For too long marketers have been asking the wrong question. If consumers make decisions unconsciously, why do we persist in asking them directly through traditional marketing research why they do what they do? They simply can't tell us because they don't really know. Before marketers develop strategies, they need to recognize that consumers have strategies too . . . human strategies, not consumer strategies. We need to go beyond asking why, and begin to ask how, behavior change occurs. Here, author Douglas Van Praet takes the most brilliant and revolutionary concepts from cognitive science and applies them to how we market, advertise, and consume in the modern digital age. Van Praet simplifies the most complex object in the known universe-the human brain-into seven codified actionable steps to behavior change. These steps are illustrated using real world examples from advertising, marketing, media, and business to consciously unravel what brilliant marketers and ad practitioners have long done intuitively, deconstructing the real story behind some of the greatest marketing and business successes in recent history, such as Nike's "Just Do It" campaign; "Got Milk?"; Wendy's "Where's the Beef?"; and the infamous Volkswagen "Punch Buggy" launch as well as their beloved "The Force" (Mini Darth Vader) Super Bowl commercial.

Exploring how cognitive and behavioral science can help marketers to understand and reach consumers in a crowded media environment

Introduction: The Elephant in the Room and the Building of a BridgePart 1 - The Science Below Our Deeper BehaviorChapter One: The Myth of MarketingChapter Two: Humans not ConsumersChapter Three: The Biology of BehaviorPart 2 - The Seven Steps to Behavior ChangeStep One: Interrupt the PatternStep Two: Create ComfortStep Three: Lead the ImaginationStep Four: Shift the FeelingStep Five: Satisfy the Critical MindStep Six: Change the AssociationsStep Seven: Take ActionSourcesAcknowledgementsIndex