Danger, Sex and Food

I thought that would get your attention. But have you ever asked yourself why those topics seem to stop people in their tracks? I just read a book called Neuro Web Design by Susan Weinschenk that helps explain this and the plethera of media products using these three simple topics.

It seems that we have an old brain, mid brain and a new brain.

• The old brain is pretty much fixated on our survival.


• The mid brain processes our emotions.


• The new brain likes to think things over, read, play music, apply logic.

Old and Mid Brains Rule

The old and mid brains' processing occurs without us knowing that it's happening and they affect us more than our new brain. Most of the decision making and behavior is governed by this unconscious processing. "So what?" you ask. The implication is that we cannot separate our conscious acts from the unconscious - thus a marketing opportunity.

As marketers, all we need to do to get someone's unconscious attention is to use the following triggers:

• Do or show something threatening


• Show a change in the environment/landscape


• Show food


• Imply sex

Think about what you see on commercials. They might have one or all of the triggers thus gaining our old brain's attention without us realizing it. We are on heightened alert, a great time for the marketer to zap us with their message. Top television shows and movies have at least one of the topics. The most popular stories on cnn.com NewsPulse confirm this:

There is a change in the Cowboy's environment, food (Twinkies) is mentioned, and the last two stories are about danger and death. Although this is certainly not a scientific method of analyzing this, it was interesting to see the top stories (most popular) on cnn.com somewhat confirms this post. Why they are popular on cnn.com is another story. Could be placement on the page, etc.

The Old Brain and the Web

Because the old brain is all about "you", an online experience should be designed to speak to "you" with language that gets the old brain's attention. That's why using the words "you" on a website are so impactful. The old brain constantly scans for changes in the environment. That is why movement in ads on the web gets our attention, or images that cycle through. Of course, one needs to be concious of the audience of the site, too much movement creates an unpleasant user experience for some users.

So, if you want to get someone's attention, just use one or all of the triggers or cater to the "you" in all of us. We are simple creatures after all.

References

Weinschenk, S. (2009). Neuro web design what makes them click? Berkely, CA: New riders

Images:
cnn.com
http://www.toonpool.com/cartoons/teenage%20caveman_9475