{"id":136375,"date":"2021-09-09T15:15:18","date_gmt":"2021-09-09T14:15:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/?p=136375"},"modified":"2021-09-20T16:34:41","modified_gmt":"2021-09-20T15:34:41","slug":"how-to-strengthen-connections-to-your-brand-with-neuro-pr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/blog\/how-to-strengthen-connections-to-your-brand-with-neuro-pr\/","title":{"rendered":"How to strengthen connections to your brand with neuro PR"},"content":{"rendered":"

Using neuro connections to form unconscious and potentially unbreakable bonds between brands and consumers \u2013 sounds kind of sci-fi<\/a>, perhaps. But don\u2019t be worried \u2013 it\u2019s perfectly natural.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why are we drawn to particular cans of baked beans when we\u2019re shopping, even if we don\u2019t care what they taste like? Why is it so automatic to blurt out a certain chocolate bar\u2019s tagline when someone mentions \u2018taking a break\u2019? This is the power of the subconscious and it\u2019s something Harvey & Hugo<\/a> PR\u2019s managing director and Leader of the Pack Charlotte Nichols believes all PRs need to be aware of as part of their work.<\/p>\n

Leading our latest webinar<\/a> Neuro PR: Strengthening the Brain and Brand Connection, Charlotte showed that good PR takes the way our minds work into account and works with it. If your mind is now conjuring up those old stories of cinemas splicing pictures of popcorn into the adverts before films to boost concession sales, certain scenes of similar splices in Fight Club<\/em> or the messages hidden in billboards in They Live<\/em><\/a>, be assured that neuro PR isn\u2019t anywhere near as nefarious \u2013 it\u2019s just very clever.<\/p>\n

Here are some of the useful ways Charlotte shared for creating memorable campaigns and locking in loyalty with brain science\u2026<\/p>\n

Get eyes, and brains, on you<\/span><\/strong>
\n\u2018We don\u2019t see with our eyes, we see with our brain. We think we\u2019re in control of our focus – we\u2019re not,\u2019 said Charlotte.<\/p>\n

\u2018For example, think of \u2018the cocktail party effect\u2019. You\u2019re deep in conversation with someone. All of a sudden, you hear your name from somewhere else in the room. Your subconscious scans the room all the time, no matter where you are, and picks up little alerts.<\/p>\n

\u2018When you say \u201cI\u2019ve got a feeling about it\u201d, it\u2019s actually your subconscious. Often, we make decisions with our \u2018gut feeling\u2019, then use our rational thoughts to justify our decisions.<\/p>\n

\u2018In the marketing sector, people say that \u201cadverts don\u2019t work\u201d. Sometimes you can\u2019t remember the adverts, sure, but it doesn\u2019t mean it hasn\u2019t gone into your brain. It\u2019s always there, in your \u201cgut feeling\u201d.\u2019<\/p>\n

Attract the right kind of attention<\/span><\/strong>
\nFull attention from an audience can have its drawbacks. According to research, there are negatives that come with \u2018high involvement attention\u2019 \u2013 watching a perfume advert \u2013 versus \u2018low involvement attention\u2019 \u2013 checking your phone while the ad plays on a TV on the other side of the room.<\/p>\n

Perhaps while watching a perfume advert, you realise you don\u2019t like the model or actor chosen to represent the product. This can cause \u2018inattentional blindness\u2019 – \u2018where you\u2019re so distracted by one thing, you miss the message,\u2019 says Charlotte. Letting messages seep through into the subconscious may be more effective. Certainly better than a potential customer watching an expensively-produced commercial with an internationally-famous actor and only thinking \u2018Ugh, I really hate that guy<\/a>\u2019.<\/p>\n

Enhance powerful emotions<\/span><\/strong>
\n\u2018Emotions exist to move us as humans,\u2019 says Charlotte. \u2018We feel first and then the brain interprets it.\u2019
\n\u2018Feeling is an unconscious experience – you cannot control the way you feel. We frame things with our rational conscious thought, sometimes even doing that can\u2019t take away the feeling of it.<\/p>\n

\u2018There are also sematic markers when we feel emotions. Sweaty palms – that happens before our brain registers that emotion. We start running from a bear before our brain processes what\u2019s going on. We feel first, and then our brain interprets it. That\u2019s why all these small touch points add up to a massive experience of emotions.\u2019<\/p>\n

Brands that are making good use of their customers\u2019 emotions right now that we can learn from? Charlotte pointed to McDonald\u2019s current focus on friendship groups meeting up again after the isolation of lockdown: \u2018They\u2019re doing really well with their recent ads, it appeals to your emotion \u2013 wanting to meet up with your friends\u2026 and maybe you just really want chips, too.\u2019<\/p>\n

Show your brand\u2019s personality, story and purpose<\/span><\/strong>
\nWhile brands like Tesla push brand personality first and foremost in campaigns focusing on sustainability, there are some standard personality traits that are tried and true, whatever your brand, product or service.<\/p>\n

\u2018Listen and engage,\u2019 says Charlotte.<\/p>\n

\u2018You don\u2019t always have to be doing anything. It can do your brand so well to just listen to your customers \u2013 social media is great for this. It helps build that emotional connection.\u2019<\/p>\n

Make good memories and good first impressions<\/span><\/strong>
\n\u2018The language we use is so important. We\u2019re told imagery is more important, but never underestimate the words we use.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018As PRs, we are the artists of semantic memory networks. You can change these networks, it just takes a long time to do.\u2019<\/p>\n

The saying goes that first impressions are particularly important and, as Charlotte showed, there is evidence to back this up. Brains don\u2019t always want to work so hard – \u2018the brain uses 25% energy at rest,\u2019 shared Charlotte. \u2018You won\u2019t remember something that\u2019s really hard to understand, so don\u2019t underestimate the power of a catchy tagline\u2019.<\/p>\n

Use your brain<\/span><\/strong>
\nAfter all this talk about other people\u2019s brains, don\u2019t forget to make the most of your own. Take time to think and really ruminate about the projects you\u2019re working on.<\/p>\n

\u2018Our subconscious is so powerful. As PRs and marketers, we can be guilty of measuring results the same way, over and over again. Meditation will boost creativity and it\u2019s just good for our health<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2018I believe in the future we\u2019ll be doing more of this to get to know ourselves, and our brands, much more.\u2019<\/p>\n

Watch the webinar here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Want help listening to your audience to make connections? Try out Pulsar\u2019s social listening solutions<\/a> and the Vuelio media database<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Using neuro connections to form unconscious and potentially unbreakable bonds between brands and consumers \u2013 sounds kind of sci-fi, perhaps. But don\u2019t be worried \u2013 it\u2019s perfectly natural. Why are we drawn to particular cans …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":423,"featured_media":136377,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7365,7272,3531,3636],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136375"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/423"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136375"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136375\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":136504,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136375\/revisions\/136504"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}