Dissecting Influence

OK, here’s a quick task: take a minute to write down some common characteristics and behaviors that superheroes might exhibit… (DON’T read further until you have jotted down some ideas.)

Done? You should know that I have manipulated you and influenced your future behavior… but in a good way! If your local non-profit called [...]

With today’s economic condition, interest in discount coupons has been growing. Neuromarketing firm NeuroFocus has examined how people react to both print and online coupons using their typical combination of EEG, eye-tracking, and galvanic skin response. Neurofocus translated the data into what they call “Key Neurological Metrics” (Attention, Emotional Engagement, and Memory Retention) [...]

Imagine two restaurants, one of which sold only french fries as a side dish and another that sold both french fries and salads. Which would sell more fries? While logic might suggest that the salad would poach some of the side dish business, new research shows that adding a salad to the menu [...]

But, a little sugar goes a long way
Diet soft drinks are huge sellers in the U.S. as many consumers use them as a substitute for their calorie-laden sugary bretheren. The good news is that the flavor of these products have improved over time. Of late, Coke Zero ads have focused on humorous “taste [...]

While some users of Twitter might be well served by adding a filter between their thoughts and tweets, researchers at the University of Wisconsin – Madison have demonstrated that one can tweet just by thinking – no keyboard, no touchscreen, just thoughts:
The interface consists, essentially, of a keyboard displayed on a computer screen. “The way [...]

Understanding how events occur in the brain – how we come to an “aha!” insight, how we make a decision, and so on – fascinates neuroscientists. And anyone interested in neuromarketing can’t help but wonder how we decide between two products, or whether to buy a product at all. And, since we like [...]

Green marketing. “Greenwashing.” Green is the hot color for marketers these days, but there’s an old-fashioned kind of green that most of us overlook: no, not money… trees. There’s evidence that viewing trees and similar greenery can have physiological and behavioral effects:
“Visual exposure” to settings with trees produced significant recovery from stress in [...]

Japan’s second-biggest ad agency, Hakuhodo, is investing in the growing field of neuromarketing:
TOKYO – Hakuhodo has entered a business alliance with Buyology, a New York-based consultancy, to develop marketing-related neuroscience expertise.
Having identified the application of neuroscience to marketing practices as a growing worldwide trend, the Japanese agency has signed a capital alliance agreement with [...]

My long-time buddy Dave Berry is a funny guy. And, he’s a published author. But, he’s NOT Dave Barry, the Miami humorist who’s even funnier and has more published books. Therein lies the problem – Google thinks he is. Or, more to the point, Google thinks that anyone looking for Dave Berry [...]

In Mirrors and Images, I speculated that the presence of images such as a picture of Christ in a church or those omnipresent portraits of the leaders of totalitarian states might influence the behavior of people in their presence. Now, the New York Times reports that photos have been shown to influence the behavior [...]