Priming a logo can influence consumer’s behaviour

Both brands are highly familiar to consumers, but each has a distinct personality. Whereas Apple’s personality is seen to be innovative and creative, IBM is perceived as a traditional smart and responsible brand.

Participants were exposed subliminally to images of either the Apple or IBM brand logos and then completed a standard creativity measure. Those primed with Apple logos performed more creatively than the control or IBM-primed participants. The researchers concluded: “This provided the first clear evidence that subliminally priming a brand name or logo or both can influence consumers’ actual behaviour.” In another experiment, people were exposed to the Disney or the E! Entertainment logos. Those who saw the Disney logo answered a series of questions more honestly. “Every brand comes with its set of associations” said study co-author Gavan Fitzsimmons, a professor of psychology and marketing at Duke University, USA. When we’re exposed to logos, those associations fire automatically, activating our motivational systems and leading us to behave in ways that are consistent with the brand image.

From The Logo Decoded by Lora Starling