prpl @ sxsw: the symbiosis of brains, marketing, and design

The Symbiosis of Brains, Marketing, and DesignPRESENTED BY

Tommy Hung

@tommyx88UX Strategist

Caitlin Pequignot

@aveleonmusicDigital Strategist

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The Symbiosis of Brains, Marketing, and Design

1 Who Are We

2 Our Background

3 Quest App

4 The Ecosystem

5 WorkshopAgenda

IntroductionsWHO ARE WE

Who Are We Introductions1 —

Caitlin Pequignot


Tommy Hung


Who Are We Purple, Rock Scissors1 —


Purple Rock ScissorsWHO WE ARE


PRPLWHO WE ARE


PRPLAt we uncover insightsbuild softwaresolve problems

drive ROIoptimize performance

create content

deliver value

Who Are We Purple, Rock, Scissors1 —

Developing innovative digital solutions.

PRPL is an Orlando-based digital agency serving global brands at the intersection of technology and humanity.

Our agile process is driven by goals and backed by data. We put strategy first to uncover insights, solve problems, and drive results.


Clients and Friends


Fifty Rockstars and GrowingEST. 2002


1 Who Are We

2 Our Background

3 Quest App

4 The Ecosystem

5 WorkshopAgenda

Our BackgroundPRIOR STUDIES

Background Synapses2 —

In Search of Synaptic Plasticity

Synapses are connections between neurons.

Synaptic Plasticity is the means by which our brains change.

Synapses can be modulated.

Background Synaptic Plasticity in Action2 —

Synaptic Plasticity in Action

Background Why Neurometabolism?2 —

Why Neurometabolism?

Long-term potentiation — how our brains change over time.

Strengthening of synapses = greater plasticity & memory formation.

Fueled by long-term metabolic changes.

Background Merging the Two2 —

Neuroscience

MarketingStrategy


Neuro-science

MarketingStrategyNeuroscience

Background Marketing Strategy & Behavior2 —

Marketing Strategy & Behavior

What motivates both users & companies?

Where do they meet?

How can we test what works?

How do we measure it?

Background Microtubules, Memories, and Automation2 —

Microtubules, Memories, and Automation

Microtubules: Components of cells that facilitate cell interaction.

Respond instantly to network changes.

Play an integral role in maintaining environmental structure & fluidity.

Essential to short-term memory.

Background Memory Encoding in Blobs2 —

Memory Encoding in Blobs

Background Microtubules, Memories, and Automation2 —

Helping HIV+ Kids Forget

Mood disorders & traumatic experiences.

Therapy: weakening of associative long-term memory.


Neuropsychology UX Design


UX DesignNeuropsychology


1 Who We Are

2 Our Background

3 Quest App

4 The Ecosystem

5 WorkshopAgenda

Quest AppSAMPLE APPLICATION

Our App Quest App3 —

Quest: For All Your Questions & Answers

Quest is a desktop app designed to create questioners and answerers out of everyone.

Quest will match you with an expert in that topic and reward experts for their knowledge contributions.

Our App Quest App3 —

Quest: Value PropositionLife is hard, and we all have both questions and answers. Quest is designed to grow knowledge and help people live better lives.

Our App Value Proposition3 —

How It Works: Questions• Create a profile on the Quest site or ask a question as a guest.

• Submit questions using the question builder interface.

• Receive email notifications when an expert has answered.your question.

• Rate answers using our easy rubric.

• Continue the conversation with your favorite experts.

How It Works: QuestionsOur App3 —

How It Works: Answers• Create a profile on the Quest site.

• Choose your favorite topics.

• Browse questions to answer.

• Answer questions.

• Receive email notifications when a questioner assigns you points.

• Answer more questions, or ask one yourself!

Our App How It Works: Questions3 —


1 Who We Are

2 Our Background

3 Quest App

4 The Ecosystem

5 WorkshopAgenda

The EcosystemWHAT WE’RE DOING

IntroductionThe Ecosystem4 —

The EcosystemThe Ecosystem is a behavior model we’ve created to help simplify complex neurological and behavioral concepts into something actionable for this audience.

