Brand priming is the psychological impact a brand has on the future thoughts and actions of consumers. Priming happens when the human brain connects a stimulus (like a logo) to other memories and concepts. The next time a person is exposed to the stimulus, their mind pulls those memories and concepts into their thoughts quicker and more efficiently.
Any type of stimulus can be used for priming, including a word, sound, or image. That initial exposure influences the way we respond in the immediate future. The only way to truly understand priming and brand priming is through examples.
Examples of Brand Priming
Red Bull
Red Bull primes feelings energy and speed.
A Boston College study looked at the impact of logos on a video racing game. The racecars were branded with different company logos and the study showed consumers felt the Red Bull logo with wings could actually “give them wings” in the race and make them faster.
McDonald’s
McDonald’s primes for happy feelings
McDonald’s marketing always includes the golden arches. People associate the emblem with happy tunes and time with family and friends. When they are out and about and need a quick bite to eat, they naturally turn to the familiar golden arches when they see them.
Nike
Nike primes for feelings of achievement and exercise.
Nike uses elite athletes in their promotions, and employs taglines such as “Just Do It” to indicate the athletes’ strength and perseverance. When someone undertakes a new sport or wants to get fit, they naturally think of Nike products as something that might help them achieve their goals.
Priming is a psychological effect
A subconscious effect; we can be “primed” for feelings, thoughts, and behaviours by a stimulus. A piece of information can affect how we take in subsequent pieces of information. You also might learn to associate an object with another, such as a facemask with a pair of gloves if you frequently see people wearing both objects together. Priming is how “mentalists” and “magicians” can seemingly control an audience’s responses.
Types of priming in psychology
Positive / Negative priming, Perceptual /Conceptual priming, Repetition, Semantic, Associative priming, Response priming, Masked priming, Kindness priming, Affective priming, Cultural priming and Anti-priming
The ones that marketers and brand managers need to understand are Repetition priming and Semantic priming.
Repetition priming
Repeat concepts together, and they will be prime for each other. Our memories are quite complex. It’s hard to fully understand why we remember some things and forget others, for example.
The priming effect of repeating something is part of the reason why advertising and promotion work so well. When we are repeatedly exposed to ads, they are priming our brains to recall the brand and product. This priming makes us more likely to think of the brand the next time we need a solution to a problem or shopping for a product. When we say “top of mind,” we are referring to the priming effect of repetition.
Repetition priming is part of the reason we brand products with logos. We see the logos almost every time we use the product. You can probably remember jingles from commercials when you were a young child. You recall the chant because you heard the song until it stayed in your memory. The more you repeat a logo, saying or jingle, the more likely people will remember it and associate it with your brand.
Semantic priming
Say “pen” and think “paper”; Similar thoughts and ideas are primed for each other. Dog and cat are different concepts in our minds, but they have so many features in common that they are primed to each other by association. If I say “dog,” you are more likely to think “cat” for some time.
Suppose there is a word you want to be associated with your brand, such as “endurance” for Nike. In that case, you must start using the two words together and planting the message in your target audience’s brains.
The brand priming effect is how well you got your message across. Let’s say you ask users to complete word stems, will they associate the desired words with your brand? What emotions does your logo or name evoke?
Brand priming’s effect on behaviour
The mention of specific brands can affect consumer behaviour. In one study, researchers found the brand we interact with almost every day may have more influence on our behaviour than we think.
The brand priming effect on risk-taking
Experiments prove that people take more risks after being primed with particular brands. If consumers associate the brand with audacity, they are more likely to act boldly when using the company’s products. Such behaviour seems to be particularly true for financial risk-taking and those participating in both professional and recreational sports.
Subtle brand priming
Less obvious branding cues may also influence behaviour. For example, an ad includes images of highly attractive people. The consumer feels drawn to the people in the promotion and wants to be more like them. They subconsciously believe that using a beauty product makes them more like the people in the advertisement. There are a million tiny clues the average person sees every day. Our brains take these in and shoot out messages to us, helping us interact with our world and the products we use.
Last line
Brand priming matters to your company because it shows how important every small interaction with a potential customer is. Every single aspect of your image needs to align with the associations you want users to have. Even the colours and words you choose in your marketing have an impact and stick with the person for future interactions. Be aware of your end goals, and seek out the best ways to establish the brand associations you most want.
