How to Create a Simple Association

Today’s episode is all about branding — and specifically, my insights for how to incorporate brain science and behavioral economics insights so you can have a brainy brand that resonates better with your potential customers, clients, members, etc., and is one of those coveted “favorite brands” in the mind of your consumer. 

When your brand is thinking about becoming a beloved “favorite” it is important to consider the experience people have with you. Becoming a favorite is a lot like dating and marriage. On a first date, you are looking for all sorts of data to help categorize someone as a hero or a zero — you want to be able to cut your losses before you invest too much. It’s the same with brands. It is important to not make mistakes. You especially want to be on your best behavior early on in the customer relationship to build up that “favorite” status. The tips in this episode will help you leverage behavioral economics to do just that (including what your brand needs to learn from your favorite actors). Now is a great time to be thinking about your brand and goals for the next year. What changes can your brand make and where is it worth the investment in becoming a more brainy and beloved brand? Keep that in mind as you listen today.

• [00:41] Today’s episode is all about branding — and specifically, on my insights for how to incorporate brain science and behavioral economics insights so you can have a brainy brand that resonates better with your potential customers, clients, members, etc., and is one of those coveted “favorite brands” in the mind of your consumer.
• [01:26] When your brand is thinking about becoming a beloved “favorite” it is important to think about the experience people have with you, and becoming a favorite is a lot like dating and marriage.
• [04:14] A brand can take a generic item and turn it into something more. 
• [05:37] Marketing and branding are not the same things. Marketing is all the one-off things that you do to get your name out there. 
• [07:45] A brainy brand knows what it is trying to achieve and builds quantitative and qualitative research projects to test, learn, and grow. 
• [08:26] Truly great marketers (like great scientists) are great questioners.
• [10:55] Our brain makes associations whether we ask it to or not. 
• [12:35] Priming is really related if you want to make sure you have a brainy brand. You want to make sure you are associating your brand properly with the right things. 
• [15:01] It is important to be strategic and thoughtful about what it is you are doing for your company.  
• [16:51] You need to use the associations of the brain to make it as easy as possible on the customer. Be strategic. Think about how you can make it easy, as well as where they might make an error so you can help them avoid missteps and make the right choice. 
• [18:31] Above all, a brainy brand knows that everything matters.  
• [19:47] Brands have personalities just like people and for good reasons. Known personalities create expectations in our brains.  
• [21:09] Smart brands know the work is never done.  
• [24:04] Method acting is a lot like business branding because they both require a lot of preparation and understanding of things that may never be brought up.
• [25:16] Brainy brands know everything about who their brand is as if it were a person or a character. 
• [26:31] The other important thing to remember if you want a brainy brand is that perception is reality.  
• [27:28] Brainy brands need to have everyone on board rowing the boat in the right direction.  
• [28:35] Behavioral economics and other studies of the brain look into why people do the things they do and how to use insight to predict what they might do in the future.  
• [29:14] Melina’s closing thoughts

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Get the Books Mentioned on (or related to) this Episode:

• Branding that Means Business, by Matt Johnson & Tessa Misiaszek
• What Your Customer Wants and Can’t Tell You, by Melina Palmer
• Blindsight, by Matt Johnson & Prince Ghuman
• Contagious, by Jonah Berger
• How Brands Grow, by Byron Sharp

Top Recommended Next Episode: Matt Johnson (episode 227)

Already Heard That One? Try These: 

• Why We Like the Things We Like, with Prince Ghuman, coauthor of Blindsight (episode 172)
• Peak-End Rule (episode 97)
• Priming (episode 18)
• How to Set, Achieve & Exceed Brainy Goals (episode 70)
• The Power of Habit (episode 22)
• Availability Bias (episode 15))
• Framing (episode 16)
• Surprise and Delight (episode 60)
• Reciprocity (episode 23)
• Disney: A Behavioral Economics Analysis (episode 144)
• Apple Card: A Behavioral Economics Analysis (episode 42)
• Starbucks: A Behavioral Economics Analysis (episode 73)
• Questionstorming at KIND / Mars with Beatrix Daros  (episode 215)
• The Overwhelmed Brain and Its Impact on Decision Making (episode 32)
• Get Your D.O.S.E. of Brain Chemicals (episode 123)
• Expect Error: The "E" in NUDGES (episode 39)
• How To Set Up Your Own Experiments (episode 63)

Other Important Links: 

• Brainy Bites - Melina’s LinkedIn Newsletter 
• Unconventional Wisdom
• How to Make Your Content Go Viral
• Dogs on the Street, Pumas on Your Feet: How Cues in the Environment Influence Product Evaluation and Choice
• 15 Actors Who Went to Seriously Extreme Measures for a Role
• HR and Marketing: A Natural Partnership