Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy

The results and examples are useful to anyone who has studied such subliminal effects through market research, for the scientifically-inclined among marketing and market research professionals. The neuroscience study is comprehensive, scientific and impressive in its scope. Anyone who has marveled in the early studies of subliminal advertising and how to engage the senses to better market their products, brand or ads will find this an entertaining study with many anecdotes to back it up. It also provides some surprising insights such as how strong brands can activate the same brain centers as religious topics or how negative messages can motivate desires just as much as positive messages do.

As with many academic studies, the end result often seems to be stating the obvious in very scientific terms. This validates some of the already-held premises, but seems limited in terms of breakthroughs in terms of application of theory. We found it to be somewhat heavy on the anecdotal, which some have went as far to say that the same could have been accomplished in a scientific article, rather than a 200+ page book. The book also fails to present more details of the results of the study and link it in more detail to the anecdotes or its examples of many ad campaigns.

How much do we know about why we buy? What truly influences our decisions in today’s message-cluttered world? An eye-grabbing advertisement, a catchy slogan, an infectious jingle? Or do our buying decisions take place below the surface, so deep within our subconscious minds, we’re barely aware of them?

In Buyology, Lindstrom, who was voted one of Time Magazine’s most influential people of 2009, presents the astonishing findings from his groundbreaking, three-year, seven-million-dollar neuromarketing study, a cutting-edge experiment that peered inside the brains of 2,000 volunteers from all around the world as they encountered various ads, logos, commercials, brands, and products. His startling results shatter much of what we have long believed about what seduces our interest and drives us to buy.

Filled with entertaining inside stories about how we respond to such well-known brands as Marlboro, Nokia, Calvin Klein, Ford, and American Idol, Buyology is a fascinating and shocking journey into the mind of today’s consumer that will captivate anyone who’s been seduced – or turned off – by marketers’ relentless attempts to win our loyalty, our money, and our minds.

This book provides useful reference material for anyone involved in advertising, marketing or even product design.  It should also be of interest to students of marketing for its research content and findings. The results of this study, such as how negative messages can activate positive desires or how indirect advertising can be more effective than direct, can be useful for anyone in the above professions, at the very least to provide additional validation for their previous research findings.