How do people remember brands?

I love LTP (otherwise known as, Long-Term Potentiation). As Wikipedia defines it, LTP is a 'persistent strengthening of synapses based on recent patterns of activity.' In other words, how your brain remembers things.

I first came across this concept while studying biological psychology and thought making LTP happen is pretty much what I do in my job. As a result, the concept has stuck with me ever since. LTP is the foundation of how our brains work and is critical to how we remember and then recall brands. OK, it’s also pretty handy in helping us recall other stuff as well (like our friend’s birthdays, that recipe for your favourite salad dressing and how to change the oil in your car), but it’s the brand bit I’m really interested in. As all good marketers know, the easier and faster your brand is recalled compared to all other brands, the more chance you have of being purchased. In understanding LTP, we gain access to valuable clues as how to create the greatest chance of your brand being chosen.?

How does LTP work? Let’s start by taking a look at the rather sciency-y diagram below. You've got a bunch of Neurons - otherwise known as the stringy-looking bits - inside your head. They connect via the jelly-esque blobs at the ends.?

When experiencing a piece of stimulus - let’s say, a commercial - if you’ve done your job properly, the synapses activate. Generally speaking, the more the synapses activate, the stronger these connections become. The stronger they become, the faster your brand is recalled and as a result - a lower level of stimulus is required in future to switch those specific synapses on.?

Thus, your goal as a marketer is to try and get those same synapses firing a bunch of times and to make these connections as strong as you possibly can. The stronger these connections are, the more likely your brand will be recalled first, and fastest. Winner, winner chicken dinner. OK, so it’s a bit more complex than that; but these are the basics.?

If you’ve made it through the science part, I bet your next question is: how, as marketers, can we make LTP happen? The answer lies in the definition of LTP. 'Persistent strengthening of synapses based on recent patterns of activity.'

'Persistent'

• Be consistent. What does that mean in the context of marketing? STOP. CHANGING THINGS. Stop changing colours, stop changing packaging, and stop changing campaigns. I know that the new packaging looks amazing and that new logo looks incredible. But the catch is that it's new, and consumers will have to start working on recoding you into their minds again. So put the new logo down and step away from InDesign. Be consistent, be persistent. You want to make it quick and easy for consumers to recognise you - and buy you.?
• In fact, instead of just being consistent, make it easy. To help your consumer recognise the important stuff, keep your colours simple, and remove what detracts from your Memorable Assets. If consumers have to work hard to recognise you and process you, they won’t remember you.

'Strengthening the synapses'

• Being persistent and consistent takes time. And if you don't have time, you need a hefty dose of strengthening.? And one of the best ways to do this is by leveraging emotions = because we absorb memories best when we trigger an emotion.
• This is where the science of the brain meets the science of marketing. We're humans. We don't want to spend 15 seconds watching a TVC processing and rationalising. Instead, create something funny, poignant, interesting or even sad. Trigger some emotion and help strengthen those synaptic connections - fast.

'Recent Patterns of Activity'

• Don't wait too long between talking to your customers. Bursting for eight weeks and then going silent for the next 44 weeks, pretty much means no one is going to think of you for the 44 weeks. You need to be recent, always around, and always be seen. You need to keep tweaking those synapses to become stronger and stronger over time.?

And most of all - remember that doing the work now will save you much more work in the long run - kind of like lifting weights. The work you do today will pay dividends in future when your consumer knows exactly who you are!

Too simple?? I know it's not 63 slides of consumer research about the texture of pasta sauce, while post-rationalising exactly why they prefer the brand Belissimo compared to brand Ciao! However, LTP is the secret to how memories are formed and recalled. If you start thinking about your marketing activities through this biological lens, you can also focus on the activities that will strengthen these connections and stop wasting a bunch of time on stuff that won’t work.?

Interested in more of the science behind LTP and consumer memory making? Check out the link below.??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hZ0keB0MuA

#psychologicalmarketing #branding #advertising