 "buyology" | 2009-09-23 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1QMK4271N7VYD |
this is a relly practical and updating book, very interesting contents for people related with communication, publicity and marketing.
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 "deceptive, simplistic and nothing but marketing for his consulting business" | 2009-09-20 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2I2KFH9X33N8W |
martin lindstrom is a great marketer for his consulting business and for himself and this 200 page book is a nothing but an advertisement for his business. like most marketing projects it is full of exaggerations, false conjecture and prose that consists mainly of hype. to top it all off his conclusions are simplistic and oftentimes flat out wrong. i highly recommend you do not buy this book.
to start off, he is being deceptive, as many marketers are, when he tells us the books is based on the world's largest neuromarketing experiment. he describes this as multimillion dollar project funded by a number of big corporations. what it actually is, he has compiled a number of neuromarketing studies his company has done for several big corporations and is repackaging it under the umbrella of one big giant study he took on. like most people i don't appreciate deception and dishonesty, so he's off to a very bad start.
one of the first studies he examines involves getting a number of cigarette smokers, having them not smoke for 4 hours and then scanning their brain activity as they are shown anti-smoking warnings in cigarette packs. the result of it comes out that when the smokers see these warnings areas of the brain that are associated with cravings light up. he then jumps to the conclusion that the cigarette warnings actually encourage smoking and are in itself great marketing for cigarettes. wow, that is such a simplistic and wrong conclusion it's shocking. if you make a group of nicotine addicts not get their fix for four hours, then show them images of anything related to cigarettes, good or bad, they will think of smoking mainly because they are craving the nicotine and they are being reminded of that craving. it does not mean that the anti-smoking warnings encourage smoking, all it means is that you are reminding the smoker needing a fix of cigarettes.
the book is filled with these types of ridiculous jumps to premature conclusions along with a never ending self-patting on the back and hyping of himself and his business and blowing up his ego (i won't even go into the introduction which spends about a page describing him physically as some sort of handsome cherubic young man --which he is not).
if you were expecting a malcolm gladwell type of incisive research, you will be very disappointed. do not be fooled by the cheesy marketing, this book is not worth reading. |
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| "Collection of fluff" | 2009-09-09 |
| - Reviewed By jsetla |
| Being a physician with an interest in neuroscience ( I treat pain) I thought this would be an interesting read. For anyone familiar with reading real science, it was a waste of time. Mostly a large collection of marketing anecdotes which were a mildly enjoyable walk down memory lane for me. The few real studies he mentions could be interesting but it's hard to know where the data ends and his (sometimes wild) extrapolation begins. Incredibly insulting is his list of references, which were ALL from lay websites like NYT or much worse. But then, he tells you three times that he spends "300 days a year on the road" which appears to be his badge of honor. As other reviewers mentioned, he is very impressed with himself and wants the reader to be as well. Glad I used the library for this one and didn't contribute to his own little marketing empire. |
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| "Why We Engage in Behavior for Which We Have No Logical or Clear-Cut Explanation" | 2009-08-27 |
| - Reviewed By tom_loarie |
Contrary to some of my fellow reviewers who have reviewed "Buy-ology," I found it to be a worthwhile and interesting read. Yes, it is somewhat self-promoting but for those of who are not market research experts, the author provides valuable insights on how companies and politicians will be selling to us in the near future. It is both fascinating and frightening.
Author Martin Lindstrom focuses on emerging new research tools based on the convergence of medical knowledge, technology, and marketing which is leading to a new ability to scan the brain and measure our reactions to external stimuli. "Buy-ology" is the result of a three year long multimillion dollar journey that included the US, Germany, England, Japan, and China.
Lindstrom along with other market researchers has always been puzzled by what people say and by what they really do which is very different. Focus groups and personal interviews, a mainstay of market research, have proven to have limited value in solving this dilemma. Meanwhile, 80% of all new products fail and companies are in dire need to improve their odds of success.
The book presents Lindstrom's findings as he employs brain scanning to reveal "the hidden truths behind how branding and marketing messages work on the human brain, how our truest selves react to stimuli at a level far deeper than conscious thought, and how our unconscious minds control our behavior."
Lindstrom confirms scientifically that while we check off stuff on questionnaires, our brain - the ultimate no-bull zone - will adamantly contradict us. And like it or not, we all consistently engage in behavior for which we have no logical or clear-cut explanation. Neuromarketing, which Lindstrom calls this new field, does provide underlying answers to what it is that we do and do not react to.
"Buy-ology" focuses on the following questions:
* Does product placement work? (No)
* How powerful are brand logos? (Fragrance and sound are more potent than any logo alone)
* Does effective subliminal advertising still take place? (Yes)
* Is our buying behavior affected by the world's major religions? (Yes and increasingly so)
* Does sex in advertising work? (Not really)
There are results some readers will believe to be obvious... or are they? Or has Lindstrom presented his information in a way that resonates with our experience? I believe it is the latter. I particularly liked his sections on mirror neurons, the ten common pillars of leading religions and how they get translated into our purchasing experience, BBDO's outline of daily rituals, and the role of somatic and sensory markers.
All in all, I think most lay readers, non-marketers, will find that "Buy-ology" will transform the way they think about how and why they buy. They will become ever so "mindful."
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 "The truth about this book." | 2009-06-29 |
| - Reviewed By User: AOU5QLELLBWYG |
Given the # of positive reviews about this book I thought it would be an incredibly insightful book about the neuroscience of why buy or how we make decisions.
Unfortunately, the book has very little substance. It could really be condensed down to 10-20 pages of relevant information.
At the end of each chapter I could help but think "that's it?" All his touting of how expensive the study was and he only came away with this insight?
I do not recommend this book. |
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| "Breezy study of neuromarketing" | 2009-06-22 |
| - Reviewed By rolfdobelli |
| This fun, useful and occasionally scary book demonstrates that author Martin Lindstrom is both well-versed in marketing practices and deeply engaged in academic research into neuromarketing. As a result, he can discuss findings from the latest studies involving brain scans, measured attention and recall - and explain how they relate to sales and purchases. This book could be twice as long and still be hypnotic; its main weakness is that Lindstrom breezes through study after fascinating study, giving each one only a few pages. However, that said, those interested in rationality, free will or communication will find much of interest here. getAbstract recommends it to them and, of course, to anyone making sales and marketing decisions. |
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