This pioneering research redefines the way we view our markets. Artificial segmentations based on personality differences offer weak foundations on which to build brand strategies. To deeply engage us, a brand must have a solid inner architecture deeply rooted in the fundamentals of humanity. Beneath all the phantasmagoria of global marketing communication, lies order and rhythm, the source code of our human behaviour. Summarising the results of our research, this presentation analyses the fundamental motives underpinning consumer behaviour and proposes a way to build brands that engage people at a profoundly human level. Our fundamental human motives are like bare patterns in any language. Successful brands infuse the pattern, fertilising the basic forms, in a unique and profoundly human way, enabling people to experience deep patterns that make them feel alive. There is a direct correlation between our fundamental human motives, the most direct way to engage people, and the level of sales and profit. The efficiency of communication budgets is maximised when the authentic codes of the brand germinate the deepest motives driving sales and profit in the category. Today we have no excuse for saying that “we waste half of our advertising budget but we don’t know which half”.

1. DEVELOPING
BRANDS
THROUGH
INTRINSICALLY
ENGAGING
NARRATIVES™

2. Hi! My name is Constantinos
Pantidos and I believe that
companies could improve
people’s lives even more
effectively if they had
deeper human insight.

3. Using a multidisciplinary
approach, BRAND AVIATORS™
has captured, for the first time,
our fundamental human
motives at the deepest levels
of their deployment…

4. … all the way from:
• their biological value
• to the neurosystems they engage
• to the cognitive operations and
psychological states they activate
• to the major social reinforcers they
cause and
• to the rich hierarchy of inherent
concepts they infuse into our
everyday life

5. This methodology
helps marketers
develop Intrinsically
Engaging Narratives™

6. We do not just buy goods or
services. By integrating intrinsic
functionality with predefined
meaning we create and express
the master narratives of our lives.

7. What deeply engages us always fulfils some
fundamental motive, the evolutionarily-
preserved dispositions that have shaped the
species

8. To ensure we never forget their
importance, nature established an
array of systems in our brain and
made their satisfaction intrinsically
rewarding

9. Humans are
multifaceted animals –
probably the most
multifaceted of all. To
help us survive and
develop, nature added
new survival systems
to our brain on top of
the old ones.

10. As we have a number of mental
guiding foundations at our
disposal that operate both fairly
independently of each other and
in cooperation, we are under the
impression that everything around
us is both straightforward and
multifaceted

11. Humans do not want to live a half
life. Life is whole only when all life
forces are experienced. The better
we learn to enjoy them, the more
human we become. An enriched
life would be that in which all
aspects of our personality attain
their full development.

12. We invent devices that
allow us to experience the
vital aspects of our nature
in ideal conditions, which
real life does not provide

13. Brands are powerful carriers of
meaning that allow us to experience
our human heritage and put our world
in order

14. Our mind imposes its structure
on every stimulus it receives
through the continuous
interchange between cognitive
and emotional processes

15. We conceive something
as a reason to rationalise
our actions

16. What we call concepts are
neural structures that allow
us to order and categorise
all stimuli around us

17. Concepts act as magnets if we have
found them to be of value in our own
personal endeavours towards self-
organisation, towards augmented
cognitive effectiveness

18. Without the
intrinsic concepts
that constitute
the brain’s
guiding
foundations,
concepts that
are formed from
experience and
evolve
throughout our
life cannot exist

19. It is the inner architecture of the message
that touches our emotions and cognition.
Our mental reaction to the messages that
are intrinsically satisfying to our mind plays
a more significant role in the persuasion
process than the message itself analysed
rationally. The structure is the message.

