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You're in a cozy café at lunch time. You suddenly surprise yourself by paying notice to the sounds of chirping birds and flowing water. You feel more grounded, calm, connected. You skip the plastic straw (although you know it does a better job) and opt for the vegan muffin. That serene atmosphere? It's not just setting the mood. It's quietly guiding your choices. A shift in your brain’s decision-making process has just taken place.
A few weeks ago, I stumbled across a bee on Instagram. Not just any bee — @Bee_nfluencer —a quirky, non-human virtual influencer buzzing about environmental change. I laughed, I clicked, I followed. I didn’t expect to feel anything, but oddly enough, I did.
That moment made me pause. Why did I connect with a cartoon bee?
It turns out, there’s a psychological reason for this — and a powerful one at that.
There’s a heated debate among advertisers about the role of attention in ad effectiveness. More specifically, the interplay between duration and frequency causes quite the controversy.
On the one hand, there’s the faith of ‘Total Time Hypothesis’. Its proponents argue that advertising effectiveness grows linearly with the amount of time devoted to that ad. So the more precious seconds of viewer attention, the better. This resembles the classical view of ad effectiveness, and it favors duration over frequency.
You’re sitting in a movie theater, popcorn in hand, as the lights dim. The first trailer plays, and you lean over to your friend, whispering, “That looks terrible.” The next one flashes across the screen, and you nod, “I’d watch that.” But does what you say out loud match what your brain is thinking?
A recent study suggests your brain may be a better predictor of movie success than you are. The study by Boksem et al. (2024) explored whether Electroencephalography (EEG), a tool that measures brain wave activity, can be a predictor of market-level success, particularly in advertising. Researchers used EEG to measure brain activity while people watched trailers, finding that gamma waves—linked to comprehension and cognitive engagement—were the strongest predictor of box office performance. This means the movies that activate certain brain signals, regardless of what viewers claim to like, are the ones more likely to succeed.
Imagine walking into a supermarket or department store. From the get-go, you’re greeted by an assortment of products made from different ingredients or materials. How do you go about choosing products that best meet your needs? What about choosing items that align with your values and expectations?
The answer lies in contextual framing. Research suggests that the way how products are presented plays a significant role in shaping consumer decisions. In essence, it’s not just about what the product offers—the product’s narrative and whether it resonates with consumers is just as important.
