Chapter 5 of PSYCHOMarketing by Roger Nichols
Priming is a way of making subtle suggestions to a subconscious mind with the aim of inducing a particular response. An example of this is that it is easier to understand the word “banana” when it is written after “yellow” rather than “black.” Priming occurs because people perceive objects and words differently if they are prepared beforehand. In short, when words and objects are primed, people understand them differently.
John A. Bargh, an American psychologist, discovered this priming effect; he demonstrated that people’s behavior could be altered by activating specific associations within them. In his experiment to confirm this, a group of subjects were asked to read a list of words that related to old age and infirmity (bald, forgetful, stick, limp, etc.); while another group of subjects read a list that referred to being young and healthy (limber, spontaneous, sports, party, etc.). He learned that the folks who read the list related to old age spent more time in the trial room before leaving it than those who read the words associated with being young and healthy.
This experiment is rather intriguing, especially when we consider the subtlety of the cues that changed the behavior of the subjects. They were not shown a video of aged people or a nursing home, nor were they asked to visualize how it feels to be old. They simply read a list of age-related terms spread in a non-obvious manner. So, even though it is true that the resulting behavior of walking more slowly did not last for long, the fact that it took them more time to leave the room is itself provocative.
Masked priming is sometimes referred to as a “sandwich” technique, and is one of the purest forms of priming. Masked priming occurs where a word or image is sandwiched between a mask and a stimulus, which acts as a backward mask. It is typically presented for only a very short time, too short to be consciously recognized. Amazingly, it is reported that about one person in 50 can actually see the prime quite plainly, and can identify it.
Associative priming is a form of priming in which the prime is related to the target. This particularly applies to free-association word pairs. In other words, the probability that the target will appear with the prime is high, for example, cat is an associative prime for dog. This means the two words are closely related and can frequently appear together, as, for instance, in the phrase “it’s raining cats and dogs.”
Non-associative semantic priming refers to related concepts in which one is less likely to trigger thoughts of the other, for example sun and Venus.
Conceptual priming is similar to associative priming, but it occurs in a context used to speed up the comprehension of targets that will likely occur within that context. This is applied when reading texts, and it happens where related ideas are used to prime the response, for example, sock may prime for foot. The grammar of the sentence provides relative clues for words that will be used later in the sentence. In this case, processing the following words becomes easier than if they were to be read alone.
Semantic and conceptual priming are very similar, and the terms may be used interchangeably. In this type of priming, the prime and the target share features and are from the same semantic group. Sheep, for example, is a semantic prime for lamb because, when you mention sheep, you are inclined to think about lamb. Semantic priming works because within associative networks there is spreading activation. That is, when a word within a group of related words is triggered, the brain is stimulated to think of other words in the group. Semantic priming can work with morphemes, the smallest linguistic units (i.e., shorter words within longer words), within a word. For instance, the morpheme psyche can prime for psychology.
Perceptual priming is based on the form of the stimulus, for example, where a part-picture is completed based on a picture seen earlier.
Repetitive priming occurs where the repetition of something leads to its influencing later thoughts.
Reverse priming occurs when people realize they are being primed and are feeling they have been biased. In that case, they over-respond in their choices, which become biased in the reverse direction.
Priming used in Marketing
Priming also has significant effects on the impact of ads and sales pitches to consumers. For instance, when a marketer advertises a pain-reliever drug by creating a commercial that shows aged people experiencing strain with performing activities that demand manual adroitness. At a conscious level, it will be assumed that this ad will only be effective when viewed by old people experiencing the symptoms described, but there is a priming effect happening which may not make that so.
When consumers see this ad, mainly if the ad shows the same old people possessing youthful strength after taking the drug, there is a subtle effect that is created that enables the company to reach more people than the aged people experiencing the symptoms described in the ad. The same effects of priming are also noticeable in brand identity development, website design, and online advertising, among others.
Priming with sound
Research done in 1999 revealed priming with sound has a significant effect on marketing. North, et al. (1999) experimented with a grocery store for two weeks. During this period, German and French music was played on alternating days; the amounts of German wine and French wine sold on those days were measured. Also, people who purchased wine were requested to fill out a brief survey. The outcomes showed that the individuals who bought wine in the grocery store within the period of the study were not conscious of the influence of the music playing on their choice of either German or French wine. Yet, on the days when German songs were played, more bottles of German wine were sold, and on days when French songs were played, more French wine was sold. This shows that a simple auditory prime can affect purchases made by consumers significantly without engaging the conscious knowledge of those consumers.
Priming with images
A study done by Winkielman, et al. (2005) looked at the impact of subconscious exposure to different facial expressions (happy, neutral, and angry) on the amount of Lemon Kool-Aid consumed by subjects. This study showed that thirsty participants primed with a happy face poured themselves more than twice as much drink as those who had seen an angry face.
In another study, subjects primed with an Apple logo exhibited more creative thinking than those primed with an alternative brand. Also, in the same study, subjects primed with a Disney logo tended to be more honest.
Another factor to consider is color scheme, as mentioned earlier (p. 15). I cannot give you a one-for-all approach to this because priming varies from business to business. However, I can tell you that color has been found highly effective, as long as the palette doesn’t contradict the company’s brand message.
Priming with words is perhaps the easiest way to employ priming in marketing, because essentially, most advertisements are made of words, whether spoken or written. Several experiments in social psychology demonstrate that priming people with words like “solo,” “differ,” etc., can make a company appear unique and stand apart from their competitors.
It has been discovered that choice words used at the beginning of a presentation or commercial support the meaning of words that follow. This is referred to as the “principle of first mention.” Marketers are very careful to choose just the right words at the beginning of any communication.
Priming with smell is more of a local application, but there’s no denying its powerful appeal. Cinnabon strategically places ovens near the front of its stores, so the smell of baking cinnamon rolls wafts outside the door. Abercrombie & Fitch is well-known for the musky scent of its stores, which is attained by having employees regularly spray it into the air at all Abercrombie stores, to keep the scent fresh.