This presentation was created to bring insights from neurobiology and psychology (interpersonal neurobiology, attachment theory, and trauma theories in particular) to brand strategists and innovators striving for meaningful, respectful, and honoring interactions with consumers. It draws largely from the work of Daniel Siegel, renowned founder of interpersonal neurobiology, and takes a postmodern stance.
2. Let’s get started!
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Experiential, “body-centered” warm-up
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Steal this as a meeting-starter to optimize brain function!
http://bit.ly/10F1nVZ
3. Strategy & Psychotherapy: Common Ground
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Products/Services and Therapy offer:
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2) Enhancement
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1) Goal-Facilitation
3) Transformation
First-Order Change vs. Second-Order Change
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buying a product once, as opposed to being
loyal to a brand long-term
Inviting consumers to interact with a brand
• “co-creation of meaning” & SEC
4. Literature Review
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Subcortical/Subliminal focus, Left-Brain insight/research
strategies
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Love affair with personality psychologists...
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Stimulation; one-directional (vs. interactional)
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“attributes, personality, values” ... what about feelings?
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Strategists- save us #om the advertisers & marketers!
5. Starting with Strategy
• “We remember what goes with what we know.”
• Let’s start with a little strategy to frame our
thinking, then we’ll move into neurobiology.
6. Brand--Brain
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Bruce Tait
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Strategist for Gucci
The Mythic Status Brand Model
“Our experience working with
organizations around the world to
help them better differentiate their
brands su%ests that most marketers
are open and eager to learn about
the insights obtained #om brain
science. But there seems to be a gap
between theory and practice. Most
clients have not seen actionable
models that translate science into a
tool for articulating a brand’s core
meaning.”
•Promise to help:
•1) consumer define a new reality
•2) define ourselves (internally & externally)
•3) transform us so we can realize our
greatest desires and avoid our greatest fears
7. Case Study: Gucci
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Sparseness of words + a greater reliance on images
facilitate this mythic status.
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In reality, they’re just getting into the Right Brain/
limbic system, but hold that thought.
8. My Background
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1) Holistic Practice
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2) Interpersonal Neurobiology
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3) Body-Centered Therapies
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4) Postmodernism
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5) “Evidence-Based Relationship”
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6) Trauma-Informed
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7) Attachment-Informed
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8) Mindfulness-Based
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9) Alternative Practice
9. 6 Layers of Integrative Tissue
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Body-Centered work
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80% of our bodies nerves are afferent (body to brain)
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Depending on the strength of prior learning/repetition,
top-down will hold.
12. Brain + Mind + Relationships
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Brain- neural connections throughout the body as the
mechanism by which energy & information flows
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Mind- the process by which we regulate energy and info. flow
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Relationships- how we share energy and information
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“You can actually use the focus of attention you create with your
mind to direct the flow of energy and information in your nervous
system so you intentionally create neural firing in new patterns.”
13. Functions of the Prefrontal Cortex
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1) Body Regulation
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2) Attuned Attention/Communication
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3) Emotional Balance
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4) Fear Modulation
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5) Response Flexibility
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6) Insight
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7) Empathy
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8) Morality
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9) Intuition
14. 1) Body Regulation
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Functions of the body such as heart rate, respiration and
digestion that are controlled by the nervous system.
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100 BILLION neurons
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Equilibrium; balance of SNS & PNS
Each neuron has on average 10,000 connections!
Viscera- spiderweb-like neurons around the hollow organs
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Send info to the middle prefrontal cortex
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Brain tissue is not just in our cranium!
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Heart- coherence
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Gut- “gut feeling” as a neurobiological reality
15. Left Brain & Right Brain
• Left Brain seeks to
explain.
• Right Brain seeks to
describe.
• e.g., trace energy and
information flow
• “Tell me about
your relationship
with your mom.”
16. 2) Attuned Attention/Comm.
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When we attune to others we allow our own internal state to
shift, to come to resonate with the inner world of another.
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Developmental Psychology
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Attunement via Attachment
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Brands can attune to consumers’ & clients’ needs.
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co-regulation of affect & co-creation of meaning
How do you show that you’re attuned?
I’ll go deeper into Attachment Theory for those interested
in sticking around!
17. 3) Emotional Balance
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“integrating the body with higher
parts of the nervous system”
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Healthy relationships promote
integration
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Even the healthiest person may be
temporarily thrown off and feel
out of balance, but the middle
prefrontal region functions to
bring us back to equilibrium.
