Suphavat Khamijoun from OZA’s global partner in Thailand, TMRC Research, passes along an article by Jonah Lehrer (author of Proust was a Neuroscientist and How We Decide) about the so-called “Tiger Woods Effect.”

It is a look at why we often should let our unconscious minds have free rein.  Lehrer presents a hypothesis that when people get nervous about performing, they tend to fixate on the details of what are doing, don’t perform naturally,  and thus don’t perform well.

This might explain why Tiger Woods’ competitors tend to crumble in the latter stages of a golf tournament.  Because Woods is so good, other golfers feel like they need to be perfect, begin overanalyzing their swings, and end up missing easy putts and slicing balls into the trees.

Suphavat has an interesting hypothesis of his own:  He suggests that perhaps this is why traditional direct questioning in market research doesn’t work well in many circumstances.  It forces consumers to overanalyze their behavior and thoughts, thus their tendency to “get it wrong” in those kinds of research environments.

The Economist on a strategic challenge that Nestle is facing – how to credibly brand itself as a health-and-wellness company after so many years of being so closely identified with chocolate and milk.

An article from the Wall St. Journal discusses how you can unearth breakthrough insights if you just let your unconscious mind roam freely.

Thank you to Fabrizio Spinelli from our global partner Mindroads in Brazil, who sends along this article about how technology is changing the way we tell stories.

The takeaway is that storytelling is in the process of re-inventing itself to fit with our new forms of communication.

ZMET is built around the power of stories; thus, we can help clients  tell clear, emotionally resonant stories that effectively communicate their brand’s message, regardless of the channel of communication.

Disney is struggling to figure out what to do with its most iconic brand, Mickey Mouse.

In his early days, Mickey was a wild and crazy guy – almost like a 1920s version of Bart Simpson.   In the 1930s, though, that began to change as Walt Disney toned down his image.  As this article states:

Animators once made a cartoon for a private viewing to amuse their boss, in which Mickey went all the way with Minnie. Disney congratulated them on the craftsmanship, asked for the names of all those involved and then sacked them. No one could tamper with Mickey’s family-friendly image, even as a private joke.

But Mickey has grown a bit stale for recent generations of children, especially in the United States.  These days he seems to be more prominent as a corporate logo than as an animated character with a distinct personality.  So Disney is trying to “re-brand” Mickey without eroding his core meaning – not an easy task.

Here is a little case study about a marketing blunder that might not have been a marketing blunder.

The article deals with a contest sponsored by Kraft Foods Australia which let consumers create a name for a new Vegemite-based based snack product.   A decent idea that went horribly wrong.  Or did it?

A recent article in the Wall St. Journal describes the marketing tactics that some luxury brands are employing to overcome “shoppers’ guilt” in these trying economic times.

When I was still living in State College, Pennsylvania I watched several longtime Mom & Pop stores go out of business as big box retailers moved into town and siphoned off their loyal customers.

• One was a very quirky hardware store that, among other things, sold fresh meat.  It was a cool place.  Unfortunately, customer service was horrible and when you entered the store, you felt about as welcome as swine flu.

• Another was an electronics store.  Nice selection of products.  But their hours were Monday-Friday, 9 am – 5 pm. 

• Another was a downtown bookstore.   It was OK.  They sold a lot of scholarly books that you couldn’t find elsewhere.  But their marketing plan consisted of…well….pretty much nothing.

What all three of these business did exceedingly well was whine about how we ungrateful consumers no longer appreciate the importance of locally-owned businesses.    But if you don’t serve me well or give me any compelling reason to patronize you, why is it my moral obligation to keep you in business?   

Of course, many small businesses have used a little creativity and found ways to survive and even thrive.  One is a bookstore in New York City that has succeeded through some interesting promotions and valuable services that are unavailable from larger bookstores.  Then there is another bookstore in Portland, Oregon that has used design cues to create an emotionally compelling shopping experience (I thought the customer-created shelf talkers were particularly neat).

This piece from The Atlantic discusses a paradox present within the “American DNA” – the conflict between Americans’ risk-taking entrepreneurial spirit and their risk-averse Puritanical sensibilities.

As we have found many times, similarities from culture-to-culture run deep.  But sometimes the uniqueness of a given culture can explain a lot.  It can be particularly interesting when apparently conflicting sets of values work in tandem, as the author claims is the case in the US.

An article in the current Scientific American Mind provides some insights into the psychology of pain – including nuggets that could be particularly relevant to the medical industry. 

Some of the highlights:

• Soldiers who are wounded in battle report less pain than civilians who suffer comparable injuries.  This might be because injuries in a military setting can have positive connotations (honor, surviving a battle, going home) whereas the same  injuries in a civilian setting seldom have the same kinds of positive associations.

• Anticipation of a positive end result can serve as an analgesic.  For example, a boxer might have a high tolerance for pain if he expects to win a fight. 

• Positive expectations can affect recover from painful injuries.  Car accident victims who suffered whiplash injuries and who expected to return to work recovered significantly faster than those who had lower expectations.

• If you empathize with a person and you see that person in pain, you are likely to become more sensitive to pain.

• If you suffer from depression or are under chronic stress, you are likely to experience pain more acutely than someone in a more positive frame of mind.