August 2008

Mega-sporting events are always mega-advertising events, and the cost to become a sponsor or advertiser is a huge commitment of corporate dollars. The inevitable question that arises after the event is, "Was it worth it?" NeuroFocus, a…

Jim Edwards of Brandweek has penned an interesting and lengthy article describing his own experience as a neuromarketing subject, as well as providing some general background on the promise offered and challenges faced by the nascent…

Book Review: The Back of The Napkin by Dan Roam The Back of The Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas by Dan Roam is a meaty book for managers and marketers that explains how to turn problems and concepts into simple pictures to…

Today, there is a big emphasis on productivity in sales and customer service. Increasingly, customers are given tools to place their own orders, check on their status, and so on. In-person sales calls cost hundreds of dollars (some…

One of the interesting tricks our brains play on us is to transfer physiological and emotional states that we are experiencing to something else going on at the same time. In Sway, authors Ori Brafman and Rom Brafman describe one of the…

In Decoy Marketing, I described my befuddlement when staring at a shelf full of shaving gel product variations. In that case, a jumbo-sized can at the same price as the regular-sized cans put an end to my indecision. It turns out I'm…

Marketers are constantly facing the challenge of how to make an offer more attractive to their customers. Will free shipping garner more orders than a $10 coupon? What about a 10% discount, or a free tote bag? Smart marketers know there is…

I'm a sucker for discounts. Show me something that costs $50, tell me I can have it for $25, and my hand will be reaching for my wallet while my brain is still trying to figure out whether I need the item at any price. Most of us respond…

Fantasizing about food and sex can reduce pain. (And you always thought those fantasies were a waste of time...) People in emotional or physical distress often turn to "comfort foods" - new research shows that just thinking about these…

Book Review: Sway - The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior We love irrational behavior here at Neuromarketing - when humans act in illogical and unexpected ways, that behavior provides clues to their real motivations. This…