The Ecosystem

Behavior Model

Motivation HabitSatisfactionDecisionsTriggers

The Ecosystem4 —

The Ecosystem

Motivation DecisionsTriggers

The reason why we take action.

Behavior ModelThe Ecosystem4 —

The Ecosystem

Motivation SatisfactionDecisionsTriggers

Anything that catalyzes a decision.


The Ecosystem


Selection of course of action.


The Ecosystem

HabitSatisfactionDecisionsTriggers

Satiation of needs from an experience.


The Ecosystem

HabitSatisfactionDecisions

A fixed way of thinking, willing, or feeling.


The Ecosystem



MotivationTHE ECOSYSTEM


Pokemon GoiPhone 6

375 x 667px• An app phenomenon

• Great example of how a habit forming experience pulling from various motivators.

• We’ll use examples throughout

A Virtual Scavenger Hunt

Who Are We Introductions1 —

Motivation Defined

The reason why we take action.

Holy grail of marketers everywhere.

A core part of user research.

How does motivation interact with the other neuroscience pillars?

MOTIVATION TRIGGERS DECISIONS SATISFACTION HABITThe Ecosystem4 —

Core Motivators

Dr. B.J. Fogg postulates 3 Core Motivators:

Seek Pleasure, Avoid Pain.

Seek Hope, Avoid Fear.

Seek Social Acceptance, Avoid Rejection.

MOTIVATION TRIGGERS DECISIONS SATISFACTION HABITThe Ecosystem4 —

Motivational Matrix

Developed by author David Forbes, the MindSight Matrix is one way we can apply motivational concepts to marketing and product design.

Asks two questions that we consider when seeking change:

What change do we want? Where do we want it to occur?

The Ecosystem4 — MOTIVATION TRIGGERS DECISIONS SATISFACTION HABIT

The Ecosystem MOTIVATION TRIGGERS DECISIONS SATISFACTION HABIT

INTRAPSYCHIC The self

INSTRUMENTALThe object world

INTERPERSONALThe social world

EXPECTATIONSFor the future

Safe, ConfidentSECURITY

Insecure, Afraid

Free, Powerful EMPOWERMENT

Trapped, Frustrated

Accepted, BelongingBELONGING

Isolated, Lonely

EXPERIENCESIn the moment

Unique, Interesting IDENTITY

Ordinary, Boring

Involved, Absorbed ENGAGEMENT

Passive, Indifferent

Sharing, CaringNURTURANCESelfish, Unloved

OUTCOMESFrom past behavior

Talented, Exceptional MASTERY

Incompetent

Victorious, ProductiveACHIEVEMENT

Defeated, Pointless

Proud, Respected ESTEEM

Ashamed, Disgraced

adapted from Forbes “The Science of Why”The MindSight Matrix

4 —

MedalsiPhone 6

375 x 667pxiPhone 6

375 x 667pxiPhone 6

375 x 667px

The Ecosystem MOTIVATION TRIGGERS DECISIONS SATISFACTION HABIT4 —

Intrapsychic Motivation• Important for realization of self needs and wants.

• Future: We want to feel secure about our expectations for the future.

• Present: We want to experience unique and interesting things in the moment.

• Past: We want to feel a sense of accomplishment when we have mastered something for ourselves.


iPhone 6375 x 667px

Filling Up Pokedex iPhone 6

375 x 667pxiPhone 6

375 x 667px


Instrumental Motivation• Important for feeling comfortable within physical space

• Future: We don’t want to feel trapped in our life situations.

• Present: We want to be empowered in our planning and engaged with our experiences.

• Past: We also want to feel productive & efficient in our work & situation.

adapted from Forbes “The Science of Why”


iPhone 6375 x 667px

Lures and Teams iPhone 6

375 x 667pxiPhone 6

375 x 667px


Interpersonal Motivation• Important for feeling valued with the people in your circle.

• Future: We want to feel accepted by other people when we think about engaging with them.

