The Branded Mind: What Neuroscience Really Tells Us About the Puzzle of the Brain and the Brand [Hardcover]

With assistance contributed by Nigel Hollis and Graham Page, Erik du Plessis provides his reader with an update on recent developments in the field of neuromarketing to explain "how people think and how people think about brands." He invokes an especially appropriate extended metaphor when noting in the Introduction that, like a jigsaw puzzle, "the brain consists of many pieces, each unique in appearance and function. All these work independently, and in harmony, to produce the big picture. The big picture is termed `behaviour.' If only one piece of the brain is faulty then the big picture is also faulty.

"To complete a jigsaw puzzle you need to know the picture on the cover of the box, and you need to study the individual pieces when trying to assemble the puzzle. If you do not know what the final picture looks like and merely proceed by trying to assemble the pieces you will waste your time. Similarly, just looking at the picture on the cover tells you very little about the way the puzzle is assembled. Something similar is true of the brain." This brief excerpt suggests what this book is about and by what process de Plessis' intends to explain what neuroscience really tells us about the puzzle of the consumer brain and the brand.

This is by no means an "easy read"; on the contrary. However, it will generously reward those who read it with great care. In fact, I strongly recommend this sequence:

1. Read the Foreword, the Table of Contents, the Introduction (Chapter 1), and then the "Summary of implications for neuromarketing" on Page 244.

2. Re-read them at least once more and highlight key passages.
3. Then read Chapters 2-4 and highlight key passages.
4. Re-read highlighted key passages thus far, then Chapters 5-18 and again highlight key passages.
5. Then do the same for Chapters 19-23, Chapters 24-28, and Chapters 29-30

To repeat: du Plessis will generously reward those who read (and even more generously reward those who re-read) this book with great care. With both rigor and eloquence, he explains why emotions are not in conflict with rational behavior; indeed, they cause rational behavior. For those who are eager to understand the consumer brain and the decision-making process it tends to follow, this insight is of incalculable value. Better yet, du Plessis creates for it a neurological context, a frame-of-reference, within which to understand both its nature and implications.

Of special interest to me is what du Plessis has to say about Antonio Damasio's somatic marker theorem. What does it achieve? "It forces attention on the negative outcome to which a given action may lead, and functions as an automated alarm signal which says: Beware of danger ahead if you choose the option which leads to this outcome...Somatic markers probably increase the accuracy and efficiency of the decision process. Their absence reduces them."

Here in Dallas near the downtown area, there is a farmer's market at which merchants offer slices of fresh fruit as samples. In the same spirit, I provide excerpts in my reviews. No brief commentary of mine, however, can possibly do full justice to the scope and depth of valuable substance that du Plessis provides in The Branded Mind. It is a brilliant achievement. For those who read it and then re-read it with appropriate care, its value will be incalculable.

Erik du Plessis has created a serious piece of branding literature in The Branded Mind. It's not a breezy read, and doesn't offer tips like "5 ways to make your brand memorable." What The Branded Mind offers instead is a well-researched and thoughtful analysis that begins with relevant brain science and ends with practical advice on topics such as calculating an advertising budget. The book is chock-full of charts and graphs to support the author's points, and offers plenty of research citations to back up the data and to provide the interested reader with a way to dig even deeper into interesting topics.

Du Plessis goes out of his way to avoid, and in some cases refute, simplistic notions of buy buttons, emotional factors replacing rational decisions, and even the unconscious/conscious divide touted by so many neuromarketing vendors.

The Branded Mind isn't a book to zip through, grab a few takeaways, and dispose of. Rather, some sections will merit serious study, and you'll want to keep it at hand as a reference when evaluating advice proffered by branding gurus and other "experts."

