3 Keys to Creating a Lasting Impression

1. keys to
creating
a lasting
impressionand influencing
consumer
behavior
3
B y D r . I t i e l D r o r , P h D ,
c o g n i t i v e n e u r o s c i e n t i s t w i t h
U n i v e r s i t y C o l l e g e L o n d o n
c o m pi l e d b y J o e B a r g m a n n
f o r O g i lv y & M at h e r

2. 3 k e y s t o c r e at i n g a l a s t i n g i m p r e s s i o n
a n d i n f l u e n c i n g c o n s u m e r b e h av i o r
D
r. Itiel Dror, PhD, a cognitive
neuroscientist with University College
London, teamed up with Nir Wegrzyn,
the CEO of London-based BrandOpus,
for a heady session about human perception and
memory, and the way they influence behavior.
Dror offered these three keys to creating a lasting
impression and influencing consumer behavior.

3. 1
3 k e y s t o c r e at i n g a l a s t i n g i m p r e s s i o n
a n d i n f l u e n c i n g c o n s u m e r b e h av i o r
Make messages
into memory.
“Quirky” ideas and images, ones that trigger an
emotional response, are more likely to take hold than are those
that appeal to rationality, Dror says. “You can have the best
marketing, advertising, and branding, but if a consumer looks at
it and it’s not going to their brain, you are doing nothing. If they
see it, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to remember
it. What does the brain pay attention to, and what does it not
pay attention to? What can we do to engage the brain? The
human mind is not a camera. It is influenced by emotion.”

4. 2
3 k e y s t o c r e at i n g a l a s t i n g i m p r e s s i o n
a n d i n f l u e n c i n g c o n s u m e r b e h av i o r
“Different parts of the brain do different things, Dror
says. “In policing, you have to train the correct part of the brain.
Under time pressure, it’s a different part of the brain that makes
a decision. It’s not enough to get in the head, into the brain—
you need to get to the part of the brain that does the cognitive
work. We need to harness the consumer’s brain. We need to
look at the mechanisms. You have to learn what they actually
know, not what they think they know. Cognitive neuroscience
to make what you do much more powerful and effective.”
Understand
How the Mind Works.

5. 3
3 k e y s t o c r e at i n g a l a s t i n g i m p r e s s i o n
a n d i n f l u e n c i n g c o n s u m e r b e h av i o r
The goal of all branding and marketing efforts
should be to place a product into the part of the brain
perspective can change, and drive behavior. Dror refers to
this as the area with “sunshine and a feeling of warmth.
You want the consumer to be feeling something about the
product that they didn’t feel before.” When you achieve this,
you are more likely to influence a consumer’s behavior.
TurnThought
into Action.