Monday Letter
Priming in Marketing
This might come across as a bit controversial, but here we go. I'm only sharing this to illuminate the “tactics” of companies trying to sell something and because I think there are deeper philosophical meanings.
You will often hear us say: “The best marketing is the marketing that you have no clue is occurring but is.”
99% of people don’t realize it, but they are always being marketed to.
You are constantly being subconsciously persuaded to either:
a) make decisions, or
b) form thought patterns that will lead to a certain style of life.
I'm going to tell two stories. One is quite research-oriented, and the other is quite sinister.
Story #1
If you listen to Tony Robbins, you’ve probably heard this study.
There was a group of four actors:
Two men and two women.
They approached 100 people each, totaling 400 people.
They asked people to hold their coffee for them. Half of the people held iced coffee, and the other half held warm coffee.
They essentially forced the coffee upon them and, while the person held it, pretended to respond to something urgent on their phone. Afterwards, they took their coffee back, thanked them, and left.
Around 30 minutes later, these 400 people were approached by “students” conducting a survey. The students offered each person $20 for their time, read them a story, and asked for the quality traits of the main character in the story.
80% of the people who held warm coffee 30 minutes prior described the main character as being “warm, happy, and enthusiastic.” They had an overall positive opinion of the character.
80% of the people who held iced coffee described the main character as “cold, ignorant, and disgruntled.” They had an overall negative sentiment toward the character.
You can see how simply receiving a “priming” input 30 minutes prior significantly dictated the future thoughts and emotions of a later event.
Now, the harsh reality is that we are being “primed” by thousands of companies daily—with one thing on their mind:
PROFIT.
And in the name of capitalism, I can assure you they aren’t playing by the rules.
Story #2
Not really a story, but something I’ve learned.
Around 50 miles outside of Las Vegas, there’s a hotel/casino.
This isn’t an ordinary hotel/casino—it’s designed as a research facility to study gamblers, their habits, and how their environment affects their decisions.
Of course, this is portrayed as purely research to study addiction, but in reality, companies use this data to optimize their casinos just 50 miles away on the Las Vegas Strip.
This hotel hosts guests and gives them a typical hotel experience.
However, they subtly change every factor—some so small you would never notice.
Things like:
How you are greeted when you walk in.
The size of the elevator.
The fluffiness of the pillow.
The scent of the shampoo in the hotel rooms.
The darkness of the casino.
The genres of food offered.
And they measure how someone decides to gamble later that night.
All these factors are important and ultimately determine how much money a person wagers at the casino.
Whether it’s something obvious like “spa packages for gambling $x amount” or something subtle like the linen in the bathrobes, everything is designed to persuade your subconscious into making certain decisions.
It gets even crazier. The company hosting these research trials is funded and owned by—you guessed it—Big Tech!
Apple, Meta, Snapchat, and even Coinbase/Robinhood.
These tech companies take the data gathered from persuading people to spend their most significant asset (money) and code it into algorithms that steal your attention—the new currency of the internet.
Where am I going with all of this?
A few points:
Companies have spent billions of dollars trying to find ways to get you to make decisions with little to no thought or inhibition.
Be aware of these tactics. Learn to think freely, allowing yourself to come to a genuine consensus without factoring in external inputs.
Use these tactics to your advantage.
Your entire life will involve convincing others to do things to your benefit. Whether it’s asking for a raise, trying to get a girl, or pleading with a professor to accept a late paper, you can utilize these tactics to ensure that when the moment comes, the event will go in your favor.
I’m not saying to be manipulative; I’m simply suggesting you can get what you want without saying it directly.
That’s what the best marketing is.
The best marketing is an accumulation of highly priming inputs that compel people to think a certain way.
Are you being persuaded?