20. Using, for the first time, a
multidisciplinary approach, including:
• brand communication decoding
• motivational research
• psychology
• affective neuroscience
• cognitive linguistics
• cultural anthropology, sociology
• philosophy and
• their proprietary tools,
BRAND AVIATORS™ has studied the
motives underpinning buying
behaviour in over seventy global
categories of goods

21. Beneath all the phantasmagoria of global marketing communication,
lies order and rhythm, the source code of our human behaviour

22. CONNECT
CONTROL
The wheel of motives™
GROW
CARE
BALANCE
DESIRE
FEEL
SAFE
SEEK
PLAY
CREATE
DEFY
TRANSFORM
TM
What follows is a brief analysis
of the fundamental motives
underpinning consumer
behaviour and, indeed, our entire
human behaviour. These are the
irreducible, irradicable parts of
human experience, the vital
aspects of human nature. Their
force culminates into human life.*
* A book will shortly be published, extensively
analysing the motives underpinning 33 categories of
everyday consumer goods and our fundamental
human motives. It puts forward the most integrated
platform for engaging people to date.

23. THE MOTIVE TO FEEL SAFE: To exist we must feel safe. If we do not
feel safe major systems in our brain are blocked. To explore, to
create, to grow, to be ourselves, we must keep fears at bay. Nature
helps us achieve a feeling of safety by dampening any fear and
receiving rewarding stimuli. Our mind takes every opportunity to
reproduce this battle of good versus bad; when good forces win, it
is always reassuring.

24. Motive Main biological
advantages /
survival value
Possible
neurosystems
involved
Examples of
cognitive
operations
Main
psychological
states
Main sociocultural
manifestations and
reinforcers
Feel safe Detection of threats,
Dissipation of fears,
Endurance via
rewards,
Creation of
optimism that
facilitates success
Reward systems
(opioid
neurosystems that
induce a sensation
of pleasure and
suppress pain), Fear
dampening systems,
Defensive system
Retrospection,
Reminiscence,
Comfort and
enjoyment,
Believing,
Increasing positive
emotions,
Constancy, Coping,
Resolution of
emotional conflict,
Incognisance,
Anthropomorphism
Stability,
Regression,
Renewal, Nostalgia,
Daydreaming,
Comfort, Hope,
Happiness, Satiety,
Plenitude, Joy,
Bliss, Instant
gratification,
Reward,
Perfectionism
Postponement,
Shame, Guilt,
Humbleness, Self-
sacrifice,
Narcissism
Belief systems such
as religion,
Morality, Ethics,
Mores, Folkway,
Tradition,
Authenticity

25. THE MOTIVE TO SEEK. To continue to exist
we need to stir interest in life. Humans
like the familiar most of all because it
brings security. But quickly we become
frustrated and bored, and we seek
escape. Lack of arousal leads to
boredom which is responsible for a series
of negative behaviours. Nature made the
very act of searching and the moment of
discovery intrinsically pleasurable in
order to jolt us towards gaining access to
all types of resources. Our motive to seek
is omnipresent and helps us see further,
what we could become, and to take the
necessary risks to succeed.

26. Motive Main biological
advantages /
survival value
Possible
neurosystems
involved
Examples of
cognitive
operations
Main
psychological
states
Main sociocultural
manifestations and
reinforcers
Seek Arousal of interest,
Location of
resources,
Integration of
diversity,
Flexibility
Seeking system,
Arousal
optimisation system
Search, Scanning
ability, Arousing
emotional
experience,
Improvisation,
Experimentation,
Detection,
Divergent Thinking,
Choice,
Differentiation,
Sensing,
Free association,
Breadth-of-
attention, Intrinsic
motivation,
Cognitive
flexibility,
Incidental learning
Excitement,
Anticipation,
Expectancy,
Arousal,
Restlessness,
Emotional vertigo,
Contrast, Thrill,
Sense of freedom,
Curiosity,
Experimentation
Independence,
Mobility,
Flexibility,
Diversity,
Alternativeness,
Novelty, Variety,
Risk-taking,
Opportunism,
Adventure,
Exploration,
Discovery

27. THE MOTIVE TO PLAY: To live life for
its own sake is the essence of life. To
fully live, one must be fully present
where one is. To live the moment is
an exhilarating experience that
assumes spontaneity: To live every
instant to the full, to live at all, one
must let go. Through play, we find
ourselves able to experience life
intensely. Free from all pretentious
seriousness, and any need, urgency
or necessity, play allows humans to
experience all aspects of our nature,
to be fully human.

