How to Apply Psychology + Neuroscience Insights to Digital Marketing

Recent advances in neuroscience and psychology have given us a clearer understanding of how the human mind works. For marketers, nonprofits, brands, or anyone looking to persuade other humans to take an action to support a cause or company, these insights offer a critical framework for designing effective creative, writing actionable ad copy, and setting winning marketing strategy in general. The key insight seems to affirm what many marketers have long suspected: ads that appeal to human emotion are typically more effective than ads that appeal to rationality. But why?

How do humans make decisions?

Although we humans have long championed the fact that we primarily use reason when making decisions, surprisingly, scientific research from the last few decades has largely overturned this assumption. Instead, the research shows that humans usually make decisions based on automatic processes like intuitions and emotions (often happening beneath our conscious awareness), and then our rational minds provide us with post hoc justifications for the judgments our intuitions have decided upon. The psychologist Johnathan Haidt uses the metaphor “The Elephant and the Rider” to describe how our intuition (the much larger and more powerful elephant) is truly in charge of our cognition and decision-making, while our logical, analytical mind (the much smaller rider) tells itself that it’s calling the shots since it holds the reigns. (1)

Image from Paul Vanderklay

How are intuitions formed?

Intuitions are formed through a complex combination of our genetic makeup and our lived experience. (2) According to neuroscientist Gary Marcus, the human brain is like a book, and this book’s first draft is ‘written’ by genes during fetal development. The totality of our experience - including our relationships, environment, education, etc. - continually revises our brains. Accordingly, a person’s neural makeup, informed by genetics and experience, determines the way she responds to a particular stimulus or ad with a certain intuition or judgment over time. (3)

How does a person *decide* to act on an ad?

The science suggests that the flow of ad-based decision-making works something like this: when a prospective customer, client, or donor sees your ad, the ad’s visual elements and copy immediately trigger a subconscious response informed by that particular customer’s genes and experience (“Oooh, I should support this nonprofit!’) that the prospect will then rationalize with her conscious mind (“This organization does great work and this is a cause that’s important to me”), leading to a donation. An effective digital ad thus makes strong visual and verbal appeals to a prospective customer’s intuition, which ideally triggers a supportive action. But, as we know, creating an ad that actually sparks that supportive action in a material number of prospects is easier said than done.

Can reasoning have any effect?

Yes. Reasoning can still help shape intuitions, especially when rational points are embedded within a good story, a movie, art, or a friendly conversation, which provide an emotional foundation. (4) Additionally, some research suggests that strictly logical appeals tend to work well for advertising “essential” products, like medicine or household appliances. (5) But it is important to keep in mind that any advertisement should still attempt to make a play to a prospective customer’s emotion / intuition, even while the ad also puts forth valid justifications for the worthiness of the product or service. 

Research from the nonprofit sector in particular brings some unexpected insights. Strangely, a study has shown that presenting evidence of a charity’s organizational efficacy - a solidly rational approach to soliciting contributions - can actually reduce donations in some circumstances. (6) Another study showed that purely emotional ad content outperformed both purely rational content AND content that combined emotional and rational content. (7)

Image from neurosciencemarketing.com

What does this mean for marketing?

Good marketers have long understood the value in appealing to a prospective customer’s emotions. Now, the science affirms this approach, and new insights into human decision making and conversion psychology are being uncovered every day. Brands must take a close look at how their marketing campaigns play to consumers’ emotions and intuitions to ensure they’re running effective ads. 

Considerations for building an ad that activates viewers’ emotions

To build an effective ad, first consider which emotional modules you’d like to activate, whether it’s empathy (like in the heart-strings-tugging dog arthritis ad below), happiness, trust, authority, or something else. Then, run through the creative elements that can affect the ad’s emotional appeal, with an emphasis on the ad’s image. Some of these considerations include whether to use a static image, animation or video; your hero image choice; the image’s color and size; whether the person in your creative is making eye contact with the viewer; your message’s length; the diction you choose; the font color; etc. - the list goes on and on. Assessing the ad platform (Facebook, Google Search, display) bears additional thought, with research on tracking eye movements, for example, shedding new light on how consumers actually view or ignore ads depending on the digital context. (8) Studies have also shown that certain demographics may respond to ads differently, so it’s imperative to do your homework to know what makes your target audience ‘click,’ and then to design your creative from there. (9)

Image from The Psychology of Facebook Ads

Take the time to consider how the combination of your ad’s visual aesthetic and its carefully-crafted message might play to the intuitions of your target audience. Is your law firm looking to attract new clients? Consider how using the color blue in your ad might imbue a calming effect that suggests a steady hand to guide clients through a difficult time. (10) Are you a nonprofit pursuing online donations now that the pandemic that has rendered in-person fundraising infeasible? Think about the images that best appeal to your top online donor demographics based on available research and design a rigorous test to see what works.

No matter the domain, keeping a watchful eye on the latest discoveries in human psychology and neuroscience will be required for any brand or nonprofit looking to run successful ad campaigns through 2021 and beyond.

References:

1) J. Haidt, The Righteous Mind, 2012, p. 45

2) Haidt, p. 130

3) G. Marcus, The Birth of the Mind, 2004, p. 40

4) Haidt, p. 71

5) P. Inman, “Psychology of Advertising,” 5/1/2019

6) C. Fiennes, “Presenting assessments of a charity’s performance doesn’t necessarily increase donations,” 2/17/2015

7) R. Dooley, “Emotional Ads Work Best,” 7/27/2009

8) E. Higgins, “Eye Movements when Viewing Advertisements,” March 2014

9) T. Tiechert, How to Implement Informational and Emotional Appeals in Print Advertisements, 9/1/2018

10) H. van Braam, “The Color Psychology of Blue,” 10/9/2020

Image courtesy of Decision Making: Factors that Influence Decision Making, Heuristics Used, and Decision Outcomes