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“Resilience”
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We mistake resilience for brain
plasticity
19. “Brain Integration”
• “bringing separate things together in a
functional whole” (Siegel)
• things that aren’t integrated can be
considered obtrusive imagery
• Meditation & Coherence
• Mindful Awareness
• We’ve had this information since the
Stone Age (6k years ago)
• Facilitates brain plasticity!
New
21. Our Right Brains as Slaves
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Consider these two sets
of words/phrases:
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CBT, dualism, positivism,
constructivism, empiricism,
Left Brain, “behaviorism-based”
Brand Strategy (maybe y’all have
a word for that?), structuralism,
knowing, facts, yes/no or Q&A,
close-ended questions
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Holistic, narrative, mindfulness,
postmodern, Right Brain,
moment-by-moment, curious,
describing, child-like, meaning,
story-teller, open questions,
interpret, narratives, open
questions
22. 4) Fear Modulation
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We unconsciously scan for safety 4x/second!
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After experiencing a frightening event, we may come to feel
fear in the face of a similar situation.
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Tri%ers, aka: stimulus generalization or over-coupling
The MPF region has direct connections (aka: integrative
tissues) that pass down into the limbic area
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Neuroception vs. conscious perception
Amygdala: “meaning making organ”
When we unlearn a fear, GABA fibers grow to amygdala
24. The Brain Stem
• The brain stem
determines if fight or
flight is not an option
• “lack of alternatives”
• e.g., things like
rape, continual
abuse, or even
scenarios
involving racism
• Dissociation
http://bit.ly/13Z9FfA
28. Memory
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1) Explicit
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Episodic (autobiographical events)
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Used to be called “declarative”
Working Memory
2) Implicit
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Semantic (general knowledge)
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Perceptual Representation
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sensorymotor information, bodily sensations, visual
imagery
Motor & Cognitive Skills
29. Let’s go deeper...
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Subcortical Regions
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Limbic System
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unconscious
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“lizard brain”
300 million years ago
Neocortex
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“voice of reason”
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awareness
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consciousness
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200 million years ago
http://bit.ly/11L8o52
30. The Limbic System
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3 Primary Parts:
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1) Thalamus: relays information
from eyes, ears, skin, etc.
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2) Hippocampus: involved in
memory formation
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3) Amygdala: assigns emotions
to experience
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“meaning-making organ”
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Amygdala (feeling), Hippo.
(thinking)
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“Emotional memories are forever.”
31. Wonder what your hippocampus
& fornix look like?
http://bit.ly/bLC0Be
32. Encoding Memory
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1) Amygdala screens incoming info;
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a) compares it to pre-existing information
b) sends it to the hippocampus for processing
2) If the hippocampus doesn’t recognize the
information, it alerts the body to become aroused.
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if not, it becomes implicit-only format
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The more the hippocampus is aroused, the more
likely the info/energy will be encoded.
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Stress (e.g., Cortisol, Adrenaline) literally shuts off
the hippocampus
33. The Fine Line with Memory
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If info comes in and the
amygdala recognizes it, it may
not be sent to the hippocampus
for processing.
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If the hippocampus doesn’t
activate, the body does not
become aroused/attentive, and
no meaning is made.
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BUT, if the amygdala is
overstimulated, an inhibitory (“cut
it out!”) message is sent to the
hippocampus.
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e.g., traumatic experiences/stress,
dissociation/ why witnesses to
extreme violence make a lot of
errors identifying perps
34. 5) Response Flexibility
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Facilitated by brain integration
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Ability to think about options & pick the best one
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Ability to pause before responding
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social and emotional intelligence
“SNAG” consumers with familiarity + novel info/energy
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S- stimulate
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N- neuronal
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A- activation
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G- growth
35. 6) Insight
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Metacognition
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Creates “mental time travel”
in which we connect the past
to the present and the
anticipated future.
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Interoception
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looking inward and asking
what is going on in the
body
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facilitates insight, which
associates with empathy
36. Meaning
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Viktor Frankl
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“A human being is a deciding being.”
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“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are
challenged to change ourselves.”
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“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that
space is our power to choose our response. In our response
lies our growth and our freedom.”
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Meaning is fundamentally interpersonal.
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How can we activate the amygdala and hippocampus to
facilitate meaning-making, conveyance of meaning, and
memory formation?
37. 7) Empathy
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The capacity to create “mindsight” (Daniel Siegel) images of
other people's minds.
