Most of us don’t have the greatest memories, especially when it comes to numbers. But numbers are often a key part of convincing a consumer’s brain to take action. Obviously, the numbers in a price can be incredibly compelling, but there is a psychology to how that works and why. For example, when buying a car, you’re told the list price and the sale price. You likely will retain the sale price because it’s lower and do the math against the list price, figuring you’re saving hundreds of dollars. Thus, you walk into the dealership ready to buy such a bargain, even if by the time you walk out, you’ve been talked into the extras and up to the list price which is higher.

That’s called anchoring and it’s one of the most effective and fascinating uses of psychology in the world of marketing. And boy, do we have the numbers to prove how persuasive it can be!

Marketing psychology expert Jake McKenzie is here to explain how numbers and memory are used to drive consumers to the shelves for all kinds of products. It’s a basic trope of human psychology, one used all the time, and that subject of anchoring is the topic of today’s podcast.

Welcome to the Ad Couch with Jake McKenzie, CEO of the Intermark Group ad agency.

About the Show:
Take a journey through the world of creative psychology and group imagination. Each Ad Couch episode puts a different concept, brand or expert “on the couch” to analyze how:

  • Different brands and agencies are effectively leveraging creative psychology to move consumer behavior
  • Principles of psychology can be used by marketers and advertisers to build movements and produce change
  • Influencers are changing the course of advertising through applied psychology
  • Pop culture impacts markets and the power of ideas

About the Host:

The Ad Couch is led by Jake McKenzie, whose targeted expertise is helping brands incorporate creative psychology into their marketing and advertising strategies in order to influence consumer behavior.

A graduate of Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Political Science, McKenzie is now the CEO of Intermark Group, one of the Southeast’s leading advertising agencies. Under his leadership, the agency has built a strategy team known as the “Insight Team” that includes a Ph.D. in psychology to facilitate applied psychology advertising methods and enhance brands’ success.

The most popular words in the English language are “I” and “me.” We love to talk about ourselves and put the world in a context of how it directly affects us. Marketers have known this for some time and apply this psychological trope to many products that they sell. Just look at the iPhone. That “I” isn’t there for nothin’, folks. It’s called the “Endowment Effect,” and if you’re a marketer and want your product to connect with people, you better find out how to have a one-on-one relationship with each and every consumer. Don’t worry. It’s actually not as difficult as you might think.

Marketing psychology expert Jake McKenzie is here to explain how personalizing your product for whomever you’re targeting will make what you’re selling seem more valuable — even if your product is at parity with those of competitors. The ego is always a fascinating subject and it’s what will be discussed on today’s podcast.

Welcome to the Ad Couch with Jake McKenzie, CEO of the Intermark Group ad agency.

About the Show:
Take a journey through the world of creative psychology and group imagination. Each Ad Couch episode puts a different concept, brand or expert “on the couch” to analyze how:

  • Different brands and agencies are effectively leveraging creative psychology to move consumer behavior
  • Principles of psychology can be used by marketers and advertisers to build movements and produce change
  • Influencers are changing the course of advertising through applied psychology
  • Pop culture impacts markets and the power of ideas

About the Host:

The Ad Couch is led by Jake McKenzie, whose targeted expertise is helping brands incorporate creative psychology into their marketing and advertising strategies in order to influence consumer behavior.

A graduate of Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Political Science, McKenzie is now the CEO of Intermark Group, one of the Southeast’s leading advertising agencies. Under his leadership, the agency has built a strategy team known as the “Insight Team” that includes a Ph.D. in psychology to facilitate applied psychology advertising methods and enhance brands’ success.

 

Remember when Coke was losing the “Cola Wars” to Pepsi in the early 1980s? The Pepsi Challenge was kicking the classic cola’s butt, so Coke decided to introduce New Coke, a beverage with a sweeter formula like Pepsi’s that was set to replace the old formula. But when consumers found out that their classic Coke would be taken off the market because of it, the demand for the old perennial went through the roof. Classic Coke became bigger than ever and essentially eradicated the “Cola Wars” forever. Pepsi was never number one again. What happened exactly?

