YoStella: Build a Better Business - Inspiration for Improving Your Brand, Marketing & People
Each year on Fat Tuesday, New Orleans throws a “Stella and Stanley” party. This annual event honors local boy and world-famous author Tennessee Williams and his masterpiece, A Streetcar Named Desire.
The movie version is notorious for the scene where Stanley, Marlon Brando in a tight white vest, yells “Stella-a-a-a-a-!” up the tenement stairs to his wife. “Stella” might be the most repeated movie line ever and Brando never needed to act again except, he said, for the money. Like a legendary actor, businesses need to cultivate their craft: building an amazing brand, elevating creativity, and growing authentic connections.
At StellaPop, we believe every business has a masterpiece in them.
YoStella: Build a Better Business - Inspiration for Improving Your Brand, Marketing & People
From Mad Men to Metadata: Marketing's Psychological Evolution
Why do some ads stick in your mind for decades while others fade instantly? What makes you click "buy now" without a second thought? The answers lie in a fascinating journey through the psychological evolution of marketing.
From the emotionally-driven campaigns of the 1950s to today's hyper-personalized data strategies, our understanding of human behavior has consistently shaped how brands connect with consumers. The technological landscape has transformed dramatically—yet beneath all this innovation, the fundamental ways we relate, connect, and ultimately purchase have remained remarkably consistent.
The post-war 1950s saw advertising evolve beyond simply shouting about product features when psychologists began focusing on deeper motivations driving consumer behavior. The famous USPs of this era, like M&M's "Melts in your mouth, not in your hand," weren't just clever taglines but appeals to profound psychological needs. The 1960s Mad Men era built on this foundation by incorporating social psychology, recognizing how powerfully we're influenced by peers and aspirational figures. This gave rise to celebrity endorsements, lifestyle advertising, and strategic brand storytelling—techniques that continue to dominate marketing today.
As cognitive psychology emerged in the 70s and 80s, marketers gained insights into how our brains process information, leading to simpler, more memorable campaigns with iconic slogans. The neuroscience revolution of the 90s took this understanding deeper, designing ads to trigger specific neural pathways. Today's digital transformation has supercharged these psychological principles with unprecedented personalization, while emerging technologies like VR and AR promise even more immersive experiences in the future.
Join us as we unpack these psychological insights that have consistently driven consumer behavior across generations. You'll never look at advertising the same way again—and might just recognize when these timeless principles are being used to influence your next purchase decision.
Welcome to the deep dive. You know we live in an age of constant, rapid technological change From the smart devices in our pockets to AI that can compose music. It feels like everything is new.
Speaker 2:It really does.
Speaker 1:The pace is incredible, but here's a thought that might surprise you. Beneath all that cutting edge tech, the fundamental ways we connect, relate and ultimately sell to people well, they've remained remarkably consistent over the last 50 plus years.
Speaker 2:It's a fascinating paradox, isn't it?
Speaker 1:No.
Speaker 2:Technology changes, but maybe humans don't fundamentally.
Speaker 1:Exactly Today, we're taking a deep dive into the captivating evolution of marketing and what we call customer appeal. We're going to trace its transformation all the way from the classic madmen era of mass media.
Speaker 2:Right the big, broad campaigns.
Speaker 1:Right up to today's hyper-personalized data-driven strategies. What you'll discover is that the core idea, the constant heartbeat through all these shifts, has always been human psychology.
Speaker 2:Always it's been the driving force and it seems like it will continue to be.
Speaker 1:Yeah, this journey is inspired by a fantastic article titled From Madmen to Data-Driven the Evolution of Customer Appeal.
Speaker 2:Our mission isn't just to tell you what happened.
Speaker 1:No, it's more than a history lesson Right. It's to uncover the most important nuggets of knowledge from this incredible journey. We want to show you how our understanding of human behavior has consistently shaped how brands connect with consumers.
Speaker 2:Hopefully leading you to some genuine aha.
Speaker 1:Moments.
Speaker 2:Yeah, about the advertising you encounter every single day. It's everywhere after all. Okay, let's unpack this journey starting way back in the 1950s. Imagine a post-war landscape, a booming economy, a significant rise in mass consumer culture. People were buying homes, cars, all sorts of new appliances.