• Present: We want to feel cared for by them when we engage with them.

• Past: We also want to feel as though we’ve secured a place in our many social circles.

adapted from Forbes “The Science of Why”


Appealing to All AnglesThese approaches are constructs that help us categorize the billions of complex, intrinsic reasons why we do things.

Use a different motivational approach to sell the same or similar product.


Target Multiple Motivating FactorsDual use of intrapsychic and interpersonal motivation creates broad appeal to a variety of our motivations within a target audience segment.

Best practice to position your brand, product, or service as satisfying not just one but a variety of different motivations.


The Reward System

1

2

• Aversion, reward, and addiction centers of the brain.

• Related to impulsivity, the placebo effect, and rhythmic typing .

Nucleus Accumbens


VTA

1

2


In the Brain: VTA is DOPEThe Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA) is a vital part of the brain’s reward system.

Center of dopaminergic pathways and studied for behavior enforcement and addiction.

The Ventral Pallidum is specifically associated with ‘wanting’ (motivation) and ‘liking’ (satisfaction).


Like Expected reward

Learning Action selection

Actual reward

Dopamine

neurons

Dopamine

neurons

Attribution of

incentive salence

Incentive Assignment(a) (b) Salience and Reward

Want

Motivational Salience

The extent an object, event, or thought drives goal directed behavior.


Incentive Salience

Assigns ‘want’ attribute to stimuli

Creates want by rewarding stimuli with increasing dopamine.

In behavioralism, positive conditioning.




Actual reward

Dopamine

neurons

Dopamine

neurons

Attribution of

incentive salence


Want



Actual reward

Dopamine

neurons

Dopamine

neurons

Attribution of

incentive salence


Want

Aversive Salience

Reduces ‘want’ attribute to stimuli.

Decreases dopamine levels.

In behavioralism, positive punishment.


Key Takeaways for Motivation• Intrapsychic, instrumental, and interpersonal motivational

“buckets” can be used to help classify different types of motivation.

• Ensuring that your service or product offering appeals to all three will broaden your reach and increase your relevancy.

• Consider the motivational salience of your product / service. To what extent does your product / service drive goal-directed behavior?


Persona 1: College Student• Design student, interested in UX

• Enjoys visiting Art museums

• Likes to learn coding, especially CSS

• Asks questions about user research, product design

• Answers questions about typography, logo design


Persona 2: Junior Level Professional• Marketing Strategist

• Enjoys music production

• Likes to code in her free time

• Asks questions about audio mastering tips, Adwords search

• Answers questions about Google Analytics, about violins


Persona 3: Aerospace Engineer• Competitive Gamer

• Mid-30’s

• Asks questions about CS:GO strategy, aerospace industry trends

• Answers questions about rocket engineering, pro gaming strategies


Stop HereWORKBOOK BREAK


TriggersTHE ECOSYSTEM

The Ecosystem



The Ecosystem

Motivation SatisfactionDecisionsTriggers

Anything that catalyzes a decision.


Triggered by…Vaporeon?


Trigger-nometry • A trigger is anything that catalyzes a decision.

• External & internal.

• The strongest triggers are both.


Trigger-nometry

External InternalWhat to do next is outside What to do next is in the user’s head

AlarmsEmailsSalesWarningsReward ProgramsDue DatesCalendarStores

EmotionsRoutinesSituationsGoalsLoss AversionReward Expectation


External TriggersPaid Triggers: Effective but costly. Less effective at getting users to come back. Leverage for acquisition then use other triggers.

Earned Triggers: Referrals from family and friends are key part of spreading products. Build an engaged user base through good UX.

Owned Triggers: Owning a piece of real estate in the user’s environment. As long as a user gives permission. (Strongest trigger.)


NotificationsiPhone 6

375 x 667px


Go PLUS


Internal TriggersInternal triggers manifest automatically from motivators and related emotions.

Negative emotions are particularly strong. Many motivations stem from loss aversion. (Avoid pain, fear, social rejection).

