Brandwashed

There were two chapters in particular that leapt from the page and caught our eye: “Oh, Sweet Memories” and “Hope in a Jar.” These chapters focus on two key topics that Senteo emphasizes in its methodology, namely because they target emotions and attachment that otherwise falls by the wayside for many marketing campaigns. Martin makes it clear that we are attached to, and unknowingly drawn to, things that remind us of our past and positive memories – a concept that is mirrored in industries such as real estate (smelling fresh baked cookies in an open house), grocery stores (seeing wood crates with hand-drawn signs), and television (using black-and-white cinematography). Additionally, “Hope in a Jar” provides us with how we, as a human society, are so molded by expectation and hope that we are willing to reach for things that have a significant impact on our mood and outlook on life. Essentially, we look to products to fulfill what we desire, what we expect, or what we hope for, and this is not unlike what a bank should be striving to achieve. As a business, it should meet the expectations of individuals while still offering more so that they are wholly satisfied.

To a lesser, but nonetheless important, extent, the chapter “Under Pressure” also catches our eye due to its focus on peer influence. To further investigate this topic, however, we would suggest reading The Ultimate Question 2.0, one of our favorite recommended reading materials.

What we felt that Brandwashed was lacking was the concrete evidence that would solidify Martin’s findings and claims. Much of what is stated is referenced, yet lacks any hard data that can show the effectiveness of the concepts. In particular, we noticed that while we agreed with some of the claims, we could not say that our agreement would be shared by a considerable number of people – there simply is not enough evidence to support this. The material is interesting, yet is not substantially different than what can be glazed from simple observation or elementary marketing techniques. Yes, there is more depth to the book than what a glance into the industry can offer, but it is not significant enough to warrant a full book on the topic, especially with Buyology targeting much of the content as well. What we were looking for was a book with genuine insight into the world of marketing, but what we received was a book that spent half its time covering the basics and the other half touching on new, interesting topics.

Marketing visionary Martin Lindstrom has been on the front lines of the branding wars for over twenty years. Here, he turns the spotlight on his own industry, drawing on all he has witnessed behind closed doors, exposing for the first time the full extent of the psychological tricks and traps that companies devise to win our hard-earned dollars.

Picking up from where Vance Packard’s bestselling classic, The Hidden Persuaders, left off more than half-a-century ago, Lindstrom reveals:

• New findings that reveal how advertisers and marketers intentionally target children at an alarmingly young age – starting when they are still in the womb!
• Shocking results of an fMRI study which uncovered what heterosexual men really think about when they see sexually provocative advertising (hint: it isn’t their girlfriends).
• How marketers and retailers stoke the flames of public panic and capitalize on paranoia over global contagions, extreme weather events, and food contamination scares.
• The first ever neuroscientific evidence proving how addicted we all are to our iPhones and our Blackberry’s (and the shocking reality of cell phone addiction – it can be harder to shake than addictions to drugs and alcohol).
• How companies of all stripes are secretly mining our digital footprints to uncover some of the most intimate details of our private lives, then using that information to target us with ads and offers ‘perfectly tailored’ to our psychological profiles.
• How certain companies, like the maker of one popular lip balm, purposely adjust their formulas in order to make their products chemically addictive.
• What a 3-month long guerilla marketing experiment, conducted specifically for this book, tells us about the most powerful hidden persuader of them all.
• And much, much more.

This searing expose introduces a new class of tricks, techniques, and seductions – the Hidden Persuaders of the 21st century- and shows why they are more insidious and pervasive than ever.

Brandwashed is a book that is easy to read and interesting for the average consumer as well as the learned businesses executive. The book itself has been praised by people who span the gamut from Regular Joe to Tyra Banks, and that just shows how open and interesting the information can be. The book gives wonderful insight into the basics and major questions of marketing, but the real value comes when those concepts are placed in the hands of a businessperson who is looking to grow their brand or a marketer looking for new techniques to pursue. While there is no application methods in the book, there is ample room for a creative mind to apply what the book contains to a new venture or even a current business to improve the memorability and appeal of a brand.