28. Motive Main biological
advantages /
survival value
Possible
neurosystems
involved
Examples of
cognitive operations
Main psychological
states
Main sociocultural
manifestations and
reinforcers
Play Focusing on the
present,
Generation of
vitality,
Integration of
incongruence,
Fighting of adversity
Play systems,
Reward systems
Immediate Intuitive
awareness,
Aggressive Ideation,
Expression of affect-
laden Images,
Intensification of
emotions,
Absorption,
Aesthesis,
Pretention, Make-
believing,
Symbolisation, Free
Association,
Representation,
Anthropomorphism,
Experimentation,
Improvisation,
Divergent thinking
Spontaneity, Whim,
Frivolity, Fun,
Gaiety, Cheerfulness,
Jubilance,
Exuberance,
Flamboyance,
Colourfulness,
Zestfulness,
Mischievousness,
Teasing, mockery
Celebrations,
Entertainment,
Satire, Humour,
Sports, Games

29. THE MOTIVE TO TRANSFORM: To survive in an
ever-changing environment, humans must be
masters of change. Our capacity to create
images and our ability to transcend the
moment helps us incarnate different roles,
experience hidden values of our personality
and try on different characters to see who we
may really be. To adapt to new situations we
need to suspend ourselves and often make
others vanish. To deceive, outmanoeuvre,
manipulate and incorporate our environment
we use no lesser devices than imagination,
projection, transference, prediction,
manoeuvring, synchronicity and synergy.

30. Motive Main biological
advantages /
survival value
Possible
neurosystems
involved
Examples of
cognitive operations
Main psychological
states
Main sociocultural
manifestations and
reinforcers
Transform Mutation,
Synchronisation,
Simulation of
scenarios
Anticipation of the
consequences of our
actions
Shifting systems,
Decoupling
mechanisms, Symbol
systems, Mirror
neurons, Imaginary
function
Foresight, Imagery,
Fantasy/make-
believe/as if
thinking, Symbolic
representation,
Association,
Suggestion,
Reversal, Diagnosis,
Affect modulation,
Pretending,
Transformation (set
shifting, cognitive
flexibility, reordering
of information,
breaking out of old
ways of thinking)
Fascination,
Amazement, Awe,
Peak experiences,
Projection,
Transference,
Disorientation,
Illusion, Entering &
participating in
Imaged worlds,
Deception,
Manipulation,
Seduction
Multiple casting of
life roles,
Multitasking,
Multiple-reality of
everyday life,
Suspension of reality
through technology,
media, Replacement
of the event and the
object with images,
Pressure for short-
cuttings, Increasing
speed of change,
Superstitions such a
as toasts, Mysticism

31. THE MOTIVE TO DESTROY: We only grow
by negating what exists already. When
reacting to sameness, to the
standardised, to the given, humans
refuse to accept anything less than that
which they deserve. Self-destruction is
life gone wrong, life not lived. We seek
to integrate small doses of death into
ourselves, so that its image is rendered
trivial, while integrating small doses of
life so that we are not overwhelmed by
its ecstasy. Consuming ourselves we
make the most of our life. From
destruction we emerge renewed, from
nothing we leap forward.

32. Motive Main biological
advantages /
survival value
Possible
neurosystems
involved
Examples of
cognitive operations
Main psychological
states
Main sociocultural
manifestations and
reinforcers
Destroy Elimination of
threats through
violence, Escaping
from dangers,
Narrowing down
thought, Integration
of conflicts &
resources,
Preparation of vital
deceleration,
Enablement of
creation
Aggression system,
Panic systems,
Emergency systems
Aggression,
Compulsively
focused attention,
Incorporation,
Distraction,
Disregard,
Negligence,
Rejection
Fear, Phobia, Anger,
Rage, Pain,
Obsession, Fixation,
Predatory feelings,
Frustration,
Agitation,
Disturbance, Horror,
Feeling of
disequilibration,
Decay, Perversion,
Malevolence, Self-
punishment,
Incapacity to live,
Submission
Counterculture,
Wars, Defiance,
Movements,
Subcultures,
Terrorism,
Vandalism,
Criminality, Waste,
Love for danger

