Quoted: Einstein On Insanity

Albert Einstein didn't officially ply his trade in marketing (he chose to go the theoretical physics route), but he is widely regarded as one of the most influential intellectuals of all time--and for good reason.

Consider his insightful and succinct definition of insanity that can apply across business and academic disciplines, but has merits in the field of psychology and branding (asking 'why we buy?'): 

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

PhD Thesis: How Image Is Created

While completing my MSc at Lund University last winter I had the pleasure of attending the doctoral thesis of Cecilia Cassinger. Titled "Retailing Retold: Unfolding the Process of Image Construction in Everyday Practice," Cassinger uses research obtained from interviews with IKEA customers in Malmo, Sweden and Shanghai, China, to develop her thesis on image creation.

From the March 11, 2010 news release, quoting Cassinger:

"Within marketing, the view of image creation has traditionally been that it is the company that communicates a message, which leads to the creation of an image in the consumer´s mind. Instead I see image creation as an activity that is predominantly carried out when the consumer talks about his or her experience of the company. Consuming products is largely about explaining what we do with them in our everyday culture. Whether we are aware of it or not, our accounts lend significance to the company and thus create an image. It is about the invisible production of an image that takes place in time and space, primarily in the home where many products are used. In this way, accounts of consumption are a useful tool to capture image creation."

The thesis is particularly entertaining and insightful, employing a novel narrative that offers substantive insight into the concept of brand image creation. I would recommend it for anyone interested in consumption theory and brand image creation.

More:
Retailing Retold: Unfolding the Process of Image Construction in Everyday Practice [pdf]
Lund University School of Economics and Management

TED Talks: Dan Cobley

Google Marketing Director Dan Colbey offers up a concise lecture from July 2010 on how physics can inform our knowledge of branding. Perhaps everything can be said to be like everything else in one way or another, but Colbey does a good job at offering up a new level of discourse when it comes to traditional branding practices.

Description from TED Talks:

Physics and marketing don't seem to have much in common, but Dan Cobley is passionate about both. He brings these unlikely bedfellows together using Newton's second law, Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, the scientific method and the second law of thermodynamics to explain the fundamental theories of branding.

Video after the break.

LISTED: Buyology

I am currently reading Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy.

Author, and former BBDO ad executive, Martin Lindstrom delves into the science of neuromarketing as a framework for developing an understanding the consumer Buyology -- the subconscious thoughts, feeling and desires that drive purchase decisions.

Lindstrom navigates through an "entire peninsula" of subconscious thoughts and feelings that he asserts are meaningful and necessary to determining the efficacy of advertising and, naturally, why we buy. It's like Inception for marketers.

Thoughts going in are mixed. I believe it can provide some inspiration. As usual, mass-market books such as this are often aspirational, but most always short on substance. If you are looking for meaningful contributions, see scholarly journals. If you are looking for the next trend in branding, check the New York Times Best Seller list.

I will be posting some moments of profundity from the book as I enjoy all 243 pages. Just search for the tag buyology.