Memory & media

Hoorcollege - Using Media week 6

Write down the brand

1. “_________ geeft je vleugels”2. “Omdat ik het waard ben” (or “Because I’m

worth it”)3. “Have a break…”4. “Ik ben toch niet gek!”5. “I’m lovin’ it”

Write down the slogan

1. Nokia2. YouTube3. Heineken4. Belastingdienst 5. Centraal Beheer Achmea

Answers1. “______ geeft je vleugels”

- Redbull2. “Omdat ik het waard ben”

(or “Because I’m worth it”) – L’Oreal

3. “Have a break…” – KitKat4. “Ik ben toch niet gek!” –

Mediamarkt5. “I’m lovin’ it” –

McDonald’s

1. Nokia - “Connecting people”

2. YouTube – “Broadcast Yourself”

3. Heineken – “Biertje” or “Heerlijk, helder, Heineken”

4. Belastingdienst – “Leuker kunnen we 't niet maken, wel makkelijker”

5. Centraal Beheer Achmea – “Even Apeldoorn bellen” or “Foutje, bedankt”

Today’s question:How did you remember these?

Learning goals

• By the end of this college you should:– Understand more about how memory works– See how this can be applied to your what you

communicate via media and how you might communicate it

Agenda

• How memory works• Implications

How memory works

Recent theory of memory

What is memory?

• Once we learn something we do not do not hold it consciously in our minds at all times– We store it in our memory

• When we need that learning in future we bring it back into our conscious minds– We retrieve it from our memory – we remember it

• This suggests that memory is a process that involves the storage of learning and the retrieval of that stored information

Memory is not one thing

Explicit memory

Features of explicit memory

• Memory that can be expressed verbally• Memory we are consciously aware of once

retrieved

How explicit memory works

- Magic number 7±2 / 4+1

- Executive processes (chunking & rehearsal) to extend working memory

- Encoding is key to later retrieval

- Recall vs. recognition

- Retrieval requires memory traces

- Retrieval is a process of association

Working memory• Used to be called Short-term memory• It is a kind of work bench for our consciousness

– Incoming stimuli are stored here for use– Memories from long-term memory are brought here for

use– Working memory lets you remember the beginning of this

sentence so that you understand it• Magic number = 7±2

– The number of items that can be held in working memory was thought to be between 5 and 9

– However more recent research suggests that this is in fact more likely to be lower at 4+1

The limits of working memory

• Put down your pens: Can you remember this sequence of letters?

CBSTAVABNKRO

Extending working memory via executive processes• This sequence of 12 letters falls outside our working

memory capacity (7±2 or 4+1)

CBSTAVABNKRO• One way to avoid this is to rehearse the information (e.g.

saying it to yourself several times how many of you did this?)

• Another way would be to do this

CBS TAV ABN KRO• This is known as chunking and it allows us to make better

use of working memory (how many of you did this?)

Exercise:

• What are the implications for marketing communications of how working memory functions?

• Take two minutes to discuss this with your neighbour– What are the problems?– How might you avoid these problems?

• Write down your answers on the worksheet

LTM

• LTM (long-term memory) is the place we store things we have learned explicitly

• It is thought to have a massive capacity (some believe near infinity)

• Learning gets “put” into LTM via encoding

Encoding: the key to retrieval• Encoding is not a passive thing

– We actively encode information for storage in memory• Strategies for successful encoding

– Use deep processing in place of shallow processing• Deep processing involves understanding the meaning of the stimulus• Shallow processing involves only looking at superficial (oppervlakkig) characteristics

of the stimulus (e.g. only looking at the font of a sentence)

– Organization• Chunking• Relating it to what is already known

– Mnemonics (ezelsbrug)• Verbal - rhythm and rhyme / music and song• Visual imagery• smell(?), taste(?), feel(?)

Exercise:

• What are the implications for marketing communications of the idea that encoding is key to retrieval?

• Take two minutes to discuss this with your neighbour– How might you help aid encoding within your

marketing communication?

• Write down your answers on the worksheet

Retrieval

• Once encoded and stored in LTM, memories must also be retrieved

• Successful encoding provides us with memory traces that allow us to access our memories

• Two types of conscious retrieval– Recall (e.g. response to a question)– Recognition (e.g. picking from a list)

• We do this via association

Spreading activation theory

How we retrieve stuff from LTM

Put your pens down and listen to this list

Now write down as many as you can remember on the

worksheet

Who wrote down “zoet”?

Snoep, zuur, suiker, goed, ijs, lekker,

smaak, tand, honing, chocolade, taart, eten

Spreading activation

• Spreading activation suggests that retrieval works based on associations that are cued (triggered)

• Many of you (hopefully!) wrote zoet because the words I read cued you to think of zoet

Spreading activation example

Spreading activation is based on association

• Essentially we remember things by association• We associate some things with other more

readily– Some links in the brain are stronger than others– Regular association (learning without realizing)

helps strengthen links

Example: Centraal Beheer Achmea

Marcoms relies on spreading activation

• One aim of marcoms is positioning a brand or product

• Positioning is about getting your brand or product high up in the agenda when a product category is mentioned or a problem is encountered– You are aiming to strengthen the cue (trigger) for

target group to think of your brand and think positively about it

• This is called Top of Mind Awareness (ToMA)

Exercise:

• What are the implications for marketing communications of the idea that remembering relies on association?

• Take two minutes to discuss this with your neighbour– How might you help aid retrieval in your

marketing communication?

• Write down your answers on the worksheet

Implications

Tips for ensuring retrieval of your persuasive messages• Don’t overload working memory

– Help with chunking or rehearsal• Facilitate encoding and retrieval

– Provoke deep processing (get them to question the meanings)– Help them organize information

• Chunking• Link to things already they know

– Suggest context to develop memory traces– Use mnemonics (rhythm, rhyme, tune)– Consider how to link the learning context to point of sale– Positioning