Positive emotions can stem from satiation of motivators.


Internal Triggers (cont.d)

Users associate an internal trigger with your product (solve for their need).

The information about what to do after the trigger is encoded as a learned association.

Internal triggers keep users coming back to the experience.


iPhone 6375 x 667px

Filling Up Pokedex iPhone 6

375 x 667pxiPhone 6

375 x 667px


Combined TriggersRelationship Triggers: Can become internal triggers. Interpersonal motivators can drive users to re-engage.

Owned Triggers: Can become internal triggers. Intrapsychic and interpersonal motivators.


Fogg Behavioral Model

Hard to do Easy to do

HighMotivation

LowMotivation

Ability (A)

Motivation (M) Triggers (T)Succeed Here

Triggers (T)Fail Here

Activation Threshold

B=MAT



B=MATM=Motivation. Why a user takes action.


HighMotivation

LowMotivation

Motivation (M)


B=MATA=Ability to perform the Action


Ability (A)



T=Strength of Trigger


HighMotivation

LowMotivation

Ability (A)




B=MAT

Fogg Behavioral ModelSparkLeverage motivations.


High

Low

(A)

(M)

Facilitator Signal

SparkFacilitatorReduce risk, make easier to use.

SignalReminder; don’t confuse with others.


Signals can be quick and effective

Certain triggers catalyze actions that don’t always reach the decision making process. These are quick thinking triggers.

These use the brain’s fast, automatic, and intuitive approach.


Traffic LightCar turn signalElevator chime

NotificationLow BatteryEvent Reminder

Transactional emailFree Trial CTASound Affordance

IRL Phone Digital Product


Signals can be quick and effectiveSignals can be quick and effective

Signals can be quick and effective


Quick Triggers• Signals often fall under the category of System 1 triggers become

stronger with habit formation.

• Many soft conversion triggers are System 1.

Slow Triggers• Slow triggers have multiple influencing factors.

• Most hard conversion triggers are slow triggers.


Slow Triggers• Slow triggers have multiple influencing factors.

• Most hard conversion triggers are slow triggers.


The Reward System

1

2


• Related to impulsivity, the placebo effect, and rhythmic typing

Nucleus Accumbens


VTA

1

2


In the Brain: Back to that VTA• Ventral Pallidum neurons encode incentive

and hedonic stimuli in phasic bursts of excitement.

• These bursts are the measurable effects of triggers on the brain.

• We’ve shown people ice cream and scanned their brains.


Key Takeaways for Triggers• Triggers are catalysts for action.

• Quick triggers don’t reach a decision making process.

• Quick triggers are often stronger and less complex than slow triggers.

• Triggers become stronger through habit formation.


DecisionsTHE ECOSYSTEM

The Ecosystem



The Ecosystem


Selection of course of action.


Decision-Making as a Model• Some decisions are easy (“I’m starving; time to eat”)

• Others have more layers (“Do I continue writing my novel of 10 years if I have started prioritizing my career as a strategist?”)

• What are the factors at play that comprise this difference?




HighMotivation

LowMotivation

Ability (A)





• Motivation, ability, and a trigger must be present for a user to take action.

• Triggers lying above the activation threshold curve are successful in generating an action.





HighMotivation

LowMotivation

Ability (A)





Decision Zone

Decisions as Outcomes• Delicate balance between input and output.

• Decision attitude: our opinion of the cost analysis of the proposal.

• We assess the magnitude of change the decision will bring to our lives.


The Pokemon Store iPhone 6

375 x 667px


Decision Process • Our brains create a weighted average “decision attitude” within seconds.

• Do I want to do this?• Is it hard to do?• Am I good at it?• How long will it take?


Decision Process

Problem 1 Problem 2

Get $900 for sureOR

90% chance to get $1,000

Lose $900 for sureOR

90% chance to lose $1,000


• States: Our aversion to loss is generally greater than our response to gains.

• Different from utility theory, which treats changes in state as having equal psychological weight.

