Brands’ Mind Games

Brands make decisions regarding advertising, product design, store design, promotions and all their similar activities by considering much more than meets the eye. With the products, advertisements and other elements that emerge as a result of skillful decisions, they actually manage our perception and direct us to the desired choice.

As a result of many researches, it is tried to make the right choices that will create the desired perception in the consumer and increase the sales rate. So nothing is a coincidence.

Every detail you see when you enter a store is chosen to create a certain perception.

Brands make decisions about their stores by considering much more than just location and attractive interior design. Every detail and more that you can think of, from signage to floor and wall color, from shelf type to in-store layout, is selected and created by brands through research.

Shelf layout, wall and floor colors, lighting, corridor and space width and many other items are chosen to both encourage the shopping process of consumers and direct the perception towards the brand.

Even the positioning of the products in the store is done for the purpose of creating perception.

Brands that divide the interior of the store into sections, while trying to highlight the discount and price in a section, can create sections where price and discount are not at the forefront, as if they were in a different store, one or two steps away.

The reason for this is to try to play with the consumer perception as the “quality” or “luxury” part of that brand by creating a sub-brand within the brand.

While choosing the colors to be used, the meanings they represent are taken into account.

Each color creates a different perception in consumers. For example, the color red is perceived as strong, exciting, warm and sensual, while the color blue is perceived as cool, calm and respectable. Color selection in stores is made according to the meaning of the colors and in accordance with the area where the color will be used.

For example, in supermarkets, natural colors such as white and beige are preferred because the aim is to keep the customer inside for longer and to create a clean perception.

Brands design fragrances for their purposes.

Brands want consumers to spend more time in their stores. Another factor they take into account to ensure this is the smell.

Brands specifically choose fragrances that will both make the consumer weaker and reduce their bargaining power, and keep them in stores for a long time.

Studies show that each smell causes a different behavior in people.

For example, it is known that people spend more time in places with vanilla and cinnamon scents.

According to a study, fragrant products are found 84% more attractive by consumers.

Brands use the power of fragrance both in their products and in their stores. For example, the Aber & Crombie brand also sprays fragrances on the products it sells. In this way, consumers can distinguish the brand’s products by their smell.

Music also affects our behavior and therefore our purchasing preferences.

Studies have found that slow-tempo music slows down movements, while fast-paced music accelerates movements.

Brands choose slower-paced music if they want customers to spend more time in the store, and faster-paced music if they want them to get in and out quickly.

According to a study, jazz music makes us spend more money.

Research has investigated how musical genres cause behaviors. For example, jazz music makes us spend more money, while classical music makes us turn to luxury brands.

Not only the music played in the store, but also the sounds of the products have an effect on perception.

For example, the sound that comes out when applying deodorant was actually created by the “Axe” company by spending millions. As a result of the researches, it was determined that women and men are affected by different hertz sounds, and products with different hertz sound were produced in both women’s and men’s deodorants.

The reason why advertisements are given especially in the evening is because it is the moment when the person is most vulnerable.

Although it is much cheaper to advertise during the day, brands advertise especially at the busiest times. Advertisements given in the evening and night zones are the moments when people are most tired and rested. For this reason, brands choose to advertise during this time period, as they can more easily influence consumers.

The reason why brands such as Netflix do not license some popular broadcasts for a long time is to create fear of missing out.

Netflix, which can normally get a long-term license for a newly released broadcast, does this to restrict the procrastination behavior of viewers.

Knowing that not every broadcast will be there forever, the person starts to watch a broadcast that he normally postpones earlier, fearing that it may be removed at any moment.

By skillfully using the factors we mentioned and many more, brands can actually manage our perception without even knowing it. Even though we, as consumers, are actually very vulnerable and weak in the face of brands, can we say that brands have succeeded in making us believe that this is what we want?

Source: Research Gate, DergiPark, Academic Link