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Mindsight: our human capacity to perceive the mind of
the self and others
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helps us get ourselves off of the autopilot of ingrained
behaviors and habitual responses
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the difference between saying “I am sad” and “I feel sad.”
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These “you-maps” enable us to sense the internal mental
stance of another person, not just to attune to their state of
mind.
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Mirror Neurons
38. Mirror Neurons
• The “social circuitry” of the brain
• SIMA Map
• Cortical info driven down from mirror
neurons, through the insula, into the limbic
circuits, and down into the brainstem.
• e.g., if someone is crying in the room,
your body will shift before you are even
consciously aware
39. 8) Morality
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Moral reasoning seems to require the integrative capacity of
the pre-frontal cortex in 2 main ways:
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1) to sense the emotional meaning of present challenges
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2) to override immediate impulses in order to create
moral action in response to challenges.
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Innate, evolutionary function
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Neurobiological drive for higher, existential meaning
40. 9) Intuition
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The pre-frontal cortex gives us access to the wisdom of the
body.
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This is neurobiology, not magic or hippie-dippie stuff.
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Many believe this is what people mistake for god.
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This region receives information from throughout the
interior of the body, including the viscera, and uses this
input to give us a "heart felt sense" of what to do, or a "gut
feeling.”
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Western/allopathic mistrust of our bodies
41. Integrating Brand Strategy
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6 layers of integrative tissues; “Top-Down” vs. “Bottom-Up”
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This brain model pairs well with Severi & Ling’s (2013) Model of Brand
Equity (p. 128).
42. Brand Awareness
• “The durability of a brand that embedded in the
customer memory” (Aaker, 1996).
• What does that language say?
• “embedded” (passive) vs. “encoded” (active)
• Created by ongoing visibility and “enhancing
familiarity and powerful associations between
offerings & buying experiences” (Severi & Ling,
2013).
• Let’s think about humans as a little more
sophisticated than all that...
43. Brand Association
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Aaker says brand association leads to memorability, which
leads to loyalty.
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Also facilitates brand extension & differentiation
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Right Brain & Innovation!
Created via:
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Loyalty as more than familiarity/memorability; about
meaning
Attitudes, Attributes, & Benefits
How would the Right Brain say this?
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Feelings, Stories, & Higher Meaning
44. Brand Loyalty
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“[S]ymbolizes a constructive mindset toward a brand that leads to
constant purchasing of the brand over time” (Aaker, ’91).
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Harley & Apple studies
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Brains in religious fanatics light up the same way in the temporal
lobes as consumers who report “high brand loyalty.”
Two Approaches:
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Behavioral (loyalty measured by constant purchasing)
Cognitive (more than just purchasing)
If it’s more than just constant purchasing & familiarity, what is it?
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Feelings, Reward Circuit (behavior), & Meaning
45. Perceived Quality
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“Overall perception of customers about brilliance and
quality of products or services in comparing with the
rivalry offerings,” (Aaker, 1991).
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What sets your product/service apart from rivals?
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Higher Meaning!
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e.g., Dove Campaign for Real Beauty
What is “brilliance” to our brains?
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FINE: Familiarity + Interaction + Novelty + Emotion
46. If you remember anything...
• The brain develops on demand.
• Neurons that fire together wire together.
• We are more than the activities of our minds.
• Bottom-Up > Top-Down
• We remember what goes with what we know.
• Emotional memories are forever.
• Stress shuts down the hippocampus, which
prevents the making of meaning.
49. Polyvagal Theory
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HRV (heart rate variance)
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Breathe in, your HR
goes up (VV)
Breathe out, your HR
goes down (DV)
Ventral Vagal myelination
(18mo-2yrs)
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face-to-face interaction
mediates myelination
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“It isn’t nature vs.
nurture; it’s nature
needs nurture.” -Dan
Siegel
50. Attachment Theory
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Strange Situation Experiment
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4 types of attachment
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Transitional Objects
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Can we think about consumers
& brands in these terms?
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http://bit.ly/12ilQMR
Mary Ainsworth
Adult Attachment Interview
51. 9 Levels of Brain Integration
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1) Integration of Consciousness- linking things in time and space
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2) Vertical Integration- way circuits brought together from head to toe
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3) Horizontal Integration- right brain/left brain
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4) Memory Integration- reflection on feelings/impressions from right brain
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5) Narrative Integration- creating a story-teller of our mind
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eliminates feelings of helplessness by becoming an active author
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6) State Integration- many aspects of the self/neural-firing clusters
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7) Temporal Integration- coping with uncertainty & impermanence
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8) Interpersonal Integration- alignment with another human on an emotional
level
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9) Transpiration Integration- awakening to “separateness is an illusion”
52. A Little About Trauma Work
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Can we look at
products/services as
clients needing trauma
work?
