The mere exposure effect is not a Hollywood blockbuster starring Matt Damon (although now that we’ve had the idea…)
It’s a well-known psychological phenomenon that says humans prefer certain things simply because they’re familiar. Anyone who’s tried to make headway a market dominated by one or two brands will know what we mean. Creating familiarity through repetition is critical in the marketing mix.
This was proven in a fascinating study, published in the British Medical Journal a few years ago. The study looked at whether branding could actually make a difference in how effective people thought their headache tablets were. No prizes for guessing – it did!
The women in the study reported that their headaches were relieved more effectively by the branded tablet that they knew and trusted than by the unbranded one, even though some of the branded tablets were actually placebos and some of the unbranded ones were real headache tablets.
In other words, the brand had an analgesic effect on the women as powerful as the active ingredients in the actual headache tablet. And while you might think that, after some time the headache would reappear, the effect was actually even stronger when more time had elapsed.
So next time you’re thinking about your own branding, think about the mere exposure effect and the power of the mind to preference what we already know.
To view some examples of the Taylor & Grace branding work click here
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