Phil Barden: Decoded
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Decoded: The Science Behind Why We Buy, by Phil Barden, ends each chapter with a one-page distillation. I’ll use these 6 pages to summarise the book for those who haven’t read it.
01 - Decision Science: 2 systems influence all purchase decisions: an implicit, autopilot system & an explicit, pilot system. Marketers must consider both systems. However, a new understanding of the autopilot’s enormous capacity has uncovered a new & exciting opportunity.
02 - The Moment of Truth: The equation of a purchase decision is ‘value = reward - pain’. To increase value there are 4 strategies: increase explicit or implicit reward & decrease explicit or implicit pain. There need not be a trade off. Marketers can pursue all simultaneously.
03 - Decoding the Interface: If something achieves our goals we give it more attention. Brands can increase attention by building associations with these goals. Associations are triggered by signals that are mainly perceived through blurry peripheral vision.
04 - Optimising the Path to Purchase: By adapting the ‘decision interface’ to appeal to the autopilot we can influence behaviour, and thus purchases, without the intermediate step of changing attitudes. The autopilot prefers rewards that are tangible, immediate & certain.
05 - Goals: The better a brand serves a consumer goal the higher the expected reward. Base your positioning on a category goal. The brand that owns the dominant goal will win. Where explicit superiority is impossible differentiate via implicit goals. Great propositions link both.
06 - From Positioning to Touchpoints: Our position must be translated into signals which activate the goal within the mind of consumer. All communication must address the same single goal. If our signals align to the goal better that our competitors’, our brand will be bought.
This summary leaves out so much. Decoded covers many academic studies from neuroscience & behavioural economics. Oh & the book was the runner up in BBH Labs world cup of ad books.
Highly recommended.
Pick up your copy here.