33. THE MOTIVE TO CREATE. The mind does not
passively receive information; it is engaged in its
creation, it has a point of view. To exist, we need
our life choices to be justified, so that our life
adds up. We are, primarily, the construction of
our narratives. Through the choices we make
and the stories we tell ourselves and others we
create and maintain our self, we express our
personality. We feel our life by composing it, we
live through moments that have content, we
recreate life on a daily basis. Being ourselves is
intrinsically rewarding. Participating in the
mechanism of destruction and innovation, we
continuously fight decomposition by composing
life. Through creation, we attempt to impose our
subjective self on our environment, to exist, and
leave our imprint on the world.

34. Motive Main biological
advantages /
survival value
Possible
neurosystems
involved
Examples of
cognitive operations
Main psychological
states
Main sociocultural
manifestations and
reinforcers
Create Construction of self,
Claiming
individuality,
Finding solutions,
Leveraging brain and
body systems
All the systems in
neocortex working in
various combinatory
ways to harness the
entirety of the mind,
Insula, Anterior
cingulate, Von
Economo neurons
system
Intuition, Inspiration,
Individuation,
Discrimination,
Depiction, Ideation,
Integration of
knowledge in new
ways, Apperception,
Tendency to practice
with alternative
solutions, Problem
solving, Expression
of emotional states
and themes,
Interpretation
Self-consciousness,
Articulation of self-
identity, Need to be
oneself,
Individualisation,
Singularisation,
Subjectivity imposed
on the environment,
Creation of reality,
Conception and
(Cross) fertilisation,
Gut-sense, Search for
meaningfulness
Culture, art,
Creativity,
Continuous self-
invention, Aesthetic
rules, Identification,
Domestication,
Story-telling,
Languages and codes

35. THE MOTIVE TO GROW: Life is growth. Humans
grow through goals. As we reach one objective,
we surge towards the next greater one. Difficult
tasks are inherently pleasurable because they
make us perform at peak capacity and
contribute to the evolution of the species. By
being active we give intensity to the moment, we
live more. Every victory, no matter how small,
reassures us that we can still overcome
obstacles, push ourselves to any extremes in
pursuit of our goals. Nothing is given to any of
us. Each one of us must “earn” his/her place in
the world, his/her life. The lower our self-esteem,
the greater the need for external proofs of our
existence.

36. Motive Main biological
advantages /
survival value
Possible
neurosystems
involved
Examples of
cognitive operations
Main psychological
states
Main sociocultural
manifestations and
reinforcers
Grow Will to act & be,
Perseverance,
Evolution via
difficult tasks,
Spread of successful
genes, Access to
resources
Aggression system,
Rage System, Goal-
seeking system
Task persistence,
Determination,
Resolution, Goal
orientation,
Constancy, Attention,
Observance,
Deciding,
Acquisition,
Pursuance, Hunt
Intension to win &
augment the self,
Need for personal
development, Self-
esteem, Recognition,
Admiration, Pride,
Confidence
Achievement,
Success,
Competition,
Ownership (to prove
oneself), Progress,
Greatness,
Capitalism, Duties

37. THE MOTIVE TO CONTROL: We become human
only by controlling our impulses and instincts,
abolishing animality. Reducing everything to
human proportions, using the measures of our
own invention, we create order around us to
comfortably locate ourselves in the world. The
self itself emerged in order to direct
consciousness. Our self needs integration. To
survive, we need a frame of orientation, a
well-structured, hierarchical world. We are
born with a structure that culture reinforces.
We come into this world with a drive to
manage. Through order and control, we
manage accidentalness, entropy, physical
deterioration and decay.

