Brands and the Brain: What can neuroscience teach us about brand building – Firstpost

Traditional market research does not tell companies enough about human behaviour. Sahay writes, “When we think about a brand, it encapsulates the sum total of the entire consumer experience: everything from the logo, the website, the product or service use experience to the social media experiences, the way the firm answers the phone, the after-sales service, the word-of-mouth impressions and the way customers experience its employees – all of this as it exists in the mind of the consumer.” The book is divided into 10 chapters, and is packed with real-life examples from brands such as Cadbury, Apple, Maggi, Colgate, Thums Up, Starbucks, Rolex, and Harley-Davidson. They want a more “granular and accurate” understanding of customer engagement, effectiveness of marketing interventions, and purchase probability, so they use neuromarketing tools such as functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, facial coding, electroencephalography, eye tracking, and Galvanic Skin Response. Sahay uses a conceptual framework called “the brand ladder” to explain how relationships between brands and customers are created along the lines of brand partner quality, love and passion, self-connection, interdependence, commitment and intimacy. Sahay’s aim is to teach managers how to “capitalize on the indispensable role of the human brain in creating, sustaining and rejuvenating brands”.