Tweet
if you could sell them the dot com bubble, and then the housing bubble, future pitches must be without limits ... let the games begin 
A.K. Pradeep mines the brain for marketers
A.K. Pradeep, who talks incessantly as he bounds around his sweltering Berkeley office, has only one thing on his mind.
The mind.
Pradeep is a neuromarketer: He studies the inner workings of the human brain to find out not how people react to an array of stimuli, but why. He advises companies of all kinds - from banking to pharmaceutical to grocery chains - on how the female brain is different from the male brain, and how the young brain is unlike an old brain.
"Neuroscience opens up people's desires, prejudices and all of the other things that rattle around in our subconscious," said Pradeep, who earned his doctorate in engineering from UC Berkeley and started his career as a scientist at General Electric.
In his new book, "The Buying Brain: Secrets for Selling to the Subconscious Mind," Pradeep provides insights into the human supercomputer, which contains 100 billion neurons. And while his focus has been on marketing, Pradeep believes that selling is but one application of the nascent science.
"The science is galloping, and has a youthful vitality," said Pradeep. "It is where physics was at the turn of the past century, when Einstein had just discovered theories of relativity."
Pradeep says the audience for the book is marketers, researchers and brand managers, as well as teachers and parents. He offers insights into the brain at various ages, from youth to old age.
"We need to learn to talk to teenagers," he said, speaking quickly. "With kids ages 11 to 14, you need to know that the emotional parts of the brain have developed faster than the reasoning part of the brain. Trying to reason with them is a waste of time." Instead, he said, "Teenagers find safety in numbers. They 'flock together' for a reason. So, if you want to reach them, don't say, 'I'll take away your allowance,' but instead say, 'I'll take away your computer time.' That is a time when the kids connect with their flock."
Women.
Pradeep marvels over the missed marketing to women.
"Most ads are designed by guys and for guys," he said, pacing the hot room. "The woman, though, is responsible for a trillion dollars in spending. She is the primary shopper, the buyer for home, the feeder of kids, the one who clothes the kids. Yet most ads are designed by guys for guys. The disconnect is unbelievable.
"Marketers are waking up to the fact that the female brain has four times as many neurons connecting the right and left hemisphere, greatly enhancing its ability to process information through both rational and emotional filters - a fact that must not be ignored when crafting a message."
Boomers.
A majority of marketers also miss when connecting with the Baby Boomer brain.
"A brain over 60 has learned to ignore negative messaging," he said. "So pharmaceutical companies that say, 'If you don't take this pill, this will happen,' or 'If you don't take care of your retirement, it will disappear.' Those approaches are ignored. There are so many insights like this that have a profound effect."
Much of his understanding of neuroscience has come through brain scans that track electrochemical spikes signifying attention, memory and emotion. The lab at NeuroFocus, Pradeep's company, creates virtual realities - of stores, displays and products - to test responses from study participants who wear caps equipped with electrodes.
Big potential
"I think neuromarketing will be a discipline at every university. We will have neuro design. Neuro economics. Neuro ratings. Neuro studies for trial lawyers. A neuro browser."
Looking toward the door, he noted that he had seven minutes until his next meeting.
"People try to get answers through focus groups, which is not effective," he said. "What we are about is unraveling the human mystery of the brain, and by doing so, we believe we can build a more effective society."
E-mail Julian Guthrie at jguthrie@sfchronicle.com.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...DD071FU0G5.DTL
old school
A.K. Pradeep mines the brain for marketers
A.K. Pradeep, who talks incessantly as he bounds around his sweltering Berkeley office, has only one thing on his mind.
The mind.
Pradeep is a neuromarketer: He studies the inner workings of the human brain to find out not how people react to an array of stimuli, but why. He advises companies of all kinds - from banking to pharmaceutical to grocery chains - on how the female brain is different from the male brain, and how the young brain is unlike an old brain.
"Neuroscience opens up people's desires, prejudices and all of the other things that rattle around in our subconscious," said Pradeep, who earned his doctorate in engineering from UC Berkeley and started his career as a scientist at General Electric.
In his new book, "The Buying Brain: Secrets for Selling to the Subconscious Mind," Pradeep provides insights into the human supercomputer, which contains 100 billion neurons. And while his focus has been on marketing, Pradeep believes that selling is but one application of the nascent science.
"The science is galloping, and has a youthful vitality," said Pradeep. "It is where physics was at the turn of the past century, when Einstein had just discovered theories of relativity."
Pradeep says the audience for the book is marketers, researchers and brand managers, as well as teachers and parents. He offers insights into the brain at various ages, from youth to old age.
"We need to learn to talk to teenagers," he said, speaking quickly. "With kids ages 11 to 14, you need to know that the emotional parts of the brain have developed faster than the reasoning part of the brain. Trying to reason with them is a waste of time." Instead, he said, "Teenagers find safety in numbers. They 'flock together' for a reason. So, if you want to reach them, don't say, 'I'll take away your allowance,' but instead say, 'I'll take away your computer time.' That is a time when the kids connect with their flock."
Women.
Pradeep marvels over the missed marketing to women.
"Most ads are designed by guys and for guys," he said, pacing the hot room. "The woman, though, is responsible for a trillion dollars in spending. She is the primary shopper, the buyer for home, the feeder of kids, the one who clothes the kids. Yet most ads are designed by guys for guys. The disconnect is unbelievable.
"Marketers are waking up to the fact that the female brain has four times as many neurons connecting the right and left hemisphere, greatly enhancing its ability to process information through both rational and emotional filters - a fact that must not be ignored when crafting a message."
Boomers.
A majority of marketers also miss when connecting with the Baby Boomer brain.
"A brain over 60 has learned to ignore negative messaging," he said. "So pharmaceutical companies that say, 'If you don't take this pill, this will happen,' or 'If you don't take care of your retirement, it will disappear.' Those approaches are ignored. There are so many insights like this that have a profound effect."
Much of his understanding of neuroscience has come through brain scans that track electrochemical spikes signifying attention, memory and emotion. The lab at NeuroFocus, Pradeep's company, creates virtual realities - of stores, displays and products - to test responses from study participants who wear caps equipped with electrodes.
Big potential
"I think neuromarketing will be a discipline at every university. We will have neuro design. Neuro economics. Neuro ratings. Neuro studies for trial lawyers. A neuro browser."
Looking toward the door, he noted that he had seven minutes until his next meeting.
"People try to get answers through focus groups, which is not effective," he said. "What we are about is unraveling the human mystery of the brain, and by doing so, we believe we can build a more effective society."
E-mail Julian Guthrie at jguthrie@sfchronicle.com.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...DD071FU0G5.DTL
old school
Comment