Are subliminal messages and a curious mind enough to get you over the advertiser’s edge? 

Due to how flooded the market is with countless brands, logos plastered everywhere and an unhinged amount of fierce market competitors, advertisers are turning to the latest psychological studies to generate cut-through with their audience.

How brands tap into your subconscious?

Due to people being constantly inundated with brand collateral, it has desensitised people to buzz words and generic pop-up advertising. A prime aspect of a brand is of course, their logo. Company’s truly outsource bigtime on phycological research to reflect everything from their consumer honesty to creativity. When you are exposed to a well-executed logo this activates a set of associations the consumer has with that brand, subconsciously leading us to exhibit behaviours that are consistent with the brand’s image.

Example:

Repeated exposure to luxury brands has been proven to make you spend bigger. If you are seeing an influx of high end products visually or even in-store and literally are being hands-on with these tangible products; this juxtaposition makes cheaper products seem inferior to the consumer -  promoting them to spend that extra money to feel more whole about the purchase (possible even if they don’t have that money to spend).

Example:

Another trigger advertiser capitalise on is tapping into the subconscious to reignite childhood memories or feelings associated with a time the consumer felt pure joy. Basically, advertisers have the power to distort a person’s memory in the same way eyewitnesses in a crime can be led to believe they have seen something they haven’t. The memory is surprisingly easy to manipulate, which works in the advertiser favour because it gives them an opportunity to win a consumer over for life by triggering them to associate positive thoughts and emotion with their product or service. 

Advertising is built on intertwining with the consumers mind through cherry picking the best psychological techniques.  With advertiser’s possessing strong and direct motivations for brand exposure; combined with constantly progressing scientific/psychological research, consumers don’t stand a chance refraining from being sucked in by memorable and triggering ads of all formats.

By Jessica McCabe.