Ever wonder why the structured/desired entry to a supermarket/Markets, Food Court, etc always has a display counter of flowers for sale?
The idea behind the flowers is that hitting you with a product that is highly perishable yet fresh will "prime" you into thinking of freshness, and that you will carry that "freshness" mindset with you all the way back to the discount meat case. It sounds like bullshit -- humans don't connect completely unrelated ideas like that, right? Yet it's confirmed pretty much every time they test it.
It’s called “priming”. Sometimes "priming" is as simple as finding that people will keep a room cleaner if it smells like disinfectant - that subtle reminder is enough to make people think, "This is a clean room, I should keep it clean." But when you see how far they can take this, it gets weird.
It is entirely possible to manipulate people into certain behaviors without them knowing it. We're not talking about subliminal suggestion, the disproven gimmick that claimed it could make people buy products by inserting hidden messages in movies. No, the real technique is priming, and it's as sinister as a windowless white van at a playground.
The next time you see an ad on TV, take a moment to notice the show or scene preceding the ad. Because advertisers are paying more for placement that will prime the viewer. For instance, one US company ran ads for its emergency vehicle service during a commercial break that came right after a car crash scene in The Bourne Supremacy. The idea was for people to ‘associate’ the “accident” with their product and “prime” people to remember them as the first to call in a breakdown or accident.
Oh! - and btw - why do Drs surgeries seem to never have a clock on display - seems that way the further up the medical totem pole you go - and the fastest task that the receptionist/office staff can do is to take your payment. Ever pondered the architectural layout/floorplan of multi clinics? It's real interesting when you look closely at the dynamics in play.
4 comments:
Whole Foods has a flower counter just inside the door...
Very interesting post, John!
Very interesting when one looks at it this way. Never had to think about it before however it does all make sense.
Afternoon TV in Australia consists, mainly, of two genres - Soaps and Kids shows. On the Soaps channels the advert breaks come almost always after some 'crisis event', a dramatic occurrence of some sort - a car accident, finding someone dead, someone getting bashed/shot injured. You can bet that the first advert break after that scene will be either an advert for funeral insurance, compensation lawyers, health funds for elderly, or, life insurance.
Talk about priming the clients?
A new one is an elderly couple taking off on a tour of Australia by caravan and wanting to insure their car and van and shows picturesque scenes of Australia - idyllic. Always occurs after a scene where someone is leaving on a trip/tour.
I agree very interesting and very right when you think about it.
By the way I have Google not Google Chrome.
Gill in Canada
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