Marketers discovered that people’s fear of loss carries a ton of emotion with it. In fact, we hate to lose more than we love to win, and we will fight tooth and nail to hang onto something we’re familiar or comfortable with. Even if it’s a soda. Thus, the fear of losing Classic Coke drove consumers to the brand better than just about any positive message could’ve hoped to.

Marketing psychology expert Jake McKenzie is here to explain how the fear of loss and scarcity are used to drive consumers to the shelves for all kinds of products. It’s one of the oldest tricks in the book, but our new understanding of consumer psychology makes it a fascinating topic for today’s podcast.

Welcome to the Ad Couch with Jake McKenzie, CEO of the Intermark Group ad agency.

About the Show:
Take a journey through the world of creative psychology and group imagination. Each Ad Couch episode puts a different concept, brand or expert “on the couch” to analyze how:

  • Different brands and agencies are effectively leveraging creative psychology to move consumer behavior
  • Principles of psychology can be used by marketers and advertisers to build movements and produce change
  • Influencers are changing the course of advertising through applied psychology
  • Pop culture impacts markets and the power of ideas

About the Host:

The Ad Couch is led by Jake McKenzie, whose targeted expertise is helping brands incorporate creative psychology into their marketing and advertising strategies in order to influence consumer behavior.

A graduate of Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Political Science, McKenzie is now the CEO of Intermark Group, one of the Southeast’s leading advertising agencies. Under his leadership, the agency has built a strategy team known as the “Insight Team” that includes a Ph.D. in psychology to facilitate applied psychology advertising methods and enhance brands’ success.

If you consider yourself a “person of action,” be careful what you say. Psychologically speaking, if you say it, you more than likely will do it. Even if it means buying things you don’t really need. If you believe that going to a big-box retailer for a President’s Day Sale is an economically smart thing to do, and tell your spouse, “We should take advantage of such savings,” then you will most assuredly go there and buy, buy, buy!

This trope is known as “The Consistency Principle” and it’s one of the most telling insights into consumer behavior. If marketers can get someone to say they’ll do something, they will. Over and over again.

Why? The simple truth is people gravitate toward words such as “stable” and “honest.” They want to be perceived as steady and consistent. And the more consistent they are, the more malleable they are to marketers. Today, marketing psychology expert Jake McKenzie will explain how, when we talk the talk, we almost always walk the walk.

Welcome to the Ad Couch with Jake McKenzie, CEO of the Intermark Group ad agency.

About the Show:

Take a journey through the world of creative psychology and group imagination. Each Ad Couch episode puts a different concept, brand or expert “on the couch” to analyze how:

  • Different brands and agencies are effectively leveraging creative psychology to move consumer behavior
  • Principles of psychology can be used by marketers and advertisers to build movements and produce change
  • Influencers are changing the course of advertising through applied psychology
  • Pop culture impacts markets and the power of ideas

About the Host:

The Ad Couch is led by Jake McKenzie, whose targeted expertise is helping brands incorporate creative psychology into their marketing and advertising strategies in order to influence consumer behavior.

A graduate of Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Political Science, McKenzie is now the CEO of Intermark Group, one of the Southeast’s leading advertising agencies. Under his leadership, the agency has built a strategy team known as the “Insight Team” that includes a Ph.D. in psychology to facilitate applied psychology advertising methods and enhance brands’ success.

Most people think that they are well above average in intelligence, which, of course, is statistically impossible. It comes from an implicit egoism where we tell ourselves that we typically make great decisions. This belief in ourselves leads to inherent loyalty to products we purchase – a phenomenon credited to “The Commitment Principle.” This psychological driver helps explain why we tend to have a favorite food at restaurants and always order the same thing. It also gives smart marketers a way to build long-term loyalty with consumers.

The desire for trust in a brand informs “The Commitment Principle,” but it can be a double-edged sword. For every consumer willing to try a new diet fad, there are those who refuse to embrace modern things such as technology, even if it will make their lives easier.