• Disrupts traditional rational thought in economics

Prospect Theory


Prospect Theory

-10

10+ Dollar

- Psychological

Losse

Gain


• Align product/service sure gains with prospect theory.

• Emphasizing how your product or service helps users avoid sure losses can appeal to loss aversion as a general psychological principle.

Prospect Theory in Action


The Reward System

12

• ”Higher brain functions.”

• Planning complex behaviors

• Pulls from other variables to give weight to reward system

Prefrontal Cortex

• Sensory input and language processing

• Key in planning and coordination

Anterior Parietal Lobe

1

2


Key Takeaways for Decisions• Use the Fogg Model to treat decisions as a function of

motivation, ability, and triggers.

• Our brains create split second decision attitudes as a weighted average of our initial assessment of a decision’s impact on our lives.

• The magnitude of change that a decision will bring to our lives is often more important than the actual product, service, or situation itself.


SatisfactionTHE ECOSYSTEM

The Ecosystem



• Satisfaction: Sometimes used interchangeable with happiness.

• Evaluation of an experience as a whole.

• Happiness: Product of emotions in the moment.

I Can’t Get No…


• Satisfaction is:

• Emotions during your experience• Memory of that experience• External factors affecting your memory

Major factors


• A reward reinforces a displayed behavior. It increases the probability of that behavior occurring again.

Rewards


Incentive Salience: Reward

• ‘Want’ or ‘desire’ attribute

• Creates want by rewarding stimuli with increasing dopamine.

• Satisfaction before, during, and after experience leads to pleasure and increased ‘want’.




Actual reward

Dopamine

neurons

Dopamine

neurons

Attribution of

incentive salence


Want


• Perception of satisfaction - fluid

• The following can change perception of satisfaction by average rating of 2:— Previous memories— New associative memories— Environmental shifts


Memory Plays Large Part Over Time

• Our perception of satisfaction can be altered before and after an experience.

• Associations and things like the Primacy Effect can skew or derail perception of satisfaction.



• Rushing at the end of a vacation can distort your memory of the entire experience.



15%

11%

18%

57%

During ExperienceAssociative ExperiencesTriggersEnvironmental Changes


Memory Recall • Brains recall old memories by piecing together stored components and creating a cohesive remembrance of the past.

• Recollective experience is handled by the hippocampus.

• Recollection of episodic experiences, stored in hippocampal event engrams.


Memory Association

Banana Vomit


TL;DR - No Need to Avoid Bananas

• Brains form temporal and causal connections between our memories.

• Anchoring: “fixing” the brain to a certain reference point

• Availability effect: the brain’s tendency to accept that which is most easily available


Anchoring in Projects

• Gifn’s internal promotion feature leverages the anchoring effect in real time.


Micro-Experiences1. To reduce possibility of skewing satisfaction.2. Make the action easy to do to improve triggers.

Create discrete, simple, and rewarding micro-experiences.

Micro-experiences are distinct and small experiences that provide small rewards.

START

SMALL EXPERIENCE

REWARD


Micro-Experiences • Onboarding

• Interaction Animations

• Wizards

• Suggestions

• E-mail swipe-to-delete

• Twitter


Micro-Experiences


Our Talk is Loading…


Thanks! Here’s a Bathroom Break!


The Reward System

1

2


• Related to impulsivity, the placebo effect, and rhythmic typing

Nucleus Accumbens


VTA

1

2


Reward Centers • Your brain rewards you for behaviors that benefit you.

• Reward centers release GABA, dopamine, serotonin.

• Satisfaction is a product of these centers.


Hedonic Hot Spots • Areas of the brain associated with “liking” certain rewards.

• MRI scans and for plum mapping identify opiod distribution in these areas to find them.


Key Takeaways for Satisfaction• Satisfaction is the evaluation of a user experience as a whole,

rather than the sum of emotions in a single situation.

• Leveraging rewards and reward behaviors with your product or service design can integrate satisfaction into your product strategy.

• Utilizing micro-experiences as satisfactory stepping stones in a user experience can maximize reward centers along a process flow.