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SIBAM
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Digging up implicitonly & organizing it in
a way that makes
meaning & as such
reduces suffering.
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Successfully navigating
trauma moves us
beyond.
53. SIBAM
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Hold one of your products (yogurt, beer, etc.); focus: feelings/sensations > thoughts
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Sensations
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Observed behaviors- tapping foot, wiggly leg, crossed arms, breathing rate, leaning in
or away
Affect
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Is there an image associated with the sensation? Describe with details.
Behaviors
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What? Where? How big? Tension? If it had a color? Fluid or stable? Temperature?
Images
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Bottom-Up; tone: curious, playful, irrational, child-like, imaginative
What feelings come up? Emotions? Anything from the past?
Meaning
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Meaning last! What do you make of S-A?
54. Language: Sensations
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Here, we mean literally in the body, not just the
sensation of the object in our hand—where does energy
flow?
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Is there a sensation that calls your attention? A body
part?
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When you hold this product, what sorts of sensations
come up in your body? What sensation is most calling
your attention?
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What would your body like to say about/to this product?
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How do you feel like moving your body in response
to these feelings?
55. Language: Images
• What images come up for you when you think
about product/service?
• If the product/service had words, what would it
say?
• What is nice and pleasant about the image that
comes up for you when you think about the
product/service?
• What is uncomfortable about the image?
• What does the image remind you of?
56. Language: Behavior
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Process > Content
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“moment-by-moment awareness” (Kabat-Zinn)
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Encourage slowed-down, exaggerated gestures to show “what the body wants to
do” with a product.
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Be observing the client; if their arms twitch, they bite their nails, sigh deeply, shift
their weight in their chair, recoil by leaning back or crossing their arms, lean in,
change eye contact, laugh, etc.
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e.g., Chobani. Say someone you’re interviewing about the brand/product has a cup
of Chobani and you’ve already got her talking about sensations and images that
come up. Let’s say you notice that since you started, she has crossed her arms, and
has turned her body away from the yogurt, which she holds like the plague in her
right hand. Let’s say you point this behavior out. “What does your body want to
do with the yogurt? You look like you are holding it away from you. Do you want
to throw it? Smash it?”
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The idea is that exploring, playfully, these behavior impulses, we’ll start to
uncover the meaning not only behind the behaviors, but behind the
attitudes as well.
57. Language: Affect
• Is there a feeling that comes with the emerging
sensations & images?
• How long have these kind of feelings been
around?
• If you were yourself as a child, what would you
feel about this product/service? What would
you say?
• How does this product/service make you feel
about yourself ?
58. Language: Meaning
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*Caution: don’t go here to quickly because you’ll get
taken straight to the Left Brain, which is not super
useful to us because we want to get at meaning, which
can’t be done without Right Brain!
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This will most likely arise spontaneously; if not, go back
to sensations.
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What might this product/service mean to you?
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Beyond making money, what does this product/service
mean to others/culture/society?
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How might what this product/service means to you be
different from your mom? Sibling? Friend?
59. •
Talking as if
Activities
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Right Brain/Left Brain dialoguing
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as if you’re the child version of yourself
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as if you’re a Jungian archetype
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Left hand drawing & writing (to access RB)
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Singing/rapping ideas (to access RB)
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Internal Family Systems (IFS)
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Parts dialoguing
Consciously selecting language
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“notice your breath” vs. “sense your breath”
61. Internal Family Systems (IFS)
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Exiles
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hold painful emotions that have been isolated from the conscious Self for
protection of the system or for the parts’ safety.
e.g., Rage, Dependency, Shame, Fear, Grief, Loneliness
Managers
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Protect the system; attempt to keep us in control of every situation/
relationship in order to protect us from feeling hurt or rejected
e.g., Controller, Planner, Judge, Striver, Self-critical, Passive Pessimist, Caretaker
Firefighters
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also protect the system, but act after exiles are upset to either sooth or
distract them
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e.g., Addictions, Suicidality, Violence, Dissociation, Distraction, OCD,
Fantasy