38. Motive Main biological
advantages /
survival value
Possible
neurosystems
involved
Examples of
cognitive operations
Main psychological
states
Main sociocultural
manifestations and
reinforcers
Control Integration of the
organism, Direction
of the self and
guidance of reason,
Enablement of the
intellect, Hold of
resources
Computational
systems, Executive
systems of
neocortex, Self-
monitoring System,
Conflict resolution
and planning process
Reasoning,
Causality, Judgment,
Categorisation,
Typification,
Ascription,
Coordination,
Officiating,
Emotional
regulation, Cognitive
integration,
Appraisal,
Evaluation,
Modelling,
Influence,
Prioritisation
Organisation,
Rationalisation, Be a
role model, Be in
command,
Discipline, Respect,
Conformity
Civilisation, Justice
(control of society),
Measurement, Time,
Order, Justice
(control of society)
Institutions,
Organisation,
Management,
Norms, Rules,
Measurement,
Bureaucracy,
Corporations,
Imperialism,
Distinction,
Privileges

39. THE MOTIVE TO CONNECT: In both new-
born animals and humans, rejection
means death. We are social even before
we recognise our own self. Facing
dangers together we abolish our
individual weaknesses. Loneliness,
rejection and betrayal literally hurt. In
contrast, when we are with fellow
humans we feel comforted and normal.
Heterogeneity is destabilising. Merging
into the crowd we empty ourselves of
certain aspects of our character. That we
are all the same is comforting. In
forgetting the uncertainty of individual
life we open to infinity, feeling
connected to the world and the species
which are immortal.

40. Motive Main biological
advantages /
survival value
Possible
neurosystems
involved
Examples of
cognitive
operations
Main
psychological
states
Main sociocultural
manifestations and
reinforcers
Connect Effacing one’s
personal
weaknesses,
Facing dangers
together, Facing
aloneness,
Normalisation of
selection,
Sacrificing part of
personality to
mingle with
environment
Social engagement
systems, Mirror
cells, Attunement
Process
Groupthink,
Interpersonal
schema/Self-other
representation,
Capacity to trust
others,
Communication,
Linguistic process,
Identification,
Immediacy
Belonging, Sharing,
Effacing oneself in
a vague majority,
Reciprocity,
Sameness,
Friendship,
Brotherhood,
Ordinariness
Society, Equality,
Human Rights,
Gossiping,
Normality,
Neutrality,
Justice (equality)

41. THE MOTIVE TO DESIRE. Desire is pulse, vital
energy that calls us to continue to exist, to
enjoy the possible. Nature rewards all
biologically essential activities with
pleasure. Pleasure tells us what to do, it
helps us optimise our decisions, rank
urgencies, redress physiological imbalance.
Passions are attempts to step out of
ourselves. Love, itself, is the desire for
wholeness. When loved, we feel unique,
special, we fully experience our subjective
existence. In love we search to perpetuate
ourselves. In our lover we love the world.

42. Motive Main biological
advantages /
survival value
Possible
neurosystems
involved
Examples of
cognitive
operations
Main
psychological
states
Main sociocultural
manifestations and
reinforcers
Desire Procreation,
Ranking urgencies,
focusing behaviour
on useful ends,
Optimising
behaviour
decisions, Overall
function
monitoring,
Motivation and
learning what is
good,
Propulsion through
desire,
Redressing
physiological
imbalance
Hedonic circuits,
(probably the
subcortical
substrates of
nucleus accumbens,
and ventral
pallidum in
interaction with
cortical structures),
Opioid and reward
systems, Social
engagement
systems, Love
system (probably
cingulate gyrus)
Selection of action,
Conditioned
reinforcement,
Emotional
responsiveness,
Working memory,
Attraction,
Attention, Problem
solving, Goal
selection,
Infatuation, Positive
regard &
commitment, Care,
Immediacy,
Positively biased
thinking
Sensuousness,
Sexuality, Lust,
Take pleasure,
Feel wanted &
special, Fall in love,
Experiencing
intimacy,
Seek self-
acceptance, Seek
wholeness
Hedonistic culture,
Marriage, Coupling,
Passions, Sexual
norms

43. THE MOTIVE TO CARE. Life is based on symbiosis.
As we constantly are, or feel, under attack from
unseen aggressions, there is a constant need to
physically and emotionally protect ourselves,
and others, from outside threats. We grow
through giving: The more we give, the more we
receive. By our nature, not to give when we
know we are not taken advantage of is painful.
In giving the best of ourselves to others, we go
beyond our subjective life and feel our
existence. In focusing on taking care of others,
we mask our own needs and bypass our own
inadequacies. By taking care of others we take
care of ourselves.

