We frequently field questions asking if expensive name brands are better than other products (See e.l.f. as an example.). Our answers usually deal with the functional aspects of the formulas and we routinely find that there are good and bad quality products at all price points.
Why advertising works
But here’s a scientific study we found that sheds some light on WHY people tend to like these expensive (and usually well advertised) brands better. According to this article on brains and branding, researchers at University Hospital in Munich Germany used Magnetic Resonance Imaging technology to scan people’s brains while they were shown different brand logos. The more popular logos “lit up areas of the brain associated with warm emotions, reward and self-identity while less-recognized brands triggered more activity in brain regions associated with working memory and negative emotions — suggesting these products were less easy to process and accept.
Hmmm. Maybe that explains why I start to drool when looking at the Tiffany catalog.
This study is part of a new scientific trend called neuroeconomics in which psychologists, neuroscientists, radiologists and marketing experts work together to unravel the mysteries of the consumer’s mind. Fascinating stuff but just a little bit scary!
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This reminds me of the experiments they were doing in the 90’s when redesigning the McDonalds restraunts. They found that certain color tones made people more likly to purchase more food. Now when you walk into a McDonalds, take special note of the color schemes they use these days.
I think that brands are an important however. Regardless of whether you are brainwashed into using it, people identify and personify their brand, and this is something that everyperson needs as affirmation. Shelly @ http://www.medsocial.com