Speaker 1:A real explosion of stuff, yeah, and new media like TV was just starting to really take off.
Speaker 2:But what was the psychological shift that truly kicked off a more scientific approach to advertising in this era? How did they start thinking differently? Well, what really stands out in the 1950s is how advertising moved beyond just, you know, shouting about product features. Psychologists like Ernest Dichter began to deeply focus on motivation. Not just the conscious desires people had, but the underlying, often hidden forces driving human behavior. It was about understanding why people wanted a new refrigerator or a particular brand of cigarette, beyond just the obvious reasons.
Speaker 1:So digging deeper than just. I need a cold place for my milk.
Speaker 2:Exactly. This was incredibly significant because researchers realized that to genuinely motivate consumers, you had to tap into their deeper emotional needs and aspirations.
Speaker 1:Ah, the emotional angle. Think of it this way yeah, the emotional angle.
Speaker 2:Think of it this way Instead of just saying a car has X horsepower, ads started subtly implying that this car would bring you status or freedom, or maybe family security. This was a profound shift, moving from solely relying on facts and features to crafting appeals based on consumers' emotional needs and desires, really digging into those deeper human drivers that we might not even consciously acknowledge ourselves.
Speaker 1:So it wasn't just this product does X, y and Z, but this product will make you feel X, y and Z.
Speaker 2:Or help you achieve some deeper personal goal?
Speaker 1:Yeah, and this period. It was characterized by mass media, radio, print, early TV, and the messages were often well, pretty simple and straightforward, repeated for maximum effect.
Speaker 2:Repetition was key. Hammer it home.
Speaker 1:And this is also when we saw the widespread adoption of Ross Reeves' concept of the unique selling point, or USP. Its primary goal was clear Inform consumers about a product's single most compelling feature or benefit.
Speaker 2:And then persuade them to buy, obviously.
Speaker 1:But how did that psychological understanding of motivation truly refine the USP beyond just stating a fact? It wasn't just a feature dump, was it?
Speaker 2:No, not at its best. The USP became powerful because it combined that direct benefit with an implicit understanding of motivation. Take M&M's famous USP Melts in your mouth, not in your hand. Classy On the surface, it's a feature, right, but what's the underlying motivation? Convenience, cleanliness, avoiding sticky messes these are small frustrations consumers subconsciously wanted to avoid.
Speaker 1:Right Solving a minor annoyance makes you feel good.
Speaker 2:Exactly. Or another classic was Wonder Bread's claim to build strong bodies 12 ways. It wasn't just about nutrition facts, yeah.
Speaker 1:yeah, it tapped into that powerful parental motivation for their children's health and well-being ah, okay, so it gave consumers a reason to choose rooted in a psychological need, even if that need was quite basic precisely it connected the product to something meaningful for them that makes perfect sense. They weren't just selling bread, they were selling the feeling of being a good provider, a good parent. Ok, let's fast forward a bit to the 1960s. This decade is often dubbed the golden age of advertising.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the Mad Men era everyone pictures.
Speaker 1:Right, if the 50s gave us this profound insight into individual motivation, what new psychological insights emerged about consumer behavior in the 60s that made this decade so iconic and well influential? Here's where it gets really interesting.
Speaker 2:Well, the 1960s saw social psychologists really step into the limelight. They started seriously exploring the role of social influences in consumer behavior.
Speaker 1:Social influence. Ok, so not just me, but us.
Speaker 2:Exactly, they made a crucial discovery. People are heavily, heavily influenced by the opinions and actions of others, especially their peers, people. They respect authority figures.
Speaker 1:Like conformity or the bandwagon effect. Is that what we're talking about?
Speaker 2:That's precisely it. It wasn't just about what you wanted as an individual anymore, but what they thought, or what everyone else was doing, or maybe what some aspirational figure was endorsing.
Speaker 1:Interesting. So how did that translate into marketing tactics?
Speaker 2:Well, the direct result of this understanding was the creation of entirely new marketing tactics. This is when things like word of mouth advertising and referral programs began to be strategically engineered.