44. Motive Main biological
advantages /
survival value
Possible
neurosystems
involved
Examples of
cognitive
operations
Main
psychological
states
Main sociocultural
manifestations and
reinforcers
Care Saving what is
useful, Growing
offspring, Serving
community,
Providing lifelong
resilience
Care systems Empathy
(expression of
concern for and
caring about
others), Care,
Excogitation
Feeling useful &
benevolent,
Nurturing
behaviour,
Defensive
behaviour,
Selflessness,
Intense pleasure
helping others
including children
Having children,
Altruism,
Compassion,
Maintaining, Saving

45. THE MOTIVE TO BALANCE. To survive means to
continuously monitor, understand and harmonise
the internal and external environment. Knowledge
is a prerequisite for balance. However, although
knowledge brings power and security, it is also
fallible. To manage knowledge and reason and to
balance the different dimensions of our human
nature we need wisdom. In understanding the
various qualities of human nature we enable
ourselves to surpass it.

46. Motive Main biological
advantages /
survival value
Possible
neurosystems
involved
Examples of
cognitive
operations
Main
psychological
states
Main sociocultural
manifestations and
reinforcers
Balance Construction of an
adequate self,
Balancing the
different parts of
our nature,
Harmonisation of
the self with the
world,
Orientation of the
self, Guiding
reason
Information
processing system,
Learning and
memory systems
Cerebration,
Knowing,
Representation,
Awareness,
Eclecticism,
Convergent
thinking,
Apprehension,
Master and
integrate knowledge
base, Synthesising,
Insight, Gnosis,
Doublethink
Increased sense of
inner unity &
coherence,
Harmonisation of
the various aspects
of personality and
life, Understanding,
Building agreement
with our
environment,
Moderation,
Prudence,
Prevention, Wisdom
Rewarding
expertise,
Education, Science

47. THE WHEEL OF EVOLUTION:
Our whole civilisation,
social institutions, belief
systems, various cultures,
great human values and
the way we behave at
every moment are all
products of our
fundamental human
motives. They are all
attempts to fight
degeneration and to
elevate life, becoming
themselves, in their turn,
adaptive mechanisms.

48. Brands with a solid
inner architecture
deeply rooted in
the fundamentals
of humanity, are
most competitively
positioned to
achieve market
leadership

49. BRAND AVIATORS™
specialises in capturing
the unique codes of your
brand that engage
people at a profoundly
human level based on a
three-phase
methodology

50. Phase 1: Psychographic
landscaping
• Mapping the meaning people
derive from the category
• Deconstructing the meaning
systems of the brands in the
category
• Tracing meaning-saturated
areas and fundamental
motives which are catered for
less effectively

51. Phase 2: Brand
(re)definition
• Locating the core of the
brand (based on the
fundamental motive(s) it
activates)
• Mobilising the core to give
a unique answer to what
consumers have always
wanted from the category

52. Phase 3: The unique
language of the brand
• Imprinting brand strategy
into our fundamental human
motives, the roots of human
communication
• Translating brand strategy
into Intrinsically Engaging
Narratives™ - tangible and
ownable experiences based
on the profound code

53. BRAND AVIATORS™ are trusted by some of the world’s
leading companies:

54. (Re)define your brand through the
human fundamentals if you seek to:
• Deeply engage people locally
and across cultures
• Develop genuine concepts that
work year after year after year
• Align all brand communications
under one master idea
• Increase the ROI of all your
brand activities

55. My mission is to help clients
around the world build
brands that liberate the very
forces of life. Contact me now
for a free discovery audit by
clicking on the icon: