I love that it is finally spring! At last I can spend some quality time outside. In fact, I am currently outside writing this post.
Not that I haven’t been going outside all winter, but it makes a difference when you don’t have to change what you were wearing inside to go outside (ie. add an extra three layers).
While I’ve been soaking up the sun, as it were, I noticed something that shocked me. And since I’m not sure of the actual marketing or psychological term for it, I’ll just call it subliminal learning.
What happened as I was sitting in a cafe overlooking a park (and incidentally, an intersection) was I saw a row of cars lined up, waiting for a light to change green. As I sat, I noticed that on the grill of each car was a company logo for the car’s manufacturer. I thought it might be fun to see if I could recognize the logos and match them with the company they represent.
As I began to play the game, I surprised myself. Ford, Nissan, Lexus, Chevrolet… I was brilliant at it! I hardly missed a single brand.
And naturally, the psychologist that I am had to step back and analyze what just happened. How was it that I was so good at this game? I never owned, purchased, or shopped for a car. The only company I really grew up with was Toyota, since that was the only brand my parents owned. I don’t even watch very much television.
However, regardless of my ignorance of automobiles, I can tell you, just by looking at the company’s logo, its name and probably a few models they sell. I attribute this knowledge to subliminal learning.
Subliminal learning is when one is taught to make a particular association without conscious thought. This is very similar to basic conditioning theories in psychology; however, I think of subliminal learning as a broader term. Subliminal learning encompasses conditioning, but also brand loyalty and other similar effects. “Brand loyalty” is a marketing term which refers to a customer preferring one brand of a product over others. This is often achieved using vague and generalized assertions or without the customer’s awareness at all.
In my case, I did not gain a sense of loyalty to any particular company, but I’ve learned the differences between them. This was done with television commercials, word of mouth, and other ads (magazines, billboards, t-shirts, etc.). Often times people have preconceived notions about companies or products, yet they are unable to say just when or where they learned the information. This, I would argue, is due to subliminal learning.
I have a friend who absolutely hates when others talk about TV commercials and describe them as funny or clever. He’ll often say quite airily, “It’s not a good commercial because it doesn’t make me want to buy the product.” I once told him that he was missing the point. The goal of a commercial ad is not necessarily to make someone want to rush out an buy a product. More often, the goal is just to be noticed. And if it caused a group of people to talk about how clever it was, it was certainly effective in this venture.
As long as an ad can grab your attention, then the information it provides is, to some extent, getting through. You may not understand or retain all of the information you are given, but it is often enough for you to subconsciously make a decision about the product or company.
I say all this about subliminal learning not to attack any marketing people or companies. As far as I’m concerned, subliminal learning is just a product of the world we live in. I don’t know that it is a “problem” needing a solution. It is what it is. I don’t like that, through subliminal learning, I’ve made associations that may or may not be accurate or useful to me, but I figure it is bound to happen in such a viral world. Even if the companies did not intend to have this effect (though, most certainly do), it would still occur to some extent.
Just another thing to think about.
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you know street saint, one of the reasons these brand got their way into our minds is that they put their ads everywhere, streets, TV, radio and almost everywhere that we might go to
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This is very true. Advertising does not end at home, at the TV screen anymore. It is on billboards, T-shirts, cell phones, and any other purchasable nook of space a company can find. New technology has opened the door for new ways to reach the consumer.