Branded Memory

In Branded Memory, Charles Young provides a thought-provoking review of state-of-the-art findings about the mental processes involved in converting advertising experiences into brand memories. Drawing from thousands of advertising tests for some of the largest global brands using Ameritest’s proprietary picture sorting techniques for probing short term memory, as well data from modern neural techniques such as brain wave measurement and facial response coding of emotions, the book breaks new ground in exploring the relationship between experience and memory.

New findings reveal that the average consumer forms a long-term brand memory every seven seconds when watching an effective tv commercial. This is a process that is strongly mediated by the selective perception filtering of the unconscious mind, emotional engagement, and the audience’s search for meaning in advertising video. Yet memory is a plastic, so that a strong ad can actually erase the memories laid down by weaker competitors.

The book is very readable in it’s approach to a complex subject. In it's paperback form, the structure of the book follows a left-brain, right-brain format. On the left side is a short, blog-length verbal essay on a single, relevant concept. The right side contains pictures and data from experiments that illustrate or expand on the concept that is written about on the left side.

This is a very useful book for professionals interested in how advertising works to build brands, or for anyone curious about modern brain science.