses on emerging new research tools based on the convergence of medical knowledge, technology, and marketing which is leading to a new ability to scan the brain and measure our reactions to external stimuli. "Buy-ology" is the result of a three year long multimillion dollar journey that included the US, Germany, England, Japan, and China.
Lindstrom along with other market researchers has always been puzzled by what people say and by what they really do which is very different. Focus groups and personal interviews, a mainstay of market research, have proven to have limited value in solving this dilemma. Meanwhile, 80% of all new products fail and companies are in dire need to improve their odds of success.
The book presents Lindstrom's findings as he employs brain scanning to reveal "the hidden truths behind how branding and marketing messages work on the human brain, how our truest selves react to stimuli at a level far deeper than conscious thought, and how our unconscious minds control our behavior."
Lindstrom confirms scientifically that while we check off stuff on questionnaires, our brain - the ultimate no-bull zone - will adamantly contradict us. And like it or not, we all consistently engage in behavior for which we have no logical or clear-cut explanation. Neuromarketing, which Lindstrom calls this new field, does provide underlying answers to what it is that we do and do not react to.
"Buy-ology" focuses on the following questions:
* Does product placement work? (No)
* How powerful are brand logos? (Fragrance and sound are more potent than any logo alone)
* Does effective subliminal advertising still take place? (Yes)
* Is our buying behavior affected by the world's major religions? (Yes and increasingly so)
* Does sex in advertising work? (Not really)
There are results some readers will believe to be obvious... or are they? Or has Lindstrom presented his information in a way that resonates with our experience? I believe it is the latter. I particularly liked his sections on mirror neurons, the ten common pillars of leading religions and how they get translated into our purchasing experience, BBDO's outline of daily rituals, and the role of somatic and sensory markers.
All in all, I think most lay readers, non-marketers, will find that "Buy-ology" will transform the way they think about how and why they buy. They will become ever so "mindful."
Book Review: What makes us tick? What makes us buy?
Summary: 5 Stars
What compels us to buy particular products or services? Need is one factor, to be sure; however if rational judgment, utility or reason were the only factors in the buying position, then the world would be absent the global behemoth known as "Advertising." Consumers buy what they do for a variety of needs: physical, emotional, spiritual, social. They make decisions based on wants, desires, and urges, as well as utilitarian concerns. In short, people buy as much for fulfillment as they do for specific tangible purposes.
Martin Lindstrom is a recognized expert in marketing, providing insight to a variety of global companies both in the U.S. and abroad. Along with his business interests and consulting activities, he has written numerous articles in business and general publications including Advertising Age, Harvard Business Review, Fortune and Forbes. His previous book, "BRAND sense," published in 2005 to critical acclaim, focused on how companies build brand awareness and loyalty by engaging the five senses (sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing).
When I began to read " buy* ology," I was somewhat skeptical of Mr. Lindstrom's assertions -- that our buying decisions depend significantly upon subconscious considerations as well as rational thoughtful analysis. As he examines the influences of such diverse elements of our psyche as religion, sex, politics, ritual, superstition, and our sensory perception, there is the recognition that we are, in a sense, slaves to our own hardwiring.
Some may look at the field of neuro-marketing as manipulation, and that may indeed be the case. Certainly, successful marketers seek to exploit target consumers by appealing to their unconscious wants and desires. However, the book also enables us to understand how we can be manipulated, so that we can better differentiate our genuine needs from our subliminal urges. This is where the book provides great value; we begin to discern and name our innermost thoughts so that can become more conscious consumers.
The information contained in the book is not entirely new. Many aspects of "subliminal" marketing and advertising -- the myths as well as the realities -- date from at least the 1950s. Mr. Lindstrom has validated many of the principles here and have given them the light of day. He writes well, integrating theory and principles with anecdotes, telling a story that can amuse as well as enlighten.
Book Review: Knowledge is Power
Summary: 5 Stars
Mr. Lindstrom has, in Buyology, landed himself squarely in the middle of a great debate that shows no signs of resolution. He speaks to the truths behind advertising. We are all swept up in a market economy that is as vital to our existence as breathing; however, we are often as oblivious to it as we are to our own respiration. We can choose to act or to be acted upon--Buyology speaks to a recognition of when our buttons are being pushed and for that reason alone the book is valuable. As hard as one may try to avoid the marketers, we remain constantly at the mercy of advertising and live our lives immersed in sales pitches, whether for our votes, our time, or our money.
The book is conversational in tone and details Mr. Lindstrom's research without providing much detail. For that reason, this book may not be the best introduction to the topic. Mr. Lindstrom argues that the limitations placed on tobacco advertising forced these companies to invest billions into research as to how to evade the restrictions. Buyology argues that the most effective advertisements are typically not even perceived as such; they seem almost invisible and therefore slide past our defenses. Perhaps the most insidious of the new approaches involves something as benign as our sense of smell. (It made me carefully smell the book itself to see if Mr. Lindstrom were trying something out on his readers...)
Refreshingly, Mr. Lindstrom points out that prurient advertising is a waste of money, a futile exercise in "made you look" that pays little dividend in actual brand recognition. In a world that forces us to make hundreds of subconscious decisions a day, we can profit from Mr. Lindstrom's exposition of new research and ideas about why we decide the way we do. Ultimately, there is very little of life to which the ideas in Buyology are not extremely relevant. A timely book that deserves attention.
Book Review: A great and timely book for marketers
Summary: 5 Stars
I find all of these reviews fascinating. As a marketer, I have used Martin Lindstrom's work as a reference point in my own work - particularly in validating the need for a multi-sensorial approach to experience design and brand building. I respect Lindstrom's appetite for learning and research. Since he is the author who's done the most to validate the role of the senses to the business community, I have been particularly eager to see how he brings neuromarketing to life in Buy*ology. The medical community has been using neuroscience for decades. The business community is just now figuring out how to apply neuroscience to marketing challengs.
I have a bit of a different take from many of my fellow reviewers, and it is this: we, marketers, need this book. Why? We need a simple and readable treatise on the evidence that people have pre-verbal, non-conscious, relationships with brands. I believe we have needed conclusive evidence that allows for deeper insight into the role of neuromarketing research, that it is not "mind reading" but in fact is another tool to help us understand those we serve. Finally, we need all the help we can get in dispelling the fear and resistance to new research methodologies.
The pay off of this book for me is twofold: first, it offers validation and quantification of those emotional relationships. This validation should give marketers the courage to stand strong and develop products and services that really satisfy our audiences. Second, it provides some great provocation for many of the ways strategies can be created to address and honor people's intrinsic, as well as extrinsic, motivations. I believe it will help those of us who work on brands do a better job of honoring consumers with better products and services that address authentic needs, and not just playing it safe and line-extensioning are way into the future.