Brand Science: How we learn and create memories through brand experiences
Source: Adobe Stock by Irina Strelnikova
In the first part of this series, we discussed dopamine and serotonin and how brands can promote these happy, pleasure-based hormones within their brand experiences. While it’s necessary to understand and promote the release of dopamine and serotonin, you also have to think about what happens after it’s released. After the happy hormone dust settles, where do these experiences get filed in the minds of those who experience them? In order for people to keep coming back, they have to connect their positive emotional event to something meaningful and worth storing in their memory bank of learned experiences. Our brain’s plasticity is responsible for adjusting to these momentary events and creating pattern-based memories through neuroplasticity.
Neuroplasticity plays a crucial role in how we respond to brand experiences, commit them to memory, and develop learned behaviors. Our brain’s ability to adapt and change in response to experiences is directly related to our ability to form new neural patterns and networks, allowing us to either commit an experience to memory or pass it off as a momentary event. We do this continuously as we evolve and learn throughout our entire life, shaping the way we remember the individual stories that make up our lives.
Part two of this series is all about neuroplasticity and how our brains allow us to change in response to experiences, new learning events, and environmental influences. Strong emotions like fear, surprise, and joy, can make an experience more impressionable, giving brands an opportunity to impact how others interact with and engage in memory recall after those events. If the experience is repeated enough, the neural pathway forms and commits the pattern to long-term memory, making consistency the number one factor in the reinforcement of learning during experiences. What this tells us is that brands have to set and continue to match the expectations of their audiences in order to make an impression that lasts.
Below are some ways we can better understand the role of neuroplasticity as it relates to brand influence.
Activating the senses and encoding brand experiences. As we’re participating in brand experiences, our brains are also processing the sensory information associated with them. Different sensory inputs such as visuals, sounds, smells, and emotions activate specific neural pathways where we determine if we like or dislike the experience. Neuroplasticity strengthens these connections and forms a memory pathway of the brand experience.
Stimulating learning through a personal connection. Neuroplasticity is central to learning and memory. When a brand experience evokes emotion or shares a story that resonates with an audience on a personal level, the brain perceives it as more relevant, worthy of our attention, and frankly, ends up leaving us wanting more. This activation of emotional centers in the brain (the amygdala has now entered the chat), can enhance memory consolidation, making the experience more likely to be stored in long-term memory.
Associations and pattern reinforcement. Neuroplasticity allows the brain to create connections between brand experiences and other stimuli, interests, experiences, and emotions. This is why brands often tie themselves to specific lifestyles, archetypal personalities, values, or particular social statuses. If exposure is repeated enough, these associations can shape learned behaviors and impact audience identity as they develop preferences toward a brand.
Consistency and the impact of repetition. Consistent and well-executed branding efforts are crucial for memory/brand recall and recognition. As the brain forms and strengthens these connections, the brand becomes more familiar and accessible in a person's memory. Once we’ve encoded an experience, we innately set expectations for what the next experience should be. If that experience doesn’t match or exceed the original memory, we feel like something was missed and may question the credibility of the brand.
Emotional resonance and decision-making. Brand experiences that evoke strong emotions can have a profound impact on an individual's decision-making behavior. Neuroplasticity allows emotional experiences with a brand to influence decision-making neural circuits, making people more likely to choose the brand that resonates emotionally with them rather than simply selecting a brand based on product or service quality alone. Both brand and audience win when a meaningful connection becomes the answer to what they both desire.
Neuroplasticity is the fundamental system contributing to our capacity to process, understand, and respond to experiences. Whether those are life experiences, learned experiences, or brand experiences, we commit them to memory all the same. When we understand (even at a basic level) how neuroplasticity works, we can design positive brand experiences that leave a lasting impression and actively shape brand perception within our audiences’ minds over time.
Next, we’ll round out the series with Oxytocin, the brain chemical responsible for love and social connection.