Erik Du Plessis is the chairman of Millward Brown South Africa, a global media and brand research agency. He also ran his own research company in South Africa, called Impact Information. The Branded Mind explores the impact of emotions in decision-making, specifically in regards to buying brand products. Du Plessis creates a unique metaphor, stating that the brain is like a jigsaw puzzle: it consists of many pieces, each unique in appearance and function. All these work independently and in harmony to produce the big picture, which is behavior. By referencing current developments in neuroscience, Du Plessis hopes to better understand the puzzle of the brand and the brain.
Du Plessis begins with the idea that neuroscience has revolutionized our understanding of emotions, showing that they are a part of rationality and integral to survival. In making this case, he cites Antonio Damasio, a neuroscientist who states "I have emotions, therefore I am rational" and draws on Darwin's classic treatment of emotions in humans and animals. For Du Plessis, researching brand decisions involves an integrated synthesis of how both reason and emotions influence decisions.
In discussing how emotions influence decisions, he proposes a two step-process. First, the body physically responds to something. For example, there is an increase in heart rate and blood pressure. Secondly, the brain gives attention to something. This two step process is directly related to the reward circuit, which relies on the release of dopamine and other neurotransmitters. This dopamine reward system regulates and controls our behavior by inducing positive emotions.
Du Plessis continues with the concept that emotions are related to different feelings over time. According to Du Plessis, this concept is the big picture in neuroscience, often referred to as "behavior." Much of human behavior includes deciding what to buy. This includes choosing brands for food, schools, jobs, neighborhoods, presidential candidates, television shows, etc. The two-step process of emotions and dopamine reward circuit helps Du Plessis better understand why people buy the things they do.
Du Plessis next gives the reader an overview of the brain, suggesting that it is made up of two inter-related systems: perceptual/interpretive, and emotional/motivational. The perceptual/interpretive system depends on the frontal lobes. Our thoughts are interpreted in the frontal lobes, based on past memories and experiences. Du Plessis calls this the "as if" circuit, which allows the brain to determine how they would feel if they bought something. The emotional/motivational system relies on the limbic system, the oldest part of the brain, which plays a big role in motivating us to make decisions, relying on our emotions and memories.
In helping us understand the function of the perceptual/interpretive and emotional/motivational systems of the brain, Du Plessis references various brain scanning methods, which let us measure changes in the brain. Du Plessis takes the reader through these measurement tools, including fMRI, which gives good accuracy in recording brain activity in space but not in time. In contrast, the EEG gives good accuracy in time but not in space. EEG measuring technologies were discovered in 1929. Unlike an fMRI, EEG can pick up signals from deep-brain activity, such as from the limbic system. There are documented EEG signals for positive and negative feelings.
As I review Du Plessis' main points, I think the most important point he makes relates to the idea that emotions are inherently rational, and that specific levels of emotional processing guide us in making daily decisions about what to buy. Du Plessis shares an analysis of 330 advertisements and credits them for their "dual strategy" of emotional and functional benefits. Using both emotions and rationality results in the best sales effect because a brand needs to establish both an emotional platform and "reason for existence" in order to grab someone's attention, help them better remember a product, and purchase it in the future.
The study I was most interested in reading about was Read Montague's Pepsi Challenge, which placed students in fMRI machines to measure their reaction to two brand choices: Pepsi or Coke. This was essentially a process of interpretation, which is based on students' memories of Pepsi or Coke. The subjects were invited to do a blind taste test. They had stimuli enter their brain via the nerves of the mouth and ears as they were told which brand they were tasting. This process of interpretation works its way through the limbic system to the frontal lobes of the brain, where the subjects realize what the product is and how they feel about it. According to Du Plessis, this is the "brand soma" or the feeling part of the soma. All brands aim to have a positive "brand soma" for their products, or at least more positive than for other brands.
Du Plessis uses real-life stories from his years of marketing research to help readers better understand practical marketing strategies. Du Plessis spends a lot of time explaining attention, and says that "without attention and memory nothing happens". This relates to my discussion of the perceptual/interpretive and emotional/motivational systems of the brain; both systems rely on attention and stored memories which influence us in making everyday decisions.
I appreciate the fact that Du Plessis talks about the successes and limitations of brain scanning technology. While he stresses the usefulness of fMRI and EEG, Du Plessis also points out their limitations. EEG has low spatial resolution, while fMRI has low temporal resolution. Also, it is difficult to get people to participate in studies. He points out that isolated scanning methods are useless because readings are different depending on the product, or appear similar for completely different reasons.
A problem I had with The Branded Mind was the fact that the book is intended for the general audience, yet it seems like the information is more suited for someone with a marketing background. Du Plessis offers long explanations of common psychological theories of personality, emotions, and feelings; which seem obvious to someone with a psychology background like me. Finally, there were many academic words and phrases that I ignored or did not understand.
As I concluded the book, I realized that every person has a different reaction to a product. The demand for attention is much higher in our everyday lives than in controlled settings, such as laboratories where research takes place. I could not relate to many of the studies that Du Plessis included. I believe laboratory research does not reflect real world situations. Also, I will need to conduct more of my own research in order to understand why laboratory research is so structured and generic.