Robert Heath: Seducing the Subconscious

In Seducing the Subconscious Robert Heath makes a counterintuitive claim:

The less attention an ad receives the more powerful its affect.

The book supports the theory with research on attention, processing, filtering, learning and memory.

I’ll summarise each in turn here.

01 Attention

• Active attention: The level of attention is high, the application is deliberate and is controlled by the individual.

• Passive attention: The level of attention is low, the application is inadvertent and isn’t controlled by the individual.

02 Processing

• Deep processing: Occurs when active attention is being applied and the maximum cognitive resource is being deployed.

• Shallow processing: Occurs when passive attention is being applied and the minimum cognitive resource is being deployed.

03 Filtering

• Perception: We perceive our surroundings automatically through our senses.

• Conceptulisation: We link sensory input to concepts that we’ve already learned.

• Analysis: We filter out the majority & consciously examine the few concepts that require further analysis.

04 Learning

• Active learning: We consciously categorise, manipulate, evaluate, interpret & encode ideas.

• Passive Learning: We semi-consciously absorb stimuli & form (or strengthen) the associations between them.

05 Memory

• Working memory: Stores information temporarily.

• Episodic memory: Stores experiences.

• Semantic memory: Stores facts.

• Procedural memory: Aids the performance of motor skills.

Moving down the list, the capacity increases as well as the durability of the memories that are stored.

Conclusion

But what does any of this mean for advertising?

The book concludes with a detailed model of how advertising interacts with these five elements.

For the sake of simplicity, I’ll describe the two extremes.

Ads that are actively attended to, are processed deeply, consciously analysed and stored in low capacity, low durability memory.

Ads that are passively attended to are processed shallowly, semi-consciously conceptualised and stored in high capacity, high durability memory.

In short, when ads receive high attention they are more likely to be examined, counter-argued and allotted to short term memory. When they receive low attention they are more likely to bypass our filters and form connections in long term memory.

Heath’s model goes into much greater detail and provides nuances on the stages that lie between these extremes.

It’s a provocative theory that has repercussions for many of our industry’s processes.

Highly recommended.

Pick yourself up a copy here.

If you’d like to read my other book summaries, you can find a collection of them here.

Enjoy.