HabitsTHE ECOSYSTEM

The Ecosystem




The Ecosystem

HabitSatisfactionDecisions

A fixed way of thinking, willing, or feeling.


Hook Model & Effective Habits


Satisfaction, Motivation, and Memory

• The three behavioral pillars contribute to the successful development of habitual use.

• Creating useful awards in micro-experiences increases habitual use of a digital product.


Keystone habits: Usually high reward, high impact habits and/or exhibited for over 2 years and can easily become triggers.

Keystone Habits


Habit Inertia • Create investments in habits.

• By engaging in satisfying experiences with strong triggers, users increase their likeliness of returning to a product.

• “Ikea Effect”

• The more time you spend on it, the fonder you become.


The Good Old Days iPhone 6

375 x 667px


The Patched SolutionFirst tracking system provided the user with system feedback

Rewarding micro-experiences as you approached Pokemon

Tracking & catching Pokemon yourself = Ikea Effect

Patched tracking removed functionality, destroying those micro-rewards


Key Takeaways for Habits• A habit is a fixed and often unnoticed action taken by a

person.

• Habits are formed through triggers, actions, rewards, and investments.

• Investments increase habit formation inertia.

• Increase rewards and micro-experiences.



1 Who We Are

2 Our Background

3 Quest App

4 The Ecosystem

5 WorkshopAgenda

WorkshopWORK TIME

Neuroscience in ActionUsing what you’ve learned about neuroscience’s role in marketing and design, let’s put it in action by critiquing an app that we’ve conceptualized for this workshop.

Foundations How It Works: Questions3 — Workshop5 —

Workshop Quest App5 —

Persona 1: College Student• Design student, interested in UX

• Enjoys visiting Art museums

• Likes to learn coding, especially CSS

• Asks questions about user research, product design

• Answers questions about typography, logo design


Persona 2: Junior Level Professional• Marketing Strategist

• Enjoys music production

• Likes to code in her free time

• Asks questions about audio mastering tips, Adwords search

• Answers questions about Google Analytics, about violins


Persona 3: Aerospace Engineer• Competitive Gamer

• Mid-30’s

• Asks questions about CS:GO strategy, aerospace industry trends

• Answers questions about rocket engineering, pro gaming strategies


Final Exercise - Journey Map• We want to identify opportunities for

improvement in the Quest app.

• Design & marketing focused.

• Questioners & answerers.

• Three personas.


Final Exercise - Journey Map• Using the behavioral toolkits you developed earlier, each table will

create a journey map for one of the three personas.

• Half of the table will create a journey map for a questioner flow.

• The other half will create the answerer flow.


Final Exercise - Journey MapSix key phases for this model interaction:

• Acquisition 1 / Engagement 1




Final Exercise - Journey Map• Within each phase, we’ve defined a set of goals that users need to

complete in order to count as a successful engagement.

• Your job: Using post-its at your table, ideate the steps that the user needs to complete in order to complete each goal.

• Think about the behavioral pillars as you are writing steps. Write these associations down in the spaces provided.


Final Exercise - Journey Map• List three design & three marketing recommendations based on

your neuroscience findings in the space provided.

• Do this for each goal. Then, compare your journey map with the other half of the table.

• Discuss with your table what was similar & different about the behavioral findings & recommendations in your flows.


ConclusionsPULLING IT ALL TOGETHER

Why Do This?• Neuroscience techniques create common threads between user

experience & re-engagement.

• Ability of UX design to satisfy & motivate correlates to the impact of user memory of the experience.

• More impactful experiences combined with triggered marketing efforts are vital for successful re-engagement.

Conclusions Pulling It All Together6 —

The Ecosystem


Behavior ModelConclusions6 —

Connections• Cells : Organs

• Synapses : Associations

• Steps : Goals


Connections• Neuroscience - anti-silo

• You can think like a scientist without being one.

• Go beyond the persona.

• Go beyond the target audience.


Thank you!

PRESENTED BY

Tommy Hung


Caitlin Pequignot


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