Speaker 1:So not just hoping people talk, but encouraging it.
Speaker 2:Deliberately encouraging it. Yes, these weren't just happy accidents. They were attempts to harness the power of social networks. We see the real birth of celebrity endorsements here too.
Speaker 1:Why then specifically?
Speaker 2:Because advertisers understood that if a trusted or admired figure used a product, that social validation, that coolness factor would transfer to the consumer.
Speaker 1:The power of association.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. And if we connect this to the bigger picture, you'll see how powerful even those early, pre-digital social networks were becoming People talking to people, influencing decisions. It became a measurable, targetable force.
Speaker 1:So it wasn't just the ad on TV anymore. It was your stylish neighbor telling you how great that new car was.
Speaker 2:Or Jackie Kennedy wearing a particular designer Exactly. Suddenly, the social context was everything.
Speaker 1:And this golden era also saw the industry embrace a much more creative, more experimental approach. That's why it's so often linked to the rise of Mad Men.
Speaker 2:Big ideas, bold visuals.
Speaker 1:And this period birthed techniques like brand storytelling and lifestyle advertising, making products part of a bigger, more relatable narrative. How did those connect back to social influence?
Speaker 2:Oh, absolutely. Brand image theory was introduced during this time. It underscored the vital importance of creating a consistent and compelling brand identity across all touch points.
Speaker 1:The vibe of the brand.
Speaker 2:Exactly, it's the idea that a product's reputation, its emotional resonance is as important, maybe even more important than its physical attributes. Take Volkswagen's famous Think Small campaign for the Beetle.
Speaker 1:Iconic.
Speaker 2:It didn't just sell a car. It sold a counterculture lifestyle, a smart, anti-establishment attitude. It appealed directly to a specific social group. The narrative and lifestyle made the brand desirable.
Speaker 1:And that desire spread through social circles.
Speaker 2:Precisely. And what's truly remarkable is that these tactics, these theories, storytelling, brand image they still hold significant influence in marketing today. They absolutely do. Many brands continue to utilize storytelling and image-focused campaigns to build strong connections and drive brand loyalty. They know we often buy into the story and the tribe, not just the product itself.
Speaker 1:So true, okay, from the social sway of the 60s, let's shift gears into the 70s and 80s. A different branch of psychology began to take center stage here, moving beyond just conscious motivation or social pressure.
Speaker 2:Things got a bit more cognitive.
Speaker 1:So what does this all mean? For how ads adapted to how our brains actually process information, how we think.
Speaker 2:Well, the 1970s and 1980s saw the rapid development of cognitive psychology. This field focuses precisely on how people perceive information, how they process it, remember it and ultimately, make decisions based on it.
Speaker 1:Okay, the mechanics of thinking.
Speaker 2:Exactly. This led to a much greater understanding of things like mental shortcuts, heuristics, we call them biases and just the basic limitations of how much information we can handle at once.
Speaker 1:Information overload was becoming a thing even then.
Speaker 2:Starting to yes. So marketers started asking how can we make our message so clear and memorable that it actually cuts through all the noise?
Speaker 1:Right, how do you stick?
Speaker 2:Marketers really seized on this information. They aimed to create advertisements that would be easily processed and remembered. They understood the concept of cognitive load, that our brains have a limited capacity.
Speaker 1:Makes sense. Keep it simple.
Speaker 2:So they focused on things like repetition, clear hierarchies of information, what's most important, and using jingles or mnemonic devices to aid memory. Think of those iconic slogans.
Speaker 1:Like just do it, or a diamond is forever.
Speaker 2:Exactly Short, memorable and often tapping into existing cognitive frameworks or ideas we already understand. They also implemented techniques like strategically chosen imagery.
Speaker 1:Oh so.
Speaker 2:To appeal to consumers' unconscious desires through things like framing or priming effects, often without the consumer even realizing it was happening.
Speaker 1:Oh so.
Speaker 2:Getting subtle.
Speaker 1:That's a profound shift, isn't it Moving beyond conscious thought into the subconscious, processing how our brains actually function to absorb information?
Speaker 2:It really was understanding the mental machinery.
