All Netflix blockbusters apply this neuro insight

Look closely.

What stands out in this short clip (8s) from the Netflix hit series House of Cards?

Were you captivated by Frank Underwood's icy stare? Or did you notice the edges of the table slowly disappearing?

Slowly but surely, the camera zooms in a bit. Until even the phone on the desk falls out of the frame.

Watch again, and see how subtle this zooming movement is.

In Hollywood, this is called the 'dolly in' movement. A trick that famous directors use time and again.

They know that this small addition ensures that the viewer remains glued to the screen. 

In psychology, we call this the 'Mental Leaning Effect'

 

Losing Viewers with a Dolly Out?

The key question is whether the reverse is also true. Does a zooming out movement make you decide not to binge that series?

Unfortunately, Netflix does not reveal who watches which series, or when people drop off. Fortunately, this is the case for public broadcasting. There, much viewing and listening data is public (or for sale).

A while back, I spoke with a director from the NPO - the Dutch public boradcasting system. She told me something peculiar.

They consistently saw that when the camera zoomed out, a large portion of the viewers also switched channels. 

So if we look purely at behaviour, then our theory of 'Mental Leaning' holds true. If there is a zoom out, then people mentally zoom out too, and switch away.

Can We See This in the Brain?

With viewing data, you can clearly see this effect afterwards. Only afterwards, it doesn't help you that so many people drop off.

How can you know this in advance?

You could of course ask a small group. But years of research in psychology shows one thing time and again:

“People don't do what they say, and don't say what they do.”

And that's exactly where neuromarketing comes in. Neuromarketers look into the brain. With brain scanners, you can precisely measure how the brain reacts.

This way, you see exactly whether a scene is brain-friendly or not.

Let's take a look at the following brain data. You will soon see a short clip from a CoolBest commercial. Below the commercial, you see an orange bar.

By measuring with an EEG brain scanner, we can see four emotions in the brain. The most important is: desire, which you see below in the orange graph.

For now, it's important to know that when this is high, people experience approach (positive). If it's low, they experience rejection (negative).

Press play, and see how the orange graph moves with the zoom-out:

Why CoolBest Cut This Scene

Thanks to this brain data, the clever marketers at CoolBest knew one thing for sure. This commercial would not do their delicious juice sales any good.

The marketers were well aware of the correct use of neuromarketing. After a thorough analysis, they adjusted the commercial, including omitting this scene.

This is One of Many Neuro Insights

CoolBest is not the only one who understands how this neuroscience works. Neuro is on a real rise.

Are you also curious about what other secrets the brain reveals? How neuromarketing really works?

Then I have good news.

After nearly 10 years of conducting neuro research for great brands, I noticed that more and more people wanted to know how the brain works.

Only there was no course that showed exactly what we knew. Why people do what they do, how irrational the consumer is, and how you can predict success in advance.

And also not unnecessarily long, but focused on what works and what doesn't.

With pride, I can share the following:
👉 The Neuromarketing Fundamentals

An online training of 9 lessons with TED-talk length (+/- 20 minutes). In it, you learn what neuromarketing is and how you can apply it yourself.

Also curious? Then I have even more good news. You can now watch the first lesson for free.

View the Training on Unravel Academy

Want a sneak preview? Check out the trailer ?