(book review ) Buy-o-logy

Buy-o-logy: Truth and Lies about why we buy by Martin Lindstorm
DoubleDay, NY-USA, 2008

I have already written a review on one of Lindsotrm's latest books - The Brand Sense. Buy-o-logy is a pre-sequel to that. "Neuro-marketing" is one word that describes the book.

Using reasearch techniques like MRI instead of the traditional focus groups, questionnaires, interviews, observation, etc. to study the behavior of consumers (to study why we buy) is the basic idea in this book. The author considers his subjects (consumers) as unpredictable and irrational and he atttempts to understand them through  his research techniques. He tries to make a link between thoughts and actions while we buy.

I was fascinated after reading the book and it sure made me think why I buy and I started analyzing every product on shelf and every advertisement I saw after that - interesting.

Just one complaint - This is a research focused book and the author hasn't given much on applying these findings in real world settings or hasn't focused much on giving targeted examples (marketing).

(book review) Brand Sense

Brand Sense: Sensory Secrets behind the Stuff we buy by Martin Lindstorm
Free Press, NY-USA, 2005 (Paperback edition, 2010)

I have always been fascinated by Martin Lindsotrm's ideas – especially after I read his 'Buyology'.

'Brand Sense' is a informative and enjoyable and yet a quick read – one that you could complete reading in 2-3 hours. While most content of the book is thought-provoking and is full of fresh ideas, some small parts of the book are basic (may be interesting to a reader new to the idea of branding).

Typically, marketers rely on vision and sound to create a marketing mix for a brand. Lindstorm unleashes new ideas on using other 3 senses as well – touch, smell and taste. He rightly points out that more the consumer is engaged in the brand experience, more likely he is to buy the brand's product/ service. In this cluttered world of advertisements, brands should create a unique story by engaging as many senses as possible to create a lasting impression.

The book contains some interesting real-life examples on brands like Microsoft, Toblerone, Coke and Apple. He highlights the use of each sense with an example. One of the examples I enjoyed was that of Toblerone. He goes ahead to explain the shape of Toblerone – the shape is what makes the product – you would not associate the same taste and experience with the same ingredients presented in a flat bar.

All in all, definitely worth a read. Would recommend this book to anyone interested in branding, marketing or in general growing his business.