Neuroscience and branding: How to design brands that stick in consumers’ minds

In this crazy world of branding, where so many logos and slogans are trying to scream out to be noticed, success may somehow come out from the highest complexity of the human mind. A brand is neuroscientifically put as an ultimate pattern of connectivity in the minds of the consumers. It encompasses the totality of the emotional and semantic associations that consumers have come to understand that the brand represents.

This associative pattern is what gives the brand its symbolic meaning. When you aggregate everybody's most generalized associations toward a given brand, you get the brand image.

Neuroscience offers a goldmine of insights that can help brands not only capture attention but also stick in the minds of consumers. Let’s dive into how understanding the brain can revolutionize your branding strategy.

The power of associations

Brands are essentially bundles of associations stored in the brain’s temporal lobe, a region responsible for processing sensory input and encoding memory. When you first encounter a brand name like "Amul," it may seem unremarkable. Over time, however, the brain begins to associate it with various stimuli—delicious butter, the iconic Amul girl, and the tagline "The Taste of India." These associations form a complex, interlocking web in your brain, making the brand more recognizable and memorable.

Amul has expertly built strong associations over decades. By consistently linking its products with quality, nostalgia, and patriotism, Amul has cemented its place in the minds of Indian consumers.

Learning: Use the same visual and verbal elements across all marketing channels to reinforce your brand identity. 

The emotional connection

Brands succeed not when they are just recognized but when they evoke an emotional connection. Emotions play a critical role in enhancing memory and decision-making. Positive emotions induced create deeper memory structures, since emotional processing and memory formation are well linked to one another in the brain.

Tata is a brand that makes its appeal towards trust, reliability, and national pride. With a stable delivery of these emotional promises, Tata has managed to create an emotional bond with the consumer that is stronger. Imagine the brain giving Tata a warm, fuzzy hug every time you think of it.

Learning: Develop stories that would result in feelings and also empower the brand with life through sentimentality and make it stick. Look at it as if you were creating a good rom-com for your brand—thankfully with fewer awkward misunderstandings and more heartfelt connections.

Sensory engagement

Engaging many senses in an experience of the brand makes it more memorable. The fact is that the brain processes information through most sensory channels, so engaging all five senses in brand experience leads to more powerful formation of the memory. This is why high-quality visuals, sounds, textures, and even scents can enhance brand recall​.

Starbucks is a master of sensory branding. The odour of freshly brewed coffee, the warmth of their stores, and the good looking design of their cups is a multi-sensory brand experience that keeps customers returning.

Learning: Create multi-sensory experiences that make your brand more memorable. Just don’t overdo it—nobody wants a scented bank statement.

The role of repetition

Repeated exposure creates newly solidified neural pathways, which makes it easier to bring this information to recall. The repetition made using identical logos, slogans, and color theme in all ads through any channel of communication makes that brand stronger in the consumer's mind.

The repetition effect through different medium has been impeccably validated by McDonald's. The golden arches, the jingle "I'm Lovin' It," and the consistent use of red and yellow colours all play a role in building a strong and easily recognizable brand identity.

Learning: Reinforce key messages and brand elements through consistent repetition. Repetition isn’t just for parrots and annoying siblings—it works for brands too!

Cognitive biases and branding

Understanding cognitive biases can also enhance branding efforts. One such bias is the anchoring effect, which explains that people heavily refer to the first piece of information presented while making their decisions. Brands may leverage this fact by having their best offer first, thereby setting a positive anchor point in the minds of consumers.

Flipkart often anchors its products with a competitive price tag during its Big Billion Days sale, forming an expectation of value and savings in the consumer's mind. On the other hand, Apple often anchors its products with premium pricing, which forms an expectation of high value and quality.

Learning: Present your most attractive offer first to set a positive anchor point in consumers’ minds. First impressions matter—just ask anyone who’s ever been on a blind date.

Research-driven branding

To create brands that resonate deeply with consumers, thorough research is essential. Thus, one needs comprehensive research on branding speaking to the consumer. Neuroimaging, along with fMRI, allows visualization of how various brand elements do affect the brain activity physically. Data of such type can, thus be applied to a brand strategy to make sure it is relevant to the consumer cognitive and emotional templates.

Asian Paints applies comprehensive research regarding consumer expectations as well as emotional insights to comprehend regional preferences and emotional triggers that enable them to effective communication.

Learning: Use neuroimaging and other research methods to understand your audience’s cognitive and emotional responses. It’s like giving your brand a PhD in consumer behaviour.

Brands can make strong, lasting bonds with consumers by sourcing neuroscience principles. The brand achieves this by creating strong associations, engaging the senses, and making use of cognitive biases that the brain offers in abundance, all aimed at making your brand unforgettable.

(Our guest author is Shashwat Das, Founder of Almond Branding)