The Amateur Financier

Every so often, I come across something that makes me pause and think.  I am a somewhat voracious reader and do come across a lot of interesting ideas.  Still, it takes something really out of the ordinary to make me sit up, take notice, and go, “Hunh?”

One such article was in an older issue of Time magazine, covering some new advances in marketing.  It featured discussion of neuromarketing research and one the new field’s pioneers, Martin Lindstrom, and his research into the effects of particular sounds on the human brain.  Oh, and how that research and the discoveries made could be used to force us into making purchases.

Wait, what?

Alright, that last sentence was a bit of an exaggeration.  No one, including Mr. Lindstrom, is saying that neuromarketing research can allow marketers (or politicians, or lobbyists, or anyone else who’d want to sway your opinions) to play a commercial that say, forces you to buy the newest and most expensive car on the lot.  That type of brainwashing, if it’s even possible, is still far beyond our scientific capabilities.  (Although, if YOU were able to force anyone to do whatever you wanted, would you be eager to share that knowledge with the world?  Or would you go the mad scientist route, hoarding it for yourself and using your new abilities to slowly take over the world?  I’m just saying, don’t expect a big press conference when mind control is perfected; there’s a lot to be gained by keeping that to yourself…)

"Looook at the Screeeen...Then Buy a Coke"

No, the sort of control we’re talking about here is more subtle.  Rather than playing a subliminal message that forces you to buy item X, Lindstrom is looking into the connections that we already have to particular sounds, the reactions those sounds illicit in us, and how those reactions can lead to moving product.

Certain sounds are embedded into our cultural consciousness; if you’re an American, hearing the tune to ‘My Country ‘Tis of Thee’ will generally cause you to be filled with patriotic emotions.  (The same is true if you’re a Brit, or a resident of one of the other countries formerly occupied by the British Empire like Australia or Canada; the tune is ‘God Save the Queen’.)  We have similar, culturally shaped reactions to everything from the sound of a phone ringing to the sound of a baby crying.

The concept behind neuromarketing, then, is to use those connections in order to influence customer behavior and sell more products.  Piping the sounds of a baby cooing into the baby food aisle at your local supermarket or the sound of children playing into a sporting goods store could influence how you feel and what you buy; the cooing baby might get you into a maternal mood, while the children playing may make you nostalgic for your youth, eager to recapture those days of playing freely out in the yard.  Retailers hope that these moods translate into actions like buying more baby food or shoes, leading you to spend more than you would otherwise.

How to Protect Yourself

Of course, if you’re trying to live frugally, the last thing you want is for the sound of coffee brewing as you walk through the beverage aisle to increase how much coffee you end up buying (particularly if you don’t even drink coffee).  You’ll need to develop ways of resisting the influence these sounds have over you if stores, advertisements, and other marketers start to make extensive use of them.

One way is start associating them with negative situations or events, to decrease their power to compel you.  The article in Time mentions that the default Nokia ring tone, for example, has become a loathed sound in the UK, primarily because of the poor cell phone etiquette practiced by users, causing other people to be turned off when they heard the sound.  (The same is true of the Microsoft start-up sound, due to the amount of time users spent listening to it after restarting their computers.)  Developing some resistance to the manufactured sounds designed to stoke your buying muscles can pay well in decreased spending.

Alternatively, you can fit cooing with crying; subjecting yourself to a recording of unpleasant sounds, like nails on a chalkboard will not only counteract any neuromarketing that a store attempts to use, but will also serve to make you speed up your shopping and spend less time browsing.  (A somewhat less torturous alternative, playing music as you shop, has possibilities as well; although, if you start associating some of your favorite songs with the shopping experience, they’ll end up making you think of shopping every time you hear them.)

Finally, you can just get used to neuromarketing techniques.  Much as with any type of advertising, the best way to keep it from being too effective may be to simply get used to it and work to keep it from affecting you.  You might not be able to keep the sound of a baby’s giggle from making you feel happy and parental, but you can keep it from making you buy an unneeded toy for you own baby.

Like any marketing method, neuromarketing seeks to increase the sales of a retailer or manufacturer; how successful it is depends on whether you are able to resist their influence.

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