Marketing psychology expert Jake McKenzie is here to explain the “Commitment Principle” in two parts. In podcast # 4, he’ll take you through the fundamentals of how it affects consumer behavior. And in podcast # 5, he’ll explain some of the “watch-outs” of such behavior, as well as what research tells us about consumer commitment to brands.  Ultimately, you’ll discover just what smart brands do to keep consumers committed to them, yet allow for adaptation in a constantly changing marketplace.

Welcome to the Ad Couch with Jake McKenzie, CEO of the Intermark Group ad agency.

About the Show:
Take a journey through the world of creative psychology and group imagination. Each Ad Couch episode puts a different concept, brand or expert “on the couch” to analyze how:

  • Different brands and agencies are effectively leveraging creative psychology to move consumer behavior
  • Principles of psychology can be used by marketers and advertisers to build movements and produce change
  • Influencers are changing the course of advertising through applied psychology
  • Pop culture impacts markets and the power of ideas

About the Host:

The Ad Couch is led by Jake McKenzie, whose targeted expertise is helping brands incorporate creative psychology into their marketing and advertising strategies in order to influence consumer behavior.

A graduate of Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Political Science, McKenzie is now the CEO of Intermark Group, one of the Southeast’s leading advertising agencies. Under his leadership, the agency has built a strategy team known as the “Insight Team” that includes a Ph.D. in psychology to facilitate applied psychology advertising methods and enhance brands’ success.

Most people think that they are well above average in intelligence, which, of course, is statistically impossible. It comes from an implicit egoism where we tell ourselves that we typically make great decisions. This belief in ourselves leads to inherent loyalty to products we purchase – a phenomenon credited to “The Commitment Principle.” This psychological driver helps explain why we tend to have a favorite food at restaurants and always order the same thing. It also gives smart marketers a way to build long-term loyalty with consumers.

The desire for trust in a brand informs “The Commitment Principle,” but it can be a double-edged sword. For every consumer willing to try a new diet fad, there are those who refuse to embrace modern things such as technology, even if it will make their lives easier.

Marketing psychology expert Jake McKenzie is here to explain the “Commitment Principle” in two parts. In podcast # 4, he’ll take you through the fundamentals of how it affects consumer behavior. And in podcast # 5, he’ll explain some of the “watch-outs” of such behavior, as well as what research tells us about consumer commitment to brands.  Ultimately, you’ll discover just what smart brands do to keep consumers committed to them, yet allow for adaptation in a constantly changing marketplace.

Welcome to the Ad Couch with Jake McKenzie, CEO of the Intermark Group ad agency.

About the Show:
Take a journey through the world of creative psychology and group imagination. Each Ad Couch episode puts a different concept, brand or expert “on the couch” to analyze how:

  • Different brands and agencies are effectively leveraging creative psychology to move consumer behavior
  • Principles of psychology can be used by marketers and advertisers to build movements and produce change
  • Influencers are changing the course of advertising through applied psychology
  • Pop culture impacts markets and the power of ideas

About the Host:

The Ad Couch is led by Jake McKenzie, whose targeted expertise is helping brands incorporate creative psychology into their marketing and advertising strategies in order to influence consumer behavior.

A graduate of Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Political Science, McKenzie is now the CEO of Intermark Group, one of the Southeast’s leading advertising agencies. Under his leadership, the agency has built a strategy team known as the “Insight Team” that includes a Ph.D. in psychology to facilitate applied psychology advertising methods and enhance brands’ success.

Does subliminal advertising work? Can a quick shot of an ice-cold beverage embedded in a movie really make us run out to the concession stand and buy a Coke? Can advertisers really influence our behavior like that, or is it just a bad cliché of the ad biz, right up there with Darren Stevens or the Man in the Grey Flannel Suit?

The truth is that we are susceptible to all kinds of messages, consciously and unconsciously. Myriad environmental influences affect our behavior on a daily basis, from words to pictures to, yes, subliminal messages. Marketing psychology expert Jake McKenzie is here to explain how we are impacted, and why it actually can be quite positive.

Welcome to the Ad Couch with Jake McKenzie, CEO of the Intermark Group ad agency.

