Brandwashed: Tricks Companies Use to Manipulate Our Minds and Persuade Us to Buy

This is a fascinating tale of how companies brand their products and celebrities brand themselves and how we consumers fall hook, line and sinker for their psychological marketing tricks. Put simply, from the Pepsi we drink to the Prius we drive, we are brandwashed suckers. And even when you know how the wizard behind the curtain is doing this, you'll still buy your favorite products. Author Martin Lindstrom is branding expert, so the secrets he reveals are sometimes his own.The book is a bit dated--it was published in 2011--but that doesn't matter much. The truths are still the same. (Perhaps even more so!)• Find out why you're more likely to buy a perfume with a celebrity name, why you buy "green" products (and why you don't) and why you still buy the toothpaste you used as a child.• Find out how companies actually sell HOPE--and we believe it and then buy it and pay a lot for it.• Find out how all stores--from clothing to grocery--play carefully programmed music that encourages you to buy more.• Find out how credit card companies can tell from the stuff you buy whether you are more or less likely to pay the bill.• Find out how companies keep track of your every move--from those ubiquitous loyalty cards to cookies on your computer. (And Lindstrom is writing about what they did in 2009! Imagine how much more sophisticated it is now!) And why do they do this? Simple! To make money--your money that you spend. It's called data mining, and it means that companies know not only how much you make and your education level, but also (are you ready for this?) your motivations behind what you buy. The goal is to predict what you will buy--and then get you to actually do it. A quote from the book: "The typical shopper has no idea how much he or she is being monitored." Indeed.This is an eye-opening book for even the savviest of consumers.

Do you recall a time when your shop decision has been driven by a good friend, a neighbor or somebody you esteem? Like when you bought a nice pair of shoes you're best friend was wearing first, or when you got a brand new smartphone seen from a colleague who showed it around in the office. Probably this kind of situations happened many times and I'm pretty sure most of the times you don't even pay attention to how your purchase decision gets shape.The power of peer pressure is one of the main topics Martin Lindstrom discusses in his book "Brandwashed" because, as he claims, "the most persuasive marketing messages come from our peers". Indeed, what's more powerful than getting a recommendation from a person we trust when we have to make a decision? Sometimes these messages are direct, sometimes they're hidden and we get influenced without even fully realize. Human beings living in a society like ours, feel the need to belong to something and following peer's behavior is a way to get accepted by the community.A couple of days ago I watched the movie, "The Joneses", that Martin talks about in the book: a fake family planted in a community with the goal to increase the sale of some specific brands. Not directly though, just by influencing the purchase decisions of neighbors and peers living in the area, by driving the latest car model of Audi or inviting friends to play a 3D game on a huge TV screen. Maybe you'll meet a family like this, made of professionals who earn commissions by promoting brands, in your neighborhood sometimes soon? This is what Martin thinks it's going to happen.Also, the book gives a lot of insights on the "tricks" companies use to drive consumers buying a wider range of products and more often, by playing with the psychology and feelings that are part of our nature of human beings. Great informative book and very enjoyable to read, written by a lead expert in brand marketing.Review posted on [...]

I’m of the opinion that when I read a book I want the writer to sound intelligent like a published author and not like an everyday typical American. In the first few pages the author talks about how he likes to drink Pepsi, a high sugar diabetes causing beverage that a child drinks and grownups grow out of. He likes drinking Fiji bottle water, because the educated author obviously doesn’t know the harm bottled water does to the environment and what a waste of money it is. This guy spends money on something you can get for free. Oh but it’s bottled in Fiji so it tastes fresher and cleaner. Keep believing that and I got some bottled toilet water for sale for anyone that’s interested. The writer that’s trying to teach me about consumer manipulation, doesn’t get and irony of paying for water yet?! Even I didn’t need this book to know that bottled water is consumer manipulation at its finest. He also eats MSG ridden Ramen noodles. Yum. Is he a grownup writer or a 14 year old little boy? Or maybe the writer is a teenage girl since he also loves Diet Coke. Because I guess he hasn’t got that 20-year-old memo, about how Diet soda is poison for you. A rat won’t touch diet coke, but the author guzzles it right up. For me Personally, Diet Coke drinkers are always a great way to find out immediately if I’m dealing with an ignorant person or not. It’s a can of screaming ignorance sitting in their hand. I get it, most typical Americans love these products, but most typical Americans are below average intelligence and I expect more from a book writer. The subject is consumerism and corporation manipulation, not How to be a Redneck. So, how can I read it? Of course the author was manipulated because he comes across as an imbecile eating and drinking like he lives in a smelly dorm room. I expect more from someone I’m trying to learn from. The writer is supposed to be a sort of teacher, but it’s hard to take him seriously, kinda like your nutritionist showing up eating Pop-Tarts.All of the information I got about said products like bottle water and soda, I read in a book or an article somewhere. So what is this authors excuse on why he doesn’t know these simple things. It’s Everyday information that has been around for years. This isn’t new. The writer is just lazy. Period. The writer might have to read other books sometimes instead of just spewing words. His book might have been informative but I couldn’t get past the first few pages wondering if I was reading a junior high-school kids book or an actual author. Wish I could get a refund. I hate knowing the proceeds go to the authors high sodium, high sugar children’s diet.

I didn’t enjoy this book because there wasn’t anything new to learn. If you ponder over this subject you can come to the conclusions behind (retailers) strategies and intentions. The content could have been crisp and to the point. I felt I was conversing with a friend who never seems to end a conversation - the topic of brandwashing from the womb was interesting, and that’s how far I had the courage to read until

If you're really into marketing and sales, then I recommend you read this book. In my case it was more of a leisure reading and I must admit it was a little bit tedious. It is interesting but sometimes it is very repetitive and goes round in circles making the same point over and over again. All in all I recommend it but as a second option while you're reading something else.

shows the ways in which we're manipulated into buying things we don't necessarily need. must read.

Interesting read but needs images to be really good as the subject is about visuals.

Brilliant book and arrived quickly