Speaker 1:Okay. So as we enter the 90s and early 2000s, an entirely new, incredibly detailed field began to offer insights into our brains, literally peering inside.
Speaker 2:Indeed, we're talking neuroscience now. In the 1990s and 2000s, the field of neuroscience began to truly take shape, offering revolutionary new insights.
Speaker 1:How the brain is physically wired.
Speaker 2:Exactly how it retains and utilizes information, down to the chemical and electrical signals. Researchers found that the brain is specifically wired to respond to certain stimuli bright colors, bold images, attention-grabbing sounds, even specific facial expressions.
Speaker 1:Wow, so going beyond cognitive processing to the biological basis of attention and emotion.
Speaker 2:That's the key difference understanding the brain's hardwiring.
Speaker 1:So how did marketers jump on that?
Speaker 2:Oh quickly. They learned, for example, about the brain's reward pathways like dopamine release, and how certain stimuli can trigger that, creating a positive association.
Speaker 1:Making the ad itself feel good.
Speaker 2:In a way, yes, as became more sophisticated in using color psychology, dynamic visuals, emotionally resonant soundtracks, all specifically designed to capture consumers' attention and elicit a strong emotional response.
Speaker 1:It wasn't enough just to be memorable anymore.
Speaker 2:It had to hit you on a primal sensory level, leveraging how your brain is actually built to react and store information, often bypassing purely rational thought processes.
Speaker 1:Can you give an example?
Speaker 2:Think of how movie trailers are cut quick flashes, rising music, emotional peaks, or how certain fast food commercials use specific sizzle sounds or close-ups of dripping cheese. It's all neurologically informed, designed to grab you before you think too much.
Speaker 1:Fascinating. Ok, now let's bring our discussion right up to the immediate present, 2023, maybe even looking into 2024. The Internet and social media have had a dramatic, undeniable impact. They've completely reshaped the landscape.
Speaker 2:Oh, fundamentally A total game changer.
Speaker 1:What's the key concept of finding how brands connect with us today, leveraging everything we've just talked about Motivation, social influence, cognition, neuroscience.
Speaker 2:Well, the rise of digital platforms created a wealth of new opportunities. It fundamentally changed the dynamic from a one-way broadcast to an interactive conversation, or at least the potential for one.
Speaker 1:Right, we can talk back now.
Speaker 2:And we've seen the emergence of powerful techniques like search engine optimization, SEO, which taps into our cognitive need for quick, relevant inflation.
Speaker 1:Finding what we want fast.
Speaker 2:Social media advertising which thrives on those 60s principles of social influence, but absolutely supercharged by algorithms and networks.
Speaker 1:And influencer marketing.
Speaker 2:Which is essentially word of mouth on steroids right? All of these aim to create more meaningful, often sustained connections with you, the consumer, over time. Not just a single ad impression. Building a relationship, that's the goal, yes, and critically, this is all underpinned by advanced data analysis and technology. This allows advertisers to move beyond broad demographics.
Speaker 1:Like women age 25, 40.
Speaker 2:To reach consumers with highly targeted and personalized campaigns. Consumers with highly targeted and personalized campaigns. Marketers now leverage psychology directly with this data to build incredibly granular profiles of consumer behavior and motivations.
Speaker 1:Scary, detailed sometimes.
Speaker 2:It can be. This allows brands to tailor their messages not just to a segment, but often to an individual's perceived needs their online habits, even, potentially, their emotional states. Needs their online habits, even, potentially, their emotional states.
Speaker 1:Engaging with their audience in a truly meaningful way, or perhaps a creepy way.
Speaker 2:Well, that's the question, isn't it? This raises an important issue how much more personal can marketing actually get before it feels intrusive or even manipulative?
Speaker 1:It's a very fine line to walk.
Speaker 2:And consumers are definitely becoming more aware of it, more skeptical.
Speaker 1:That's a brilliant question, and one we're all grappling with, both as consumers and as observers of the market. The promise is relevance. The risk is well creepiness. Exactly so if the present is driven by data and personalization, what does the future hold for customer appeal? What's the next frontier, psychologically speaking? Where do we go from here?