About the Show:
Take a journey through the world of creative psychology and group imagination. Each Ad Couch episode puts a different concept, brand or expert “on the couch” to analyze how:

  • Different brands and agencies are effectively leveraging creative psychology to move consumer behavior
  • Principles of psychology can be used by marketers and advertisers to build movements and produce change
  • Influencers are changing the course of advertising through applied psychology
  • Pop culture impacts markets and the power of ideas

About the Host:

The Ad Couch is led by Jake McKenzie, whose targeted expertise is helping brands incorporate creative psychology into their marketing and advertising strategies in order to influence consumer behavior.

A graduate of Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Political Science, McKenzie is now the CEO of Intermark Group, one of the Southeast’s leading advertising agencies. Under his leadership, the agency has built a strategy team known as the “Insight Team” that includes a Ph.D. in psychology to facilitate applied psychology advertising methods and enhance brands’ success.

The bestselling bleach in America is Clorox. It’s #1 despite being the most expensive bleach in the store and being virtually the same as every other bleach on the shelf as required by law. So why are we paying more? What is wrong with us?

Nothing, actually. It’s the power of branding and advertising that ensures Clorox cleans up. The brain loses to the heart every time when it comes to making such consumer purchase decisions. And marketing psychology expert Jake McKenzie is here to explain why.

Welcome to the Ad Couch with Jake McKenzie, CEO of the Intermark Group ad agency.

About the Show:
Take a journey through the world of creative psychology and group imagination. Each Ad Couch episode puts a different concept, brand or expert “on the couch” to analyze how:

  • Different brands and agencies are effectively leveraging creative psychology to move consumer behavior
  • Principles of psychology can be used by marketers and advertisers to build movements and produce change
  • Influencers are changing the course of advertising through applied psychology
  • Pop culture impacts markets and the power of ideas

About the Host:

The Ad Couch is led by Jake McKenzie, whose targeted expertise is helping brands incorporate creative psychology into their marketing and advertising strategies in order to influence consumer behavior.

A graduate of Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Political Science, McKenzie is now the CEO of Intermark Group, one of the Southeast’s leading advertising agencies. Under his leadership, the agency has built a strategy team known as the “Insight Team” that includes a Ph.D. in psychology to facilitate applied psychology advertising methods and enhance brands’ success.

For decades, marketers have been defining a standard of beauty for female consumers. If you wear this lipstick, wash your hair with this shampoo, and wear these pantyhose, you too can be as beautiful as the models in our ads. But what if a beauty product company balked at those tomes? What if they turned the category on its pretty little ear by rejecting the clichés of female attractiveness as dictated by the market for the past 50 years? That’s exactly what Dove did in 2004.

Dove asked the marketplace, “What makes a woman beautiful?” And they put forth contemporary versions of those ideals that belie the old standards. They did it through a psychological principle called the “Social Comparison Theory,” a system that asks “Who do we think we are?” and in turn, “How do you view yourself?”

Today, marketing psychology expert Jake McKenzie talks to behavioral psychologist Dr. Lindsay Sutton about how research based on the Social Comparison Theory led Dove to its marketing revolution. That theory helped them tap into broader definitions of beauty and connect its products more emotionally to women who saw themselves differently from the way Madison Avenue had for the better part of 50 years.

Welcome to the Ad Couch with Jake McKenzie, CEO of the Intermark Group ad agency.

About the Show:
Take a journey through the world of creative psychology and group imagination. Each Ad Couch episode puts a different concept, brand or expert “on the couch” to analyze how:

  • Different brands and agencies are effectively leveraging creative psychology to move consumer behavior
  • Principles of psychology can be used by marketers and advertisers to build movements and produce change
  • Influencers are changing the course of advertising through applied psychology
  • Pop culture impacts markets and the power of ideas

About the Host:

The Ad Couch is led by Jake McKenzie, whose targeted expertise is helping brands incorporate creative psychology into their marketing and advertising strategies in order to influence consumer behavior.

A graduate of Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Political Science, McKenzie is now the CEO of Intermark Group, one of the Southeast’s leading advertising agencies. Under his leadership, the agency has built a strategy team known as the “Insight Team” that includes a Ph.D. in psychology to facilitate applied psychology advertising methods and enhance brands’ success.