Speaker 2:The future of advertising will undoubtedly continue its heavy reliance on technology. That's a given. But the psychological implications, I think, will become even more profound. Oh so Well. Advancements in artificial intelligence, ai and machine learning are likely to lead to new marketing tools and techniques. Think about even more sophisticated, personalized advertisements.
Speaker 1:More personal than now.
Speaker 2:Potentially yes. Ads that can adapt their message and tone in real time based on your perceived emotional state or maybe even subtle biometric cues picked up by your devices.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:Okay, and we could see completely novel virtual shopping experiences that learn your preferences instantly and present products in a way that maximizes your engagement, almost anticipating what you want.
Speaker 1:Tailored realities.
Speaker 2:In a sense, and building on that, the increasing use of virtual and augmented reality, VR and AR is already influencing how companies interact with consumers.
Speaker 1:How does that change the psychology?
Speaker 2:From a psychological standpoint, vr AR offers an unprecedented level of immersion being in the experience not just watching it Right.
Speaker 1:It feels more real.
Speaker 2:Exactly. This has the potential to create truly bespoke shopping experiences where you can try on clothes virtually or see how furniture looks in your actual living room. With AR, that significantly reduces cognitive friction, the effort of imagining, and it can create strong emotional connections with a product before you even own it.
Speaker 1:It makes the abstract tangible and personal, less guesswork.
Speaker 2:Precisely.
Speaker 1:And it's not just about technology, is it? There's another significant trend taking shape, one that resonates deeply with many of us the growing importance of sustainability and environmental responsibility.
Speaker 2:Oh, absolutely crucial. This isn't just a buzzword. It's profoundly shaping consumer values, especially for younger generations.
Speaker 1:So why does this matter from a marketing psychology perspective?
Speaker 2:It matters immensely because, as consumers become more environmentally conscious, companies are recognizing that their brand image needs to align with these evolving values. It's becoming table stakes for many.
Speaker 1:So it's not just greenwashing.
Speaker 2:Well, consumers are getting better at spotting that Genuine marketing of products and services that are environmentally friendly and sustainable isn't just good for the planet, it's a powerful psychological appeal.
Speaker 1:How does it appeal psychologically?
Speaker 2:It taps into consumers' desire for self-actualization, maybe for being responsible for contributing to something larger than themselves. It aligns with their identity.
Speaker 1:Feeling like you're making a difference with your purchase.
Speaker 2:Exactly, and this will manifest and is manifesting in practices like transparent use of eco-friendly packaging, the development of sustainable supply chains and the promotion of environmentally responsible practices in the advertising itself. Brands will increasingly compete on their purpose and values, not just price or features.
Speaker 1:Wow, what a journey we've taken. We've traveled from the motivational drives of the 1950s.
Speaker 2:Understanding the why.
Speaker 1:Through the social influences of the Mad Men era. The cognitive processing insights of the 70s. The neurological triggers of the 90s. The cognitive processing insights of the 70s. The neurological triggers of the 90s.
Speaker 2:Right up to the present day.
Speaker 1:All the way to the AI-powered personalization and purpose-driven marketing of today and tomorrow. It's truly fascinating how marketing's evolution consistently circles back to understanding fundamental human psychology.
Speaker 2:It always comes back to people, doesn't it?
Speaker 1:It really does. So here's a thought for you, our listener, to ponder as you go about your day, despite all the incredible technological advancements and radical shifts in delivery methods from a simple newspaper ad to an immersive VR shopping experience a huge leap in tech the core human needs and desires, those first explored by psychologists way back in the 1950s, seem to remain the fundamental drivers of consumer behavior. So how will marketers continue to innovate the delivery of their messages without losing sight of that unchanging human core?
Speaker 2:That's the balancing act.
Speaker 1:Or perhaps more provocatively, will technology eventually reshape human psychology itself in ways we can't yet imagine? Could it force marketers to target fundamentally new human needs created by the tech?
Speaker 2:That's a deeper, maybe slightly uninsettling, question for the future Something to think about. Ultimately, I think the enduring power and adaptability of understanding human behavior in this ever-accelerating technological landscape is the true marvel here. It reminds us that, no matter how complex the tools become, the target remains the same the nuanced, intricate and always evolving human mind.
